"There aren't. Besides this one, I mean, which was Mrs. Sloan's room, for when she came to stay at the hotel. She also had a private room at Patty's Bed & Breakfast."

This, Kathy remembered. She'd had tea in Mrs. Sloan's room once or twice, in the belief that she was just a guest there. The Bed & Breakfast suite wasn't as ostentatious as the Pink Roses', so the thought that the place might belong to the lady hadn't for a moment crossed her mind.

After the tour, they had the conversation; the one in which they would settle things and decide how their lives were going to be from now on. Jesse, conscious of the tough decisions Kathy had had to make in the last months - after their bedroom-carpet conversation - tried to simplify the options for her as much as possible. Basically, he proposed either being partners in business, which implied establishing themselves there, or he would buy her part, since selling it to someone else was "out of the question". Of course, in this last arrangement, Kathy would have to hire her part to Jesse for some time until he collected the money necessary to buy it. But he wouldn't mind if she didn't.

"As I told you on the plane, I would rather you favored the first possibility, though," he pointed out.

"When you said that selling it to someone else was out of the question, was it for sentimental reasons?"

"Yes."

"Does that include Mrs. Sloan's family?"

"Not if they had been interested. But they aren't. Or at least they didn't say so."

"Geneva did."

"No. Geneva wanted a small share in the profits. It's not the same thing. But," he continued after a small pause, "if it would ease your mind, we could ask her. Just answer one question first: Is that what you really want?"




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