Read Dead and Breakfast for Free Online

And my part-time job pays almost less than nothing. Besides, I don’t want to invest in repairing scooters. If I’m going to put my money toward something, I want it to last. I want to create something.”
    “What? Like your own business?”
    Liam’s gaze darted around the square to a middle-aged man with a yellow trucker hat that read Canton Corp in big, black letters. A young woman with long, blonde braids giggled with her friends as they listened to one of Mick Canton’s tour operators give a spiel about snorkeling. A scooter with neon green paint and the name Canton Sunshine Tours on the side was parked along the shops. The name Canton was everywhere in Key West because Mick Canton practically owned the whole island. What would that be like—to be so rich and powerful that your name was on everything?
    “Yeah. Like my own business.” Liam didn’t know how to repair scooters, but he knew how to ride them. He knew all the nooks and crevices of the island. He was a Conch, a Key West native. He could show tourists parts of this island they’d never see in a Canton brochure. “Why don’t we run our own scooter tour company?”
    Randall scoffed. “We missed the boat on that by thirty years. Canton figured out a way to bundle all his tour operations. You rent a scooter, book a snorkeling trip, and jump on Blazevig’s haunted city tour all for a low, low price. We can’t compete with that.”
    Liam pursed his lips, impressed with Randall’s common sense. “You’re right. But we know the Keys. We could lead guided scooter tours, take the tourists to the best spots on the island. Off the beaten path, ya know?” Liam’s pulse quickened as he imagined the possibilities.
    “Dude, that sounds like a ton of responsibility.”
    Liam rolled his eyes. “Come on. Don’t you want to put your name on something? If we open up our own business, it’s ours, and no one can take it away from us.” Liam pointed toward a squat, bald man struggling to raise the blue umbrella on his hot dog cart. “Even that guy is his own boss.”
    Randall inhaled the aroma of dirty water hot dogs and licked his lips. “I don’t want to get on Canton’s radar.”
    “We won’t. He owns all of Key West. Why would he spend any time worrying about us? We’re nothing to him.”
    Randall gently nudged Liam in the ribs. “We could even bundle packages with my cousin’s boat. We could do charters.”
    Liam grinned. “Now, you’re thinking. Canton can’t own everything. He can’t own us.”
    Randall waved his hand in a high arch. “We could call the place ‘Keys to Your Heart Scooters and Tours.’”
    A girl on a Canton Corp bicycle rode past them. “Your cousin is a Bell too, right?”
    Randall nodded.
    “Then, let’s call it Breyer and Bell Scooter Tours.” Liam liked how that sounded. Also, every time Mick Canton drove past their shop, he’d see the Breyer name. Liam grinned and squeezed Randall’s shoulder.
    “But you can’t even come up with the four grand needed to secure the bikes,” Randall said, squashing Liam’s excitement. “How are we going to fund a business?”
    Liam raked his hands through his hair, damp with sweat. “I’m doing odd jobs at the Cayo Hueso. Of course, I’m only making enough to fill my ride with gas at this point.”
    Randall laughed. “Get out of here. I didn’t even know the Cayo was still open. Dude, see any ghosts?”
    Without meaning to, Liam touched the scratch on his cheek. “You don’t believe in that crap, do you?”
    Randall appeared thoughtful for a moment. “Not sure, man. This whole island is filled with haunted places. How many people have claimed to see ghosts? Everyone can’t be crazy, ya know?”
    Liam had never thought about it like that before.
    “Does Old Glenda Reynolds still run the place?” Randall asked.
    “She’s there, but her niece Evelyn has taken over. Got her daughter, Autumn, working there too. They’re from New Jersey.”
    “Is this Autumn hot?”