Garvey's (The Garvey Series 1)

Jackie sat across from Billy, a business consultant. He had gone to college with Jackie’s twin sister. Billy had come to Arizona as a favor to her. The Garvey Hotel and Bar had been in the twins’ family for two generations. Billy finished making notes on his legal pad. He took off his wire-rimmed glasses. His hazel eyes looked up at Jackie’s tan-colored, oval face. “I’m sorry, Jackie, but I don’t think anything can be done. The reason Garvey’s isn’t doing well is because this town no longer has any attractions to attract tourists. There’s no need for the hotel anymore.” Jackie looked down at the wood dining table. Her worst fear was spoken aloud for the first time. Billy continued, “The best thing for you and Jodi to do is file for bankruptcy and start your lives over – or put the place up for sale. Then again, I don’t know who would want it. There is nothing here. I’m surprised the restaurant in the middle of town is still open.”

Jackie had slipped out earlier to visit Joe, the guy who ran the diner in town. Joe usually closed the diner around nine, but he stayed open for her. He comforted her and empathized with her situation since he had inherited the diner from his parents. Jackie has known Joe since she was little. He was a year ahead of her and Jodi in school. He was able to console her a little, but more importantly, Joe was able to restore her hope. She was able to come up with an idea. They could turn the hotel into a retreat and wedding destination. Of course, it would take a lot of money to advertise. The real problem was could they book big events in time to make the next loan payment to the bank and more importantly make the payment for their father’s care. It was 11:30 by the time Jackie made it back to Garvey's. She couldn't believe all the cars were still outside. She figured everyone would have gone home by now. She parked the four-year-old Toyota her and Jodi shared in

Jodi couldn’t have been more pleased. She locked the admissions money in the safe in the bar office and walked back out to the bar area. She smiled when she saw Trina, Sandy, and Becky do a striptease while doing the Electric Slide.Jodi was afraid people would be too uptight, so she offered two free shots of tequila per table and told the staff to do what they had to do to get people to loosen up. Eight more customers entered the bar and the bouncers took their money and gave them wristbands. She went out on the floor to make sure the customers had everything they needed. Jodi spotted a couple of folks in the booths making out. “Hey, remember me?” a deep male voice said behind her. Jodi turned around to look into the deep blue eyes of Sam, the delivery man from earlier that afternoon. “Hi. Sam, right?” Jodi beamed. His blond hair was neatly combed and parted on the side. “Glad you decided to visit us.” “Would you

It was 11:45 Saturday night at Garvey's. Jackie did her usual final skim and was heading for the hotel lobby door when Jodi yelled out to her. Jackie turned around as Jodi approached her. “You're leaving?” “Yeah, why is that a surprise?” “Well . . . after your . . . experience with the pool guys I thought you might want to stick around,” Jodi said coyly as she rotated her shoulders. Jackie’s head leaned back to stare at her sister from a different angle. “What experience? I convinced them to take another form of payment.” Jodi burst out laughing. “Yeah, the other form being you. I’m not dumb and I know those guys.” Jackie’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t worry. They didn’t tell me. Like I said, I know those guys.” The dawn of Jodi’s meaning hit Jackie right in the face. “You set me up. You weren’t stuck in traffic.” Jodi laughed. “Now, don't be mad. You needed to loosen up a

Jackie wanted to consult with Jesse, the motorcycle moonshiner, to get his input on their predicament. Jodi tagged along to his house on the edge of town.They walked around the back of his one-story home to find him tuning up his Harley. Jodi yelled out to him. “Hey, Jesse.” Jesse looked up. “Hey, girls. What brings you over?” They sat down at an old picnic table. Jackie and Jodi told Jesse what happened Saturday night and about Marty Schaffer. “I heard y’all got busted. Tough break. At least half the town thinks so. The other half, well, you know how judgmental people can be.” “Yeah, we know,” Jodi stated. “At least you have the business owners in town on your side. Some don’t approve, but all of them have admitted, to me anyway, that the guests' traffic has spilled over into their businesses. They’re happy about the increase in cash.” “I see,” Jackie said. “Sorry about you g