Katherine thought Sally seemed unusually calm as she placed the last of the silverware on the table. “You haven’t dropped a thing this morning, and you seem…well…settled. What’s different?”

A shy smile spread across Sally’s face as she said simply, “I’ve been prayin’.” And turned to push the cart back to the kitchen.

This just might work. Katherine thought, a glow of hope beginning to warm her heart as she watched Sally walk away.

* * * *

The Harborside felt too quiet as Katherine flipped the sign to “Open” and tugged the dark green window shade, noticing for the first time the whirring sound it made as it wound itself up. She had worked at the Harborside for over two years now, but never a whole day without the captain.

She stooped to adjust the door and check on the fire she had just made in the wood stove. Still burning. Good.

Glancing over at the counter, she sighed. She should probably find something to put the broken pieces of the Anne in so they wouldn’t get lost. Listening for the bell in case a customer ventured in, she went down into the storeroom and sifted through the pile of empty boxes Tommy had knocked over. If only that had been the only mishap that day, she thought.

Once she found a box that looked the right size, she jogged up the stairs again. Gingerly, she picked up the tangled mass of lines and rigging. She didn’t know much about ships, but it looked to her like two of the masts were snapped off. Several pieces of decking also seemed to be gone. Katherine walked around the staircase, examining the floor to see if she had missed them. I hope Tommy or I didn’t throw them away when we swept the floor.

She was on her hands and knees behind the spiral staircase when she heard the bell ring.

A tall, thin man stood near the counter, brushing raindrops from his short silvery hair.

“Mr. Patten! I didn’t expect to see you today. How are you?” She stood and dusted her hands off as she walked over to greet the elderly bank manager.

“I’m well, thank you, Katherine. I was on my way to work and saw you were open again. So sorry to hear about the captain’s accident. Is he recovering well?”

“Yes. He came home from the hospital yesterday. His sister is taking care of him.”

“Serena is here?”

“Yes, and I’m so thankful she was able to get here so quickly.”

“I actually have something I need to speak to her and the captain about, only I didn’t know she was in town. That’s why I stopped by, actually. I heard about the captain’s accident, and figured you could tell me if he were up to talking with me. You see, something strange happened at the bank yesterday.”

* * * *

“How did it go?” Katherine asked as she stepped in from the cold January rain and flipped the sign from “Do Come In” to “Come Again Soon.”

“I can’t say for sure. It was all a bit of a blur, and I’m ever so tired now.”

Katherine chuckled. “That sounds about right. But if the place is still standing and so are you, I’d say you probably did just fine. I’ll grab the cart and start clearing the tables.”

Sally flopped into a chair. “Thanks,” she said, a bit breathlessly. “There was an odd rush right at the end. Thought they’d never all leave.”

Katherine rolled the cart to the first table and started sorting, scraping and stacking dishes. Sally got reluctantly to her feet to join her.

“I have it good over at the Harborside.” Katherine said with a chuckle. “I only have to stand up when a customer comes in.”

“And how often is that?”

“It depends on the day. With such a drenching rain today, there were only a few customers—and Mr. Patten.”

“I like him. He’s a good egg.”

“A good what?”

Sally shook her head with a laugh. “Never mind. What kind of tea did he get? His usual Earl Grey?”

“No, oddly enough, he didn’t come in for tea. He wanted to see if I thought the captain well enough to discuss a business opportunity.” Katherine felt a grin stretch across her face, despite her attempt to be serious.

“Now, what may that grin be about, then?” Sally brandished a teaspoon menacingly. “Out with it!”

“Oh, Sally, it’s something I’ve been praying about, but didn’t think could ever happen! And it’s still not for sure.”

“Well, what is it?”

Katherine pulled out a chair and sat, motioning for Sally to do the same. “Mr. Patten said that a man came into the bank today to clear out his uncle's safety deposit box. The man who owns the rest of the Harborside block has died, and it was his executor—a nephew or something—who came to the bank today.”

“What’s that got to do with you?” Sally asked, brow crumpled in confusion.

“When he opened the safety deposit box, there was a paper folded around the deed to the building. The man read it, then asked who these Braddocks were, and where he could find them.”

“What? Why?”

“Because—” Katherine leaned forward and dropped her voice to an excited whisper. “The paper was the purchase contract for the Harborside block, and it stipulates that if ever the property is sold, it must first be offered to the Braddocks before being placed on the market.”

“Do you think they’ll be able to buy it?” Sally asked, eyes wide.

“I don’t know.” Katherine sat back against her chair with a frown. “But for some reason, this very thing has been on my heart for months—the Braddocks owning the whole block like they used to—and I’ve been praying about it, so this can’t be a coincidence. I’m going to stop by to see the captain when we’re done here, and I’ll talk to Serena about it then.”

16 Worth a Try

“Yes, Mr. Welch called us this afternoon. Apparently, he’s in quite a hurry to sell.”

“And?” Katherine held her breath.

“Oh, Katherine, whatever would we do with the whole block? We don't even use half the storeroom.”

Katherine let out her breath. She was ready for this question. “Well, I’ve been thinking we could open a museum. It would honor the Braddock family legacy and bring in customers at the same time.”