Bobbie slept fitfully. She was a little worried about the decision to take a business loan against the motel. It gave her such a sense of accomplishment to own it free and clear. Frank made it seem like it was crazy to have it paid off when it could free up so much investment capital. She knew she’d get some money from the sale of the Carson ranch quite soon. If she really needed to, she could pay the lean on the motel and just put a hold on the cabin she was going to build for the ranch hands out there.

She had options and knew there was no use worrying so she got up, fed her cat and decided to make her chocolate quinoa cupcakes. She’d take them to Johnny; they were gluten free. Johnny deserved a treat once in a while.

She went into her den to check her financials and saw a notification that Frank had run the numbers for the wedding reception. They actually made a profit. That was good news, she’d let the gang know that special events were working out well.

She mixed up the icing for the cupcakes and sorted through the clothes she’d be taking on her trip. She had a full load of laundry so she washed that, thinking she could fold them and put them right in her suitcase.

She got dressed; it was sweater weather and headed down the hill past the garden to Johnny’s place. The shop was finished and the double doors were open and Johnny was there, cutting some wood trim. “Hi Johnny, I’m excited to see how much you have done in the house. How about a tour?”

Johnny unplugged his saw and wiped his hands. “Sure, Myra’s inside working on drywall. We have a lot of drywall.”

“I’ll go in and say hi. It’s great that you have the windows and the roof done.”

“Yup, we got it weather tight just in time. This has been a really mild and dry October. It’s been good for me but bad for the dry forest and the farmers.”

“I know, I checked the weather because we’re flying out tomorrow and I think we are in for some rain so that should help dry the conditions. I brought some cupcakes for you, lets go inside.”

Rocco and Lorne pulled into the driveway.

Johnny waved. “Hi guys. Lorne, I need your advice.”

Lorne interrupted. “In a minute, I brought donuts and I want to see these windows Rocco has been talking about.”

Bobbie went over and hugged her cousin Lorne. “They’re no car dealership windows, like I have but they are big. I want to see them installed too.”

They all went inside and Bobbie saw that the first floor was partly drywalled and some framing was in place for a bathroom, small bedroom and mid sized recording sound booth. “This will be you’re guest room?”

Johnny nodded. “It’s my crash pad. When I get old and cripple and can’t make it up the stairs maybe I’ll sleep here.”

“It never hurts to have a plan B.” Bobbie went up the stairs first and was stuck by the grand mountain view out the big picture windows. The sun was still low in the sky and the whole place was flooded with sunlight. “Johnny, you have great windows for plants. That’s what I’ll bring you for a house warming gift.”

Lorne was frowning. “These are amazing but furniture placement is going to suffer.”

Johnny nodded. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I have the room plan; can I leave it with you? I have fresh coffee; Let’s go out on my deck and have our snack break.”

Myra was out there already setting up some camp chairs. Bobbie went over to the makeshift kitchen, found a paper plate and got Johnny’s cupcakes ready. “These are gluten free, so they’re for Johnny. Can I one of the donuts you brought Lorne?”

They got their coffee and treats and went through the big accordion doors to the patio. It was large and the deck boards and glass railing were all installed. They all stood for a moment and took in the vista. They could see over the pool and over the yard and road, right out to the beach and the water. The sunsets would be beautiful.

They chatted a while and then Bobbie put down her empty cup. “Guys, and Myra, I’ve been thinking about how I only have one point of sale and one bar in the motel. I want to build something that we can move around, on wheels, even, that would open up like a big pantry or armoire that could contain glasses, a selection of spirits, a bar fridge, maybe even an ice maker. The idea is that when we have an event in the gallery, we can move it there, when we have high tea, it can be in the restaurant with liquors and stuff and we could use it under the pavilion by the pool too.”

They talked about it a little more and Rocco mentioned that it would have to fit through various doors so the dimensions would depend on that.

Bobbie thanked Lorne for the donuts. “Johnny, your place is really shaping up beautifully, I have to get ready for my Europe trip. I can send you my rough plans for my rolling bar Rocco; if you get a chance, can you look at it?”

Lorne nodded. “The rolling bar is a neat little idea. It’ll have to have my design input too. Have a great trip. I’m glad you are able to get away, things have been pretty heavy for you the last little while.”

It was not yet noon, so Bobbie felt she had all the packing time she needed. Half way up the hill she got a message from Trixie with her boarding pass and some pictures of where they’d be staying. Bobbie sat down by the pool to answer and then Barb called and they had a three-way call and chatted about the weather and what clothes they were taking. Bobbie was starting to get a little excited about this trip. She was confident she could be prepared easily. She had a packing spreadsheet.

She ran into Frank on her way back to her apartment. “Hi Bobbie, I know this is short notice but Daniel Ruggles and his wife will be here this evening. He has paperwork connected to the settling of probate and the sale of the Carson ranch that he wants you to sign.

“He seems very impatient. I can meet tonight but I leave tomorrow…”

“We’re going to have to host; Belinda won’t be thrilled. I think they just want to see the place and have a look at Townes’ condo building site. Where, everyone is back to work BTW’s, because of your influx of cash. I think the Ruggles booked a room here.”

“I don’t think Melanie is going to be very impressed with the place but who knows. Why don’t you all come over for drinks and I can sign things. Then we can meet at your place for dinner. I can’t stay very late; I have to pack and get ready for my trip tomorrow.”

“Thanks Bobbie, that gives Belinda a chance to get some dinner ready. To pick up some dinner, that is.”

“It will be nice to see Belinda again and apologize for the trouble at the memorial.”

“Her brother Brent soothed his wounds by travelling to the south of Spain to visit a friend with a little villa on the Med.”

“We’re going to Malta, that’s not so far from there, maybe we’ll see him.”

“Malta, what’s in Malta?”

“Trixie has an old friend from Cambridge that has a place there. I think he’s Dutch; Arie something…. He’s loaning it to us and it’s just outside Valletta and It’s supposed to be nice. So, when are Mel and Daniel showing up? I should go get ready. Dang, I need to talk to Will first. I’m a little worried about leaving him to run things. Although truthfully, he has much more experience running a hotel than I do.”

Frank waved and started to walk back to the gallery. “I’ll leave you to it Bobbie.”

Bobbie didn’t know what to do first so she went into her apartment. Effie was there working on her laundry. “Hi Effie, you don’t have to do that for me. I’m taking most of those things on my trip.”

Effie just smiled. “Here; I’ll just get another load going…”

Bobbie laughed. “What did I do to deserve you, Effie? You always know what I need.”

Effie was already in the laundry room and emerged with a suitcase that she put on Bobbie’s bed. Bobbie started packing and felt like she was somewhat in control. She checked her list. She’d talk to Will, see Lochland at the bar, for some wine and check with Mark for hors d’oeuvres. She texted Mark. She looked up and Will was at the door.

“Come in, come in I wanted to talk to you Will. Let’s go down to SPOKES for lunch. Effie, do you want to come for lunch?”

Effie declined, saying she had her own lunch and Bobbie and Will headed down. They found a seat in the little bar rather than the patio. Bobbie ordered a draft beer and a small meal of sliders and fries. Will ordered the same.

“Mark was saying you thought lunch should go in the restaurant. I think that’s a good idea but how will it affect out tea time?”

“I was thinking about that. Our tea time is really charming and very popular. I was thinking that we’d end lunch service at 1:30 and start tea at 2:30 but keep a limited lunch menu going as needed.”

“That’s kind of what we do now. I also had an idea that I was talking to Rocco about. I want a movable bar so we can have bar service in the restaurant. In the gallery and outside by the pool too.”

“A pop-up bar. That’s a cool idea. We’re organizing a Halloween party and if it’s mild it will be partly outside. We’ve got a few weddings in the gallery to plan for too.”

Bobbie finished her lunch and thanked him. She went up to the bar. “Hi Loch, what’s popular at the bar? I’m having people over for before dinner cocktails”

“You’ve got a martini shaker upstairs, right? With the cooler weather coming; cosmos are having a moment.”

Bobbie smiled. “Cosmo’s would be great. I have most of the stuff but do you have some cranberry juice I could have.”

Mark came into the restaurant with a mid sized charcuterie board and Bobbie took it and thanked them both and left to set up her cocktail hour.

The evening with Belinda, Frank and the Ruggles went well. Daniel and Melanie now own the Carson ranch house. Bobbie had the cash from the sale to keep Townes’ condos afloat for another quarter and was the proud owner of a big piece of cattle ranch land. A big chunk of Carson Oil was hers too. She really needed to talk to Trixie about that.