Before we got off the subject of families, Penny asked about the paintings in the hallway. “Did your grandmother do those?”
Cole looked mildly surprised. “How’d you know?”
“They seem like they were done by someone who really knows the woods well. Knows them and loves them.”
“That would be our gran. She took hikes nearly every day of her life,” Brady said. “Glad you like the paintings.”
“I really do,” Penny said. “In that one by my room, the angle of the sun striking the trees makes the whole painting come to life. I love how she used a palette knife to give more texture to the clouds in the sky. I swear, I can almost see them moving.”
The three men were staring at Penny in a way that made her cheeks pink. “She’s an artist,” I informed them.
“Not really,” she said quickly. “I just admire art.”
“Well, it sounds like you know your stuff,” Cole said, giving her a smile. Though he could be gruff, I got the impression he’d beam at anyone who complimented his grandmother.
Which reminded me of something. Something not good. “Did your grandmother make those wreathes of twigs in the basement?” I asked hesitantly.
Brady chuckled. “No, she didn’t, and I agree, they’re pretty ugly.”
“Not when compared to the antlers,” I ventured, and both he and his cousin laughed. Gideon remained stone-faced, however. I didn’t know what that guy’s story was, and I didn’t want to.
“We spend a lot of our time making repairs. Decorating hasn’t been at the top of the list,” Cole explained.
“Maybe you’d get more customers if it was,” I blurted out.
That got Gideon’s attention. “Pretty things on the walls don’t make reservations magically appear out of thin air,” he said gruffly. “It might make guests think better of the inn once they’re here, but it won’t get them here.”
“It would if there were pictures of those pretty things on the website.”
Cole looked interested. “We do have some pictures up.”
“But they take forever to load. I doubt most people would even bother to wait for them. Plus, there’s nothing there as nice as your grandmother’s landscapes.”
Penny sat up straighter in her chair. “If you could get a photographer to take some good nature scenes, that might help attract customers. You’d need someone who has an eye for it, like your grandmother.”
“And like you?” Cole asked.
Penny looked taken aback, but she nodded slowly. “I could try. I’ve only got my phone with me, but it’s got a good lens on it.”
“May as well since we’re stuck here for a week,” I added.
Brady sighed. “Would it hurt you to think of it asgettingto stay here for a week instead ofhavingto?”
“It might.”
He shook his head. “At the risk of sounding childish, you started this.”
There was nothing to say to that because it was true.
Cole ignored the exchange between Brady and me. “But if what you’re saying is true, it wouldn’t do any good to put new pictures on the website.”
“Not that website, no,” I began. “It’s too slow and it’s horribly outdated. It needs to be responsive so that people can access it on their laptop or their phone. And if you’re upgrading, an online reservation system would help. People don’t like to have to call places anymore.”
“That would explain a lot,” Brady said.
Cole just looked thoughtful.
He seemed lost in thought for the rest of the meal, which wasn’t a bad thing. The food was just so damn good that I was more interested in eating than talking. By the time I was done, I felt fuller than I had in years. I was tempted to change into stretchy yoga pants.