Chapter 3
Chapter Three
The next day, Celeste’s body remembered the corn chowder offer and Veronica was kind enough to drive them over to satisfy her craving. Even better, Natalie met them at the Pelican for lunch.
Their younger sister came through the door in a rush and wrapped Celeste in a gentle hug.
The results of her only attempt at fire-fighting showed more today with bruising on her arms, legs, and one side of her jaw, though she couldn’t recall when that had happened. “I’m okay. The house is okay,” she reminded Natalie.
“Let her sit,” Veronica chided. “She’s sore and achy.”
“You’re not wrong.” Celeste shouldn’t have been startled by the observation. Her sister was all about fitness and function. “Have I been complaining?”
“Not nearly enough,” Veronica said. “You’re pushing.”
“Of course she is.” Natalie shooed Celeste back into the seat. “I’m so sorry this happened. How are you feeling?”
“Better.”
Her sisters exchanged their mutual doubt with a look. “At least you look somewhat better than you sounded last night,” Natalie said.
Celeste glanced between them. “We talked last night?”
“You were pretty out of it,” Veronica said. “I told her not to rush back. Her last class was this morning.” Her brow flexed into a frown over her slender nose. “Did I make a mistake?”
“No, of course not.” She didn’t want either of them fussing over her, making a mountain out of a mishap. “I’m a big girl. And you obviously took great care of me last night.” She tried to smile it all away. “This will be something we laugh about next week.”
Veronica and Natalie both raised eyebrows at her.
“Come on,” Celeste pleaded. “Be nice. I’m injured here.”
Her sisters made cooing sounds of sympathy that were not at all convincing.
“Well, I stopped by Roni’s place on the way here,” Natalie said. “To drop off chocolates for tonight. Straight from that French shop on Society Street.”
That was Celeste’s favorite chocolatier. “What’s tonight?” If they’d made plans, she didn’t remember them.
“Sister night!” Natalie bounced in her seat. “We haven’t had one in a while.”
Veronica grinned. “You get to pick the movie.”
“Why me?” Celeste wondered. They usually had a list and narrowed it down with a few fast rounds of voting.
“Because that way you can pick a movie you’re willing to sleep through,” Veronica said. “If we choose, you might fight and try to stay awake.”
Celeste couldn’t fault the logic. “I don’t want y’all?—”
“We don’t,” Natalie interrupted. “Whatever you’re worrying about, stop it. We know this is an injury and not an illness. The only person having flashbacks about caregiving is you.”
Celeste wasn’t so sure if she believed it, but she didn’t want to argue. “Okay. I just?—”
Veronica cut her off this time. “She’s in the last hour of her pain meds.”
“Ohh,” Natalie said as if it was some big revelation.
“I’m not sure I like the two of you in this mode,” Celeste admitted.
“Come on, how often is it two against one?” Veronica asked Natalie.
“Always,” Natalie finished with her big, bright laugh.
“Here comes lunch.” Veronica lifted her chin toward Reed before Celeste could complain.
“Are you short-staffed today?"
“Of course not.” Reed beamed at them. “Just wanted to come out and check on the three of you myself.” He rested a hand on Celeste’s shoulder. “How’s the patient?”
“A little wobbly,” Veronica said.
“That’s mostly emotional,” Celeste added.
Reed gave her a gentle squeeze. “No one with an independent spirit like yours enjoys being sidelined. But this will pass quickly enough. Y’all just keep that in mind. And you’ve got plenty of willing help too.”
“Yes, sir.”
Reed was no stranger to caregiving. His wife had died of a rough and lengthy battle with cancer when their daughter, Kirsten, was still in elementary school. The Pelican had been their dream, built with the intention of passing it down to future generations.
“The chowder smells amazing.” Celeste pressed a hand to her growly stomach. “I’m so glad you mentioned it.”
“And the barbecue was fantastic last night,” Veronica added. “We have plenty of leftovers for today.”
“Glad to hear it,” Reed said. “If you find yourself in the mood for something else, just call.”
Natalie popped up out of her chair and gave him a hug. “You’re a lifesaver Reed. We all love you so much.”
Of the three of them, she was the most comfortable with friendly, affectionate outbursts.
Two against one in yet another format. Not that Celeste needed to point out the obvious.
She was grateful for her sisters, even when they teased her and gave her crap about being controlling.
She loved all the ways the three of them were unique as individuals, and she liked the way they were starting to gel as a team in their business venture.
“Y’all enjoy lunch.” Reed grinned as he returned to his usual spot behind the bar.
The sisters dug into the chowder with quiet enthusiasm. Someday, Celeste would get her hands on this recipe. Somehow the hot, creamy soup was hearty without being heavy. And paired with the spinach salad, she felt full in a hurry.
Veronica, ever watchful, handed her a pain pill. “Take this.”
“I think I’m okay,” Celeste protested. She didn’t want to slide back into the fog she’d been in since yesterday. She might be getting apologetic and emotional, but she could think and she didn’t want to lose that. “We need to talk about stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?” Natalie asked.
“It’s a half dose.” Veronica’s gaze was unrelenting. “Humor me.”
Celeste didn’t want to make a scene. “Fine.”
“What’s up?” Natalie pressed. “Shouldn’t you be ignoring business for another few days?”
“Probably,” Celeste allowed. “I’ve been gathering notes and looking at the numbers to change the business model to a full house rental instead of the daily juggle of booking by the room.”
“She made me download her notes last night,” Veronica said to Natalie. “It’s not a bad option, but we’ve just started brainstorming.”
Changing their business model was more than a brainstorm for Celeste. But they were right. There wasn’t any need to rush into the changes. “I’m thinking we can earn more with less effort if we switch to the full-house rental,” she said.
“I’m all for that,” Natalie’s blue eyes sparkled. “Anything that gives me more time to put into my artwork.”
A mixed-media sculptor, Natalie crafted big projects by commission, supplementing with teaching art classes and creating smaller works for sale through galleries.
“We need to consider the potential for more wear and tear on the house with longer, un-hosted stays,” Veronica countered. “But it’s worth thinking about. We have time to make up our minds and change the schedule. We only have a few holiday weekends on the calendar right now.”
Maybe she was jumping the gun. On the verge of apologizing again for being hurt, Celeste forced herself to change the subject. “Tell us about the art classes, Nat.”
Natalie swiped one last hunk of bread through the last of her soup.
“It’s way more fun than I thought. The kids were hilarious.
A couple of them show some promise, though maybe not for full-blown artistry careers.
” She cocked her head, her blond braid sliding over her shoulder.
“Definitely several kids with strong design and color skills.” Her mouth tugged into a frown.
“I don’t know how teachers grade these projects.
It’s all so subjective, y’know? I’m so glad I didn’t have to do any of that. ”
“Mm-hm.” Veronica elbowed her. “What about their teacher? Any sparks?”
“Stop it,” Natalie scolded. “Doing these special sessions isn’t like hopping on a new dating app, you goof.”
“ You told me he was hot!” Veronica shot back.
“Well, he is. And so is his wife.” Natalie shrugged. “They have the cutest twin boys. Two years old. Dynamos from the stories and pictures he shared.”
Celeste smothered her laughter at Veronica’s astonishment. It felt wonderful to be caught up in the chatter over something simple and real. She had the best sisters in the world.
“He’s supporting a family of four as a high school art teacher?” Veronica whistled. “He’s not just hot, he’s tough.”
“Either way, he belongs to someone else and they are ridiculously happy.”
“Which is everything you’ve always wanted,” Celeste murmured.
Natalie wanted the husband and kids and all the love and craziness that went along with it. Once, Celeste had wanted that too, but so far, life had scoffed at her hopes and plans.
“It’s nothing less than all of us deserve,” Natalie countered, her tone sharper than usual.
So far, none of them had enjoyed much luck with love and happy endings. But that wasn’t their focus today and it certainly wasn’t the emotional roller coaster she wanted to ride while she was hurting.
“Look, I know Celeste wants to talk about changing up a few things, but first we need to make sure we have a B&B at all.”
“What does that mean?” Natalie demanded.
Veronica shushed her. She glanced around, but at the tail end of the lunch rush, no one was close enough to overhear them.
“We know Celeste didn’t set the fire, which means the B&B was attacked by someone else,” Veronica said. “Probably random,” she allowed. “I called Jess this morning about those extra cameras that were installed.”
Celeste scooted forward in her seat. “Did they pick up anything?”
“Not much that was useful,” Veronica reported. “We weren’t thinking about sight lines. You know how fast things grow here.”
Celeste gave a heavy sigh. “Right.” She considered when the cameras were installed. “Palm leaves?”
Veronica nodded. “And the magnolia.” She sipped her sweet tea. “Also worth noting that I was the second person to call. Chief Miller took your advice.”
“Good.”
“Talk about a hottie,” Natalie mused.
Veronica elbowed her again.
“Ow,” Nat complained. “Stop that.”
“What’s the next step?” Celeste asked.