Chapter 9
9
J ace stood outside the Sandbar, looking at it from the road. He had a notebook in front of him and a pencil. He drew pictures in his notebook, scribbled a bit, scratched through his picture, and tried again. Quinn pulled up and waved. "I'll be right out." He called out and parked his truck in the lot alongside the Sandbar. Jace tried once more to capture the image in his head.
He wasn't an artist. He'd never been more than a modified stick figure kind of artist. But he couldn't sleep at night thinking about this remodel. That's what it was going to be - a remodel. At first, it was just an expansion, but he had a real opportunity right now to make it what he wanted. He wanted a new, fresh, happy atmosphere without the issues of old plumbing needing repair and old wiring, giving him fits. He was going to make this place spectacular.
He glanced over to where Quinn had parked and now helped Hanna out of his truck. He kissed Hanna and she smiled at him. They were happy. Quinn had changed a bit since meeting Hanna. He seemed more relaxed. He smiled all the time now. And that was wonderful to witness. Sid had changed since meeting Grace, too. A little niggle of jealousy flared to life, but he took a deep breath and blew it out. Quinn and Hanna stopped next to him on the edge of the road. Quinn glanced over at his notebook.
"Drawing pictures now, are we?"
"Yes," Jace said. "Fuck you." He leaned around Quinn and looked at Hanna. "Not you. Your sarcastic husband."
Quinn chuckled. His arm wrapped around Hanna's shoulders, and he squeezed lightly.
"So, what are you trying to do here?"
Jace handed Quinn his notebook. "You try to draw it. I can't."
Quinn chuckled. "I'm not an architect, you know."
"I do know. But I also know you can draw buildings, and I can't speak to an architect without being able to adequately convey what it is I want."
Quinn nodded. "Okay. Let's see what we can do."
"Good. Okay. I want it to look like a Jimmy Buffett-style building. A place that people will stop at just because it looks like a place they want to be. We're on the water in Florida, so we should certainly have bright colors, palm trees, and surfboards hanging around. Tropical, fun, happy."
"Okay." Quinn absently said as the pencil he held crawled across the pages of the notebook. Hanna glanced at Quinn's drawing and smiled.
Jace continued to dream. "I'd like a covered patio to go around the two sides and the back looking out on the water. Ceiling fans that look like palm fronds should offer a gentle breeze. The tables on the beach should be made from composite wood so they'll be durable but also heavy, so the winds don't send them flying. We have that issue with the tables we currently have. Teals. Oranges. Blue. White. Green. Colorful."
"Okay. I can't draw the colors, so that will come later."
Jace nodded. His excitement grew as Quinn massaged his imagination. "I want a Tiki Bar placed between the building and the water's edge. We'll sell drinks and light snacks from the Tiki Bar to people partying on the Sandbar, so they don't have to come all the way back to the bar. Also, outdoor guests can order out there."
"Sounds perfect." Hanna mused.
Jace grinned. "Also, I want lounge chairs in small groupings on the beach. Anyone coming to listen to music and wanting to relax will have the option of sitting at a table or lounging on the beach."
Quinn's lips turned up into a smile as he continued to draw. When he finally turned his notebook around, Jace's heartbeat increased. Quinn had done a great job of capturing the vision he had for the Sandbar. Close to it, anyway. It was a pencil drawing in black and white, but the basics were there.
"That's it!" Jace continued to stare at the drawing. He saw little squares under the tables. "What are those?"
"I thought we could build a floating deck off the building. The tables and chairs can sit on the floating deck, which will make it easier for customers to sit and wait staff to serve."
"That's perfect."
"We can add posts here and there and string lights from them, but we can also add umbrellas to the posts that can be opened when the sun is high to shade guests."
Jace's right hand pressed against his chest. "You..." He didn't know what to say. "Perfect." That was all that would come out. "It's perfect."
Jace stared at the drawing Quinn had made. He reached over and took the notebook from his friend's hands. His heartbeat began to return to normal, but his heart swelled. "Thank you." He stared a bit more. "You've added a second story."
Quinn laughed. "You're welcome. Imagine the views."
"Right." He hadn't thought of a second story. But if he was going to go for it, he should go for it all the way. Go big or go home, as they said.
Hanna giggled. "Your face is one of bewilderment."
Jace grinned. "I think I'm feeling bewildered at the moment."
Quinn laughed. "Can you think right now? We'd like to come in and plan our wedding."
Jace tucked the notebook under his arm. He nodded toward the bar. "Yep. Let's go make some wedding plans. We'll get you married before we start digging into this building."
Entering the bar, he strode to his little office and tucked his notebook away into his computer bag. He'd take it home tonight for safekeeping. He grabbed his work notebook, the one he kept for customers and their parties, and strode back to the bar to find Quinn and Hanna chatting away with Mason.
Mason had been with him for a few weeks now and was doing well. A former Navy SEAL, he suffered terribly from PTSD. Staying busy seemed to be the key to keeping his mind from falling into despair. And Jace quickly began to rely on Mason to keep things even in the bar. He was a large man, over six-foot-five. Two inches taller than Jace himself. And while he smiled more now than he used to, he could also look imposing. Jace wished Mason had been around when those bikers came into town earlier in the year and wreaked havoc.
He lay his notebook on the bar and waited for his friends to finish their chat with Mason. It gave him the advantage of seeing Mason in action when Jace wasn't running around doing everything else. Quinn asked Mason, "Where are you living?"
Mason frowned slightly. "I have an apartment out of town."
Quinn nodded and pulled out a business card. "Give me a call in about three weeks. We'll be close to renting or selling our first units in the old barracks in town. I'm converting them into housing. Only selling or renting to veterans."
Mason looked at Quinn's card and smiled. "Thank you. I've been hearing about this place. I'll give you a call."
Mason turned to see Jace watching. "Sorry, boss."
Jace shook his head. "Don't be sorry. Quinn is one of my best friends, he and his beautiful future wife Hanna are good people. She's the cinnamon roll queen."
Mason laughed and patted his belly. "You're the person to blame for my extra couple of pounds."
Hanna laughed. "Guilty."
Mason nodded. "You're a tremendous baker."
Hanna's cheeks turned pink as Mason moved to help a customer on the other end of the bar.
"Okay folks, let's talk wedding plans."
Hanna smiled. "First, have you and Margo had any further conversation today?"
"No." It came out harder than it needed to be. "I've been in a good mood thinking about the remodel."
Hanna's lips turned down slightly. "Sorry to bring up the subject, but she really is very nice."
Jace shrugged his shoulders. "If you say so. She's more of a pain in the ass and judgy as far as I'm concerned."
Hanna frowned. Jace kept on. "She busts my balls at every turn. She thinks I flirt too much. I'm untrustworthy. I told her she should lighten up, and maybe if she smiled once in a while, she'd have a little fun, too."
Hanna gasped and put her hand over her mouth. "Oh, my gosh, Jace. She's going through a tough time."
"That doesn't mean she should be rude."
"I doubt she means to be rude."
"Maybe I flirt a little bit, but that's just because I enjoy what I'm doing. And what's wrong with making women feel good about themselves? I don't see anything wrong with that."
"I plan on visiting her tomorrow with some cinnamon rolls. Just to check on her."
Quinn chuckled. "Your cinnamon rolls should make her smile."
Jace changed the subject. "Let's talk about your wedding."
Hanna grinned.
The door opened and Jace saw Sid and Grace enter the bar, hand in hand.
"Hey there, you two. I don't know if you guys knew this, but Quinn and Hanna came in tonight to talk about the wedding."
Grace hugged Hanna warmly, and Sid shook Quinn's hand. "That will be a great day for sure."
Jace tamped down the bit of jealousy these four shared and asked, "Are you partaking in the wedding conversation, or would you rather have your own table?"
Hanna turned to Grace. "Please join us. I'd love input. Since you've just gotten married, you have a lot to offer. If it isn't too boring for you."
"No, not boring at all."
Grace turned her face up to Sid. He grinned. "I'm in for that."
Jace led them to a table in the corner and made sure they had drinks. He happily sat at the table with his friends, notebook in front of him, and began jotting down the things Hanna and Quinn told him they wanted.
Hanna started. "We'd like a simple meal, buffet style, on the beach. We'd love the evening sun behind us. It'll be fantastic for pictures.
Jace asked, "What about decorations?"
"Gosh, I hadn't thought about decorations."
Grace chuckled. "How about if you let me help with that? I'd like to be involved in some way if I can."
Hanna nodded and smiled at her new friend. "You've got it. If you want to help with that, I'll be happy to take that help."
"Good," Grace laughed. "I'm happy to do that."
Sid leaned forward. "She's pretty good at decorating, so she won't let you down."
Hanna shook her head. "I didn't think for one second that she would let us down, or I wouldn't have accepted her invitation to help so eagerly."
"Fair enough."
Jace found himself growing edgy. He had so much excitement running through him right now that he couldn't wait to get things rolling. It would be a long week.