Chapter 11 #2
“What it comes down to,” Josh muses, studying the map of the property on the desk between us, “is how badly Daniel’s going to hurt us when we make him give up some land.”
“And whether he’ll be able to choose the spot, or if we’ll have to choose it because he can’t decide what he’s willing to give up,” Skye adds. He winces. “This is going to go badly for all of us.”
I stare at the map and bite my lip. “Maybe not. There might be another option.”
“Are you thinking about converting the attic storage room and putting all the stuff in there in the basement?” Josh asks.
“No, but that’s not a terrible idea either.
Let’s put a pin in that.” Now that there isn’t a demon imprisoned in the basement, we could actually use it.
It’s still unfinished, though, so we’d need to do something about that first. The cost of renovating two spaces might not end up being feasible.
“What are reservations like for the dorms?”
“Not great,” Skye says, turning to the computer and bringing up the reservations app. “Uhhh, actually, there’s nothing for the rest of this year.” He turns back, a gleam in his eyes. “You want to convert them? It’s been at the back of my mind for a while to mention it.”
Mine too, but I wave encouragingly. “Pitch me.”
“Well, they hardly ever get used in winter because the farm isn’t as educational then.
Schools hardly come out for day trips, let alone overnight camps.
I can’t remember off the top of my head what the occupancy rate is generally, but we’re lucky if we get overnight groups once a month for the rest of the year—except summer, which is a bit better.
Schools that are within a couple hours’ drive prefer to do day trips, and the ones that are farther away want a three-or-four-day activity schedule to justify the trip, which we can’t give them. ”
I nod. That’s all true.
“But we get a lot of feedback from visitors with kids that they’d love to stay overnight here on the estate instead of having to stay in town, except our rooms only have double occupancy and they’re pricey.
So what if we converted the dorms to family accommodation?
” He grabs a pad and a pen and starts sketching.
“They’ve got bathrooms at both ends, right?
So one stays as is, though we might upgrade the fittings, and the other gets converted into a kitchenette.
There’s room for a queen bed for the parents plus a set of bunks and a sofa and TV.
Or maybe we’d be able to put in a loft over the kitchen?
The parents’ bed goes up there, and we can add another set of bunks downstairs and maybe upgrade to a big sectional instead of a sofa.
I guess it depends on how much room there is in the roof and what it costs. ”
I study his drawing. Art isn’t Skye’s strongest point, but he’s gotten his point across. It helps that it meshes so well with mine.
“This is a great idea,” Josh says, “but don’t get distracted. Our issue is finding somewhere for Gabe to live. How would we justify converting the dorms as family accommodation and then not renting one of them?”
“We would, though. Connor and Gabe said their… thing, organization, whatever,” Skye waves a hand to encompass the entity, “would cover his living costs. So they could pay and we’d call it a long-term rental.
But I wasn’t thinking of putting Gabe in the dorms. If we convert them to family accommodation, then the teachers’ cabins aren’t needed.
We already spruced one up and have been putting guests there, so we can do the other one too and put Gabe there. ”
Josh smirks at me. “Watch out, Kieran, or Skye’s gonna take your job.”
“Believe me, I have no doubt.” I wink.
“Never!” Skye declares, but he’s laughing. We all know he’s not going to be an administrator here forever. Eventually he’ll work out what he wants from life and go after it.
“This is our best bet, I think. It turns our dilemma into a potential revenue stream, and Skye, great thinking. I hadn’t taken it quite as far as you have, but this is going to be much easier to sell to the owners than what I was thinking.
” In fact, I’m pretty sure they’re going to love it.
I know Daniel will—he hates having school groups of up to sixty kids staying overnight.
They always end up damaging something when they’re supposed to be asleep.
“I’ll call them now—I’ve been holding off telling them the demon’s gone because the ghosts wanted to keep the vortex secret and I wasn’t sure if it would come up.
” They know we had a demon because it was accidentally freed during renovations twenty years ago.
I wish they’d told me about it when they hired me.
“What are we going to do with Gabe in the short-term?” Skye asks. “He’s good to use a guest room until Friday morning, but then we’re full again.”
“The crash room will be good to go by then,” I say determinedly. The carpet needs to come up and we might need to make some repairs to the floor underneath, but other than that, the only damage is cosmetic, and I can have people out to fix that ASAP.
“And woe betide the insurance company and our contractors if it’s not?” Josh teases.
“Hell hath no fury like an estate manager,” I return. “But I don’t think it’s going to come to that. It looks like things might finally be going our way.”
Despite it being a Monday, I spend the rest of the afternoon running around like a crazy man.
Skye volunteered to work, since he spent a large portion of last week doing nothing in an effort not to incite the body-hopper, and with him and Josh managing the visitors, I was free to deal with our unusual situation.
First, I stopped by the kitchen to fill in Arissa.
It hasn’t escaped me how uncomfortable she is with all our paranormal crap that’s been going on, but she’s still a member of the senior staff and has stepped up when we needed her.
Her relief when I tell her about Gabe is tangible.
Next, I call the owners. They’re… eclectic.
Okay, so most people call them batshit crazy.
They’re a couple in their midsixties who won nearly two hundred million dollars in the lottery thirty years ago, and since then, they flit around the world buying stuff on a whim.
The story of how they bought this place is fun: they were staying with friends in Chicago, decided they wanted a day in the “country,” and managed to get lost. They ended up in town, which they declared “the cutest place in America” (it’s not, in case you’re wondering), then installed themselves in a B&B for a few nights.
I’ve talked to a few people in town who remember that first visit from them, and apparently they stuck their noses in every cranny and gushed over everything.
When they heard about the estate, which was abandoned at the time, they rushed out here and met the ghosts.
And apparently, that was that. The old owners were tracked down, an offer put in, and when the sale went through, they came back for a month to sell the town on their plans for what we have now—an immersive historic experience and small inn.
Then they handed the whole project over to a manager and went off to their next adventure.
They still drop in once a year or so, and they were the ones who hired me, but other than that, the running of the place is completely in my hands.
As I expect, they’re delighted to hear from me, thrilled the demon’s gone, and encouraging of any plans we have that will benefit the estate.
“If you need money for the renovation, just let us know,” Carlos coos. “We should have thought of this sooner—it’s a wonderful family bonding destination!”
“You should have a grand opening when it’s done,” Ned adds. “A family fun day! With a Ferris wheel. Let us know and we’ll make sure we’re there.”
I promise faithfully to keep them in the loop, but there’s no way in hell I’m letting anyone set up a Ferris wheel on the estate.
Then I start calling around local contractors. Daniel’s up on the roof fixing the broken tile, but I’m not pulling him and Ewan away from their work to sort out the crash room, and we’re going to need people here full-time to renovate the dorms and the cabin.
By the time dinner rolls around, I’m feeling pumped. Today’s been the best day in a long time.
I run into Connor on my way to the kitchen, and the sexy little smirk he gives me does nothing to kill my mood.
“Going to dinner?” he asks, and I nod.
“I’ll take Gabe’s up to him first. Is he likely to want company? I don’t mind eating with him.”
Connor shakes his head. “He’s concentrating. He needs to eat, but anything else would just be a distraction.”
We’re three feet from the kitchen when Connor stops and spins to look behind him.
“What?” I demand. Today was going so well!
“Maisie’s screaming… something about the basement…” He’s frowning, his head cocked.
I don’t wait, just sprint for the storeroom. If there’s something new in the basement… Could the soul-eater have come back?
“Kieran!” Connor calls, but I don’t stop, and I hear him coming after me.
We skid into the storeroom, and I turn toward the basement door… just as the door to the storeroom slams closed.
“What the hell?” I hesitate in the middle of the room. Did whatever was in the basement get out?
“You have a nice evening off!” a voice calls through the door. Maisie?
“And bring each other off!” another voice yells. I’m pretty sure it was Norval.
“No, that’s get each other off,” Johnny corrects.
Oh my god. Have they…? “What’s going on?” I demand.
“I tried to tell you I didn’t sense anything,” Connor says, leaning against the shelves with his hands in his pockets. “I think your ghosts and my idiot uncle are matchmaking.”
I take two strides back to the door and grab the handle, but it doesn’t budge. Since there’s no lock on this door, that can only mean the ghosts are holding it closed somehow. I groan.
“Let us out right now,” I order in my sternest voice.