Page 10 of The Workaholic Down the Hall

Like the rest of the house, the kitchen was a mix between old and new, with state of the art appliances and counter tops, but with an antique brass hood and the moldings and woodwork details of an older house.

“Good morning, Nora. Where do you want me to start working today?”

Nora startled and looked back at me over her shoulder. “There's no rush, dear. Have a seat and I'll fix you something to eat.”

“I usually just have tea in the morning.”

Nora spun all the way around and glared, eyebrows high. “You can't get by on nothing but tea when you're creating a human being. I've already fed the four guests we have here this week, and I'm trying a new recipe. You can be my guinea pig.”

My stomach rumbled with unhappiness. “How about you put me to work and I'll try it in an hour when I have more of an appetite?”

Nora studied me for several long seconds. “I guess you could start in the office. I'm afraid I'm not the most organized person. And I really know so little about this social media Cody says I should use to find new customers. Would that be something that might interest you?”

Organization was my happy place. I hadn't had much call to work with social media in my previous jobs, but I was certainly more tech-savvy than Nora, I assumed. I was pretty sure I could at least get her started. “That sounds wonderful. Just point me in the right direction.”

“It's through that door right there,” she said, pointing to a door just off the kitchen. “It used to be the mudroom.”

I stood and headed that way. Normally, I'd have tea before I did anything else, but having to switch to herbal tea and give up caffeine had made it less of a daily priority. I opened the door Nora had pointed out, flipped the switch to illuminate the small space and slapped a hand to my mouth to cover my loud gasp. Without turning, I slowly pulled the door closed behind me and dropped my hand. “Holy shit,” I murmured.

The room was small, not much larger than a walk-in closet, and every inch of it was covered with books and papers and computer equipment. I found a desk chair next to what appeared to be a small desk and I picked up the books and papers there so I could sit. There were three books about running a bed and breakfast, one about operating a computer, and a legal pad with handwritten notes about guests. I sighed. This was so much worse than I'd expected. The computer wasn't even hooked up and parts of it were still in boxes. I looked around at the overwhelming mess of a room and a tingle of excitement started in the pit of my belly and rolled through me until I could the smile curled my lips. It had been a long time since I'd had a challenge of such epic proportions.

I cleared one corner of the room to make space on the floor, and started constructing piles. One was for information about guests, another was for utilities and bills, a third was for miscellaneous expenses, a fourth was for income earned, some of which were checks Nora had yet to deposit, and a fifth was for instructional books. I got lost in my own tiny world, organizing and arranging, and was so deep in my thoughts that I startled when a knock sounded at the door.

Nora stepped inside, a filled plate in her hand. Her eyes widened and she frowned. “Aubrey, you've moved everything around. How will I find anything?”

I bit my lip. Hard. “I promise everything will be easier to find when I'm done. Is that your new creation?”

She looked down at the plate like she'd forgotten she was holding it. “Actually, I did a little Google search. There was too much sodium, too much meat, and a soft cheese in my creation, none of which is good for a pregnant woman.”

“I'm sure it would have been fine. You can't believe everything you read on the Internet.”

She pursed her lips. “You may be willing to take risks with my grandbaby, Aubrey, but I am not. I made you an egg white omelet with mushrooms, tomatoes, and peppers.”

It was difficult not to take offense at Nora's suggestion that I wasn't concerned for the wellbeing of my baby, but I pulled in a deep breath and let her words roll away. When I'd first found out I was pregnant, I'd gone a bit crazy worrying about all the ways I might have hurt the baby before I'd known I was pregnant. It was kind of nice that she cared so much, it wasn't a sign that she thought I was an idiot or a negligent mother. That's what I told myself, and I tried my best to believe it. I took the plate, suddenly starving, and was amazed at how good it tasted. I was one of those rare people who didn't love breakfast foods, but Nora might just change my mind. “This is…Delicious.”

Nora fluttered her hands nervously. “It's really terrible for digestion to eat standing up.” She grabbed my elbow and pulled the plate from my hand. “Come sit in the kitchen.”

I followed her out to the kitchen and sat. I tried to think of the best way to bring up my next question as I ate. I pushed away my empty plate. “I noticed a lot of how-to books in there,” I said, keeping my tone light.

Her cheeks pinked. “You know my dream was always to have horses, maybe board horses and give lessons. When I realized Cody could use my help here with the bed and breakfast, I figured it couldn't be that hard. The family's been in the hotel business for almost three decades. I worked in hotels for years, but I never dealt with the day-to-day stuff of running the place. Even when we built the Reynolds Resorts line, I didn't have a hand in the organizational aspects. I was allowed to dream up ideas and help with decorating.”

I nodded. I didn't bother to tell her that Noah had struggled for years to clean up those more mundane aspects of the company because his father had also been more interested in big ideas than in what he called, 'the boring stuff.' “But you still plan to have horses here?”

She nodded. “Unless Cody kicks me out, first. We've had several guests since we opened, but not enough to keep the place running.”

“I think a name might be a good start. We can't advertise by calling it the bed and breakfast.”

Her flush deepened. “I'm sure you're right. I've been trying to come up with something. It needs to fit in with the name of the winery, but…”

Clearly, she'd been struggling more than she let on, more than she wanted to admit. I wasn't happy to see her upset, but I was glad I could be of actual use there, that I was needed. “We'll figure it out,” I said. “I don't know anything about running a bed and breakfast either, but we're two smart women and I know we can figure it out together.”

She let out a heavy sigh. “Thank you, Aubrey. I'm so very glad you're here.” She placed her hand over mine and my earlier annoyance with her faded. “Cody's been so busy renovating the barn, making wine, and getting everything ready so he can plant vines in the spring. I haven't wanted to bother him or let on how lost I am, but having you here is making me feel better already.”

***

“Honey.” Nora stuck her head into the office. “Would you mind keeping an eye on the front? I need to run into town to get groceries.”

“Sure.” I turned away from the computer, where'd I'd been crafting an automatic email newsletter for prior guests, and met Nora's gaze. “Are you expecting anyone?”

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