Page 8 of Lakehouse Mistletoe
Kacey nodded. “That’s a great idea. I was going to see if Carolina would decorate the inside of the house as well, but I know she must be slammed with customers this time of year. I need to write that in my schedule. I would love to have it done early.”
Helen paused. “I can do that in my spare time, if you would like.”
Kacey smiled. “If you can just get this bed and breakfast running like an engine, that would be enough for me. Besides, there is a lot to do beyond preparing breakfast. Checking in and checking out guests, handling reservations, etc. There is also laundry, cleaning, and getting the rooms flipped in time for the next guest. I’ve written them all down here.” She tapped the binder.
Helen nodded. “I like to keep busy. I think this is the perfect job for me.”
Rebecca smiled. “I think so too. I have a good feeling about this, Helen.” She stood and put her coffee cup in the sink. “Let me give you a full tour and then we will get out of your way.”
Helen followed Rebecca around the large house. She took in the character and charm and hoped she would, in some small way, add her own personal touch to the home.
After the tour, Rebecca showed her to the room she would be staying in on the lower floor of the house.
A slight wave of sadness washed over her at the small room. Helen quickly shook her feelings away and headed out to her car to bring her meager belongings in.
This was her home now, and she needed to start leaving the past where it belonged and focus on a new beginning.
Chapter 5
After getting a quick tour of the house, Helen was left on her own. Kacey had three clients to show houses to, and Rebecca headed off to work at the bank. They had given her a cellphone for the B&B. She was shown how to answer the phone and take reservations. If she needed anything, she could also call either of them throughout the day. They were sorry they couldn’t stay longer, but Helen understood and was eager to start working.
She was quite impressed that the two young women had such successful careers and were taking on a second business as bed and breakfast owners. It made her regret not being more independent when she was younger.
Shaking off her depressive thoughts, Helen grabbed a clipboard that she’d found in the binder that Rebecca had left for her.
Currently they had three guests booked. Jackie, Kacey’s cousin, Mr. and Mrs. Hill, and Mrs. Lewis. Tonight, they would be adding a fourth guest, Ms. Wells.
All the guests had left for the day after a quick breakfast of donuts and coffee. Helen would have cooked but there hadn’t been enough time to prepare, and Rebecca had already made breakfast reservations for the guests in town for anyone not wanting donuts.
Helen walked into the laundry room and glanced around. There were two washers and dryers. It was smart of the owners to get two since laundry would be a daily chore. There were white cabinets above the washers which had laundry detergent and cleaning supplies. Vacuum cleaner, broom, and duster were pushed up against a wall. She opened a closet and found bed linens, pillowcases, towels, and refills for shampoo, conditioner, and soap.
Helen glanced down at the clipboard and looked at the requests of the guests.
Jackie had requested a light cleaning of her room which was composed of new towels, her bed made, and refills of the tea service in her room.
Helen found a fabric house cleaning caddy with straps and grabbed enough supplies for that room along with a duster.
Mr. and Mrs. Hill had requested new towels. They were an older couple who were on their anniversary trip. Helen grabbed enough towels and placed them in her house cleaning caddy.
Mrs. Lewis had requested privacy and only towels placed in front of her door.
According to Kacey, Mrs. Lewis was a private person who had been a walk-in booking. She was quiet and had kept to herself.
Helen grabbed some more towels and added them to the supply in her house cleaning caddy. She tugged a few garbage bags off a roll and added them to her supply.
She put the clipboard in her house cleaning caddy and headed upstairs. Helen reached for the doorknob and then stopped.
Instead, she knocked. “Housekeeping.”
Of course no one answered, but she needed to get in the practice of saying it. She pulled the keys out of her pocket of the red apron that Rebecca had given her and opened the door. This was Jackie’s room, and Helen shook her head at the state of the room.
Clothes were strewn on the floor and fast-food wrappers cluttered the small antique desk.
She set the house cleaning caddy down, put on some rubber gloves, and headed into the bathroom.
Helen made quick work of picking up the dirty towels and wiped down the countertop. She topped off the shampoo, conditioner, and body wash dispensers in the shower.
She put the dirty towels outside the room and placed fresh towels neatly on the counter.
