Chapter 25
NEW YEAR’S DAY
Harper
Icould have stayed wrapped in Grayson’s arms all day long. But as happy as I was, I knew the bubble would be popped eventually, and there were things that I’d already been putting off for far too long.
I hung my coat by the door and slipped off my boots, my heart pounding harder than it should have been. After everything I’d already done—the plaza, the crowd, and the microphone—having a frank conversation with my grandma shouldn’t be sending me into a panic.
But it had to be done. It was long past time I knew the truth.
I found her in her chair by the window, her new soft blanket over her lap, a cup of tea in her hands, looking suspiciously…healthy.
“Good morning, dear,” she said without turning. “I trust you had a lovely evening.”
My cheeks heated, but I was not going to be swayed from my mission. “Grandma.” I moved across the room. “We need to talk.”
She turned to me then, peering over the top of her mug. “Sounds serious.”
“It is.” I perched on the arm of the couch, my nerves twisting in my stomach. I didn’t know what I was going to hear, but I knew I wasn’t going to like it. I blew out a breath. “How sick are you, really? I know you don’t want to talk about it, but I need to know.”
I resisted the urge to hold my breath while I waited for her answer.
She blew across her tea, radiating calm. “Harper, I’m eighty-two. Everything creaks and hurts. Be more specific.”
“Grandma.” I narrowed my eyes. “Enough. You called me, remember? You told me you weren’t well.”
“I do remember,” she said simply. “You were finishing up your last charter, and I called to let you know I’d been to the doctor.”
“Right.” I swallowed hard, trying not to get frustrated. “You said you weren’t well.”
“No.” She held up a finger. “I said I wasn’t feeling well,” she clarified. “Isn’t that why one goes to the doctor in the first place?”
My frustration was growing, but there was something else going on, too. “Wait,” I said slowly. “Are you not really sick?”
Grandma waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, honey. It’s just a bit of reflux, is all. The doctor says if I lay off the fried onions and red wine, I’ll outlive everyone in town.”
“Wait.” I blinked. “Reflux?”
“Mm-hmm.” She took another sip of her tea. “It’s really quite unpleasant.”
“I’m sure it is,” I said, my words clipped. “But you let me think—” My voice broke, half anger, half relief.
“Sweetheart, I don’t think I let you think anything.
” Her voice was sweet, but her smile was devilish.
“But when you assumed… Well, I didn’t see the harm in letting you think it was a bit worse than it was.
Besides, you wouldn’t have come home otherwise.
And it was way past time you did. And you most definitely wouldn’t have let yourself fall into that boy again without a little nudge. ”
“But you manipulated me.” I shook my head, still unable to fully comprehend what she’d done.
“I just gave you a little push in the right direction, that’s all.” She fluttered her lashes at me with such exaggerated innocence that I had to laugh.
“See?” she said when she noticed me laughing. “You can’t even pretend you’re not grateful.”
I shook my head. “Okay, okay. I guess I am grateful,” I conceded. “I guess.” I swallowed hard. “You’re impossible.”
“That’s nothing new.” She set her mug down and reached for my hand. Her touch was warm and steady against mine. “You found your way home, Harper. That’s all I ever wanted for you.”
I squeezed her fingers, my chest aching in that good, overwhelming way. She was impossible, it was true. But she was also right.
I was home.
And I didn’t plan to leave anytime soon.
Grayson
As it did for many people, the first day of a new year had always felt like a fresh start for me. A blank slate. But this time, walking through the plaza on the morning of a brand-new year, full of potential and opportunity, the future felt brighter than ever.
There were still so many questions and unknowns about what was going to happen, but the one thing I knew for sure was that I loved Harper and she loved me. As long as I had her, I had everything. All the rest of it would be figured out with time.
The other thing I knew was that I was done waiting around for life to happen to me instead of making things happen for myself. That strategy had almost cost me the love of my life, again. No more.
New year. New me.
Or something like that.
The plaza always looked different the morning after a big celebration, but the distinction was particularly noticeable the day after New Year’s.
With all the people gone, it felt extra quiet.
Decorations dropped, strings of lights tangled in piles waiting to be boxed up for another year—so much for putting them away neater this year.
I shook my head with a smile, knowing I’d be the one to untangle them in less than a year.
A handful of cleanup volunteers worked in the frosty morning to dismantle the stage and put everything away until the next celebration that Tilley was no doubt already cooking up.
My boots crunched over the frost and ice as I walked through it all, more determined than I’d felt in weeks.
I spotted Ollie on a bench outside the Bean Bag, just as I knew I would.
He was a man of routine. Which was why I also knew that was a paper bag of cinnamon twists that sat beside him, and in his hand, the steam that was rising from the cup contained his other morning indulgence. Coffee, two sugars and two creams.
Don’t tell Doris, his wife of almost fifty years.
“Morning, Ollie.”
He looked up and nodded when he saw me. “Happy New Year, Grayson.”
“Got a minute?” I skipped the pleasantries. It was long past time I got down to business.
“You know I do.” He picked up the bag and scooted over on the bench to make room for me, but I remained standing.
“Have you signed the papers with Homeworks yet?” I got right to the point.
His face flickered with a moment of confusion before he shook his head. “Not yet,” he said.
Two words that gave me a flash of hope.
“Why are you asking?” His eyes narrowed, crinkling even deeper around the edges.
“Sell it to me,” I said before I could talk myself out of it again.
He lifted his brows, but he didn’t look as surprised as I would have expected. “I didn’t know you were interested,” he said after a moment.
“I was. I am.” I took a beat and inhaled slowly.
“I waited too long to tell you, and then there was never a right time, and when you told me that Homeworks had made you an offer, well, I knew I couldn’t compete, so I just…
it doesn’t matter.” I shook my head clear.
“What matters is I’m telling you now. I’d like to buy the hardware store, Ollie. Don’t count me out. Please.”
Finished saying what I needed to, I exhaled completely, blowing out the stress I’d been holding onto.
Ollie was quiet for a moment. He took his time taking a sip of his coffee and rustled around in the bag of cinnamon twists for a pastry before finally looking up at me. “Homeworks has made me a very generous offer, you know?”
I nodded. I didn’t need to know the specifics of the offer to know it would be more than I could manage.
“I’m sure they did, Ollie. And I know that security is important for you.
” He leveled me with his gaze, but I wasn’t done.
“I also know that you built that store from the ground up,” I continued.
“I’ve seen the photos and I’ve heard the stories about how your first storefront was little more than a shed in a back alley. ”
He sat back; I had his full attention.
“You put your whole life into that store, Ollie, and you built it into the thriving business it is today.” I also knew I had something to do with that in recent years, but it didn’t need to be mentioned.
“Yes, Homeworks can offer you more money than I can. They’ll come in and put their shiny sign on the front of the building.
They’ll standardize everything inside and there’ll be clean, neat shelves with matching bins and glossy posters on the wall.
Just like every other Homeworks store in this country. But you know what they can’t offer?”
Ollie set his coffee down and crossed his arms over his chest. I couldn’t read him. I couldn’t tell whether I’d lost him or hooked him, so I carried on.
“Homeworks will never know that Bill Bensen buys ten gallons of dark oak stain for his fence every two years, but he’ll forget and try to order the light.
Every time. A cold corporation will never know that Mrs. Woods has done all her own home repairs since her divorce three years ago, and when her ex-husband moved out, he took all their tools, so sometimes she needs to borrow something to get the job done. ”
My boss opened his mouth to speak, but I wasn’t finished. “This town and the people in it deserve more than that, Ollie. They’ve given you years of patronage. You wouldn’t be where you are without them—don’t you think they deserve that personal touch?”
He nodded. “They do.”
“Then sell it to me, Ollie. I can’t offer you top dollar.
That’s not a secret. But I can promise you that the legacy you built in Trickle Creek will continue.
I’ll work hard to make sure the business you built remains a trusted one in this town.
I’ve been running things with that same focus for the last few years.
All I’m asking is that you give me the chance to keep doing that. ”
Finally finished, I blew out a breath and waited.
The older man was quiet for a long time. Slowly, he took a bite of his cinnamon twist and chewed thoughtfully for a few minutes before finally speaking. “It sounds like you’ve put some thought into this, Grayson.”
I nodded.
“You know,” Ollie continued, “when I told Doris about our conversation the other day, she was pretty upset with me.”
“Really? Why?” That surprised me. Doris never had much to do with the business, and I’d only seen her in the store a handful of times. She was a nice lady and was always very friendly and kind to me, but to be honest, I was surprised that she’d noticed what the store meant to me.
He nodded. “She’s a very observant woman, my Doris. It didn’t go unnoticed by her that you were the only reason I’ve been able to focus on my recovery and take this unofficial early retirement over the last few years. She’s very thankful, Grayson.”
That touched me unexpectedly.
“Which is why she was very upset with me when I told her I hadn’t even offered you the option to buy the store.”
“What?”
Ollie nodded, unaware of my genuine surprise.
“She really was,” he continued. “Especially when I told her I was going to accept the offer from Homeworks. In fact, she feels very much the same way you do.” He chuckled a little bit and shook his head.
“And you know what, you both make very valid points. I just assumed you weren’t interested. ”
“I’ve learned a lot about the danger of assuming things lately,” I said, shaking my head.
“You’re not wrong, Grayson. I should have just asked you straight out.”
A flicker of hope lit up deep inside. “I don’t know what they offered you, Ollie. But I have a solid business plan, some savings, and I think the bank will give me a loan. Even so, I don’t think I can come close to their—”
“Oh no.” He stopped me. “You won’t be able to offer me what they did.”
My stomach sank.
“But money isn’t everything.” He shrugged. “And I’ll tell you what…”
I watched and waited.
“Part of me always hoped you’d be the one to take over the store.”
“Really?”
He laughed. “Of course. I don’t have a son of my own, and my girls couldn’t have cared less about this hardware business. They never did. Took after their mother, really.”
“So you’re saying…”
“What I’m saying, Grayson, is that as long as you have some financing lined up, and a solid plan, the way you say you do…”
I nodded. “I do.”
“I have no doubt.” He pushed himself slowly to his feet. “Then I’d say I’m sure we can work something out.”
“What about Homeworks?”
“What about them?” He shrugged. “I haven’t signed anything yet. I’m sure they’ll find some other small town with a store they can get their franchise hands on. But it won’t be mine. What do you say?” He held out his hand.
I stared at it for a second before clasping it in my own and pulling the older man in for a hug.
He was shaking his head when he pulled away. “Like I said, I always hoped you’d be the one to take over things. I guess you just needed a little push.”
A shaky laugh escaped me. “That seems to be a theme in my life lately.”
For the first time, Ollie grinned. “Good. Then consider this your official push. Why don’t we sit down tomorrow and look at the details?”
My shoulders sagged, relief rushing through me so fast my knees almost buckled. “Thank you, Ollie. You won’t regret this.”
Ollie picked up his coffee and bag of snacks and, with a wink, said, “Something tells me I won’t.”