AllFreeNovel
Share Us
True enough, but still, she’d come through for Melanie — and me — and that meant a lot. I ventured, “Would you consider turning the house into a long-term rental if Melanie has a hard time finding a place to go?”
Hazel tilted her head to one side, considering my question. “Maybe,” she said after a long pause. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to take that plunge, but the truth is, I’m not renting the place as often as I’d hoped I would. Mavis has been renting her houses a lot longer than I have, so she has more reviews and is a Superhost, and it seems like people gravitate toward her properties because of that.”
I hadn’t even considered that aspect of the situation, but, to be fair, I didn’t know a lot about the ins and outs of running an Airbnb. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t know you were having such a hard time with it.”
Hazel shrugged, but waited to say anything until Rosa had set our glasses of water on the table, taken our taco order, and then departed once again. “If I were really relying on that income,” she replied, “I’d be more worried about it. But Chuck owns the ranch free and clear because of his parents leaving it to him, and my art is really taking off, so renting out the cottage is more of a side thing than anything else.”
“Well, just let me know,” I said, glad to hear that her Airbnb’s lack of success wasn’t a make-or-break element of her finances.
Hazel gave me a brief nod, then pursed her mouth slightly. “It seems like you’re going out of your way to make sure everything works out with Melanie.”
Maybe I was. But it was such a relief to have her there at the shop, to know that if things continued to go well, I’d have the freedom to go on maternity leave earlier than I’d planned, to schedule doctor’s visits without having to worry about trying to set them up either before or after I got off work. Now, if I absolutely had to drive into Mesa for a special test or something in the middle of the day, it wouldn’t make a huge difference one way or another.
“Well, I remember what it was like to look for housing back in L.A.,” I replied. “And it was a total pain.”
A quick flash of a smile. “I can believe that. But don’t worry — I definitely won’t be charging L.A. prices for my house.”
No, probably not. Even the Phoenix rental market was pretty crazy these days…at least, that’s what I’d heard…but no one could get away with demanding those kinds of rents in a quiet little backwater like Globe. There were a few people in town who commuted into Phoenix’s eastern suburbs, like Gilbert or Mesa, although they were definitely the minority. We just weren’t close enough to be considered a bedroom community for the sprawling megalopolis, and that meant the housing prices here were still pretty reasonable.
Rosa came by with our tacos then, and Hazel and I went on to chat about Archie and Victoria’s upcoming wedding, and a new gallery show Hazel would be putting on in late October, in a gallery in Gilbert whose owner had really taken a shine to her paintings. All ordinary enough topics, and yet I couldn’t quite ignore the stream of unease that ran beneath the surface of our conversation. For now, it seemed as if the blackmailer had held off, but what if he was holding back, just waiting to strike at a time that would cause the most trouble for my friends and their rapidly approaching nuptials? After all, you couldn’t rely on someone like that to show any compassion, or they would never have written that letter in the first place.
Luckily, Hazel didn’t seem to notice anything off about my expression or my tone of voice, and after we finished our snack, she gave me a quick smile and told me she’d see me next Wednesday for our girls’ spa day, if not sooner.
As I waved goodbye, another of those unsettling shivers of cold ran down my back, and I forced myself to smile in return. Maybe my auras were still on vacation in the Bahamas, but my sixth sense seemed to be telling me we might not be meeting for that spa day after all….
5
Scream in My Coffee
I said nothing to Calvin about my misgivings, however. For one thing, I had absolutely nothing to go on, just an overall sensation of foreboding, and for another, I knew I was pumped full of pregnancy hormones and could simply be imagining things. After all, if I’d lost my ability to see auras, maybe my gut feelings were nothing more than my body experiencing yet another change as I moved through my fourth month of pregnancy.
That Thursday at the store was quiet, so I took advantage of the downtime to walk Melanie through my inventory system and coach her as she placed an order with one of my vendors to get some more incense, which had gotten depleted lately by the local high school girls, who descended on the fragrant cones and sticks with frightening regularity. My new assistant seemed to pick up on everything with ease, telling me that not only did she already have experience with this sort of thing, but was smart enough to overcome the differences between the way I handled inventory and how it had been done at the previous places where she’d worked.
“And how’s the house working out for you?” I asked after she’d run down the street to Cloud Coffee to get us some sandwiches and iced green teas. My doctor had told me it was all right for me to have the mildly caffeinated drink every once in a while, and since I’d had a restless night the evening before, I was definitely in need of a little pick-me-up.
“Oh, great,” Melanie replied at once as she handed over my tea, followed by a ham and swiss croissant. “The house is really cute. Tell your friend Hazel thanks again for letting me stay there.”
That was just about what I’d expected to hear, because Hazel’s cottage was absolutely adorable in every way. Still, I was glad to hear Melanie approved of it as well. “How would you feel about staying there permanently?”
As soon as I asked the question, Melanie’s eyes widened. “Seriously? I thought it was just an Airbnb.”
“It is,” I replied. “But Hazel’s been thinking for a while that it might be better for her to switch it over to a long-term rental.”
“That would be fabulous,” Melanie breathed, then sipped some of her iced latte. However, her expression slipped a little as she added, “But wouldn’t a furnished place like that be pretty expensive?”
“I don’t think so,” I assured her. “Rents here in Globe are probably a lot more reasonable than what you’re used to. But Hazel’s still thinking about it, so I don’t think she’s even settled on a price yet.”
“I can give her whatever references she needs,” Melanie said quickly. “Luckily, the last place I lived was just month-to-month, so it was easy to get out of the rental agreement and come here.”
Yes, that was pretty handy. As I knew all too well from my time living in Los Angeles, it could get really tricky trying to find a new place that would line up with the day when your current lease ended. She was lucky that she’d been living in an apartment that had allowed the flexibility of a month-to-month agreement.
“Right now, we’re both pretty busy because of our friend’s wedding on the fourteenth,” I said. “But after that, I’ll see if Hazel has figured out what she wants to do about the cottage.”
Melanie seemed agreeable to that plan, and we ate our sandwiches quickly, just in case we might get some post-lunch shoppers. I supposed I should have set up some kind of lunch schedule so she wouldn’t be on the clock the whole time, but I had to admit I hadn’t even thought about that. When I was working on my own, I took a lunch break whenever it felt right, and hung up my little “be back at” sign so I could go grab something from Cloud Coffee or whatever, but legally, my assistant needed at least a half-hour official lunch, and fifteen-minute breaks in the morning and afternoon.
“Sorry about this,” I said as she dropped her sandwich wrapper in the trash, and she gave me a questioning look.
“About what?”
