Page 45 of Beachcomber Motel
“This is a great spot.” Kayleigh gestured toward the ocean with her glass of lemonade. Her black nail polish contrasted with the pink swirling liquid as ice cubes clinked against the sides of the etched-glass vintage tumbler they’d found in the kitchen cupboard.
“Thanks. Our grandmother left it to us,” Jules said from her perch on the railing.
Maddie said a silent prayer that there was no dry rot inside the railing, like there had been on the porch floorboards. Hopefully, Dex would have checked that out and mentioned it if he’d noticed.
This was nice, all the hard work behind them and just entertaining. She knew there would be more work as they tended to the needs of the guests over the week, but the good news was it was only a few days, so they wouldn’t have to do any heavy cleaning until they left. Of course, that was also the bad news. Their income would be over once the guests did leave.
“Tell us about the contest.” Gina leaned forward, holding her lemonade glass between her knees. “How does it work? Will you need to do a lot to the old donut shop building to set up?”
“Not too much. The kitchen is already configured perfectly, so it’s mostly a matter of stocking ingredients,” Stacy said.
“The ingredients get shipped in tomorrow, and we’ll fill up the fridge and pantry,” Kayleigh added.
“Then we just need to rearrange so we can put the camera equipment in the right places for Robert.” Marilyn gestured toward the man squatting at the top of the stairs to snap a shot of a sailboat in the distance. “And move those booths and tables so we can have a small audience. Which reminds me, you guys are invited to watch the taping.”
“Thanks. So tomorrow you set up the venue, then the contest starts Monday, right?” Maddie asked.
Marilyn nodded. “That’s right.”
“When do the contestants arrive?” Jules asked.
“Tomorrow night,” Marilyn said. “Don’t expect them to be as chatty as we are. They mostly stay in their rooms and focus on the show. Besides, we start rehearsing at five a.m., then the taping starts at nine and goes until seven. That way we can get five days of competition into two days.”
Gina frowned. “You do? I didn’t realize that. On the TV show it’s five days.”
Stacy smiled. “We make it seem that way, but it’s more cost-effective if we do the taping in two days. It’s still the same competition, just with less time for sleeping in between eliminations.”
“That makes sense.” Jules stood. “Well, I’m going to wash out these glasses, and I’ll put coffee in the lobby later on. Let us know if you need anything for your rooms.”
Chapter Thirty-One
“Ithink we’re going to need a bigger washing machine.” Jules was pulling wet towels out of the washing machine in the small laundry room next to the motel kitchen. She’d barely slept the night before, the full responsibility of running the motel finally hitting her.
“Lucky thing we don’t have to do a room refresh every day.” Maddie held her hand out for the next towel and shoved it into the dryer. Like most motels, they’d opted for room changes and fresh towels every third day instead of every day because it was better for the environment. It also saved them a lot of work.
“We’re going to need to hire a cleaning crew,” Gina said.
Jules glanced at her cousin, expecting a look of distaste on her face, but she merely looked pensive. Jules figured in her rich lifestyle, she wouldn’t get her hands dirty with laundry, but while that might have been the case before, she got the impression maybe Gina didn’t mind pitching in anymore.
“And get more towels.” Maddie stuffed another one into the dryer. “I was also thinking we should get some beach towels and stock the rooms with them.”
Gina leaned one shoulder against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. “Now we’ll really need a loan. Remember how they used to steal them at the Surfstone?”
Jules laughed. “Gram would get so mad. But she always said that it made a nice presentation to supply them in the rooms, so it was worth it.”
Maddie put the last towel in and turned the dryer on. “We’re going to need an influx of cash for all that. I wish we would get some word on that loan.”
Jules felt the weight of her cousin’s stare. “Nick said he was working on it, but we also need to find a way to capitalize on the momentum the baking contest will bring to Shell Cove. Getting the loan would be great, but let’s not forget we have to repay it, and for that, we need a continuous flow of tourists.”
“Good point. I think the current influx will last for a few weeks. The contest goes on TV next week, and that might bring even more people in. Ocean Brew was crammed this morning, and there were people milling around town, so word is already out.” Gina had gone to Ocean Brew to pick up coffees for the three of them that morning.
“That’s great. At least there will be some sort of buzz about the town. We just need to figure out a way to keep it going.”
“It looks like you’ll have to work another miracle and come up with something as interesting as theNew England Baking Contestto draw people in.” Gina winked at Maddie.
Maddie snorted. “You make it sound so easy.”
Ding!
