by Judith Keim
Rafe entered the room and sat down beside her. He handed her one small box and set another on the coffee table.
“Lettie and I talked about this before she died. She wanted you to have this.”
With trembling fingers, Cami tore the silver wrapping paper off the box, opened it, and stared at the velvet covered case inside. Her heart began to pound as she recognized the case. Opening it, she let out a gasp and turned to Rafe with blurred vision. “It’s the grapes necklace. Oh, thank you so much! I know how much it meant to her and to you, Rafe.”
She lifted the necklace and stared at the pendant. Several diamonds clustered together on a gold grape leaf, like the grapes they portrayed. As bold as the design was, it was small enough to be worn for any occasion. Nonnee had worn it almost every day.
Tears shone in Rafe’s eyes. “We both wanted you to have it. Here, I think you’ll like these too. I picked them out.”
Cami opened the gift he handed her and stared at the earrings that winked at her from a bed of black velvet. Simple, but elegant, the pear-shaped diamonds sparkled like fresh spilled tears. They were, she thought, so perfect for this moment. She and Rafe were missing Nonnee so much neither could speak.
She set down the box and gave him a hug she never wanted to end. She’d been so lucky to be raised by two such wonderful people.
When she pulled away, she reached for the gift that Nonnee had chosen for him. “This is for you, from Nonnee.”
His eyebrows shot up. “When did she have time to do this?”
“She left me a list of things she wanted me to do. This was among them. Go ahead. Open it.”
He tore the red-foil paper off the box and opened it. A toy boat stared up at them. His brow wrinkled. “What’s this?”
“Read the note that comes with it,” she urged.
He took out the piece of paper and read the words out loud:
“This card entitles Rafe Lopez to a river cruise of his choice, including airline tickets to and from its location. We almost made it, didn’t we? Love, Lettie.”
His voice quavered on the last words. Shoulders shaking, he lowered his head into his hands.
Cami rubbed his back. “I’m so sorry. Nonnee was working with a new psychologist to deal with her fear of flying and hoped to surprise you with tickets. Then she became ill. But she thought you might like to go yourself. It’s something you’ve wanted to do for a while.”
Rafe lifted his tear-streaked face. “Without her? Impossible.”
“Give the idea some thought. It might work for you later,” said Cami with sympathy. She handed him another gift.
He laughed when he saw the electronic device that responded to voice commands. “I can really use Alexa’s help. I have a bad habit of going back to sleep after the alarm goes off.”
The tension and sadness that had hovered in the room dissipated as Rafe opened his other gifts—practical, useful ones that Cami knew he needed.
“Thanks for everything, sweet girl,” said Rafe after he’d opened the last one. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to take a nap.”
“Not at all,” said Cami. “I’m going to take Sophie for a walk.”
She realized they both needed some time alone after the emotional experience of opening gifts that triggered treasured memories.
Moments later, she left the house with Sophie and headed for the grove of trees.
###
Though the two days before and after Christmas were usually slow, the days that followed were busy as guests started to arrive for the New Year’s festivities. Each year, the Chandler Hill Inn put on a party that had become the talk of the Northwest Coast. Fabulous food, champagne, fireworks, dancing, and a morning-after brunch people raved about created a very special celebration for all of their guests, who made reservations weeks, sometimes months in advance.
As she went about overseeing all aspects of the event with the staff, Cami hoped she’d be able to beat the challenges of the new year. First things first, she reminded herself as she headed to The Barn to talk to the staff there. The New Year’s gala included special deals for guests at The Barn—an important step in getting rid of the old items so new merchandise could be brought in.
As she always did after stepping inside the building, Cami took a moment to look around. While Abby was in charge, she’d kept quiet about changes she wanted to make. Now, Cami savored the ideas of adding a little reading corner next to the book section, working with local artisans to expand their offerings, and moving displays around. It was an ideal time to do it.
She thought of the recent changes in personnel. Abby’s assistant manager, Gwen Chapman, had agreed to take over as manager. A woman in her forties, Gwen had come to the valley for a vacation after a messy divorce and decided she loved the lifestyle enough to move there permanently. But after a few months of recovering, Gwen begged for a job at the inn. She’d been working at The Barn ever since, doing a great job of helping with the merchandising. Gwen had a good eye for quality items and a well-developed instinct about what would sell. Cami was thrilled she was on board.
Abby’s partner, Lisa Robbins, had handled growing vegetables and herbs for the inn’s kitchen and the cooking classes at The Barn and for producing a number of specialty products such as salad dressings, soaps, and other unique gifts. At the last minute, Cami and Abby were able to convince a friend of Gwen’s, Laurel Newson, to take over Lisa’s job, with the understanding that she could have a couple of winter months off to go to Palm Springs. Cami jumped at the chance to make a deal with her. Chandler Hill products were doing well online as well as locally, and she needed Laurel to oversee the gardening crew. More importantly, Laurel, who came from a privileged background, was the perfect person to help oversee weddings.
Several staff members waved and called greetings to her as she joined the group climbing the stairs to the staff room for their meeting. It was a superb crew, Cami thought, wondering how they’d react to her ideas.
She waited until everyone had grabbed a bottle of water or cup of coffee and taken their seats before going to the front of the room. “Happy New Year, everyone! We’re off to what I hope will be another successful year at Chandler Hill Inn. Over the past couple of months, I’ve watched and worked with you, and I’ve come up with a number of things we all can do to add even more appeal to The Barn.”
Cami smiled and held up her hand. “I can hear your silent groans, but it should be fun and educational. Let’s consider a different layout to the store. Nothing major, merely rearranging space so we can have a reading nook in the book section, more room upstairs in the wine-tasting area, refreshing and relocating some of our displays, and things like that.”
The tension in the room eased. “However, before any of these changes take place, I’m going to ask each of you to work in a different section, so we have fresh eyes looking at each area of The Barn. It’ll be for a few days only, but each of us will then respect one another’s job a little more. I don’t know of a better group of people to make this work.”
Cami stopped talking and waited for the barrage of questions she was sure would be coming her way.
One of the men who tended bar said, “I don’t know much about the books.”
Cami smiled. “Exactly. Let’s see if you can come up with a way to attract non-reading customers to that section.”
The audience in the room broke out in conversation. There was laughter as some staff members tried to make bargains with one another over which jobs they wanted. Cami smiled. This was exactly what she’d hoped. She left the meeting pleased with the exchange of ideas.
Gwen was going to deal with the staff and the handymen, who would do the heavy work of moving display cabinets and tables and other items.
During this quiet time at the inn, Cami and Becca took inventory of all thirty rooms. There was no question that the carpeting in twenty-four of the rooms needed replacement and their walls painted. Surprisingly, the soft goods—bedspreads, duvets, draperies, and t
owels—were in excellent shape. Better yet, the case goods—overstuffed chairs, bureaus, headboards, desks, and chairs—were in similar condition.
Making a note of it, she bit her lip. Why had Jonathan insisted on a complete renovation? The rooms definitely needed refreshing, but not a full transformation as he’d insisted. Maybe he was about to make another deal with suppliers. Thankfully, Jamison had put an end to that unsavory business.
Cami returned to her office deep in thought. Russell Berman, her new financial advisor, had initially told her not to spend any significant amount of money, and then, after going over the numbers, he’d worked with Cami to develop a budget so small the project seem impossible. But as Jonathan had said, this was the perfect time to work on the guest rooms.
Carpet would be the biggest expense. Cami looked through the old-fashioned rolodex Nonnee had used. Under C for carpeting, she found the card for Donovan’s Carpet and Flooring. On a whim, she called them. When she explained who she was and why she was calling, she was put through to Gene Donovan.
After they exchanged pleasantries, Cami explained what she needed.
Gene listened to her and said, “Tell you what. I was heading down that way anyway. Why don’t I stop at the inn, and we can talk face to face?”
“That would be great,” she exclaimed. Bubbling with excitement, she hung up the phone. If they could get a great deal on carpeting and find some painters hungry for work, she just might be able to pull off refreshing the rooms. The public areas were fine for now.
###
Cami was working in her office when Imani buzzed her. “Mr. Donovan is here to see you.”
“Thank you. Please send him in,” she responded and got to her feet.
The door opened, and an older man entered the room carrying a briefcase.
Hurrying to greet him, Cami smiled. “Mr. Donovan, thank you for coming. I appreciate it. Won’t you have a seat? And may I get you some coffee or something to drink?”
“Thanks, I’m fine for now.” He lowered himself into one of the two leather chairs in front of her desk and set his thick briefcase down with a sigh.
She sat and faced him, worried about his response to her plea. “I have to be up front with you. We find ourselves in a difficult situation. There’s been a lot of news about the Montague Fund recently.”
“Yes, I’ve read all about it. Several investors lost a lot of money in the scheme. It’s such a shame.”
“Unfortunately, my grandmother’s estate was among those hurt terribly by this. So, I need to find out if there’s a way you can provide us with the best, most price-sensitive carpet to redo all twenty-four guest rooms in the wing and possibly the reception area and be open to a payment plan over the coming months.”
“Let’s take a look at those areas, and then we can talk about it,” Gene said, his expression giving nothing away.
Cami led him out of the office and to the guest wing of the inn. “I figure it will be cheaper to have the same carpeting in all the rooms. We like that continuity anyway.”
He nodded his agreement. “Makes sense.”
After examining and taking measurements in several guest rooms and seeing they were the same size with the same layout, Gene said, “I think I’ve seen enough.”
They went down to the wing’s open reception area. Though the carpet was in good shape, the sun streaming in through the tall windows facing west had faded it in spots.
“What do you think?” she asked.
He studied the carpet, knelt down to run his hands over it and stood. Gazing at the windows, he shook his head. “We have rug material that resists sunlight fading better than this. I think, though, we need to be a little more creative here. I’d recommend a patterned, commercial carpet. It will show the dirt and wear less.”
They went down to her office. Once more sitting and facing each other, Gene maintained a neutral expression she found unnerving.
Gene opened his briefcase and took out a calculator. He started to fill out a service contract. “Let’s see what we’ve got here. Give me a minute or so to gather all the information. You say the reception area is 20 x 30 feet? I’ll double check, but we’ll work with that.”
Cami caught the corner of her lip, certain the numbers he was working on were getting too large to handle.
“I think I’ve got the yardage figured out. Let me get some of my samples from the car and we can talk then.”
“Okay,” Cami said agreeably, but she wished he wouldn’t keep her waiting for numbers.
Looking at the samples he thought best in terms of value and wear and tear, she breathed more easily. The attractive beige rug he suggested for the rooms was exactly right—bland, but rich enough in color to carry off the ideas she had for paint colors.
“A very nice option for you,” Gene said, rubbing his fingers over the nap of the carpet.
“And the reception area?”
Gene smiled. “I’ve got a roll of carpet left over from another commercial project I just oversaw in Seattle. I think it’ll be perfect for that area here.” He lifted his cell phone, scrolled through some photos and handed the phone to her. “What do you think?”
She studied the rug with growing approval. It was unlike anything she might have chosen herself, but the more she studied it, she decided it would be perfect. The warm-green carpet with a muted pattern of cabbage roses was interesting, but not too obtrusive, and suited the old-fashioned flavor of the inn.
“I think the reception area would accommodate this carpet very well,” said Gene.
“So do I,” said Cami, clasping her hands together with growing excitement.
Gene smiled again and sat back in his chair. Studying her, he said, “You’re a lot like your grandmother, you know. We at Donovan’s credit her with saving our business.”
“You do?” she said, startled to see Gene’s face flush with emotion.
“In the ’90s, when the economy turned bad, our business was about to fail. I called every commercial enterprise, every business, every person in the area asking them for help by placing an order. Lettie Chandler invited me to come to the inn to see what I could do for her. The minute I walked in and saw the condition of the carpets in the main areas, I knew she didn’t need new carpeting. But I accepted her offer to sit with her for a cup of coffee. We talked about many things, how tough business was and so on. When we were through, she said she wanted all the carpeting replaced in the inn, and she would donate the used carpet to a church-school project in the area. She gave me a steady look and asked me if I could do it. I, of course, said yes. But I’ve never forgotten what she did for me. And I’m not the only one, believe me.”
Cami felt the sting of tears. It sounded so much like Nonnee.
“Why am I telling you this?” said Gene. “Because I have a deal for you. I will give you the carpeting for the rooms fifty percent off, no labor costs, no padding costs. And as for the reception area? I’ll donate the carpet, but I do need to charge for the installation because matching the pattern will take extra time for the crew. And, if you like, you can make payments over time.” He handed her the invoice, which showed a remarkably low number for the total.
Cami blinked rapidly so the tears that kept stinging her eyes wouldn’t fall. “You’d do that for me?”
He smiled and nodded shyly. “Yes, indeed. For you and your grandmother.”
Cami pulled a tissue out of the box on her desk and blew her nose. “Thank you so much! How can I ever repay you? A stay at the inn? Cooking lessons? Whatever you want.”
He laughed. “How about a stay at the inn for me and the wife. She’d really love that.”
“Deal,” she said, grateful he’d allowed her to do something nice for him in return for his generosity.
“I’ll order the carpet. Let’s get a date penciled in for delivery and installation,” said Gene, checking the calendar on his phone.
They settled on a date at the end of January so the inn would be ready to receive guests for t
he week or so prior to the Valentine’s Day rush.
Gene rose and said politely, “Thanks for the business.”
Cami went to him and gave him a hug. “My grandmother and I thank you.”
She walked him to the front door of the inn and stood there for a moment looking out over the rolling hills. They were a dull gray in the rain and fog that clung to the area. Even through the grayness, she felt as if a ray of sun was shining down on her. And in her mind, she could hear Nonnee say, “Be kind, Cami. It will be worth it in so many ways.” Back then, she’d been dealing with a bullying classmate. Now, those very words had proved to be true because of her grandmother’s kindness.
CHAPTER SIX
“How did it go? Are we going to be able to afford new carpeting?” Becca asked after Gene had left.
“Are we ever!” exclaimed Cami, doing a little dance. “Listen to this!”
Cami told her about the deal and laughed when Becca gave her a high-five and began a dance of her own.
She gave Becca a quick hug and said. “New carpeting wasn’t our only problem. I’ve called a couple of the painters in the area to see about their redoing the guest rooms, but they’re already booked. One of them said he’d try to make it over to us toward the end of the month. We’re not the only business in the area taking advantage of this slow time.”
“All right. I’ll do some investigating on my own,” Becca said, serious now.
“Okay, in the meantime, I’ll pick out some colors for the rooms,” said Cami. “I have an idea I want to work on. I’m going over to Salem to the Home Depot. Can you handle things here for me?”
“Sure,” Becca said. “I’ll keep looking around for painting contractors.”
###
Later that afternoon, Cami pulled the paint chips out of her pocket and held them up to the light from the window in her office. The colors, funky and different, would give the rooms an entirely unique look, but would still be compatible with the more traditional furniture and fabrics in the guest rooms.