A Nantucket Affair (Nantucket Beach Plum Cove #4)(9)

Kristen followed her sister’s lead and had to agree. “This is really good.”

Beth went back to Kate’s comment about the project sounding expensive.

“It is our most expensive renovation to date, but we think we got the house for a good price and should still see a good profit at the end.”

“I can’t wait to see it when it’s all done and decorated. Will you do an open house, like the others?” Angela asked.

For the past two flips, that had been exactly what Beth and Chase had done. They’d worked with Lauren as their realtor, and as much as Kristen disliked her as a girlfriend for Chase, she recognized that she was an excellent and savvy realtor. Lauren had suggested the strategy of holding an open house the first weekend the property was on the market. They held a private realtor open house the week before and said that no showings would be held until after the open house.

Once they saw the house and the gorgeous renovation job, the realtors had all scrambled to bring their best clients to the open house, and Chase and Beth received multiple same-day offers. Kristen hoped the same thing would happen with this house. The thought of spending so much money made her nervous, though. Kristen was the most conservative one in the family, as she’d had to learn how to make her money stretch in between sales of her paintings.

Beth nodded. “Yes, I’ll let you know once we schedule the open house. We’re aiming for just before or after July Fourth.” The island was always packed that weekend, so assuming all went well, they should have plenty of traffic for the open house.

“Angela, how is everything going with your business?” Kate asked. Once Angela had decided to stay on Nantucket, she put all of her energy into finishing up her last few college courses online and building her cleaning business.

“It’s going better than expected, actually.” She grinned. “I never would have imagined that studying marketing would help me to do cleaning full-time. I do love it, though. I’ve hired a few more cleaners, both full and part-timers, and I’m planning to target the summer market, the people that are here in their huge, gorgeous homes for the season or even just a week or two. I can help them get the houses all cleaned and ready for them when they arrive.”

Kristen was impressed. “That’s a great idea. And I bet there’s a big need for it.”

“It seems like there might be. I talked to a friend of Rhett’s that runs a placement network of sorts. He fields calls from hotels and restaurants mostly, looking for people. But he said he also gets calls from visitors looking for private chefs or house cleaners and he can’t always service them. So he may send some referrals my way. And it gave me the idea to reach out and target those people directly, too.”

Kate looked intrigued. “That’s brilliant. Are you using Facebook ads to do some of your marketing?”

“I’m starting to. So far, I’ve mostly just visited local realtors and given them my business cards. I may want to pick your brain a bit as I know you’ve done a great job for the inn.”

“I’m happy to show you what I’m doing. Let’s get together soon for coffee and I can walk you through it.”

Angela looked grateful. “Thank you, I’d love that.”

“How are things going with Tyler?” Abby changed the subject. Kristen suspected that the business talk bored her.

“It’s going pretty well. He still seems to be dealing with his mother’s death, mostly by keeping to himself and focusing on his writing. Which isn’t a bad thing, I suppose. It gives him something to direct his energy toward.”

Abby frowned. “That doesn’t sound overly healthy. I’ve seen Andrew out and about, and he seems to be doing well. He’s always so upbeat and friendly.”

“Andrew is the complete opposite of his brother. He’s all light and sunny, while Tyler is more dark and moody. Tyler’s a much better fit for me, though.”

“Oh, I know he is. I didn’t mean to imply anything. I like Tyler, too. It just seems like maybe he should talk to someone. Has he been to a grief counselor or anything like that?”

Kristen shook her head. “No. I suggested it, but he wants no part of going. I think it’s a guy thing, maybe. They think it’s a sign of weakness. I’ll suggest it again, though, when it feels like the right time to bring it up. He shut me down fast when I mentioned it just a few days ago.”

“Maybe he just needs some time to get used to the idea.” Something flashed across Angela’s face that Kristen couldn’t decipher. The expression was gone seconds later, though, and she wondered if she might have imagined it. It was probably nothing—but everyone also knew Tyler’s history. He was a recovering alcoholic and so far, as long as Kristen had known him, he’d successfully stayed on the wagon. But she’d worried about the possibility of a relapse and what she would do if it happened. Could she handle that? And how could she support him? Hopefully it was a non-issue, though, as it had been nearly six months and she imagined that if his mother’s death was going to trigger a relapse, that it would have happened already.

Later on, after they’d all had their fill of lasagna and the delicious cookies that Kate had made, everyone eventually called it a night. Angela was the last to leave, after jotting down her guacamole and salsa recipe for Kristen. Kristen loved cilantro and wanted to make it the next time she had Tyler over for dinner.