Chapter 5
West
The whirlwind named Presley had been upgraded in my mind to a hurricane.
Hurricanes did more damage, and she had the potential to wreak absolute havoc on me.
But only if you let her, I reminded myself.
On the short drive to the former community center, I’d texted Flora the change in plans. Then I’d reined myself in. Reminded myself taking on this project would be a bad idea. I was hearing her out, and I’d give her my two cents. Then I was out.
I was far from a coffee expert, but listening to her spout her ideas and plans was starting to make me excited about the prospects of her shop. That’s how powerful her energy and enthusiasm were.
She’d nabbed the best spot in the former city-owned building—the front corner that faced the square as well as the walkway down the side. There were a few larger spaces and three smaller ones. Hers was the best of the smaller ones and ideal for what she had in mind for her coffee shop.
“So office and storage in back, two single gender-neutral restrooms over here,” I summarized, pointing. “The kitchen in that area, the counter here, and the self-serve area there?”
“What do you think of that?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I have no experience with running a coffee shop, so all I can offer is a construction viewpoint.”
“Which is?”
“It’s doable and not very complex. A lot depends on what kind of kitchen you want.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do about food, if anything,” she said, “but I’d like a full kitchen in place, with more than one oven.”
“How soon do you want this?”
“Well,” she said, facing me with an irresistible grin. “I suppose you can’t do it by tomorrow…”
“I never said I could do it ever,” I clarified.
When her shoulders sagged, I reassured her, “What I can do is ask my coworkers, see if anyone’s interested.”
“Really? You think you can find someone who will do it?”
I suspected there were multiple someones who’d step up for no other reason than to work with her specifically. Plus the money. The money would be welcome for any of us. Levi paid us fairly, but there were never enough funds when you had three little princesses.
“I’d be surprised if we can’t find someone. We’ll need to run it by Levi to make sure he’s cool with it. He should be, as long as it’s all after-hours work.”
“How long do you think it would take?” she asked. “Like, if you hypothetically decided to do it, how long?”
“I’d need to think about that, put some things down on paper. A lot would depend on if I had help.”
“I told you I’d help.”
My brows shot up.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she said.
“What am I thinking?”
“That I’d be more in the way than helpful, but I can assure you, my drive is unparalleled when I decide I want something.” Her eyes flared with intent. Was there a double meaning in there? Interest?
It didn’t matter if there was. That was not happening, no matter how she made my blood pound.
As if sensing she hadn’t convinced me, she said, “I like to be busy. I’m not good at sitting around my house.
I’d rather get a hammer and help build walls between creating a business plan and deciding on beans and blends.
I err toward workaholism. I’m trying to avoid that again, but there’s a happy medium between overworking and planting flowers, right? ”
“Sure is.”
Commotion out on the sidewalk caught my eye. My daughters approached, mouths running, bodies hopping, twisting, turning, with Flora lagging behind them.
We could hear the girls even before the door opened, all excited chatter and high spirits. They waited for their mom to catch up. Nova pressed her face against the glass, peering inside and jumping up and down when she spotted me.
“Gonna need some glass cleaner,” I said to Presley as I headed to the door. “Sorry about that.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. Are these your daughters?” Presley asked, laughing.
“This is my circus. These are my monkeys.” I opened the door, and it was as if someone had turned the volume from two to nine in an instant.
“Daddy!” Nova threw her arms around me.
“Hi, Daddy,” Sienna and Scarlet said together and gathered in for their share of a group hug, with me bending down and pulling all three of them in.
“You girls smell like sugar,” I said, then pretended to nibble on their necks, eliciting an uproar of giggles that made me laugh too.
I stood and met Flora’s impatient gaze.
“Everything go okay?” I asked.
“We had a fun time,” she said. “We all had waffles.”
“Did you get any protein in them?” I asked my ex.
“We got extra whipped cream!” Scarlet hollered.
“Of course you did,” I said. They’d go for that any time they were allowed.
Between the no-protein meal and the loads of sugar, we were in for a wild evening.
“I gotta run,” Flora said. “Gil’s waiting at the curb. Bye, girls!” She blew a kiss and took off without even hugging them.
I would never understand that woman.
All three girls talked at once, telling me about dinner, waffles, sprinkles, and God knew what else.
I noticed Presley standing across the room, watching us with a smile on her face that likely covered a base of overwhelm at the sheer volume and chaos that surrounded our family of four like a swarm of mosquitos.
“Daddy, can we go to Colorado to see the mountains and feed the chipmunks?” Nova asked, jumping up and down.
“I want to go to Chicago to the giant Ferris wheel!” Scarlet said. “And shop on the Magnificent Mile.”
My brows went up as this was the first I’d heard of any of this.
“I want to see the Grand Canyon,” Sienna said with less volume but equal enthusiasm.
“Chicago has a museum with a T. rex named Sue!” Scarlet argued.
Because apparently this was an argument about where we were traveling, which was, in reality, nowhere.
“Where did all this come from?” I asked them, though it was obvious Flora and Gil had put ideas into their heads.
“Mommy and Gil go all over the country,” Scarlet said authoritatively. “They’ve been to forty-six states.”
“They told us the coolest stuff,” Nova said.
“The Grand Canyon is miles and miles and miles deep,” Sienna related.
“It’s one mile deep and miles and miles long,” her twin corrected.
“Colorado has the biggest, biggest mountains,” Nova said. “And you can ride a tram to the top and feed peanuts to the chipmunks.”
“Girls,” I said in a tone to get their attention. “Did you notice we’re not alone?”
They looked around and spotted Presley, who still appeared amused and overwhelmed.
“Hi there,” Presley said as she approached. “I’m Presley.”
“This is Scarlet, Sienna, and Nova,” I said, placing my hand on each of their heads as I introduced them. “Say hello to Miss Presley, girls.”
“Hi!” Nova said. “You’re pretty.”
Leave it to my blunt four-year-old. She was spot-on with her assessment.
“Hi, Nova. So are you,” Presley said. “You’re all three adorable.”
“I’m here for work,” I told my daughters.
“You said you were working at a big house,” Scarlet said.
“I’m working at Miss Presley’s big house,” I confirmed. “This is Miss Presley’s business.”
The three of them looked around in confusion.
“This doesn’t look like a business,” Sienna said.
“I went to dance camp here,” Scarlet said.
“This used to be the community center,” I told them. “The city built a new community center, and now this building is turning into businesses.”
“I’m planning to open a coffee shop,” Presley explained. “I’m going to get coffee beans from all over the world to make delicious coffee drinks.”
“I don’t like coffee,” Nova said.
“Our mom has been all over the world,” Scarlet said.
“All over the country,” I clarified. “Their mom’s boyfriend is a musician. He books gigs all over the US and travels to them in his van. Flora goes with him.”
“Have you been to Chicago?” Scarlet asked Presley.
“I have,” Presley said. “The Magnificent Mile is a fun place to shop.”
“Did you see the T. rex when you were shopping?” Nova asked, looking nervous.
“The T. rex is in a museum, and it’s not a real dinosaur,” Sienna told her.
“It is too real,” Scarlet said. “But it’s just the bones now. Real bones.”
“I didn’t see the T. rex,” Presley said, “but I saw the Ferris wheel on Navy Pier.”
“Did you go to Colorado?” Nova asked.
“I’ve been to Denver, which is the capital of Colorado,” Presley told her.
“Are there chipmunks there?” my youngest persisted.
“I didn’t see any, but I was in a hotel,” Presley said.
I was sure Presley had jet-setted all over the world as an investment banker and that her travel experiences were quite different from Flora and Gil’s, where they slept in their van at odd hours due to his small-venue shows.
Time to rein in their grilling of Presley. “Okay, girls—”
“Can we please go to Chicago?” Scarlet asked.
“Or any trip,” Sienna said. “We never get to go anywhere.”
“It costs a lot of money to travel,” I said. “Last I knew, you three liked to get new school clothes.”
Their enthusiasm disappeared like the air escaping from an untied balloon. I clenched my jaw, hating that I couldn’t give my girls every damn thing.
“I need to finish up with Miss Presley and get you three home. Why don’t you go sit on that bench right outside.” I pointed to the bench that was visible out the side window, lining the walking path. “Only that bench.”
“I want to stay with you, Daddy,” Sienna said as Scarlet and Nova raced for the door.
I put my arm around my quiet girl and pulled her into my side, confident she’d hang out in silence. It also meant one less personality sitting out on that single bench.
“You’ve got your hands full with these smart little girls,” Presley said, smiling at Sienna.
“That’s for sure,” I said.
That right there was why I had no business taking on extra work.
“So you want this built out as soon as humanly possible,” I said, getting back to our discussion. “Have you given any thought to the finishes you want? Will the walls be painted? Brick? Shelves? Cabinets? Start thinking about specifics and what you’ll want help with.”
“Actually…” She pulled out her phone and started swiping. “I know exactly the style I want.”
Presley moved next to me and held up her phone so I could see a photo of a coffee shop. Sections of white brick mixed with contemporary slate-blue walls, silver fixtures, and pecan-colored floors.
“That’s nice,” I said, “and not too complex. The brickwork will slow it down a little and add to your expense, but nothing else screams out to me as being a problem.”
She lowered her phone so Sienna could see too.
“It’s pretty,” my daughter said.
“I think so too,” Presley told her, then turned back to me. “I’m okay with the expense. I don’t want to cut corners. I want this shop to be my future, so I might as well do it the way I want it now, right?”
I put some space between us, because being that close, I caught her light, feminine scent, and it was doing things to me. Making me think of her as more than the decision maker in this project and the other one.
“It’s cheaper long-term to do it right the first time,” I agreed, but inside, I was puzzling over Presley Holiday.
Yesterday she’d been aimless, restless. I’d been able to see it on her even though I’d only just met her.
Today she’d wanted better coffee than she could find in town, and now, less than twelve hours later, she’d signed a lease on a shop and was barreling forward with opening a business.
Who did that?
Someone with the cash to back it up, for starters.
Speaking of cash…
“The saying holds true here,” I said. “In any construction project, you can pick two of the three: good, fast, or cheap.”
“I want good and fast,” she said without hesitation.
She stepped closer, facing me, as if to convey this was important.
“I understand this would be a lot for anyone to do on the weekends or after hours. I’m willing to pay well for the labor.
If there’s any way you can do it, I’d like to work with you, West. Will you think about it? ”
I felt Sienna crane her neck to look up at me. “Maybe we could use the money to go on a trip, Daddy,” she pointed out quietly.
I peered down at her, took in her earnest, yearning expression. I flipped my gaze to the two outside, the other two parts of my heart.
I wanted to give these three everything their hearts desired.
As a construction worker with no college degree and no other training save for the military, my earning potential would never be in the jet-set range.
But maybe I could find a way to do this extra project.
It’d mean sacrificing time with them for a few weeks and finding someone to stay with them, but it could also mean giving them travel memories they’d hold on to for the rest of their lives.
I let out a conflicted breath. “I’ll think about it,” I told Presley.
I had a feeling I’d do nothing but think about it until I could come to the best decision.