Chapter 6
Later that evening, Tori walked down the boardwalk. She’d made some phone calls after talking to Darlene and set her plan in action. But right now she was headed to Sharky’s. Her mouth watered in anticipation of her favorite item on their menu. Fried grouper with a side of hush puppies. Her grandmother always let her pick where they would go to eat, and she’d once picked Sharky’s five days in a row, ordering the same meal over and over. Her grandmother had finally begged her to choose another restaurant. She smiled at the memory. She just hoped their menu hadn’t changed.
She strolled down the boardwalk retracing the exact same steps she’d taken all those years ago. Couples passed her, hand in hand. A young child danced around his mom as they stood looking out at the water. The salty air blew tufts of her hair this way and that. Contentment drifted through her as she walked along, the familiarity of the scene enveloping her like a hug.
When she walked through Sharky’s open door, she smiled. No, nothing had changed. At all. And the scrawled menu behind the bar reassured her that her beloved meal was still on the menu. The rustic charm of the place welcomed her, along with the hum of conversation and the clanking of beer glasses.
A waitress hurried over. “The tables are full right now. You can wait, or you can grab a seat at the bar and eat there.”
“The bar is fine.” She found an empty barstool and slipped onto it, then turned to say hello to the man sitting next to her and froze. Seriously? Was the town playing tricks on her?
She set her shoulders and pasted on a smile. “Good evening, Gavin. Nice to see you again.” As if.
He did his now familiar slight bob of his head, basically dismissing her, and turned back to his beer.
His dismissal made her feel small and invisible. But…wasn’t invisibility what she wanted?
“Can I get you something to drink? Eat?” the bartender asked.
“I’ll have the fried grouper with a side of hush puppies. And a beer. That light one you have on tap will be fine.” Though she was used to drinking fancy craft beers in bottles.
He handed her a frosty mug with the beer and she took a sip, the cold liquid doing nothing to soothe her annoyance. She set down the glass.
Awkwardness crackled in the inches between her and Gavin. The bartender delivered Gavin’s meal—fried grouper and hush puppies. Probably the only thing they’d ever agree on.
She took another sip of her beer and then turned to him in an effort to crack the icy atmosphere and get through his brooding silence. “That’s uh… that’s my favorite meal here too.”
He turned to stare at her for a moment, then went back to his meal without saying a word.
She shouldn’t have bothered to even try with the man. Anger flared through her. “Are you always this talkative and friendly?”
He set down his fork. “I normally get to eat my meal in peace and quiet.”
“Ah, so that gives you the excuse to be so rude.”
“Look… lady?—”
“Tori.” She cocked an eyebrow as she countered him.
He eyed her, not saying a word.
Unwilling to be deterred, she continued. “I just wanted to ask you if you knew much about the theater here in town since I know you grew up here.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You know that how?”
“Darlene mentioned it.”
“Why were you two talking about me?”
She let out her breath in frustration. “We were talking about your bike shop, not you specifically.”
“Why do you want to know about the theater?” He eyed her suspiciously.
“Because I think it’s sad that it’s gotten so run down. It used to be so… so…” She searched for the right word. “Magnificent. So full of life.”
“You saw it when it was open?”
“I did. I came here often with my grandmother. We always went to opening night at the theater. I so looked forward to those nights. And now… it’s shuttered, and it seems like such a waste.”
“It is. But there’s not really anything you can do about it, now is there?”
“Maybe not. Maybe so.” She eyed him defiantly.
Gavin swiveled in his chair to face her, his interest piqued in spite of his desire to be left alone. His curiosity won out. “Like what, exactly?”
She shifted uneasily on her seat, biting her lip. Her eyes showed hesitation, yet behind the hesitation was a determination he found intriguing. Was she some kind of investor determined to reshape the town? Determined to tear things down and put up something new? There was enough of that going around with Cliff Griffin wanting to put up a monstrosity at the end of the boardwalk. Why wouldn’t people just leave the town alone? It was fine, just like it was.
“Like… buy it,” she finally said.
“And tear it down like Cliff wants to do?”
“No, that should never happen. The theater is a town landmark. Part of its history.” Her voice rose with a hint of passion.
Okay, they agreed on that. “But why would you buy it?”
“To restore it. Open it up again. Fill it with stage productions, movie nights, and any other events that could be held in it.”
He couldn’t miss how her eyes lit up when she talked about it. She seemed sincere, but her plan puzzled him. “But why would you want to do that? You don’t even live here.”
“I think the theater deserves that much, doesn’t it? And… I’m thinking of moving here. At least long enough to get the theater up and running.”
“You’re going to move here and renovate the theater?” He was still trying to wrap his head around her plan. And why she was doing it.
“If I can come to terms with the owner, yes. Darlene was making some calls to see if she could find out who owned it now. And I peeked in the windows, but I’d need to get inside to get a better idea of how much work needs to be done.”
“So you hatched this plan without even going inside and seeing the property?” He couldn’t hide his disbelief.
Her eyes flashed. “Yes, I did. I said it was a plan. And yes, I need more information. I’m just trying to… to help. Get it back up and running. What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing’s wrong with it, lady—Tori—it just seems like it’s a half-baked plan, is all.”
“So you’d rather see the building just rot away until it can’t be saved?”
“No, of course not.” Why was she twisting his words?
The bartender arrived with her order, and she held up a hand. “I’m sorry. Could I get that to go, please?” Her tone was brisk and clearly showed her irritation.
She paid her bill and slid off her barstool. Gavin felt an inexplicable urge to stop her.
“I didn’t mean to run you off?—”
“Didn’t you?” she countered, her eyes betraying a hint of hurt. “Have a nice evening.”
She turned and hurried out the door.
Guilt poked at him that he’d annoyed her enough to make her leave, but he could at least finish his meal in peace now. But somehow, that thought didn’t comfort him.
The guilt jabbed at him again as he stared at the empty stool beside him.
Because really, wouldn’t he like the theater to be opened again? Not that he’d get involved with it. He’d seen firsthand what happened when he tried to help out the town with one of its projects. He wasn’t going to let that happen again. Especially with a woman with a half-baked plan and a surprising sense of conviction.
The brisk walk back to Darlene’s BB did little to quell the storm of emotions rolling through Tori. Gavin’s words echoed in her mind, mingling with frustration and the reluctant knowledge, infuriatingly, that his words held a bit of truth. The man was impossible. And rude. And just maybe exasperatingly right about her plan. She hadn’t even seen the inside very well. Just stolen a few quick glances. Why had she decided that buying it would be a good idea?
Only… she wanted to. She wanted to breathe life back into it. Let other people experience the joy she used to feel when she went to a play there. Maybe if she did this for the town, maybe then… who knows? Maybe she’d feel like she was paying back for the mistake she’d unknowingly made back home. And New York held no appeal for her now. Not with the wheeling and dealing in the industry. Not with the noise and crowds.
Maybe she could settle down here in Magnolia.
She stepped into the BB, its warmth and coziness in sharp contrast to her encounter with Gavin.
“Oh, back so soon?” Darlene’s voice held a blend of surprise and concern.
She managed a half-smile. “I… um… I decided to get my dinner to go.”
“I’m glad you’re back. I did find out a little bit about the theater. The strange thing is, it was just purchased a month or so ago. I hadn’t heard that.”
“So it’s not for sale?” Her heart sank. All her plans crumbled into fine grains of sand.
“That’s another strange thing. It is for sale. Again.”
“I don’t understand.” She tried to piece together the puzzle.
“I don’t either, but I arranged for you to pick up the key from the Realtor’s office in the morning. He said you could look around inside. He’s going to be on the mainland, but his secretary will give you the key.”
“That’s great. I can’t wait to see it. Though I wonder why someone would buy it and then list it right away?”
“I’m not sure either.” Darlene shook her head.
“Thank you for finding out all of that for me.”
“Ah, don’t thank me. If you could really purchase it and get it opened again, it would mean the world to me. I have so many memories of times spent there. I hate to see it just deteriorate like it has.”
“Well, tomorrow I’ll give it a look. See if I think it can be restored.” Her hopes rose again as she climbed the stairs to her room. The thought of restoring the theater and giving back to this town that had given her so many wonderful memories reignited her determination. She sat at a small table in her room and spread out her dinner, still a bit annoyed that she hadn’t been able to eat it fresh out of the frier at Sharky’s. But she couldn’t bear to spend another minute talking to that insufferable man. If she never had to talk to Gavin again, it would be too soon.
As she ate her meal alone, his words and his dismissive attitude lingered in her mind, a persistent annoyance. Aggravated—at him, at herself—she got up from the table and looked out the window, her mind full of plans for the theater and the unsettling thoughts of the man who had unwittingly stirred her determination even further.