Chapter 2
BARON
The girl was young and far too pretty to be traveling across the country on her own. Baron didn’t know where she’d come from, but he was surprised by the trust in her eyes and the easiness of her smile. Maybe the world hadn’t hardened her yet. But it would…
He left her behind as he pushed through the double doors of the theater and called for Sam. He was on the stage, rearranging a series of paint buckets that were presumably collecting rainwater. Baron cussed aloud and assessed the wet towels strewn around the floor.
“What the hell, Sam? How long have you known we needed a new roof?”
Sam threw his hands up. “Since this morning, Baron. Not like it’s been a big secret. It’s an old building. Old buildings need new roofs. Especially anyone within a mile of this coast. It holds on until it can’t anymore.”
Baron sighed and scraped his fingers over his scalp. “How much is it going to cost?”
Sam shrugged. “Buddy of mine says he’ll do it for fifty.”
“Fifty thousand? That’s not friendship. That’s robbery.”
“It’s a commercial property, and there’s no shortage of jobs for them around here. He doesn’t need our business, but we need a roof.”
Baron paced in front of the stage. “I need a roof. This falls on me now, remember?”
Sam stopped fussing with the buckets to look Baron in the eye. “I’m aware of that. Not much I can do about it, can I?”
A year ago, who knows how Sam would have taken the same news, with the financial burden of it solely on him. The theater didn’t belong to him anymore, though. Sam was tasked with operations and whatever maintenance he could manage on his own. But the rest was on Baron’s shoulders now.
“What about the shows this weekend? We can’t lose the revenue.”
Sam sighed. “Hoping things dry up a little by then. Should be all right.”
Baron held his stare, hoping his “employee”
who had lately become more of a friend could understand the increasing gravity of the situation. “We had to deal with the plumbing fiasco last month. The insulation needs to be redone come summer. The energy bill on this place is giving me a heart attack. What’s next, Sam?”
Sam wiped his hand over his face. “I don’t know,”
he murmured. “I don’t know.”
“I agreed to help you save this place, but it’s like keeping the Titanic above water here. I appreciate that it’s important to you, but at what cost? You know this isn’t anywhere close to a profitable venture for me?—”
“You bought up half the downtown, Baron. You own like a quarter of the town’s waterfront at this point. You’re going to make your money back, believe me.”
“Doesn’t mean this makes any damn sense. Throwing money down the drain that I could spend on literally anything else to help this town.”
Sam stabbed his finger through the air. “This is a historical treasure?—”
“This is a dilapidated building with dwindling promise at best. Even without the repairs, we’re in the red.”
“It’s off-season…”
“It’s a failing proposition. One I should have never agreed to.”
Silence fell between them with Baron’s admission. He’d never said it aloud before, but they both knew the strain of the theater was eating away at Baron’s hope for the place. He dragged his foot across the dull red carpet.
“Sam, I hate to say this, but if things don’t turn around here soon, I’m going to have to make some hard decisions.”
Sam frowned and stepped off the stage to stand a few paces from Baron. “Hard decisions like what? You can’t shut it down. We agreed?—”
“I agreed not to renovate in a way that would dramatically alter the visual integrity of the theater. I agreed not to turn it into something else—a Banana Republic or an office building. I didn’t agree to keep the roof from falling in.”
Sam stilled, and the air between them grew thick with the quiet truth. Perhaps letting the theater fall into disrepair was never something Sam had considered, but the look in his eye said he was taking it seriously now.
“You would do that? After everything…”
Sam worked his jaw. “I thought we were friends.”
“We are. I just…”
Baron glanced up at the entrance, at the decorative balconies and the architecture that made the theater a place he’d wanted to save once upon a time. His emotions were coming into play again, and that was what had gotten him into this mess to begin with. “It’s just business, Sam.”
CORA
“Everything good, honey?”
The red-haired waitress stopped to refill Cora’s iced tea.
Cora swallowed her last bite and groaned. “This is the best cheeseburger I’ve ever tasted.”
The waitress, whose name tag read Dee, laughed. “Then you should try our key lime pie. Best one you’re going to find in the Panhandle.”
Cora smiled and wiped her mouth. The cheeseburger and fries should have been filling enough, but the emptiness in her stomach never really seemed to ease since she’d been living on the road. Pie sounded amazing, but she needed to save the rest of her money for gas.
“No, thanks. Maybe next time,”
she lied, knowing she’d likely never grace this town again. Not if her California dreams came true anyway.
Dee leaned in, her elbows bent on the counter. “You might as well, honey, because that fine gentleman in the corner booth is paying for your meal anyhow.”
Cora spun on the diner stool to see who Dee was talking about. The fine gentleman was the same very fine, not-so-nice guy who’d shoved a hundred-dollar bill at her to leave town not thirty minutes ago.
“Why?”
Cora muttered, but Dee had already made her way to the pie display and was plating up a big piece for her. “Who is he?”
Cora asked when Dee returned.
“His name’s Baron Porter. He is a big deal in this town. Big property developer from Atlanta, but he’s been down here for the past few years trying to build things up. They call this the ‘Forgotten Coast’ because every time we seem to find our footing, something knocks us down. Weather, economy. The oyster industry isn’t what it used to be. We can’t get by without tourism now. Porter may not be a local, but most of us wouldn’t have a job without everything he’s doing.”
Cora ate her pie, silently regarding the man in the corner who seemed totally engrossed with his phone. No doubt he’d taken pity on her earlier, singing on the streets for gas money. But she’d learned to check her pride long ago, accept the unexpected blessings that came her way, and pay it forward whenever she could.
Having cleared her plates, she rose and made her way to Porter.
“Hi,”
she said. “I wanted to thank you for lunch.”
He lifted his gaze from his phone. “You’re welcome.”
Cora nodded, unsure of what else to say. He hadn’t exactly been friendly to her before, but something made her want to linger a little, maybe to peel back another layer of this man who had become a bit of a contradiction in her world.
“Well…”
She picked absently at a tear in the leather booth. “Thanks again. For the money, too. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Sorry. I was kind of a dick earlier. Cape Haven has like three cops, and no one’s going to bother you here. I just have spent an unusual amount of time studying the town’s ordinances, and sometimes my mouth works faster than my brain.”
Cora grinned at his self-deprecating apology, one she would have never expected from him. “I accept your apology.”
He traced the edge of his water napkin, folding and unfolding the corner of it. “You travel alone?”
Cora nodded, sensing his concern. A skeptical part of her considered that Porter could be a creep, but none of her instincts were telling her that he was. So far, those same instincts had kept her safe and guided her to help when she’d needed it. “It’s not as bad as you think. Most people are happy to help.”
“There are also a lot of bad people out there looking to take advantage of someone like you.”
His words felt like a punch to the chest. Heat rose to her cheeks. “Someone like me?”
“Yeah, someone like you. A pretty girl with an innocent smile who thinks there’s a lot more good in the world than bad.”
She nodded slowly. “You may be right. Maybe I’ve just been lucky so far.”
“You’re a long way from California.”
“If I can sing my way there, I suppose it was meant to be. If not…”
She didn’t want to think about the alternatives right now. Settling down with a regular job, living paycheck to paycheck, and giving up on her dreams wasn’t something she was ready to entertain yet.
“Don’t get me wrong, you can sing.”
Porter paused, rubbing his fingers across his lips. “There’s actually an open mic at Marty’s down the street tomorrow night. You should come.”
Cora smiled. For this earlier coldness, Porter was quickly revealing a softer side. A side that genuinely worried about a stranger’s safety. A side that wanted to maybe spend a little more time with her? “Thanks. I love the stage, but I need a real gig. I can’t afford to stay that long if I can’t make a little money, too.”
“You ever wait tables?”
She laughed. “Of course.”
“Then let me talk to Marty. He’s always short-staffed on open mic night. Run some drinks for him, and you can still perform. You never know… Maybe you’ll land a real gig once people hear you sing. Never know who’ll be in the audience. A couple of places around here do live shows from time to time.”
Cora lifted a brow. “Yeah?”
He held out his phone. “Here, put your number in. I’ll text you after I talk to Marty.”
“I’m Cora, by the way.”
Cora punched her name and number into his phone and handed it back to him.
“Cora Clark.”
He studied the screen with a little smile, his fingers moving over the keys. “I’m Baron Porter.”
Her phone dinged with a smiley face from an unknown number. She responded with a wave emoji. “Your reputation precedes you, Baron. I’ve already heard you’re the hero this sleepy little town needs.”
His cheeks colored, like he was uncomfortable with the praise. “Maybe,”
he muttered. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
She waved goodbye and stepped out onto the streets that had warmed a little with the afternoon sunshine. Her day had taken some unexpected turns, no doubt.
So many pieces of her journey so far had. On the surface, Cape Haven didn’t seem like it was brimming with potential for someone like her.
But Porter seemed to have the respect of a lot of people here, so maybe staying one more night was worth a shot.