The Magnolia Inn(54)

She put her hand over the receiver and whispered, “A lady wants to book a room, but we just can’t, can we?”

He shook his head. “Don’t see how.”

More listening as she alternately shook her head and nodded. “Ma’am, the upstairs hallway has furniture stacked in it. The bathroom that the workers use is the only available one, and that bedroom hasn’t been cleaned in weeks.”

She laid the receiver on her chest. “It’s an elderly lady who says that she and her husband spent their honeymoon here forty years ago. They want to come back and spend tomorrow night.”

“Fine, tell her to come right on. I’ll clear a path for them. Anyone who’s been married that long deserves a little consideration,” Tucker said. “But make them understand that we are in a major remodeling job.”

She removed her hand. “Yes, ma’am, if you don’t mind the mess, I think we can manage to have that room ready for you by four tomorrow afternoon. Great! We’ll see you then.”



Jolene grabbed her head with both hands. “She wants the last room on the right side of the hallway. At least it’s not torn up, but we’ll have to move furniture around to get to it. I’ve got to get things dusted and clean cloths put on the dining room tables, and that room has to get a thorough cleaning. I’m going to put the doilies in the washer and use them, and I need to go to town tomorrow morning for some roses. I can get them at Walmart. Aunt Sugar has pretty vases somewhere, and maybe a few cookies . . .” She sucked in a lungful of air as if she was about to go on.

“Whoa, pardner.” Tucker held up a hand. “You told her we were remodeling and she wanted to book a night anyway. Run the vacuum, chase away the dust bunnies, and make one of your fabulous breakfasts for them.”

She folded her arms over her chest. “Their room should be nice, and the bathroom should be spotless. It’s their fortieth anniversary, for cryin’ out loud.”

“Yes, ma’am, but roses and cookies?”

“That was something Aunt Sugar always did. A flower in a vase on the dresser and half a dozen cookies under a little dome. The guests loved that personal touch.”

Tucker patted her on the shoulder. “How about one of those pretty silk magnolia things in a vase? I was going to make a beer run this evening anyway. I can go to Walmart and get one of those magnolia flowers and a dozen cookies. If I get there before the bakery folks leave, I might even get a cupcake with one of those ‘Happy Anniversary’ stick things on it.”

“That would help so much. It’ll give me plenty of time to plan breakfast and get things as straight as possible.” Her mind was running in circles so badly that she didn’t even realize he was touching her.

“Since the dining room is a total mess, we could put a small table in the corner of their room and offer them ‘breakfast in bed.’” He pointed. “That little table right there with a lamp on it would be perfect.”

“I love it. We can set it in the corner of their room and carry the food up to them on a fancy tray.” She could visualize it with a breakfast tray set on it. “Now shoo! Go to work. I’ll get busy making the living room presentable and then go on up to that bedroom. Good Lord, can you even imagine forty years of marriage and wanting to go back to an old bed-and-breakfast to celebrate? Me, I’d want a second honeymoon on a cruise ship or maybe in Hawaii. Wherever the first one wasn’t!”

He disappeared up the stairs with his new box of tools, and she grabbed the basket of cleaning aids that her aunt always took to each room. Jolene had helped her aunt clean the rooms when she stayed there, but she didn’t remember this one in particular. It was even shabbier than the one across and down the hall where she and Tucker had started renovations.

The only sound she could hear as she started dusting was the gritty noise of sandpaper on the wall as Tucker did his work. Then he started humming, and before long he was singing along with whatever song was coming through the earbuds of his MP3 player.

Jolene rolled her eyes toward the ceiling and noticed cobwebs in every corner. My life is like this room. Needs some remodeling, and there’s still old stuff in the corners that needs to be taken care of. Will I ever be able to trust my heart?

Aunt Sugar had taught her to start at the top and work her way down, so she wrapped a rag round a broom and took care of the cobwebs first. That’s what she needed to do with her life—start at the top and get all those pesky things out of the hidden corners. Judging Tucker by her mother wasn’t right, for one thing. They’d both had horrible experiences that they tried to forget by drinking. It looked like Tucker was trying to overcome his problem, so that was a plus.

You’re comparing apples and cow chips. Her mother’s voice was loud in her ears. Think about it.

Jolene ran a wet cloth all around the baseboards to get rid of a layer of dust and muttered, “Why would I have to think about it? You both have or had the same problem, but at least if he dies in a sleazy hotel, he won’t leave a young girl without parents. And he’s trying to get his life in order.”

She immediately felt guilty for her tone. Why can’t I sweep the bad feelings out of my heart and soul as easily as I did the cobwebs off the ceiling?





Chapter Sixteen

Somehow Tucker managed to slide a piece of furniture into each of the other bedrooms and clear out the hallway, and they worked together to get the requested room ready. Jolene pretended she was the guests and slung open the door to get a first impression of the room. It certainly wasn’t a five-star hotel, but she’d done what she could with what she had to work with, and there was a quaint beauty to the room. She only hoped that it didn’t disappoint her anniversary couple.