“Well, that’s nice,” Ava said happily. “I wish I could come, but I’ll be tied up.”
“It’s okay,” Nikki told her. “I know you’d be here if you could.”
“And how about Paul?” Ava teased. “Anything going on there?”
“Nothing since the last time you checked.” Nikki laughed.
“Bummer. I’m still rooting for you. He seems like a good guy.”
“He is, but now’s not the time. I don’t think any time will be the time for that, so I’m not getting my hopes up again only to be let down hard.”
“I hear you,” Ava replied. “At least you have your job to distract you.”
“Speaking of which, I have an investigative piece to finish, but I have another day or so. Luckily, I don’t need to be at the office to do my job.”
“Yeah, you’re lucky. I still have to go to work and have so many chores this weekend.”
Nikki laughed. “What’s new?”
“Yeah, what’s new? And with that said, I have to run,” Ava said. “Lots to do. I just wanted to check in on you and make sure everything is okay.”
“Thanks, hon.” Nikki smiled. “I’ll talk to you later.”
After Ava hung up, Nikki lazed around the house. She couldn’t even call Amy if she wanted to because she didn’t have a phone number for her. Plus, she would probably drive her away, as Paul had said.
But she couldn’t remain content for the rest of the day. The following day began in no better way than the one before, but she had to busy herself so the time would pass quickly.
Kaylyn was heading to the laundry area when Nikki ran into her on her way through the back door.
“Hello, ma’am.” Kaylyn smiled and embraced Nikki.
“Didn’t I tell you to call me Nikki?” she replied as she pulled back. “No more of this ma’am thing.”
Kaylyn laughed. “Were you coming to find me?”
“Yes, actually,” Nikki replied. “I wanted to check in on things.”
“You can walk with me.” Kaylyn started moving again.
“How are the reservations stacking up?” Nikki asked. “Where are we going?”
“Heading to the laundry.” Kaylyn glanced back and replied, “I just wanted to track our inventory. We have every room booked as it is and five others waiting to get a room.”
“Wow. Quite the buzz, eh?” Nikki said with pride.
“It really gets busy here in the summertime. A little slower in the winter, but we’ve always had a full house.” They got to the laundry room, and Kaylyn showed Nikki where the cleaning supplies and towels were kept. “Dorothy does the laundry on Mondays, but it seems we need to get fresh towels, miniature shampoo and body washes for the baths, toiletries, and there was one room that needed deep cleaning—there was a wine spill, so we need supplies for that as well. But all in all, things are going well. Don’t you worry about it ma…Nikki.” She grinned when she remembered Nikki’s earlier warning.
“That’s good news,” Nikki said, breathing a sigh of relief. “I’m glad Trish has such reliable and capable people around. That’s a blessing.”
“Indeed,” Kaylyn agreed as they walked out of the room and back into the hallway.
“And speaking of blessings, I have a little bittersweet news to share,” Nikki said, and her shoulders sagged.
Kaylyn noticed and stopped her by holding her arm. “What news? Is it Trish?”
“No, it’s not her, but it concerns her daughter. We found her, and Paul and I went to visit her on Friday evening.”
Kaylyn’s eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands. “That’s good news indeed,” she said happily. “Trish is going to be delighted.” Then she noticed Nikki’s downcast eyes. “It didn’t go well with her?”
