Innkeeping with Murder - Tim Myers [11]
Alex walked back to the utility room to see if Mor was having any luck with the boiler.
The big man was putting the last of his tools back into his steel tool chest.
Alex groaned. “Oh, no. Don’t tell me it’s hopeless. You’ve at least got to try.”
Mor offered him a huge grin. “Come on, Alex, lighten up. I’ve already taken care of the problem. You got lucky today, but I wouldn’t bet on it next time.”
Alex thought of Reg’s body at the top of the lighthouse and of the impact it would have on his guests, wondering just how lucky he could be. “Does this mean we have hot water?”
Mor said, “Give the boiler a few minutes to get
warmed up, and you’ll be back in business. I bet that water is freezing straight out of the well.”
Alex watched with trepidation as Mor began to fill out a bill. Alex must have caught his friend’s eye, because when the handyman looked up from his paperwork, Mor was grinning broadly.
“I didn’t need any parts, all I had to do was adjust the air intake valve. I’d teach you to do it yourself, but then where would I be without all these hefty fees I charge you? All you have to pay for today is my labor. Les said something about collecting up front, since Marisa threatened on the answering machine to stick us with your bill from last month.”
Alex tried to return his grin, but couldn’t manage it. “I don’t blame you a bit for asking. I just hope I have enough to cover it. How much do I owe you?”
Mor made a careful study of his watch. “Well, I’ll be. I’ve been on my own time since I left the shop. How about if I tell Les the boiler fixed itself? That and a cold beer, we’ll call it even.”
“That sounds like a deal to me. Thanks, I really appreciate it, Mor.”
Maybe Alex was due to have a little good luck come his way. More likely, his luck came from having Mor as a good friend. The two of them had grown up together in Elkton Falls; they’d even been on the high school football team together when Mor was a senior and Alex was a sophomore. While Alex wasn’t nearly as good as his friend on the gridiron, he’d still been enough of a ballplayer to make the all-county squad during his own senior year, albeit as a member of the third team.
Alex walked Mor back into the lobby where they both happened to catch a glimpse of Elise entering a guest room on the first floor.
Mor whistled softly. “That is one sweet heartbreaker you’ve got on your hands there. Since when did Elise sign on at the inn? When you said Marisa was gone, I had no idea you’d set your sights so high on your next maid. Not that I blame you. I’d work side-by-side with that young lady any day of the week.”
Alex said brusquely, “She needs a job, and I happened to have an opening. Do you know much about her?”
Mor’s eyes twinkled. “Not nearly as much as I’d like to. From what I hear, she’s just been in town a few weeks. I ran into her over at the grocery store. Asked her out right off the bat, too; some opportunities are too good to pass up.”
Alex knew Mor was famous throughout seven counties as a heartbreaker in his own right. Fathers had been known to send their eligible daughters out on phantom errands before calling Mor for a job, just to be sure they were well out of the handyman’s reach.
“So what did she say when you asked her out?”
The big man chuckled softly. “She was polite enough, but I got the message pretty fast that she wasn’t interested.”
Alex smiled gently at his friend. “I’ll bet you were floored. Is that the first time you’ve ever been turned down?”
Mor slapped him on the back. Alex couldn’t believe how much the harmless-looking tap stung. “Well, she told me she was engaged, that’s what made the message loud and clear. What are you worried about? You’re still dating Sandra, aren’t you?”
“Off and on,” he admitted. Sandra Beckett was a lawyer from town Alex went out with occasionally. They kept it casual, no real strings between them, which suited Alex just fine.
Alex added, “To be honest with you, I need a maid a lot more than I need a new girlfriend. I’ve got my guests, to consider, you know.”
Mor nodded his head a little too