“Morning, Rita.” Corra put her purse in the back hall closet and returned to grab herself a plate.
“Everybody’s out this morning doing one thing or another, but the truck will be back soon and I want to get the kitchen cleaned up.”
Corra looked up at the clock on the kitchen wall. It was almost nine o’clock, which meant she had thirty minutes to eat before she prepared to open the gift shop. “I’m pressed for time this morning too.” Corra sat at the small kitchen table. “I’ve got a local artist bringing some things for consignment.”
“I didn’t know you did consignments?” Rita said, as she poured Corra a cup of coffee.
“We just started. One of Tayler’s ideas.” Her soon-to-be sister-in-law, Tayler Carter, left her job in Chicago to be with Rollin, and brought a wealth of business-building ideas with her.
After Corra finished her breakfast the back door swung open and her older brother, Rollin, walked in. She hadn’t expected to see him since most of his mornings were spent out on the farm.
Dressed in his usual jeans, cotton T-shirt and boots, he walked in wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. “Morning Rollin, I thought you were already out checking the crops by now,” Corra said.
“I was, but I’ve got some business to take care of in town. Some of us start work before 8:00 a.m., missy.” He grabbed a glass from the cabinet and walked over to the refrigerator for water.
“Rollin, you know I can’t get here any earlier. I have to get the kids off to school.” He teased her about her hours every week. Since she quit managing Save-A-Lot groceries and started working at the Coleman House she’d only averaged about thirty hours a week.
Rollin threw back his water and set the glass on the counter. “Sis, I need you to do something for me today.”
“What’s that?” Corra asked, as she finished her plate and pushed it aside.
“I’m expecting a guy to drop by this morning and demo a new computer program. I need you to handle it for me.”
“Me! Why me? You know more about that system than I do. Or Tayler, she knows it.”
“Tayler’s in town taking care of some business and there’s an issue with the last shipment for Whole Foods that I need to attend to. You can do it. Just see if what he has is better than what we’re currently using.”
“But, I have a client coming by this morning.” She placed her plate and his glass in the dishwasher.
“He’s not coming until around noon. And it won’t take long.” Rollin turned and looked out the back window. “Here comes the morning truck. You should have seen the crew this morning. They’re from the city and were so excited to tour the farm they practically ran out and jumped on the truck.”
Corra walked over to the window and stood beside her brother. The pickup truck slowly made its way up the road to the house. The bed-and-breakfast was a working farm where every morning at 8:00 a.m. Kevin, a full-time employee, and Kyla, their cousin and a new employee, loaded the guests on the back of the truck and carried them out to the fields to pick the day’s meal. Rita would prepare their vegetables and fruits for dinner. However, nothing was in season at the moment. So, the guests toured the farm.
“We’ve got a full house this week, don’t we?” Corra asked.
“Yep. For Greek Alumni week at the college, Tayler suggested we offer a discount. Booked us up for two weeks. After that we have a few vacancies.”
“Well, I’d better get ready to open the gift shop.”
“Hey, don’t forget about the computer guy. He’ll come to the house, not the gift shop.”
“Rollin, how can I be in two places at once?”
“Kyla will help you out. Let her cover the shop once he gets here.”
Corra nodded. In the time Corra spent recovering from a broken fibula, Tayler had convinced Rollin to do something she couldn’t—hire more staff. Tayler had taken over serving breakfast from Rollin while Rita remained the queen of the kitchen. To assist her they’d brought on two relatives. Tracee Coleman, who’d spent five years working for a bakery in Louisville, Kentucky, and her younger sister Kyla who was working on her Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Kentucky. She worked on the farm four days a week. She had even helped Rollin set up an internship with the local college. They currently had two young interns onboard.
Corra walked outside as the truck pulled up. She waved to Kevin as Kyla jumped off the back of the truck. She gave a few instructions to the guests before waving at Corra.
“Morning, Corra. You missed a fun ride this morning.”