I thought about my brother’s animal rehab center and the little town events I’d seen. An aggressive advertising campaign could probably put this place on the map. There’d be swarms of people begging for lodging year-round if I could just get the word out.
I blew out a breath, trying to put those thoughts from my mind. None of that was on the table. I was only here for three months. I just needed a simple solution to help bring some fresh money to this place. Ideally, I needed to find a way to earn enough money to let Gramps take a major step back and hire some help. Maybe even retire, if the old man would agree to do it.
The kids came back after lunch smelling like sunscreen and carrying brown greasy paper bags. My brother took them swimming in one of the nearby springs and then showed them around his rehab center. Zack ruffled their hair and smiled at me. “Don’t worry about lunch. I sent them home with my famous grilled cheese and fries.”
I thanked him, but my attention was still on the stack of papers in front of me. I had the exact financial records of Gramps’ Inn for the last two years, and the numbers weren’t pretty.
“I got to pet a bear!” Molly said. “I’m never washing this hand again!” She held up her small palm, which was crusted with dirt and something pink and sticky.
I glared at Zack.
“A bear cub,” Zack said quickly. “And the mother wasn’t around.”
“I got to feed a deer,” Billy said. “And a fish tried to swim up my pants.”
“I’ll have to come next time.”
Zack ushered the kids off to one of the tables in the lobby of the inn, where they dumped their bags of fries in a pile and started eating their grilled cheeses.
“What’s up? You look grouchier than usual.”
I set the papers down and leaned back in the chair. “Gramps is hemorrhaging money with this place. Did you know?”
Zack leaned in the doorway, arms crossed. “I knew things were slow. How bad is it?”
“Unless he has a secret stash of gold coins somewhere, I can’t imagine it can keep up like this much longer. Six months, maybe? But he’s got to be burning through whatever savings he has just to pay the bills. He’s barely making anything.”
My brother shook his head. “Damn. I’ve been too caught up in my own shit. Let me help you work th–”
I shook my head. “I’ll figure something out. I just need a little time to think of a solution.”
Zack’s mood seemed to brighten at that. “You think you can fix it?”
“I’m not going to let Gramps go broke.” I shrugged, thinking out loud as I looked around me. I was silent for a few seconds, running over the options one by one until something clicked with potential. “I mean this place has that huge kitchen from the original owners. If I knocked out a wall, I could connect it to the lobby here and call it a restaurant. The decor is already on point. I’d just need a chef.”
“See?” Zack said, snapping his fingers. “That’s why they pay you the big bucks.”
I gave a wry smile. “The question is whether I could get it all set up within three months. And if I’d have enough time to find out if it’s working. And then finding money to pay the staff. And finding the right chef.”
“Minor details. Anyway, I’ve got a date to get ready for.” Zack gestured to his sweaty shirt and disheveled hair. “I had to bottle feed a very playful pair of bear cubs this morning,” he said, as if that explained the state he was in.
“Thanks for taking the kids. It sounds like they had a lot of fun.”
“Any time. If you ever decide to move here, you’ve got a free babysitter on call. Just keep that in mind.” Zack winked, then headed out.
Why did everybody think I was going to pick up my life and move here? I heard the kids get up from the table to rampage around the inn. As usual, they left more than half their food uneaten in their excitement. I was about to make some calls to see if I could borrow a high-end chef from any of my business contacts when Billy and Molly stumbled into the room. Molly had an actual fry tangled in her hair that was dangling just below her ear. I looked at the state of them, shaking my head.
Zack may be a free babysitter, but it was like letting my kids loose in the jungle and asking a wild animal to look after them.
I got up, gesturing helplessly to them. Billy’s face was smeared with dirt and ketchup. The shirt his mom had just got him already had a tear down the armpit, too. Katie was going to ream me out for that one.