“Wait, Flynn’s been working at the inn?”
“Seamlessly. He’s great at it.”
Shock rippled over Kennedy’s features before she waved it away. “I’m sorry for not being here, for not realizing I was leaving you in the lurch with having to manage my brainchild on top of your own established business, by yourself.
Pru just shook her head. “That’s not my point. The point is, there have been dozens of queries through the website about more. I think we have a reasonable market for a day spa.”
“A day spa.” Kennedy kicked back against the counter, a considering look on her face. “I admit I gave it a little thought when we moved your massage studio into the house, but we were so busy getting everything renovated and up and running, I hadn’t gone any further than that.”
“Abbey and I have been working on a plan.” Pru pulled out the sheaf of papers she’d brought, showing the list of prospective services and price lists and estimated business, based on the interest from the past couple of weeks. “Like the original business plan you wrote up for the inn, this could be ramped up as income allowed.”
“But what about space? Other than your studio and the family spaces, the rest of the house is entirely devoted to the inn.”
“That’s the other thing I came to talk to you about.” She pulled out the first of the drawings. “I had Porter put these together based on the ideas Abbey and I had. This is how we could renovate the barn. He’s already sent over initial estimates on cost, and I’m working on crunching the numbers to show how fast we could pay for it through a couple of different business models.”
Kennedy slowly scanned the drawings. “This is amazing. He could really do this with our barn?” She gave a little laugh. “What am I saying? It’s Porter. Of course, he can do this with our barn.”
“It was Flynn’s idea to use the space. I was thinking some kind of addition way on down the line. But using the barn would put this much closer to achievable. And the income from the spa would help offset those times when the inn itself isn’t full.”
“It’s a good idea, Pru.”
“I know.” She had faith in it because Flynn had faith in her. “I want to propose it to Maggie and Athena as the next phase. I need your help solidifying the business plan before I present it.”
“You’re the one who supported me in the idea of an inn to begin with. Of course, I’ll support you in this. But do you really want to do this now? While everything hangs in the balance with Ari?”
“The situation with Ari is going to be a lot of hurry up and wait. I’m worried enough about the whole thing—I need something to distract me. This will do it, and it’s something that will ultimately benefit the entire family.”
Kennedy gave her a long study before finally nodding. “Okay. I’m starting back to work at the tavern tonight, but if you can hook me up with the numbers you and Abbey have run, and the rest of it, I can get started converting all of that to a business plan that will justify how we’d pay for the renovation, based on Porter’s calculations.”
“Thank you. I’ll start putting out feelers for other prospective service providers. Having a list of potential staff should also weigh in our favor.”
“Maggie does love having all the details worked out,” Kennedy agreed.
They lapsed into silence. That was her cue to go. “I need to be getting back. We’re still turning rooms from this weekend, and I’ve got clients booked all afternoon.” She headed for the door.
“Pru?”
She turned back to see Kennedy watching her with concern.
“Are we okay?”
Were they? Probably not. No matter what she said, Kennedy was going to believe that her relationship with Flynn was a bad idea. Nothing but time and having things settled with Ari was going to change her mind. But this was a step in the right direction.
“I think we will be. I love you, sis. Welcome home.”
~*~
You are going to the special hell, Flynn thought. Surely that was the penalty for lying to a man of the cloth. Yet here he was, sitting across from Reverend Hodgson, with a pot of fresh coffee and a plate of cookies between them, as he accepted congratulations on his engagement.
“I was just so surprised when Crystal mentioned it,” the reverend said.
“Crystal?” Flynn asked.
“Crystal Blue, the owner of the diner,” he explained. “She was out here Friday night for the music.”
“Oh right.” By now, everyone in town knew. Even the checker at the grocery store had offered her felicitations. Flynn was just having a little trouble keeping up with all the connections.
“Anyway, Pru’s been part of the congregation for such a long time now, and she never breathed a word.”