Wait… had she and Jules just had a moment of connection? Suddenly cautious, she stepped back. “But we’ll have to wait until the loan is approved for all of that.”
Jules looked away, her smile faltering. “Of course, I was just getting the research done ahead of time. Speaking of which, we need to research what to bring for the potluck. Pearl called, and it’s tomorrow night. I get the impression we can’t just buy something at the store. She stressed that people expect the dishes to be homemade.”
Gina snorted. “They might be disappointed, then.”
“No kidding,” Jules said.
Maddie searched on her computer. “Here’s a list of easy potluck dishes.”
The three of them crowded around and scrolled through.
“Tangy meatballs, cucumber party sandwiches, cilantro tomato bruschetta, fruit kebabs. The kebabs look easy,” Maddie said.
“They do, just cut them up and make the dip,” Jules agreed.
“I can pick up the fruit and dip ingredients tomorrow,” Gina volunteered. Was she getting a little too accommodating? Maye she shouldn’t have offered. But it would give her a chance to get out of the motel and into the town. She could use a break.
“Good. That’s settled. Now, let’s finish our plan for the painting. I want to get started bright and early tomorrow.”
Chapter Twelve
The next morning, Jules was up early and feeling optimistic. She met Maddie in the kitchen. Her cousin was dressed in an old T-shirt and shorts with a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses perched on top of her head. She was fiddling with the coffee maker.
“Can you start this thing?” Maddie sounded exasperated.
Jules laughed and nudged her away from the machine. “I see you haven’t conquered technology yet.”
“At least I can work my laptop.”
Jules fixed the lid and filled the reservoir. The vintage coffee maker was sort of cute with its perky yellow decor. Maybe she would move it out into the lobby once they were ready for guests. It would be just the sort of thing that would attract interest and get people talking about the motel. Not to mention, it would be handy to make coffee for the guests who wanted to mill about in the lobby or grab a cup to bring out onto the porch.
As she turned to grab the bag of ground coffee, movement in the parking lot caught her eye. She looked out to see Gina’s little sports car pulling in a few spots down from her own practical Prius.
“I guess Gina went out shopping already.” She watched her cousin take grocery bags out of the car. She looked like she’d just stepped out of a magazine with her oversized sunglasses, silk print shirt, and designer jeans. Why was she even there? Jules doubted she was going to help them with the motel projects, despite the fact that she’d detected a hint of excitement in Gina’s tone when they’d discussed the projects last night.
A few seconds later, Gina was in the kitchen balancing three coffees on a takeout tray along with several bags. “I got stuff for the potluck and some other things and… more importantly… coffee for all of us. The stuff that comes out of Mr. Coffee is vile.”
She handed a cup to Maddie then one to Jules, careful not to make hand or eye contact. Jules thawed a little. It was nice of Gina to bring back coffees. Opening the tab on the lid, she saw that Gina even remembered that she liked hers with extra milk.
“Thanks.” Jules closed the coffee grounds she had been about to put in the machine and put it in the freezer.
Maddie closed her eyes as she took a sip of hers. “Ahhh. Just what I needed.” She put the cup down and rubbed her hands together. “Now are you guys ready to get started? I figure we’ll start on the front near the porch and work our way back. We need to keep track of time so we leave ourselves enough time to clean up and make the fruit kebabs for the town meeting.”
It was just like Maddie to take over supervision of the plan, but Jules didn’t mind. Maddie was a hard worker, too, and it occurred to Jules that they were falling into their old routine they’d had with the Surfstone. Hopefully the venture wouldn’t turn out the way that one had.
Jules’s stomach roiled at the thought. She simply could not fail at this one. She might never get another chance to prove she could succeed. “I’m ready.” Jules took another gulp. Who knew when Maddie would let them have a break?
“Me too.” Gina’s tone rang with uncertainty, but at least she was agreeing to help out. “The paint is in my trunk.”
“Great, then let’s get started.” Maddie headed toward the door then turned back to Gina. “You might want to change your shirt. I have a feeling things are going to get messy.”
Chapter Thirteen
“These kebabs don’t look as good as they did on the website. Maybe we shouldn’t bring them in.” Maddie stared at the tray in her hand.
It turned out that there was a bit of an art involved with stacking fruit on a stick so that it looked neatly arranged. Theirs looked like it had been through an earthquake.
“We have to. Everyone has something.” Jules pointed to a honey-blond with bouncy curls who was walking toward the door with a Crock-Pot. Behind her, an elderly gentleman had a bowl of pasta salad with cut tomatoes artfully arranged on top.
