3. Brianna
Chapter three
Brianna
B rianna spent six mornings in a row at the same table inside the cafe, hunched over her laptop. Her eyes stung from staring at her spreadsheet, but no matter what way she crunched the numbers, the result was still the same: she couldn’t pay what Claire was asking and still afford to eat. Unless something dramatically changed, her bookshop was fated to remain within the confines of her notebook.
And then there was Rhys. Every morning, he dropped off her food order to ‘her’ table next to the window, but their conversation never went beyond “special delivery: a latte and the best cinnamon roll,” and her stammered thanks.
Perhaps I’d stammer less in his presence if I wasn’t re-reading a certain book series featuring a very attractive tall, dark figure with a tragic backstory. Sigh…
Day seven was looking to be exactly the same. She put in her usual order, took up residence at her favorite table, fired up her laptop—and then got the shock of her life when her cinnamon roll arrived, and Rhys sat down in the chair opposite her.
“Don’t you, ahh, need to be serving other customers?” she said, hating how high-pitched her voice sounded in front of him.
“They can do without me for a minute.” He ran his hand through his hair, which didn’t do anything to control the wayward strands that were defying gravity. “It, uh, occurred to me that I should come and say hi, properly.”
“Hi.” She smiled softly at him.
His mouth twitched into a half-smile, but he didn’t reply. After a promising start, it seemed he was as tongue-tied as she was. Perhaps it was time for New Brianna to be brave for both of them. After all, she needed to put herself out there if this town was going to be her forever home.
“I, umm, I don’t suppose you could recommend a good hiking spot around here? It would be good to get some exercise.”
“I haven’t spent a lot of time in the hills around here,” he said slowly, leaning back on his chair. “My sister has though—have you met her yet?” He looked around the room before waving down a woman in a red flight suit who looked vaguely familiar.
“You’ve already met Claire, who runs this place. Adelaide’s married to Claire’s son, Riley. Adelaide Smith, meet Brianna—sorry, I don’t even know your last name.”
“Brianna Cunningham,” she said. Seeing them side by side, it was blindingly obvious that the two of them were siblings, even though one had red hair and other almost jet-black.
“Brianna’s keen to do some hiking, but I’m not super familiar with the trails around here. Have you got any ideas?”
“I can do better than ideas,” Adelaide said. “I’ve got tomorrow off, and nothing planned. How about I show you one of my favorite trails? It’s only a couple of hours walk, at most.”
Brianna hesitated. On one hand she was missing her usual gym routine, and she didn’t relish the idea of going hiking on her own. But at the same time, it didn’t seem all that responsible to be heading into the mountains with someone she only just met, regardless of how much she wanted to fit in here.
“You’ll be safe with Adelaide—she’s the paramedic for the rescue helicopter here, and she knows these trails well,” Rhys said, correctly guessing the reason for her silence.
Come on girl, be brave. Don’t say his no for him.
“Will you come along too?” she asked Rhys.
“I wish I could, but I’m running a training session tomorrow for some ski patrollers. Maybe next time...” He paused, like he had something else to say, before his gaze landed on the line of customers forming at the till. “I better get back to the counter. Enjoy your coffee.” He winked at her and squeezed his sister’s shoulder before making his way back to the counter.
She exchanged numbers with Adelaide, still reeling from the change in Rhys’ demeanor. She had no idea what prompted him to sit down and start up a conversation this morning, but she’d enjoyed their chat—and met a potential new friend at the same time.
The next morning, Brianna’s lungs were feeling the effects of the altitude. While the path up Rattlesnake Ridge was easy to follow, Cantrell was at a significantly higher elevation than she was used to.
They were at a rocky lookout, sharing a block of dark chocolate, when Adelaide asked what her future plans were.
She hesitated for only a moment before it all came tumbling out: her concerns about Katerina’s business practices, the modest amount of money Nana had willed to her, and how she wanted to put down roots and build a rock-solid business—only to find that her business plan simply didn’t stack up with the rent being asked for the only vacant storefront in the historic town.
“You know, my life changed forever, not far from here.” Adelaide nodded towards the ridgeline in the distance that was quickly becoming shrouded with cloud.
“Okaaaaay—” Brianna didn’t quite know what to make of this pronouncement, but trusted Adelaide to have a point to all this.
“It’s a story best told over a campfire with s’mores, but the short version is, it wasn’t too far from here that Riley and I were reunited after four years apart. I lost him on a footpath in Edinburgh, and found him again in the middle of nowhere, Colorado.” Adelaide looked into the distance, and Brianna could sense that she wasn’t seeing the river below them, but was captured in the depths of a memory. “What were the odds? Maybe Cantrell has something special for you too.”
“I wish, but the rent’s just too high to make the business work, and I need to earn some money.” Brianna tugged the sleeves of her jacket further down over her hands. While it had been cathartic to spill her guts to Adelaide, it was getting cold and she was eager to get going again.
“I could have a chat with Rhys about your plans.” Adelaide picked up her backpack and slung it over her shoulders with the ease of a seasoned hiker.
“You’re welcome to, but what would that achieve?” She wished Adelaide would stop speaking in riddles, although a glimmer of hope filled her chest at the idea that all was not lost. “Do you know something I don’t?”
“Only that the store recently changed hands, and he knows the new owners. Maybe he could put in a good word for you. Are you ready to keep hiking?”
“I… I suppose.” Brianna’s thoughts were all over the place. She knew her business plan was sound; it was just the rent being double what she’d planned which was reducing her profit to near zero. But if the terms were better, maybe some of that Cantrell magic would be hers after all.
“Or do you want to turn around and go get your store?”
Brianna turned to Adelaide and grinned. “If it’s okay with you…”
“You don’t need to ask me twice. The mountains will always be here, your new landlord’s goodwill might not be. Let’s go.”
Ten days later, Brianna was feeling on top of the world. Her new landlord’s rent was half of what Claire was charging, and she couldn’t sign the papers fast enough when the proxy lawyer brought them by. Her contacts in the publishing world were delighted to hear from her—and were sworn to secrecy about her plans, in case word got back to Katerina. Boxes of books were arriving daily and she was on first-name terms with the delivery drivers. She stayed up into the early hours painting the shop walls a soft pink to complement the crisp white built-in shelves. All she needed to do now was unpack all her stock, install a couple of floating shelves, then count down to her grand opening on Valentine’s Day.
It looks easy enough on those online videos—how hard can it be to install a few small shelves?
Very hard, it turned out. As she stood in front of the gaping hole in her freshly painted drywall, Brianna threw her hands in the air and cursed the baby-faced teenager at the hardware store who assured her that the special screws would hold the floating shelves in place without using the studs.
The shop door opened, and Brianna turned to see who it was. She was in and out of the door so often that it seemed pointless to lock it, but it did mean having a steady stream of curious locals popping in to check on her progress.
“I brought lunch, and coffee!” called Adelaide, stepping around the power tools on the floor before she came to a dead stop. “But it looks like you need something stronger?”
“Coffee will help.” Brianna smiled and took the latte Adelaide offered her. “I don’t suppose you happen to have a stud finder and a sheet of drywall in your work bag?” Nearly a full sheet of drywall was in pieces on the floor, and broken shelves littered the ground.
Adelaide grimaced before she pulled her phone out of her pocket and started messaging furiously. “I need to get to work or I’ll miss handover, but Rhys is free—and he’ll be here in five. So, to answer your question,” she grinned, “I’ve sorted the stud part for you. You can thank me later.”
Brianna choked on her mouthful of coffee. Even with the reduced rent on the store, her budget no longer had room for espresso coffees every day. The few times she had gone next door to get her caffeine fix, Rhys was nowhere to be seen. Now he would be here in only a few minutes—and she was covered in dust, red-faced from her coughing fit, and wearing a paint-splattered sweater that should have been relegated to the bin weeks ago.
She wanted so badly to build her business on her own, but it seemed she would need to start accepting help from others if she was to get her store open on time.
Let’s hope Rhys wasn’t expecting me to be well put-together, because I don’t have time to clean up and change before he gets here…