Page 12 of Lakehouse Mistletoe
Rebecca grinned. “I’m so glad.” She glanced down at the guests’ breakfast requests. “So, you have three more guests to cook for?”
She nodded. “Yes, but Mrs. Lewis only wanted to have coffee, yogurt, and toast. And the other guests won’t be down until another twenty minutes.”
Rebecca clasped her hands together. “Perfect. That gives us time to chat.” She pulled out a chair and sat. Kacey and Helen followed her lead.
Rebecca cocked her head. “I’ve had some brainstorming ideas myself. Since Thanksgiving is in a few days, I would like to try to offer our guests a special dinner.”
Helen nodded. “Will we be fully booked? I meant to look yesterday, but time got away from me.”
Kacey shook her head and pulled out her phone. “Actually, no. We will have only two guests. One is a Mr. Wimbly, who is sixty-seven. And the second guest is Mr. Huntsforth. He’s thirty-one. Both will be spending Thanksgiving Day and checking out on Friday.”
Helen nodded. “Okay, so what do you think about me making Thanksgiving dinner? It would be a good trial run to see if you want to offer dinners in the future.”
Kacey and Rebecca both nodded.
“That’s what I was thinking.” Rebecca cocked her head. “Are you sure it’s not too much. Thanksgiving is only a few days away, and you have so much on your plate already.”
Helen opened her mouth to say it wouldn’t be a bother. But that wasn’t the reason she wanted to do it.
She cleared her throat. “This will be my first Thanksgiving since my divorce, and I have never spent it alone. I think I would much rather focus on making dinner for our guests than wondering what my ex-husband is doing with his new girlfriend.”
Rebecca’s brows knit together. “Oh, Helen, you are more than welcome to spend Thanksgiving with me and my mom. You don’t have to spend it alone.”
Kacey nodded. “That’s right. And you are more than welcome to come over to my house. It’s just going to be me and my husband this year so it will be cozy.”
Helen’s chest felt lighter. “I appreciate that. Both of you. But I think I’d rather spend Thanksgiving here. Who knows? If the dinner goes great, maybe I can make Christmas dinner for the guests.” Helen tapped a finger to her lips. “You know, I could start off just offering dinners on special holidays instead of doing dinners every night.”
Kacey’s eyes widened. “Why didn’t I think of that? Helen, I think you’re right.”
Rebecca grinned. “I knew we made the right decision when we hired you.” She glanced at the time on the phone. “I have to run, but let’s talk tonight about the Thanksgiving menu.”
Helen nodded and looked over at Jackie’s menu. “That works for me. Now I better get started on the rest of these breakfasts.”
Chapter 8
After making sure all the guests had everything they needed for breakfast, Helen decided to head out onto the front porch with a cup of coffee. Grabbing her coat, she took her broom with her to sweep away any leaves that had blown onto the steps.
The cold, crisp air had her inhaling deep as she stepped outside. She shivered and wrapped her scarf tighter against her neck.
Her phone buzzed in her apron pocket. She leaned her broom against the house and pulled her phone out.
Hope you have a great holiday. This holiday will be different without you.
She cringed when she read it and promptly tossed her phone back in her pocket. Carl must have gotten a new number. The question was, how had he gotten the number to the bed and breakfast?
Since the divorce, he’d not tried to contact her, so she wasn’t sure what he was trying to do now.
It was best for everyone if they never spoke again.
Picking up the broom, Helen began sweeping the porch. When she was done, she went over to the seating area. She picked up leaves off the chairs and fluffed up the pillows. She found an empty ceramic coffee mug from one of the guests. After she swept the steps and made sure it looked inviting, she picked up the coffee mug and her broom and headed inside.
She could hear guests moving around upstairs. Mr. and Mrs. Hill were leaving today, along with Mrs. Lewis. Tomorrow morning would only be two for breakfast.
Helen glanced around the dining room. She grabbed the large tray and placed the dirty dishes in it. After taking the dishes into the kitchen and putting them in the dishwasher, she went back into the dining room. She wiped down the tables, scooted the chairs under the tables, and swept the floor. She bent and opened the cabinet of the large sideboard and pulled out some bottled water to place in the refrigerator.
Her gaze landed on a basket of linens. She sifted through them and realized there were a lot of Christmas themed tablecloths and napkins. Some were even vintage.
This pulled a smile out of her as she thought of how she could decorate the table for Thanksgiving dinner and then, afterwards, Christmas dinner.
