He was the reason I came to Tupelo. When I found this place it was him I hired to do the renovations. He now lived here and kept the maintenance up to date on the house. “Well, let’s get you settled and then we can catch up.” I nodded in agreement, knowing that Stacy was going to be mighty surprised with everything I had to tell him.
When I walked into the house I couldn’t help the smile that stretched across my face. This place was amazing. The large wooden door opened into a sitting room that was covered in antiques. The aged furniture along with the huge stair case made you feel as if you had just stepped into a plantation home from the eighteen hundreds. To the left, a swinging door led into a massive kitchen and on the other side of that was a dining room that had enough private tables to accommodate everyone in the house. To the right of the sitting room was a smoking parlor and a library. I was hoping to spend a little time in there before I left.
I climbed the long staircase to the second floor, and then a narrower one to the third floor and walked into what would be my home for the next few days. I sat my things down on the settee, exhausted and very glad I had an elevator installed after I purchased this place. I knew if I had a tough time climbing all those stairs, it would be impossible for someone in their sixties or seventies to do it, and considering they were my best customers, it was the best money I had put into this house.
I was glad only a few people were staying here this week. It wasn’t often that this room was available and by far, it was the best in the house. The room was large and spacious with twelve foot ceilings, plush burgundy carpet and a king sized canopy bed that was raised off the floor and had steps surrounding it. An old vanity table, complete with a wash bowl and water pitcher, sat on one side of the double doors that led to the bathroom, and a dark wooden chifferobe sat on the other. The bathroom housed an oversized claw foot tub and a double sink with lights that looked like old lanterns. But, the best part of the room was the balcony that overlooked the garden below. I could spend hours out here and do nothing more than look out over the garden and day dream.
I grabbed my cell and called Scott to let him know I made it and would come by this office sometime around four and to not leave until I got there. I sent a quick text to Luke letting him know I made it and was sorry for being a bitch and hanging up, and then unpacked my clothes before heading downstairs to the kitchen to meet up with Stacy.
In the kitchen, I could smell corn and crab bisque simmering on the stove. The smell made my mouth water and I wondered over to get a bowl. Unlike other bed and breakfasts, this one was a full service. We had a cook on call twenty-four seven who would cook anything your heart desired, within reason. Mrs. Pearl, Mrs. Jackie and Mrs. Gladene had been cooking here since long before I was born. They were sweet and wonderful and full of life, but they would snap on your ass if you even breathed wrong in their kitchen.
“Jackie told me to make sure you got a big bowl of that,” Stacy said, entering the kitchen. “She always said you were too skinny.”
It surprised me that Jackie would even consider cooking something for me. Last time we spoke, she called me a spoiled bitch and I was quick to tell her she could find another job. She just laughed which made me madder. She knew she was irreplaceable and so did I. If I fired Jackie, I might as well say goodbye to Pearl and Gladene too, and if I did that, I would lose all of my business. People drove from miles around just to eat Mrs. Pearl’s cornbread dressing.
“The old bitch probably poisoned it,” I muttered.
“So, what brings you up here?” Stacy asked jumping right to the point.
“Well, I am having some problems with some renters and I came to straighten a few things out,” I answered fixing myself a large bowl of bisque and joining him at a table.
“Sounds fun, but enough about work. How has life been treating you?”
I smiled up at him. “Good. Really good. I met someone,” I confessed trying to gauge his reaction.
“Dallas, that’s great! I am so happy for you. Tell me about him.” This was going to be the hard part. I was hoping Stacy would keep an open mind and not be too judgmental, but I was afraid he would jump the gun on this one.