Chapter Six

Just when Kira thought she had everything on track, she got a call from one of the workers that a pipe had burst in the kitchen. She swore under her breath, struggling to get control of the water gushing into the bottom of the cabinet and onto the floor. She ended up sending the young worker home because she was more frustrating than any help to her. Kira had to hurry and get a handle on the water before it flooded outside the kitchen area.

Now, she was running around, trying to clean up the mess, clothes all wet. Her frustration grew. She’d thrown several large towels all around the floor to soak up the water until she could get the valve shut off under the sink. But whoever had turned on the water valve had done it tight. It wouldn’t budge, so the water continued to flow like a river.

Looking up, she saw Franklin standing in front of her. His mere presence shifted the atmosphere in the room and enveloped her with warmth. He was dressed in pajama bottoms and a white T-shirt. She was so busy looking at his arm muscles that she’d forgotten she was holding a wet towel. She imagined his powerful arms holding her. She didn’t know what to say or do, since she hadn’t had that kind of experience in a very long time.

“What happened?” he said.

“Are you just going to stand there? Or are you going to help me?”

“I’m enjoying the view,” he teased.

Water continued to flood the floor. Kira frowned, resisting the urge to throw one of the wet towels at him for his sarcasm. Franklin walked over to her and extended his hand. “Let me help you up.”

“I can’t get this water off,” she yelled.

“Come on. Take my hand.”

She accepted his assistance, and he pulled her to her feet. “Thank you. But we’ve got to hurry.”

Franklin nodded, then moved around her and laid on the floor, wet towels and all. “Kira,” he said from under the sink, “I’ll fix it. Can you hand me that wrench you had?”

She did as he asked.

“You get some clean towels and try to mop up some of the water. Once I find the source of the issue, then I’ll help you finish up.”

She couldn’t help but blame herself for the situation. Mr. Haskell had told her a few days before that the problem she was having, if not corrected right away, would cause more damage. She’d thought she’d have enough time to call the plumber from Bennington to take a look. Now, she might have more of an issue because she had her own way of fixing the problem.

Kira squatted down beside Franklin, watching as he turned the wrench to shut the water off. The muscles in his arms flexed, and her eyes moved down his body. Yet another wave of heat went through her. Franklin reminded her that she was a woman without even knowing it. She yearned to touch the muscles straining through the T-shirt with every twist of the wrench.

“I’ve got it,” he said. “Really. Go on.”

Kira stood. “I’ll be right back.” She rushed off to the area where they kept the linens and towels. Returning shortly after, she found him with the mop, soaking up the water from the floor.

She hurried over and picked up all the wet towels, then handed him a bunch of dry ones. “You’re all wet,” she said, staring at the way the damp clothes clung to his torso. Desire pulsed through her body. She should have been trying to get the water up, but all she could think about was Franklin and the outline of his six-pack through the wet shirt. She hadn’t thought about the water-soaked clothing she had on stuck to her own body.

“A little water never hurt nobody,” he replied, then continued to get the water from the floor.

They worked together until they’d gotten the place in order.

Franklin rushed out of the room only to come back minutes later with a laundry basket. “I saw this earlier. You can throw those wet towels in here. I know they’re heavy.”

Kira put the towels in the basket. “Hand it to me. I’ll take care of it. You go on and get yourself cleaned up.”

Franklin just stared at her. “I bet you were hardheaded when you were a child.” He pulled the basket back. “I’m going to the hardware store in the morning to get the piece to fix the pipe. We’ll have to leave the water off until we get it done.”

“It won’t affect any of the other rooms, will it?”

“No, it’s just this sink. So we’ll have to be creative in using water for cooking and washing dishes. But it won’t be impossible.”

Kira’s eyes widened. Just as she thought, it was a bigger problem because she’d assumed she could handle it. If she’d just allowed Mr. Haskell to fix it the other day, they wouldn’t be in this mess. “What are we going to do about breakfast?”

“It’s okay. I’ll talk to Ben and we’ll figure it out. We may have to use bottled water or get some from elsewhere and boil it first. But that’s worst-case scenario. I’ll get to Hank’s as soon as they open at seven. I can get this fixed in no time.”

“We usually call the plumber for things like this.” She couldn’t admit to him that she’d already had a plumber there and wouldn’t allow him to complete the repair. It would make her look weak and not able to handle the job. “You’ve got other things to worry about,” Kira said. She’d just have to call Mr. Haskell as soon as their business opened.

“Trust me. You hired me to manage things, so let me.”

Kira was pushing it, and him. She promised that she’d trust him, and she was doing the opposite, but that wasn’t his fault. She looked down at her wet robe and noticed that the gown she had on was sticking to her, showing the outline of her curves.

Pulling it closed, she turned to walk away but then came right back. “Listen, let me at least put the towels in the wash. If you’re still up, you can throw them in the dryer. I’ll have Mona fold them and put them away.”

“You just keep on insisting,” Franklin replied, handing her the wet items. “You win.”

“Thank you,” she said, taking the items from him, not sure whether she’d just won or lost an argument. “Have a good night.”

Kira left him in the kitchen and went to the laundry room to get the cycle started. She was grateful that Franklin had come in when he did, because she could have had a bigger mess on her hands if he hadn’t. But the mess she had was still a mess. She blew out a breath, dropping wet towels into the washing machine with a slap…slap…slap… At least they’d still be able to provide breakfast in the morning. Somehow.

…

As soon as the clock struck seven, Franklin walked into the hardware store. He had to pick up the supplies he needed to fix the pipe and get back to the inn as quickly as possible.

While browsing the aisle, his brother approached him. “What are you doing in here so early?”

Aaron Bennett, a general contractor, had worked with their father since high school. The difference between him and Franklin was that Aaron had no problem with their father telling him what to do. It had always bothered Franklin that Aaron wouldn’t speak up for himself.

“A pipe needs to be fixed over at the inn. You’ve come for supplies, too, I take it?”

Aaron nodded. “I needed to get some box nails for the Hanson house. I’m working in their kitchen.”

Aaron had always been good with his hands and very creative when working with wood.

“Are you making something custom for them?”

“Yes, Mrs. Hanson asked me to make a cabinet to put her china in.”

Franklin walked closer to his brother and hugged him. “I’m so proud of you. We’ve got to get together soon. Maybe you could come out to the inn and have a beer with me.”

“Uh…” His brother looked away.

Aaron’s hesitation wasn’t lost on Franklin. He understood his brother’s position, but it frustrated him all the same. “Forget it. I forgot. Pop wouldn’t like it.”

“I’ll call you and see what’s up,” Aaron replied, picking up the box off the shelf.

Mentally shaking his head, Franklin went on to the section for plumbing and hurried back to the inn.

…

Kira walked through the lobby to check things out. The two housekeepers were busy cleaning the rooms. She noticed that Amelia, the local florist, and her friend had delivered the centerpiece for the main table in the foyer. The beautiful blooms were placed in an elegant crystal vase. It had become a tradition.

There was a steady flow of guests checking in, and for a moment, it worried Kira. They were still having problems in the kitchen. She stopped at the front desk to update the greeter on a change in one of the registrations.

A woman walked up to the counter. “I just wanted to tell you that I appreciated the new turn-down service. I was so surprised when I came back from my meeting this morning to see the bed made up and the mints on the pillow.”

Turn-down service? Mints?

Kira kept her cheery smile on. “It’s our pleasure. Thank you for choosing us for your lodging needs.”

“I will be back next month,” the woman said before pulling the handle up on her luggage and walking away.

Kira wanted so badly to ask the greeter if she knew about the new offer, but she didn’t want it to look like there’d been a breakdown in communication between her and Franklin. She was anxious to talk to him about it. But until they had a minute together alone, she had to work like everything was fine and normal.

“Now, let’s go over this one more time, since the Bradfords will be staying two additional nights. I want to make sure we’ve updated all the records.”

They were going over the calendar when Franklin approached. She didn’t know what it was about him, but his masculine presence loomed, almost larger than life.

“F-Franklin.” Kira was hit with his scent wafting over her. She didn’t know why she was suddenly tongue tied, but it wasn’t the first time that he’d had that effect on her.

She exhaled to calm her racing pulse and smiled. “Are we all set?” She hoped so, because she’d passed the kitchen a few times but had promised she wasn’t going to keep badgering him. She wanted to show him that she trusted him. Anyway, he was saving her from having to pay a plumber.

“Yes, we are, boss,” he said. “Everything is in working order.”

Kira wiped her brow in relief. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome.”

She turned her attention back to her employee, but then Franklin cleared his throat. Kira looked at him.

“Hey,” he said casually, “once breakfast is over, can we sit down and talk? I’d like to go over a few things with you.”

“Of course, I have a couple of things I need to discuss with you as well. I’ll be right there as soon as I’m done here,” she said.

He gave her a nod and walked away. Watching him, Kira kept thinking that his backside looked just as good as his front in his neat slacks and button-down shirt.

As she made her way through the dining area, she overheard a few of the members of the knitting club talking. She’d smiled at them as she walked past the table but then got stopped by a patron expressing their opinion on the delicious breakfast Ben and Gail served. Her ears perked up when she overheard Cora Spears mention Franklin’s name.

“I can’t understand why he’d come back after all these years and embarrass his father by working for the Davises.” She picked up her teacup and put it to her mouth.

Kira wanted to go over so badly and say something to the woman for trying to make Franklin sound like a traitor. She decided to carry on, though, since they had a full day ahead yet and she had to keep her word to Franklin. She found him sitting in the corner of the dining room with a notepad, pen, and a cup of coffee in front of him.

Kira checked her watch as she approached him. “I see we’ve got some stragglers. It’s almost eleven o’clock and they’re still in here.”

“I overheard a couple of the patrons talking about the omelets that Gail made this morning. Everyone loved them.”

“We may have to put it on the brunch menu,” Kira commented.

Franklin scribbled something on his notepad. “I’ll talk to them about it. What are the hours for the kitchen anyway?”

“Breakfast hours are from seven to eleven. On Saturday and Sunday we also have brunch. Dinner is from five thirty to seven, then the kitchen is closed. After that they can get something from Dogs and Suds or Susie’s Diner, which aren’t too far away. We get a good number of people in here who come for the food.”

Kira was all for good news, so she decided to keep what she just overheard about Franklin to herself. No sense in them both being affected by the negativity.

The whole time she’d been speaking, Franklin was scribbling notes down. When he stopped, she asked, “What did you want to talk to me about?”

He picked up the fancy carafe. “Would you like some hot coffee?”

He is so thoughtful. Kira smiled at him when their eyes met. The gaze was so intense that it was hard for her to look away. As she peered deeper, she could see that Franklin was really a kind soul.

“Thank you so much,” she said. “I’d love some.”

Franklin turned over her dainty mug and poured the hot coffee into it. “I think we’ve got everything together for Hank.”

“Excellent, so what do you need from me?”

They both reached for the small caddy filled with sugar packets at the same time, his hand landing on top of hers. Neither of them moved, and when their eyes met, once again, Kira was mesmerized by his gaze. Her cheeks warmed, but still, she couldn’t look away.

And apparently, neither could he. Is it the same reason I can’t?

She gave herself a mental shake. She needed to keep her head together. Her family loathed this man simply because of his last name, and his family felt the same way about her—pursuing anything between them would be a lost cause. And besides, she was his boss. These feelings she had for him needed to be ignored, for both their sakes.

Finally, he moved his hand away, leaving a void from the warmth of his touch. Like a gentleman, he said, “Ladies first.”

Kira smiled and pulled two sugar packets from the container. Franklin followed, then he picked up the spoon. “Have you noticed that none of the silverware matches?”

She laughed. “Yes, I love that.”

“But it gives a different look at each table. That doesn’t unify or say anything about the inn.”

“Yeah, it does. It says that we’ve got enough clean silverware for people to eat with,” Kira joked. She knew exactly what he was talking about, though. “Some of the pieces have been here for a very long time. We try to keep them up so that they look nice.”

Franklin crossed it off his list on the yellow notepad. “Okay, then what about the chairs and tables? They don’t match, either.”

Kira shook her head. “Nope.”

“Well, I think that we might want to invest in some. Again, it would unify things.”

She watched him almost squirm in his chair. Like her aunt had said, Franklin was the total opposite of her. Everything he’d just named was perfectly fine for her.

“Franklin, I’d like to give you a bit of a history lesson. After the Civil War, several members of my family got together and purchased this building from the owner.”

His brows lifted, eyes widened. He scribbled some notes on his pad. “I had no idea it was used as a residence.”

“Yes, multiple generations lived here. One night a family was trying to get out of a bad rainstorm and they thought this was a boarding house. A place that they could seek refuge.”

“What happened?”

“Of course, they made room for the man and his family. Then my great-great-grandfather had the idea to open it as an inn. You know, we’ve always wanted to help people, and there was a time when Black folk couldn’t stay in certain places in the South and feel safe. So he and his siblings got together and came up with the Red Rose Inn. It was named after their mother, Rose.”

“You should be very proud,” he said. “This place clearly has a rich history and has been in Clover for a long time. Have you had it declared a historical landmark?”

“I don’t think so. I’ll have to ask my aunt Mary Louise.” She looked over at Franklin, who was writing furiously on his notepad. “Oh, and we were listed in the green book during the days of Jim Crow.”

“Kira, I know exactly how we can get to the next level,” he said, still writing. “If it hasn’t been declared a historical landmark, we should pursue it.”

“Do you know how much money it will cost me to purchase new tables, chairs, silverware, and the like?” Kira heard his statement but wasn’t ready to embrace his ideas. She was already having problems with her aunt accepting him, so she needed to tread lightly.

Finally, he looked up from his notes. “I know, but it would be a great investment.”

She sat forward, trying to get a look at his notepad. “What else do you have on that list?”

“I thought that we’d have a meeting at this same time every day once the patrons have cleared out of the dining hall.”

“I like that idea. Sometimes Ben and Gail can join us. That way if they have any concerns, we’d hear them before they got ready for the lunch and dinner crowds,” Kira suggested.

“I should just talk to Ben and Gail. You’ll have other things to handle at the inn. If there is something that I can’t, then we’d include you.”

She should have known he’d already had it all worked out. Pushback from Gail was anticipated, but him handling things would take a bit of stress off her. She and Franklin working together seamlessly would show her aunt that they both were up to the task. It could make all the difference for the inn and their bottom line.

“I’ll send you the proposal for Hank to sign. We’re already short on time,” Franklin mentioned.

“Looks like you’ve got a lot more on that notepad. I think we should see how this gala goes first before we get into all that.”

Franklin chuckled. “Yeah. Looks like I got a little carried away.”

“After the Rotary Club event, I promise we’ll revisit.”

“I’m cool with that.”

Kira leaned forward. “Now, I want to talk to you about this new turn-down service.”

She watched him carefully, but in regular business fashion, his expression didn’t change. “Don’t you think you should have talked to me about this first?” she asked.

“It was on my list.”

“From what one guest just told me, you’ve already implemented it. Without a word to me.”

“Yes, I apologize. I guess we got carried away after I spoke to Mona about it briefly, and she loved the idea.”

“This particular guest frequents the inn a couple times a year for business. She loved the mints on her pillow.”

Franklin chuckled, then smiled for a long time.

“Why are you so amused?”

“See, it’s infectious. I hadn’t told Mona to move forward with it.”

“Well, your idea was a big hit,” Kira said, getting up from the table. “Let’s chat again later.”

“Cool.”

As she walked back to her office, she noticed the furnishings and the placement of things. It wasn’t that she hadn’t paid attention before, but after speaking to Franklin, it just brought it all into focus.

In her mind, it was okay that they didn’t have high-end flatware and expensive crystal. She loved the homey and sometimes disheveled look of the inn. But what if other people didn’t? Like her customers…

Maybe a change was needed. She’d be taking a huge chance on Franklin—and her reputation—by allowing him to make large changes. She only had a week and a half to prove to her aunt that him being at the inn was going to work. She hoped it wouldn’t backfire.