“The Silver Bridge affected everything.”
He nodded, shoulders slumping as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “It wasn’t just the catastrophe. Bruce Mechanical closed up shop shortly afterward. That dried up half the employment in town. Point Pleasant isn’t the thriving river community it used to be.”
How sad. Eve had fond memories of watching riverboats and tugs traverse the waters of the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers, ushering barges loaded with coal from Ohio to West Virginia and vice-versa. When Bruce Mechanical launched a new boat, the event was guaranteed to draw a crowd. She, Maggie, and Sarah had eagerly raced to the docks as the newly built ships slid sideways into the water, tilting so far she feared they would capsize before righting themselves.
Ryan returned to his seat at the table, then reclined comfortably, crossing an ankle over his knee. “Main Street is pretty much a ghost town these days. I’m sure you noticed.”
She nodded. “They moved the Silver Bridge.”
“We call it the Silver Memorial Bridge now, but you’re right.” A frown flitted across his mouth. “The new bridge diverts the flow of traffic out of town, bypassing Main. As much as we appreciate the Silver Memorial Bridge, it’s partially responsible for sapping Point Pleasant’s lifeblood.”
“What about the hotel?” She had to know.
“It holds its own.” Ryan gave a one-shouldered shrug. “It may not pull the traffic it did in its heyday, but according to Rosie, it was solvent. I’m sure you’ve seen the books.”
“Enough of them.” The hotel was a juggernaut she needed to tackle.
“So you really want to sell it?” Ryan asked.
She glanced at her hands. The Parrish Hotel was as much a part of Point Pleasant as the historic Silver Bridge. Her family had invested decades in its growth. The idea of fluffing it off for financial gain was nothing short of sacrilege.
“I’m still undecided.” It wasn’t an entire lie. Part of her resisted the idea of unloading an institution that had been her family’s legacy. “Right now I’m using two weeks of my vacation time from Labor and Industry. I do clerical work, not the most exciting thing, but it’s a Commonwealth job, and the benefits are good. I don’t know the first thing about overseeing a hotel.”
“That’s what a manager is for.”
“I’m not sure I want to go that route.” The thought of entrusting so much to someone she didn’t know left her uneasy.
“You’ve got a lot on you,” Ryan conceded. “Half of the businesses on Main Street were forced to close.”
“But the hotel survived.”
“Along with the Crowne Theater. At least for now. Your aunt saw to the hotel’s prosperity. The Parrish name still has enough clout to draw visitors from neighboring states.”
She nodded and laced her hands on her lap. “I’ll look into it tomorrow.” Wrapping her head around the house was enough for the day. Suddenly, she didn’t want to think about the past or the pressing matters looming over her head. She simply wanted to bask in the warmth of seeing an old friend. “Thanks for bringing the vandalism report. I never would have pegged you as a cop. You always got into so much trouble as a kid.”
He laughed. “Odd how things turn out. What about you? Did you marry?”
“No.”
“I didn’t either. No luck yet, or just not ready to settle down. I can’t figure out which.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.” He’d always been a free spirit, much like Rosie, playful and prone to trouble. “What about Caden?” She hoped the query appeared as nothing more than the innocent probing of an old friend trying to catch up on the present. Her heart gave a little flutter when she thought of him. Amazing her long-buried attraction was still there.
“Caden’s single, too.” Ryan shook his head. “He’ll probably end up an old man living alone unless he moves past his guilt.”
“What do you mean?”
Ryan waved a hand as if brushing away the thought. “He hasn’t forgiven himself for taking Maggie shopping that night. Most of us have moved on. Caden hasn’t.”
She thought of herself, her mother. Their world had come to a crashing halt that cold December night when her father’s car fell into the Ohio River. And yet somehow they’d rummaged up the strength to continue. It had taken uprooting, leaving the shadow of the disaster behind in Point Pleasant, but somehow her mother had managed to put the pieces together for herself and her twelve-year-old daughter. Eventually, her mother had remarried, and Eve found herself with a stepfather. As much as she loved the man, part of her understood Caden’s refusal to relinquish the past.
“What about your parents?” She couldn’t help venturing the question given the odd discussion she’d had with Mrs. Flynn. Should she tell Ryan what his mother had said about Maggie…talking about her as if she were still alive?
He shrugged, and she sensed his reluctance. “My father passed away a few years ago.”
“I’m so sorry.” She had fond memories of Mr. Flynn.
“It was his lungs. All those years spent working in a coal mine finally caught up with him.”
“What about your mother?”
“She’s accepted his death, but Maggie’s…” Again a shrug that said far more than words. “A part of her died when that bridge went down.”
Eve bit her lip. She could understand Mrs. Flynn’s pain.
“Most of the time she’s okay,” Ryan continued. “But other times, she retreats into the past and insists Maggie is still alive. She talks about her as if they share discussions. It’s the reason I still live at home…to take care of her. She can be a handful when she’s in the past.”
Eve wasn’t sure what to say. So much tragedy had happened when the Silver Bridge collapsed. The town had suffered, but more than that, the populace had crumpled under the blow of individual losses. Fifteen years later, splinters of that residual pain reached far and wide.