“You could do it one of two ways. Either hire people directly or set it up where the spa provides the facilities and equipment and charges basically a rental fee to practitioners, plus a percentage of their service costs.”
“Like a booth rental in a beauty shop,” Pru said.
“Exactly. That’d be the cheaper way to go. Let them be independent contractors, in charge of their own benefits and the like. The space rental would help cover renovation costs, and once that’s paid for, you could always change the model as business grew. Most of the rooms could be customized as you were able to add more services.”
“It could be done, mo mhuirnín,” Flynn murmured.
Pru took a firm grip on her excitement before it could run wild. “Yeah, but for how much?”
Porter crossed his arms and gave the whole place a considering stare. “I’ll have to work up an estimate. A lot of it could be done with reclaimed materials. Not a whole lot in that but sweat equity. The lion’s share of cost will be labor, and you’ll certainly get the family discount.”
“Thanks for that.”
“I’ll put together some numbers, draw up some designs,” he promised. “I know they have to pass Maggie, so I’ll do two versions—a phased renovation that would allow you to start sooner and expand as business improved, and a whole shebang, all-at-once version. You pair that with a business plan, and I think you’ve got a good shot at making her agree to this. It’d be good for the town and good for the inn as a whole.”
“Thank you, Porter.”
“No problem.” He looked to Flynn. “It’s a good idea.”
“The idea is all hers. I just saw a way to maybe make it happen sooner.”
“Either way,” Porter said. He stuck his hand out. “Welcome to family, man.”
Surprise flickered over Flynn’s face before he shook. “Thank you.”
“We should put our heads together about the business side of this,” Pru said to Abbey. “Your extra treatments have been booking up. I think the interest is there.”
“Definitely. I’ll put my thinking cap on tonight. You wanna talk numbers tomorrow?”
“Yeah.” Her mind already calculating outlay and service costs and prospective profit margins, Pru grinned. “Yeah, I do.”
“You pull this off and I just might move home for good.”
“Incentive!” Pru declared.
When they were alone, she turned and slipped her arms around Flynn. “Thank you.”
“For what? All I did was point out a possibility.”
“I would have put that off. I’d have told myself it was entirely out of reach and that it had to wait until a million other things were taken care of first, and I wouldn’t have even asked.”
“I know it’s something that’s important to you. It would make this family business more yours, I think, than what you have now. Certainly more to your interest. You deserve that.”
“You’ve made me think a lot about the things I deserve, the things I want.”
“Have I now?”
“I think maybe it’s time you move into my room.” Realizing he might like having his own space, she added, “If you want.”
His eyes went hot and sharp. “Oh, I want. But aren’t you worried about the Coogan woman?”
With a wry smile Pru shrugged. “I’m pretty sure that ship has sailed and cannot get any worse. I don’t know what’s going to happen or how long we’ll have. The fact is, I want you with me. I want to go to sleep with you and wake up next to you in the morning.”
He skimmed a hand through her hair. “Your face would certainly be a fine thing to see of a morning on the pillow next to mine. Let’s go get my stuff.”
~*~
“Keep everything nice and loose. No, make sure your elbow is aimed directly at the floor.” Flynn adjusted Ari’s stance. “Better. Don’t tuck your wrist in as you hold the fiddle. Straighten it out. There’s a girl.”