No Good Deed: A Small-Town Romantic Suspense Novel

5. Prepare To Phail

Piper slowed her steps as they walked back to the BB. The man snuggling her temporary dog to his chest fascinated her. He was intelligent, kind, and sexier than any man she’d spent time with. She wanted to extend that time, even if she didn’t plan to take things further. She wasn’t a woman who could jump into sex without investing her heart.

Her heart might be softening for Troy, but her head couldn’t forget she was only in Phail for two weeks.

Piper turned back to face the way they’d come, forcing herself to focus on the job. Troy stopped beside her, but didn’t question her movements.

From here, she could see most of Phail Way. The street was pretty straight because the town had settled in a flat space between the mountains. Stores and buildings lined the street along with some trees. She wondered if the businesses put out flower pots or planters in the summer.

They could hang banners from the light posts to celebrate different town events. At this point, there weren’t any Christmas decorations or ornaments on the trees either. There’d been a few in the windows as they’d walked along the street, but something outdoors would be better. Something that celebrated the season at least. “People who live in Vermont aren’t afraid of winter.”

Troy laughed. “Definitely not.”

“And I’d guess most of them like it, or at least like something about it.”

“Yep.”

But she didn’t see anything to reflect that. That was definitely something to add to her idea list. Asking everyone to put a snowman in their display would be an easy way to create some fun cohesion in the town.

Once they had a town website, they could have a section telling tourists what to search for in every business window during different months. Spot the snowman. Who has the most hearts in their window? Can you spot the purple leprechaun hiding in town? Find a dozen different flowers. Or Phlowers with a Ph? Nope, that would be too much.

She felt Troy’s eyes on her, felt his curiosity. That shouldn’t be true, but it was.

His gruff voice confirmed her thoughts. “What are you thinking?”

She smiled and shook her head. “Not yet. I prefer the ideas to coalesce into some kind of plan before I share.”

It surprised her how many ideas were already swirling. She could use the same kinds of ideas she’d used to build communities in smaller urban neighborhoods. Things to remind people they were connected to each other. Ways to remind community members and visitors alike that they had more commonalities than differences. Ideas to pull the town together visually. That often led to even more connections.

For now, she gestured to the street. “Tell me what the street would look like in the summer. What would I see beneath the snow?”

Troy moved to her side and studied the view with her. “Obviously, there’d be less snow. But there would still be too many empty buildings.”

His tone conveyed his sadness at the empty buildings. At the obvious symbol of how many people had moved away. Troy cared deeply about his town.

Could she use those empty spaces somehow? Change at least a few of the visual reminders that the town wasn’t thriving. The people needed daily reminders that this was a great place. She would have to build confidence in them that the town not only could thrive, but that it would.

Belief and confidence were powerful. Strange that it was a town named Phail that reminded her of that. Her own self-belief and confidence had taken a beating over the past month. Time to turn that around.

Troy talked about the buildings and the people, but didn’t mention flower pots or banners or anything coordinated throughout the town. She didn’t want to talk about those yet. She wanted to get his ideas of where the town stood now. Although some ideas of how that town had thrived in the past would be good as well.

Oreo yipped and stuck his head out of Troy’s jacket. She’d forgotten about her new friend. Forgotten that she was responsible for him. She reached over and stroked his ears. “Hey there. I forgot you were with us.”

Troy laughed. “New dog ownership takes some getting used to.”

Very true. But seeing her buddy warmed her heart. “Do you want to try walking again? Or are you too cozy in there?” She would be very happy to be cozied in with Troy like that. Thankfully, she didn’t say any of that out loud.

Oreo squirmed and Troy laughed again. “Okay, buddy. We’ll get you out. Hang on.”

Piper put her hands in his jacket and lifted Oreo out, trying to ignore the brush of her fingers against Troy’s chest.

To cover her flush, she brought the dog up to her face. He licked her and circled his feet in the air. “You are too cute, Oreo.” Giving this little guy back to his family was going to rip her in bits.

She clipped his leash into place, then set him back onto the snow. He raced to the edge of the sidewalk and plunged his head into the bank. He pulled it out almost immediately and danced in a happy circle.

Troy bent down to scratch him between the ears. “You might be the happiest creature I’ve ever met.”

They turned their steps back to the BB and she turned her attention back to her job. “Do you have any idea how I could get some photos of what the town looked like before? I searched on the internet when I was still in Chicago, but I couldn’t find anything.”

He nodded. “The town’s not big enough to get much of a mention on the internet. But I did think of that. In fact, I left something at the BB that might be just what you’re looking for.”

“That’s amazing. It appears that we’re in sync.”

Troy grinned. “I like the sound of that.”

So did she. Maybe a little too much.

* * *

Troy wanted to ask questions about the ideas whirling in Piper’s head, but he respected her process instead. She was the expert, and he’d have to wait until she was ready to share.

That thought made him smile. He had plenty of ideas of what and how they could share. The woman was totally appealing. She’d taken on a dog even though she’d never had one.

Her eyes took in all the details of the area as they walked, reminding him this wasn’t a date. She was working. Her gaze moved from sidewalks to store fronts to empty buildings to street lamps to people.

He wondered how differently she saw things. Phail had always been home to Troy. When he’d been overseas, memories of Phail had sustained him during the difficult days.

The people mostly, but the places too. He knew every street, every home, every business. He knew who liked coffee and who preferred tea. When someone needed help, he knew who would chip in with ways to make things better.

Even far from home, he could imagine the friendly banter in the No Fail Diner. The scent of Ginny’s cinnamon buns and Fiona’s homemade breads over in her store. The sight of fresh snow covering everything in a layer of magic. The rivers and creeks freezing enough for everyone to skate.

Tourists wouldn’t see the heart of Phail. They would see the empty buildings, the obvious signs of a town not in its prime.

Attracting people and business meant showcasing that heart. The way Piper had been studying the area with a smile, he hoped she had some ideas how to achieve that.

Excitement was building in him. Hope. Hiring Piper might turn out to be his best move ever.

The little bulldog led the way down the street, stopping every few feet to shove his face into a snowbank, and making them both laugh.

Piper grinned up at him. “Do all dogs do that?”

Troy shrugged. “No idea.”

“He doesn’t have much fur. I didn’t expect him to like snow so much.”

Troy nodded. “He’s having a blast. Look at that tail wag. Maybe Kimi’s wrong and he’s really a mutant variety of husky.”

Her laugh and obvious joy in the dog filled Troy with warmth. When they arrived back at the BB, they dried Oreo’s paws with a towel Jim or Carl had left in the foyer.

Troy picked up his backpack and they moved into the main room of the BB. A fire crackled and popped in the fireplace. Jazzy Christmas music played softly through the speakers. A romantic setting. Were the men playing matchmakers?

Troy pointed at an ancient trunk that served as a coffee table in front of the couch. “I can use that to show you what I brought.” And it would give him an excuse to sit beside her on the couch. He was ridiculously happy about the prospect.

Maybe he was simply ridiculous.

Piper let Oreo roam and sat on the couch. He sat beside her, leaving room between them, and set his pack on the floor. He unzipped it and brought out the first photo album. “My generation is the youngest of the Phails. There are only the three of us who live here, but there are a few more cousins scattered around the country.”

“You said Ginny and Fiona are your cousins, right?”

He nodded. “Right. They’ve both lived here their whole lives as well, aside from going to school.”

“How did Phail come by its name?”

He grinned at her. “I know you want to find out if there’s a way to change the name, but there isn’t. Let me give the short version of the history. Way back when, there was a feud between some of the members of the MacPhail clan over in Scotland. They split into two groups and one group dropped the Mac and kept the Phail.”

Her eyes twinkled. “They should have kept the Mac instead.”

He laughed. “Maybe. After a generation or two, a few Phails moved to the States. Samuel Phail decided to settle in Vermont and built a sawmill out at the Midnight Lake property.”

“I’d like to see that area some day.”

He nodded. “It was abandoned for a lot of decades, but it’s a great place. Tansy and her team have taken it off the grid without destroying the charm or the history.”

Oreo jumped up from where he was snoozing on the rug in front of the fire as the door to the kitchen swung open.

Carl walked in, carrying a tray. “Hi everyone. I thought you could use a snack.” Oreo yipped, making Carl laugh. “I didn’t forget you. I’ve got a treat for you as well.”

He set the tray on the old trunk. Two mugs of hot cocoa. Homemade cookies and a plate of fruit. He took a dog toy off the tray and squatted down to talk to Oreo. “Kimi said this kind of toy is good for you. There’s a treat hidden inside of it, but you have to figure out how to get it out.”

Oreo’s butt wiggled and his tail wagged almost too quickly to see. Carl set the rubber toy on the ground and Oreo pounced.

Laughing, Carl headed back to the kitchen. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

They were definitely matchmaking, but Troy didn’t mind. He handed Piper a mug and she brought up her legs beneath her, bringing her a little closer to him. “Tell me more about Samuel.”

Troy opened the photo album. “We don’t have many photos from the time, but my Gramma kept all of the albums and the stories. A few people already lived in the area, but more moved in with the mill. Instead of plowing down trees to build more homes, Samuel insisted people use this town. He provided a horse-drawn cart to bring people from the town to work and back home daily.”

He flipped through the pages. “Samuel named the business Phail Sawmill and the town took on the name of Phail.”

Looking through the photos reminded him of his connections to the past and he doubled down on his determination to improve the town’s prosperity. It had been a successful place for decades and it could be again.

For the next couple of hours, they sipped cocoa, looked through albums, and he told stories of his family and his history. Piper asked dozens of questions and took tons of notes on her tablet.

She didn’t share her ideas, but she would often sit back and type furiously for several minutes before asking another of her insightful questions.

Now, their thighs touched while they held photo albums on their laps. Oreo had curled up on the couch beside Piper.

Troy’s heart ached.

This was what he’d always wanted. A woman who intrigued him at his side, sharing his life. A connection to someone who had the same goals and ideals.

He’d always wanted a family of his own. A wife. Kids. A dog.

He could imagine all of that with Piper.

But she was leaving in two weeks.