Queenie's Cafe by SUE FINEMAN Read Free Book Online Page B

are in the back.”
    “How many?”
    “With Florence gone, there’s just three. Cindy is a working girl, if you know what I mean, and the other two can’t afford to live anywhere else. Rusty used to wash dishes for my mother in the café. He’s staying with his family in Orlando for a few days. As soon as I can afford it, I’ll put him back to work. Morris used to help my father with the motel, sweeping up and washing windows, and he helps with the landscaping, what there is of it. He likes flowers. I wish I could afford to put flowers around the café, but that’s way down on my list.”
    It wasn’t the first time Luke wondered why she was bothering to open the café. A young, attractive woman like Laura Whitfield who didn’t have anyone to support but herself would be better off in Jacksonville or Melbourne or West Palm Beach, where she could work in a decent job, find a boyfriend, and live well without working herself to death in this dump. Or maybe she already had a boyfriend in Kingston. There had to be something keeping her in this place. Something besides these businesses.
    She grabbed a handful of keys. “We have thirty rooms, plus my apartment.”
    Luke inspected several rooms. The bathrooms were stained with mold, the carpets, bedspreads and drapes looked as though they hadn’t been replaced in years, and the furniture looked beat to death. The air-conditioners were so old he wasn’t sure they worked at all, and the walls needed a coat of paint. There was no way she’d turn a profit without some major work and expense.
    He hated to tell her, but she already knew. Anyone with eyes could see it wasn’t worth much as a motel. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea to plow too much money into this, Laura. There are dozens of motels in this general area, and you’d never be able to compete. You could tear it down and start over, but it would cost you more than you could bring in.”
    “I know. I don’t know how Dad kept it open so long.”
    He cocked his head and looked at Laura, wondering what she’d think of a drastic change. “What would you think about turning it into apartments? You’d have fewer vacancies, a steady income, and you wouldn’t have to hire someone to clean.”
    Her eyebrows shot up. “ Hire someone to clean?”
    So she’d done it herself, probably for nothing. Why didn’t that surprise him?
    She waved her hand at the room they stood in. “What would you do to make this an apartment?”
    “Combine two rooms. Add a big closet and fix up the bathroom on the bedroom side. On the other side, replace the bathroom with a little kitchen. The plumbing is already there, so it shouldn’t take much. Without the beds, there’s room for a sitting area and eating area. The apartments should be big enough for a single person or a couple.” It couldn’t be any worse than some of the dumps he and his mother had lived in when he was a kid, and it would be better than some of the low income housing available now.
    She chewed on her bottom lip as her brows knit in concentration. “What would that cost?”
    “I’ll have to send a contractor by to give us an estimate. We need to know what we can do, what our options are, if any, and then we’ll see how much it’ll cost.”
    “Are you still interested in helping me with financing?”
    “For a percentage of the business. We’ll need an appraisal and an estimate of the remodel costs before I can tell you how big a percentage.”
    “What if I don’t agree?”
    He opened his hands. “Then we won’t do it.”
    She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay. That sounds fair. While you have your contractor here, you might as well get an estimate on a new roof for the café. I can’t believe those patches will last much longer.”
    Luke gazed at Laura and wondered what he was really doing here. This old motel wasn’t the kind of thing he’d normally invest in, yet here he was, discussing the possibilities. The café had potential,