“I have a question for you.” Andie hoped she wasn’t bringing up bad memories or being insensitive, but she needed this information. “When you ran the boutique motels, did you advertise in any special magazines or websites for people looking for that sort of experience?”
Jules brightened again, and Andie felt relieved that her questions had cheered her instead of having the opposite effect. “We did. There’s an online website for that, and you can buy ads.”
“Oh? Can you send me the URL?”
“Sure.” Jules took her phone out and swiped to Andie’s contact number.
“Is this for the Thompson house?” Mary asked. “How are things going?”
“Great, actually.” Andie filled them in on the loan acceptance and Sally and Shane’s offer. “If their estimate comes in at a good price, we need to get moving quickly. The sooner Emily can get those units done, the sooner money will come in. It will be a few months until she gets any money from selling the antiques at auction.”
“That sounds great.” Jules seemed genuinely excited for them. “I’ll message you with some other ideas that worked for Gram’s motels.”
“Thanks. The only fly in the ointment could be the inspection. You know how Damien Carruthers has it in for me and Emily.”
Jules pursed her lips. “Ugh… But does he do that type of inspection, too, or just for the events?”
Mary cut in. “It doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t worry about that. He can’t make things up, and anything he finds can be corrected. It’s a bit different from the event where you didn’t have the time. Besides, I don’t think you need to worry about Mr. Carruthers.”
Mary sounded so sure of that, Andie turned to her. “Really? Why not?”
“Just focus on the job.” Mary’s eyes twinkled. “Sounds like you’ll be working a lot with Shane.” Mary glanced over at Jules, and they both wiggled their brows.
“Yes, but it’s just work.” Andie blushed at their insinuation. They were reading too much into it because itwasjust work, after all. But deep down she wondered if working more closely might lead to something else.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Sally dropped off the estimate.” Emily handed Andie a piece of paper. It was early morning, and they were sitting at the table on the Thompsons’ porch.
The paper was a mass of scribbles and drawings with one big number underlined at the bottom. “Twenty-five thousand? That’s all?” It was quite a bit under the amount they’d budgeted.
Emily looked excited. “I know. Isn’t that great?”
Andie wasn’t quite as excited. She was no expert on renovations, but this didn’t seem like enough. Had Sally and Shane cut their prices? They needed to earn a living, too, and she didn’t want any favors. But this wasn’t for her. It was for Emily and the Thompson family. Maybe she should just gracefully accept it. “It is great. Let’s call and ask when they can start.”
Andie felt awkward about calling Shane. On the one hand, it would be a good excuse to talk to him, but did she really need an excuse? She’d be working with him every day soon enough. She called Sally, who assured her the price was plenty for them to make decent money and they could start right away.
Andie hung up and turned to Emily, excitement welling up inside her. She hadn’t realized how much she was looking forward to turning the old dilapidated Thompson house into something better. To make it useful again. It was the same feeling she’d had when she’d helped Jane with Tides. The feeling of doing something good.
“Sally and Shane are going to be here after lunch hour to go over the plans and figure out exactly what supplies they need to start, which means we better get busy cleaning out that area. I figured we should do the renovation in the units first then move to the outside. James said the bank won’t be around to inspect our work for a few months.” Andie opened the screen door to the kitchen. There was no time to waste.
Two hours later, they’d managed to move most of the smaller items into the living room. They’d sorted them into piles; one to keep, one for auction, and one to use to decorate the rental units. They were moving a heavy oak dresser inch by inch and stopped to rest in the middle of the hallway.
Emily blew her bangs off her forehead. “I really appreciate this help. I know I’m not paying you enough. We need to discuss that. And I want to apologize for how I treated you when we first met.”
Andie waved off the apology. “Forget it. You were only reacting to what you had heard.”
“I should have known not to listen to my mother. One day she feels one way, and the next day it’s the opposite.”
“I can relate to that.”
“Funny how they keep going from friends to enemies.”
Andie secured her long hair in a ponytail at the top of her head so her hair was off her neck. It was sweltering, and her hair on her neck felt like a wool blanket. “Seems like they have a lot of good memories. I wish they could just focus on those.”
“Me too. It’s weird, they still remember details from when they were little girls, but not what they had for breakfast. Mom sure does love this place.” Emily pressed her lips together as she looked around. “I hope making these rental units doesn’t upset her.”
“It’s necessary to keep the house.”
