or even Abby. She might like the company, actually.” Both Kate and her mother were worried about Abby.
“We’ll see. I’ll rent the other rooms first. If anyone wants to rent them, that is. What if no one does?” She looked dismayed at the thought.
“Of course they will. We can run some Facebook ads too. I learned a little about that at the magazine. We can get really targeted with who we want to reach.”
Her mother looked both intrigued and intimidated by the idea.
“That sounds lovely, but I wouldn’t know where to begin with that.”
“I can look into it for you. And if you sign on with Airbnb, they get a small percentage but in return they send traffic your way.”
“Okay. I still need to figure out pricing. Chase made some suggestions, but they seemed much too high to me.”
Kate laughed. “Mom, Nantucket is ridiculously overpriced. If you don’t price high, people will think there’s something wrong. High pricing is part of the exclusivity factor.”
“Hmm. I suppose you’re right, but I don’t want to price nice people out of coming either.”
Her mother was so not a business person.
“Why don’t you do some searching and see what some of the other bed and breakfasts are charging? The rates are going to vary quite a bit depending on location and time of the year, but you’ll get an idea of what the going market rates are.”
“Right. I’ll do that. I looked initially and was encouraged by what seemed possible, but I’ll be more thorough about it.”
“And I’ll go with you to the board of selectmen meeting. Hopefully that’s just a formality,” Kate said. Her mother had found out that an official bed and breakfast business would need to be approved by the board of selectmen. They were considering approval of another business that night too, a new restaurant that would be opening in Beach Plum Cove, which Kate was excited about.
From what she read in the local paper, it was pretty much a done deal as the new owner of the property was an experienced restaurateur and he was taking over a location that had been sitting empty for several years. It would be nice to have a good restaurant in their neighborhood again, and it would be a draw for the bed and breakfast too as it was within walking distance.
Kate was about to head over to Abby’s for coffee when she noticed her phone lighting up with several text messages in a row. The first two were from Dylan, begging her to call him. He’d left voice messages too, apologizing profusely and asking her to give him another chance. She’d deleted the messages and had ignored the texts, but it was getting ridiculous. Ignoring him only seemed to make him more persistent. She sighed heavily and texted him back.
Dylan I can’t go back. I’m sorry, but this is a deal breaker for me. It’s over. Please stop calling and texting. She clicked send and then read the next text message, from Amanda.
Hope you’re well. Merry Christmas! If you’re interested, I have an intriguing feature I’d love to assign to you. Say the word and I’ll email you all the details.
Kate’s first reaction was irritation as she remembered how awful it had felt to be laid off.
But curiosity won out, and she typed back, I might be interested. Tell me more.
The text back came almost immediately. Sent. Check your email.
Kate checked her email and was surprisingly impressed. The assignment seemed tailor made for her. Amanda wanted her to do a feature on the coming year’s Nantucket Film Festival, covering who would be there, how the event originated and interviews with some of the founders and presenters, which included some famous filmmakers.
Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, the other island off the Cape, both attracted their share of celebrities that visited and owned properties. And the flat fee for the feature was more than generous. She didn’t know how often Amanda might send freelance work like this her way, but if it was often enough or if she was able to generate other freelance assignments, maybe she’d be able to stay longer on Nantucket.
She quickly texted back to Amanda. I’m in. Thanks for thinking of me. I’m actually here on Nantucket for a while.
And the almost immediate reply back. Great. I thought you might be.
Lisa was caught up in the Christmas spirit and felt optimistic about the upcoming board of selectmen’s meeting. She agreed with Kate that it just made sense that they’d be approved