Chapter Eleven
LIAM BLINKED IN THE darkness.
The Starlight Saloon always smelled the same—of watered-down spirits, polished wood, and the slight hint of sweat. He wrinkled his nose and tried not to think of the last time he’d come in here.
Last summer, he felt so desperate that he had tried to wash away his mistakes with whiskey. He’d been so embarrassed afterward that he hadn’t stepped a foot inside the Starlight since.
But this was a business prospect, and he was a much better man now. One who had learned from what he’d done wrong. One who would stop at nothing to see his dream come to fruition the right way.
He slipped out of his coat—it was overly warm inside from the blazing fire at the end of the room—and found a seat at the bar. There were only a handful of men in the place this early, and as Liam waited, he glanced around, wondering what brought the other customers into a saloon at this hour.
“Hannan.” Mac Allen, owner of the Starlight, set a glass on the bar in front of Liam. “Haven’t seen you here in a while. What can I get you?”
“A moment of your time. I have a matter of business to discuss with you,” Liam said.
Allen raised his eyebrows, clearly curious. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the shining wood. This place was still new enough that it hadn’t yet accumulated the scars of the places Liam had frequented in his hometown back in New York.
“I have an opportunity that will interest you,” Liam began. He wanted to leave no room for doubt. “If you might remember, I had plans to build a hotel to cater to the regular folks coming to Crest Stone.”
“I do.” Allen leaned on his elbows against the bar. “And if I recall, you ran into some trouble with those plans.”
Liam forced himself not to cringe. If he was going to secure a final investor, he couldn’t cower from his mistakes. “I did, and it made me start anew. I’m aiming to build that hotel, and this time I have good, trustworthy men on board.” He rattled off the names, and Allen nodded in recognition. “I’ve got a plot of land picked out, a prime spot in the middle of town, just off the main road.” He pointed in the correct direction.
Allen smiled. “I’m glad you pulled it together, Hannan. It’s a smart idea, and something the town needs.”
“I need one more investor,” Liam said. This was the hardest part, going from selling them on the idea to selling them on putting money behind it. “And I’d like that person to be you. You’re a successful businessman yourself, and you’re already invested in the good of this town. You’re well-known, and people trust you. What do you say?”
Allen looked appropriately pleased at the flattery. All of it was true, even if not everyone approved of the man’s line of work. But in asking around about Allen, Liam had discovered the man was behind more than one charitable gift to folks who needed it, and he even took a spot in a back pew at church on an occasional Sunday.
“How much are you looking for?” Allen asked.
Liam bit back a smile and named the remaining amount needed.
Allen whistled. “I’ll be honest with you. It’s more than I can part with. I appreciate the ask, though. I’m sure you won’t have trouble finding another man.” With a nod, he grabbed a bottle and made his way down the bar.
Liam schooled the disappointment from his expression as he mentally went through the remaining men he could ask. There weren’t many, and each was less likely than Allen. Perhaps if he could convince each to invest a smaller amount, and then Allen might go in with them—
“I didn’t mean to overhear, but were you speaking about building a hotel?”
Liam turned to find a neatly-dressed man with close-cropped dark hair standing next to him. The fellow held a glass and looked to be about Liam’s age. He smiled and held out a hand. “Paul Morris.”
“Liam Hannan. And yes, I was.” Liam shook the man’s hand.
“Just last night, I was telling my business partner about how badly this end-of-the-line place needs a hotel to cater to men who are conscious about spending their coin.” Morris leaned on the stool next to Liam.
Liam nodded as he ignored the irritation that raced through him by the fellow calling Crest Stone an “end-of-the-line place”—particularly when it wasn’t at all.
“We’ve had to take rooms in a boardinghouse that isn’t to our taste,” Morris said as he set his empty glass on the bar.
“Fred Polson’s?” Liam wrinkled his forehead, wondering why in the world the man had chosen that hovel instead of Darby’s. “You ought to see if Darby has any rooms available. It’s no hotel, but a sight nicer than Polson’s.”
“Darby’s.” Morris turned the word around in his mouth as if he was unfamiliar with the place. And Liam supposed he just might be, if he hadn’t been in town for long. “Thanks. I’ll see about it. Tell me more about this hotel idea of yours. As a fellow man of business, you’ve got me curious.”
There wasn’t much Liam liked talking about more, so he described his grand vision. He was so very close to reaching it, and every time he spoke about it, the plan felt as if it were that much closer to happening.
“I admit, it’s an intriguing idea.” Morris withdrew a few coins from his pocket and set them on the bar as he nodded toward Allen. The bar owner refilled his glass.
Liam tried not to raise an eyebrow. It was still mid-morning. Morris clearly had a constitution made of steel.
“I apologize. Can I buy you a drink?” Morris asked him.
Liam held up a hand. “Thank you, but I’m expected at the office.” He paused, curious now. “What brings you and your partner to town?”
“Opportunity,” Morris said after a swallow of whiskey. He threw out a hand to the side, gesturing toward the door. “This town—this entire valley—is rife with opportunity. We’re meeting a man later today about a theater.”
“A theater?” Liam hadn’t heard the slightest mention of anyone wanting to start a theater in town.
“Indeed.” Morris smiled. “Yesterday, we walked a plot of land west of town with a fellow looking to bring in goats.”
“Goats,” Liam repeated in disbelief. How was it that Morris, a newcomer, seemed to know more of what was new in town than he did? Morris and his partner were people to know, it appeared. And Liam was always one to befriend the people everyone needed to know. “How long are you in town?”
“We’re hoping to stay. If one or two of these opportunities pans out, that is. We’re also looking to help with existing businesses that are struggling.”
So they wanted to be part of Crest Stone. That was a good sign. And Liam certainly had a much better idea than goats or a theater. “Why don’t you meet me for supper tonight, up at the hotel? My treat.”
Morris gave him a broad smile. “That’s awfully generous, and we’d be honored.”
They settled on a time, and Liam left the saloon on a cloud of hope.
“Liam?”
He turned to see Tilly standing nearby. She eyed him with worry creasing her forehead—and he realized exactly what it must look like with him exiting a saloon at this time of day.
He smiled at her. “I had an early meeting with the proprietor of the Starlight. Where are you off to?”
She relaxed and returned his smile. Her nose and cheeks were pink with cold but her eyes glittered. “Nowhere in particular. I thought I’d explore the town.”
“Will you accompany me to the land office?” He crooked his arm, all of the awkwardness and expectations of their situation forgotten in his jovial mood.
“If you’d like me to.” She took his arm and looked up at him, all wide eyes and innocence and admiration, and Liam remembered his earlier thought—that this was exactly what he was hoping for when he’d sat down to write that advertisement.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” she said. “What was your meeting about?”
It was nice to have someone interested in his plans, someone he wasn’t hoping might contribute to them financially. So, as they walked, he told her about Allen’s inability to invest, but his exciting chance meeting with Morris. “They’re meeting us for supper tonight at the hotel,” he finished. “If it goes well, I can move forward with purchasing the land.”
“You wish for me to join you?” They’d stopped in front of the office, and Tilly looked up at him in delighted surprise.
“Of course.” Despite the chilly air, he suddenly felt warm around the neck with the way she was holding his gaze. He let go of her arm and dug his fingers into his palms to keep from tugging at his collar. “You’re my wife,” he said awkwardly.
It might have been his imagination, but he thought her cheeks had gone a deeper shade of pink. “All right,” she said as she twisted her gloved hands together. “I’ll see you at the hotel.”
Liam stood in the doorway to the office and watched her walk down the sidewalk, her skirts bobbing back and forth under her long coat. She turned around and caught his eye before quickly looking away, and something about that made him smile to himself.
“Hannan! The door,” Gilbert called from inside.
He was standing there staring after her like a fool, the door wide open. He slipped inside and closed it. And for the rest of the day, he had a hard time pulling his thoughts away from supper that evening.
If he was being honest with himself, it wasn’t just the prospect of another investor he was looking forward to. It was also the sweet smile and pair of big green eyes that looked at him as if he were the most respected man in the entire town.