Page 26 of What About Us
Allie is one of two of my part-timers at Timber Haven. She and Skye cover nights and weekends. They’ve both been great, and having them here has allowed me to work less. If working almost one-hundred hours a week can be considered less. Since they’re both in college, working nights at the B&B allows them to sleep the majority of their shifts, and when guests are out, there is plenty of time for them to study.
“Hey, Finn,” Allie says, coming out of the kitchen and wiping her hands on a dish towel.
“Sorry I’m late.” It’s just after five-thirty a.m. and I usually get here by five to go over any issues from the night before. “Rough night.”
She smiles at me. “No worries.”
I slip out of my flannel, hanging it by the door. “Any problems?”
“Nope. Pretty uneventful.”
I nod and start sifting through a stack of mail before heading for the kitchen. I need coffee because I walked off without the cup Hudson made, leaving it on the kitchen counter.
Allie trails behind me into the kitchen. “I already prepped the eggs and put them back into the fridge. The bread has been sliced, and I refilled the sugar and creamer bowls, as well as the salt and pepper shakers, and put out more napkins. All that’s left to do is to cut up the fruit.”
Dropping the mail on the counter, I let out a low whistle and turn to her with brows raised. “Someone’s been busy this morning.”
We serve a hot breakfast for guests, which I, Allie, or Skye prepare, depending on the day. Since we’ve only got three rooms occupied and five guests today, it’ll be a light morning.
Allie laughs. “I woke up at four and couldn’t go back to sleep.” She shrugs. “Figured I might as well do something useful.”
“Are you nervous for your test?”
“Nope,” she says and picks up her coffee mug, taking a sip. “Just couldn’t sleep for some reason.” Allie is taking a summer semester, and even though she’s a good student, she’s mentioned that she sometimes gets nervous when taking tests.
“Well, listen. If you’re tired, go ahead and take off. I can manage breakfast this morning.”
Allie takes another sip of her coffee, eyeing me over the rim of the mug. “You sure?”
I nod and smile at her. “Of course,” I say, splashing cream into my mug.
She shrugs. “Ok. Thanks, Finnley.” After she empties her mug into the sink and rinses it, she stacks it into the dishwasher. “See you this evening.”
After Allie is gone, I check to make sure the laundry from yesterday is folded and put away.
I’m just pulling dishes out to take into the dining room when the timer on the oven goes off. I slide on oven mitts and open the top oven, slipping out the tray of cinnamon rolls to place onto a cooling rack. The icing Thalia delivered with them is ready to go, and as soon as they’ve cooled enough, I can ice them.
Then, I restock toilet paper in the downstairs bathroom and powder room and double-check that water bottles and snacks are full in the living area. After that, I set up my laptop and check emails.
I can hear a few guests moving around upstairs and some filtering into the dining room. Hutch and his horde of subcontractors completely renovated this place when I bought it from Wren, but it’s still an older home. So, you can almost always hear the water running through the pipes when a toilet is flushed or a shower is running. Some people might be turned off by that, but I feel like it’s one of the things that makes Timber Haven feel like a home away from home.
The biggest renovation included adding a bathroom to one of the upstairs bedrooms and several upgrades to the kitchen that allowed me to add a second oven and another dishwasher. And the larger fridge and freezer give me plenty of room for the food items I keep on hand. I don’t serve a full menu—only breakfast and light snacks, like cookies and pastries. So, it works well.
I set about making scrambled eggs and toast, and then head into the dining room to set up the sideboard with coffee, juice, and hot water for tea. Every evening, we have the guests fill out a breakfast form for what they would like for breakfast and make everything to order. I like the feel of a family-style meal, and it’s one of the things about the B&B that gets the biggest reviews. People love the atmosphere of being able to come downstairs and eat at the table like they do at home.
This is one of my favorite parts of running Timber Haven. I love the cozy atmosphere, and even though it might seem strange to some to eat breakfast at a table with complete strangers, in the two months since opening, I’ve yet to have a guest or group of guests that weren’t friendly to me or to one another. In fact, by the end of their stay, most of the guests are on a first name basis with one another.
Growing up, it was just me and my mom. So, we never had a full house. It was always the thing I longed for most, and having the B&B is kind of like fulfilling that dream for me.
It’s one of the reasons I love spending so much time with Hudson’s family. It’s loud and chaotic, and sometimes a bit much, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything. When I became friends with Hudson our junior year of high school, I sort of became an honorary Hayes kid.
I fill my arms with plates to carry them into the dining room. After setting each plate in front of its respective guest and double-checking coffee refills, I head back into the kitchen just in time to hear my phone ding. Pulling it from my back pocket, I see a text from Hudson and two from this guy named Brad, who I’ve gone out with a couple of times. He’s nice enough, but I haven’t talked to him in a while.
Clicking on Brad’s messages first, I scan them. He’ll be in town in a couple of weeks and wants us to get together. I type out a quick message to text me when he’s in town, and then click into Hudson’s message.
Huddy:Helping Hutch out at his place tonight. Might be late. Raincheck on our rematch?
Finnley:Of course. Need me to pick up Paige from the ranch?
