“Well... you’d have to talk to my brother. He’s the one who handled that part of the renovation. He previously worked as a commercial building contractor in Denver, so he’s knowledgeable and very thorough.”
“He decided not to update the plumbing though?” the woman asked.
Grace winced. Why was Molly sharing so much?
“Oh, well, yes, he thought we’d get by with the plumbing for a while. But one of the pipes had enough, I guess.” She gave a nervous chuckle. “It was just one of those things. All new plumbing now though, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
They were making their way down the hall now, Molly mentioning some of the area’s natural attractions.
“I didn’t see any other hotels around town,” the woman said.
“There are a lot of homes for rent around here, but we’re the only inn in Bluebell. So far anyway...”
“Are you aware of another one coming?” Mr. Wellington asked.
“Well, no, not really. There are rumors that a chain hotel is interested in a property on the lake, but that probably won’t happen.”
As her voice faded, Grace glared at Molly through the door. She was supposed to be selling the inn’s positive features, not pointing out all the negatives! This wasn’t like her Pollyanna sister at all. There wasn’t a thing wrong with the inn, and business rumors swirled around town all the time. Ninety percent of them never panned out.
Grace could almost see her perfect little house on the edge of town getting snatched up from beneath her. She paced her room, checking out the window as she waited for the couple to leave. Finally, after about fifteen long minutes, the couple got into their car and drove away.
Grace left her room and traipsed down the stairs, hoping to catch Molly before she left. When Grace reached the bottom her sister was talking to Levi in the lobby.
“Yeah, unfortunately, I don’t think they’re all that serious,” Molly said.
“What makes you say that?” Levi asked.
Grace folded her arms over her chest. “Possibly because she was pointing out all the inn’s flaws.”
“I was not!”
Levi looked between them. “What are you talking about?”
“You told them about the flood. You told them we had foundation issues. You told them a chain hotel might be coming to town.”
Levi gave Molly a look. “Seriously?”
“I didn’t say that. Well, okay, I said some of that, but I didn’t— I said we had a flood, but we cleaned it all up. I said weusedto have a foundation issue, but we fixed it. I told them there was arumorabout a hotel chain.”
“Well, why bring up any of that?” Grace asked.
“And I said a ton of other things. Positive things. Glowing things!You didn’t hear all that. I told them how busy we are, how satisfied the guests are, how supportive the community is.”
“Still, Molly,” Levi said. “Why mention all those other things? There’s nothing wrong with the inn. Why make them question that?”
Molly’s face gave away every thought. “Okay, fine. Maybe I shouldn’t have brought it up. I was just trying to be honest.”
“When people hearfloodthey imagine ongoing mold issues,” Levi said. “Expensive mold issues. They weren’t here to see our meticulous cleanup. We know there’s no mold problem, but they don’t, so we don’t need to mention it.”
“Fine. I won’t bring it up.”
“Did you mention that stuff to all the other people who came through too?” Grace asked.
“No...” Molly shifted, her gaze darting around restlessly. “Well, maybe some of it.”
Grace threw her hands up. “Great. No wonder no one is interested. We’ve had Eeyore giving the grand tour!”
Molly gasped. “You’recallingmeEeyore?”
