“Wait until you see them in the brew pub. That might change your minds,” Leena joked. “Especially with Lorelie out of town.”
“Who’s Lorelie?” Jules asked.
“Dex’s girlfriend.” Pearl made a face. “Not well suited, if you ask me.”
“Did I sense you giving Nick the cold shoulder?” Rose asked.
“Was I?” Jules scooped up the last of her ice cream. “I guess I don’t feel chatty when it comes to him.”
Rose exchanged a glance with Pearl and Leena. Leena had a smirk on her face, and she tapped her purse in what looked like some secret signal to the other ladies.
“That’s funny. The two of you looked pretty chummy the other day in Ocean Brew,” Pearl said.
Jules shrugged. “Things change, I guess.”
“Is it about the loan?” Rose asked. “What’s going on with that?”
“Nothing, really. He says he’s trying to push it through, but I guess there’s some holdup.”
“Maybe you won’t need it.” Pearl scooped up another speck of ice cream. The rest of them were done, and she still had over half of hers left. “The motel is booked, right?”
“Yeah, we had to bunk together.” Maddie held out her hand for the empty ice cream cups and stacked them.
“So you’ll get money from that. Maybe it will hold you over, and maybe after this, more tourists will come.” Pearl pulled her cup away from Maddie’s grasp.
“Maybe.” Jules glanced at her cousins. Would it be enough? Even though they’d spruced the motel up, it still needed some work, and if they wanted to truly update the rooms, they were going to have to spend some money.
Rose patted Jules’s leg. “I’m sure Nick will come through. He hasn’t soured on life like his grandfather. Yet.”
Pearl swirled a tiny blob of ice cream around in her cup. “I don’t think Henry has soured. He just needs closure.”
“Ha! Well, where’s he going to get that?” Leena asked.
Pearl shrugged. “I don’t now, but we were close to him once. We should try to help. One shouldn’t just abandon old friends.”
Jules glanced at Gina. Was that what she and Gina had done? Abandoned old friends?
“We’ve tried to get him to come around.” Leena sighed. “Maybe he just needs time.”
“Maybe.” Pearl dropped her spoon into her cup as if to signal she was done. The half that was left had turned to soup, and the cone was soggy. “Let that be a lesson to you girls. Don’t hold on to old grudges, and don’t forget to have fun!”
“That’s right,” Rose agreed. “You have to enjoy life while you can. That’s what your Gram always said. Maybe you guys should reconsider the brew pub.”
Maddie returned from the trash can, her phone held in the air. “Did you say brew pub? I don’t think we have time for that. Marilyn just called. The crew of the show wants to check into the motel tomorrow.”
Chapter Thirty
The cousins had just finished fussing over the finishing touches on the rooms when Marilyn and her crew arrived. They were an interesting bunch, who seemed to get along well.
Marilyn’s assistant, Stacy, was as harried and chaotic as Marilyn was put-together and professional. She was friendly, with a halo of messy, honey-blond curls that bounced around her wide face as she talked. Even though she came off as a little disorganized, it was clear she knew how to run a contest.
Rob, the cameraman, was a bit introverted. Tall and slim, he barely said hello then hurried to his room. Maddie guessed he was the type who could easily become invisible at a party, but he clearly had a passion for photography, judging by the way he rushed out to take photos of the ocean as soon as he’d unpacked.
Kayleigh, who was responsible for making sure the pantry was stocked and all the ingredients were where they should be, was young but competent, even if she was a little dark in her clothing choices and makeup.
Two judges had checked in as well: Pia Turner, who Maddie knew from watching other cooking shows, and Alex Allen. They’d both been cordial and friendly, but took off to explore some new restaurant in Portland soon after checking in. The third judge, Hogan Fillery, was staying with relatives in the next town so he didn’t need a room at the Beachcomber, which was a good thing since that would have meant that Maddie, Jules, and Gina would have had to squeeze into the storage room together. Maddie didn’t think that would work out very well.
The crew for the baking show had gotten settled in their rooms, and everyone—except Robert, who was wandering around snapping pictures of the ocean from various angles—was sitting on the porch, enjoying a glass of lemonade that Gina had made from a mix that they’d found in the basket the welcome-wagon ladies had brought. Maddie was happy to see that the normal tension between Jules and Gina had disappeared. They weren’t buddy-buddy, but at least it was progress.
