Lighthouse Way (Huckleberry Bay 1)

“Well, that makes sense.” I glance over at Sarah and June, who have remained quiet, listening. “What do you think?”

“They’re right in that you can’t do it all yourself,” June says. “You’d hire employees anyway.”

“True.”

“But also,” Sarah adds, “I would like clarification on one thing. Are you asking to go into business with her, meaning you’ll own the kitchen? Or are you asking Luna to hire you as an independent contractor?”

“Honestly, we’ll take whatever we can get,” Darla says and turns to me. “If you want a partner, even if it’s a small percentage that only covers the kitchen, we’ll buy in and run that piece. If you simply want to contract with us, we’re happy to do that, too.”

“If we were to be owners,” Cordelia continues, “we would pay for the kitchen renovation.”

I gawk at her. “Cordelia, that’s one of the most expensive pieces of the project.”

“Trust me, we’re aware,” Mira says with a smile. “And while breakfast and a snack are included in the room rate, we would offer lunch—whether in the dining room or a to-go sack—as an add-on sale.”

“I absolutely love that you’re excited about the bed and breakfast,” I say slowly, thinking it over, feeling more than a tiny bit overwhelmed. “But we don’t know each other very well. Not yet, anyway. Why do you want to help me like this?”

“Because it’s going to be a success,” Darla says flatly. “We can feel it. Investing in our community, in a fellow kick-ass businesswoman, is something we want to do.”

“And I want to feed your guests,” Mira says. “I’ll take the breakfast shift here, five days a week.”

“Wow.” I need to take another sip of my wine, and when I do, I suddenly smell roses. And then one of the bedroom doors slams shut.

“What in the hell?” Darla asks.

“That’s Rose,” I inform them. “And you should know now while you can still change your minds, that she hangs out here often. Not just in the house but also in the barn, at the top of the lighthouse, and even at the gazebo.”

“A free-range ghost,” Cordelia says with a delighted laugh.

“She’s pretty harmless,” June says. “I hardly even know she’s around.”

“Has she shown herself to you?” I ask June in surprise.

“Mostly, she just moves stuff around,” she replies. “She has a sense of humor.”

“Well, that’ll bring adventure to our lives,” Cordelia adds. “And I can’t speak for my sisters, but it doesn’t scare me away.”

“Me, neither,” Mira adds.

“Nope,” Darla agrees.

“I’m going to take a couple of days to think about it,” I say. “I don’t want to make any rash decisions.”

“There’s no rush,” Darla assures me. “And don’t worry, we’ll talk you into it with our southern charm.”

She adds just a little more twang to her voice, making me laugh.

“It’s a very tempting offer. And I am grateful for it.”

“I think you should do it,” Sarah says after the sisters leave, and it’s just the three of us sipping the last of our wine and nibbling on the lemon bars that Mira made. “It takes a lot off your plate as they said.”

“But don’t let them bully you into it if you want to do it all yourself,” June adds. “I know you’ve had a vision in your mind for a long time for this, and you need to do what’s right for you.”

“Agreed,” Sarah says with a nod.

“I love the Three Sisters Restaurant,” I say slowly. “Like, love. The style, the smells, the menu, it’s all fantastic. And I like them a lot, too.”

“You’d want a really good contract drawn up,” June reminds me. “You can’t do something like this with a handshake.”

“Of course.” I nod and take a deep breath. “Let’s be honest, Mira is a hell of a lot better as a chef than I am.”

“You can still hire her as a contractor,” Sarah points out. “I don’t think either one is a bad idea. It’s just up to you to decide how you want to run your business.”

“She’s right,” June says.

“Thanks. I was hoping you guys would have a firm opinion one way or the other. This doesn’t help me.”

“At least you know we don’t hate one of the options,” June says.

“Yeah. I’ll sleep on it. June, I didn’t realize how far along you’d gotten out there already.”

“I have a good crew,” she says with a smile. “It might not be the fancy one that Wolfe has working down the hill, but we get the job done.”

“You have got to get over that,” I tell her.

“I’m not upset.”

Sarah and I both roll our eyes.

“I’m not.” June pouts for a second. “It’s just—”

“Nothing,” I interrupt. “It’s nothing, June. It’s his house, his property, and he’s not obligated to check with you on it. You’re so busy with the inn and other jobs you have all over town, him doing that actually took something off your plate.”