Closer to Home by Jill Hannah Anderson

Author:Jill Hannah Anderson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Women's Fiction, Small-Town, Suspense, Romance, Rural, Domestic Life, Historical Fiction, Asian-American, Murder, Vietnam
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Published: 2024-03-19T00:00:00+00:00

JOLEIGH HAD SPENT EVERY Monday and Tuesday in November going over the motel business with the Nielsons. The weekend following Thanksgiving was the first weekend Joleigh had free from work since starting at Ruby’s. She’d switched schedules for the winter with a waitress who was saving for her summer wedding. The arrangement gave the waitress a chance of better tips by working the busier weekends, and it gave Joleigh weekends off to manage the motel.

She stopped in the office Saturday morning before driving to pick up Bits.

“Good morning,” Mr. Nielson waved Joleigh back to the kitchen table, where he and Mrs. Nielson were sharing a pot of tea. “I spoke to a technician at the telephone company yesterday. They’ll be here Tuesday to wire a phone jack in your room. They’ll transfer our motel number to your room when we leave Thursday morning.”

He slid a key ring in front of her. “There’s your copy of the office key, our house key, and the key to the maintenance room. I added your name on our business checking account at the bank.” They spent the next hour going over several last-minute things.

Mrs. Nielson’s smile reflected pure bliss at the promise of a few months of sunshine in her future.

Joleigh smiled. “I’m so excited for you two.”

“Not as excited as the missus.” Mr. Nielson looked fondly at his wife.

Joleigh stood to leave. “I need to pick up Bits now. Let me know if you think of anything else I need to know.” They’d written the phone number for Mr. Nielson’s brother on several slips of paper in case Joleigh misplaced it.

As she left the motel and headed down County Road Twelve, she thought of her first week at the motel back in May. What a difference six months made. Back then, she wasn’t sure she would stay the week. Now she would stay through the winter—and run the place.

After breakfast with Bits, Joleigh drove them both to the motel. When she unlocked her room door, Bits stopped in the doorway, her mouth gaping.

“Wow, Joleigh, you sure have a nice house!”

Joleigh stood behind Bits and took in the one-room view. It was clean and had everything she needed for the next few months other than a kitchen. “Yes, it is nice, isn’t it?” Joleigh could only imagine what the inside of Bits’s home looked like. “This isn’t my home, though. I’m staying here through the winter and will take care of the place while the owners leave for a few months.”

She explained that, normally, people rented a motel room just for a night or weekend when they were traveling and didn’t stay for months like Joleigh would.

“Okay, let’s get to work on our knitting projects.” Joleigh gestured to the bag of knitting needles and yarn on the dresser. “I’ll take your coat.”

Bits took off her stained winter jacket, and Joleigh hung it up in the closet next to hers, wishing she could wash it. She wondered if they had a washer and dryer in their home or if they went to the local laundromat.

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