Chapter Seven #2
He turned to Felix with a slight scowl. There had been a bit of friction between the two of them since he was the reason that Lottie no longer worked as a bartender at Branch and Brew.
Felix had mentioned that her replacement had worked out well enough, but Nate knew he missed her friendship as much as her ability to mix drinks.
“Lottie’s helping me with my project.” Felix’s eyes widened in shock, but before he could speak, Nate cut him off with a question of his own. “What’d she give to Autumn just now?”
Felix assessed Nate for a moment as he took another drink from his mug.
“Lottie comes by every so often with more pictures from years ago that have Autumn or me in them that she’s been able to dig up.
” He looked over at his girlfriend, a strong love for her written all over his face.
“She’s gotten a few of her memories back, but not much.
It doesn’t bother her when they don’t come, but she still likes to look at pictures from that time anyway and Lottie is nice enough to gather them up for her. ”
Nate nodded. When Autumn had gotten into a bad accident and had amnesia, they’d all assumed it would be temporary. Luckily for Felix, her feelings for him returned even though her memories of the two of them as best friends had not. “That’s very thoughtful of her.”
Felix turned back to him, a warning in his eyes. “She’s a very thoughtful person who deserves better than she’s gotten.”
The admonishment was deserved, so Nate didn’t argue it and instead held up his hands in supplication.
“I know that.” When Felix continued to bore his eyes into Nate’s, he reached over and squeezed his brother’s shoulder.
“I mean it, Felix. I know what an amazing person she is and I’ll treat her as such. ”
Before Felix could comment on the reliability of that statement, Lottie breezed back over to Nate with a smile on her face. “Ready?” She looked at him more openly than before, and if it took him following her around town all day to keep that look on her face, he would do it.
“For you, always.” Both Lottie and his brother seemed thrown by the statement, but Nate was too busy placing his hand on the small of her back and ushering her back out and into the cold to give it more thought. “Where to now?”
Lottie smiled and gestured toward the diner.
“Now we visit Mr. Harvey and then we’ll go onto the next person on my list.” She moved to hike her heavy bag over her shoulder, but Nate grabbed the handles and took it from her.
Lottie opened her mouth, probably to protest, but her face softened as she looked at him. “Thank you.”
Nate smiled as he held the tote that must have weighed almost as much as she did. “You’re welcome.” It was a little strange, the two of them interacting without him constantly putting up walls between them, but Nate liked it and hoped to keep it going for as long as he possibly could.
Lottie started walking, Nate hot on her heels when she looked over at him. “Why don’t you tell me about your project while we’re on the go? It will be more efficient that way, and I know how much you like that.”
Nate almost commented on how she’d never embraced efficiency in the past, but he bit off the remark.
What had been was something he needed to let go of.
They were stepping toward what could be, a hopefully much brighter future than he’d thought possible.
“Okay, well do you remember my acceptance speech?”
Lottie smiled as she waved to a couple of passersby.
Nate didn’t recognize the couple, but she had just treated them like she did everyone else, like a friend she hadn’t met yet.
Before he could get caught up in how truly wonderful she was, Lottie started talking.
“Remember it? I memorized it. Together we can create an Applewood that our children can be proud of.” She said the final line from his speech in a mimic of his low voice, causing him to chuckle even as he was touched by her memory of the speech he had been excited to give. “It was a good speech.”
“Thanks.” Nate felt his cheeks warm with a blush, hoping that Lottie would attribute it to the cold.
“Well, I’ve been trying to get the businesses downtown to approve construction on the town square so that we can have an actual gathering place, somewhere to hold festivals and ceremonies where we don’t have to worry about people tripping over broken cobblestones, but no one wants to say yes.
It’s been so strange to me because I have the funding the townspeople donated, just not the approval. ”
“That is weird.” Lottie looked away, and Nate wondered if she knew more than she was letting on.
It was likely, given how tapped into the community she was, but before he could ask about it, they’d arrived at the diner.
“Let’s talk to Mr. Harvey. Maybe we can get some insight as to why people aren’t on board. ”
Nate nodded, following her into the diner.
The place looked the same as it had when he’d first gone there for breakfast as a child.
His family would take up the largest red vinyl booth and dine on enough pancakes to put the place out of business, but luckily the eatery had remained a town staple despite his and his brothers’ large appetites.
The morning rush seemed to have passed, so when Lottie walked up to the long, chrome counter, there were plenty of seats for her to choose from.
“Good morning, John. How are you today?” Lottie asked the older man, smiling brightly.
The owner of the diner smiled back at her. “I’m well, doing even better now that my favorite customer has come back.” He reached behind his ear for a pencil and took out an order pad. “Did you want your usual this morning?”
Lottie shook her head as she rifled through her bag.
“I’m on the go with the mayor this morning, but I’ll be sure to stop by again this week.
” Pulling out a small box, Lottie slid it across the counter toward the man.
“I just stopped by because I was able to find that replacement part for your vintage milkshake machine. I know you were loath to get rid of such a great piece of equipment.”
Mr. Harvey looked at her like she was a wizard, an expression Nate was sure was mirrored on his own face.
“How on Earth did you find this?” He opened the box and took out a silver contraption Nate had never seen before, holding it as reverently as one would a sentimental keepsake.
“I looked all over the Internet and found nothing.”
Lottie shrugged. “I have my ways.” Turning to Nate, she nodded at the seat next to her. “In addition to bringing that by, we were actually hoping to ask you a couple of questions.”
Nate slid onto the vinyl seat with a squeak, the noise causing Mr. Harvey to seem to notice his presence for the first time even though he’d been standing directly next to Lottie since their arrival.
He couldn’t blame the man for ignoring him.
It was difficult to notice anything else when you had Lottie’s attention directed at you.
“Oh, hello Nate.” Harvey’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes when he looked at Nate, something that seemed odd given his support when Nate ran for mayor, his campaign posters taking up considerable space in the windows.
The man turned back to Lottie, his smile much more genuine. “I’ll answer whatever I can.”
Lottie beamed at him and leaned closer to Nate, slipping her arm through his.
He was so stunned and pleased at the move that he almost missed her talking again.
“We were wondering if you could tell us a little more about your reluctance as far as creating a new town square is concerned. Is it the impact on your business? Because I am sure that the mayor can ensure that parking and walkways that lead to the shops and eateries would be minimally impacted.”
Nate looked over at her. He shouldn’t have been surprised that she would be thinking of those things as he had as well, but her being so in tune with other people’s concerns was always a bit shocking when he’d always been more focused on logistical matters.
Mr. Harvey scratched his weathered face, looking at Nate wearily. “That’s a concern, but it’s more about changing the square as it is now.” He shrugged and smiled wistfully. “The town square has been that way for as long as I’ve been alive and changing it seems unnecessary.”
“But it is,” Nate insisted. Once the subject of the town square had been brought up, he’d felt his passion for the project rise to the surface as it always did.
“The square as it is now doesn’t have enough room for even a fraction of the whole town, and that’s not even the largest problem.
The cement is cracked and there’s little in the way of aesthetic appeal.
Tourism could increase greatly if we were to update things and that would mean more business for you.
More business means more money and with more money you could even update the diner if you wanted. ”
Lottie had been squeezing his arm the whole time he talked, and only when he’d finished did Nate realize she was nearly cutting off the blood circulation.
“Thank you so much for your insight, John. Tell Mary I’ll be by to drop off that Bundt pan she’s been asking about later this week.
” Lottie left her stool before grabbing her bag with one hand and Nate’s sleeve with the other.
“You have a lovely day now.” Before Mr. Harvey could say another word, Lottie dragged Nate out and into the cold, steering them into a nearby alleyway where she spun on her heel and glared at him. “What the hell was that?”
Nate balked at her words, but when he saw that her expression wasn’t angry, but confused, he stowed his indignation. “What do you mean? He was talking like the town square is this magical place when it’s a pile of rubble. It needs updating.”
Lottie pinched the bridge of her nose before meeting Nate’s gaze again.
“To some people in this town, it is magical, Nathan.” Any delight at hearing her use his name like she used to was squashed by the disappointment in her eyes.
“Mr. Harvey proposed to his wife in that square and you called it a mess and then implied that he should update his diner.”
Nate thought back on the cracked vinyl booths and spots of considerable wear on the counter. “He does need to update the diner. Did you see that floor? I didn’t know linoleum could peel up that badly.”
Lottie sighed heavily and leaned back against the brick of the building.
“You can’t just steamroll people into seeing what you see.
You have to listen to their concerns and then help them arrive at that conclusion after assuring them that stepping into the future doesn’t mean having to let go of the past.” She gazed up at him, her eyes begging for him to understand.
He wanted to, badly, but he just couldn’t comprehend how people didn’t see things his way. “Does that make sense?”
Nate shook his head, wishing he could give her more than that. “I don’t know. I guess I never thought about it that way because most of my memories are tied to the farm, but even then we’re updating things all the time to stay relevant.”
Lottie grabbed his hands in hers. “Is there any part of the farm that, if threatened with overhaul or destruction, you would feel sad about?”
Nate didn’t have to consider her question to know that, if anyone tried to do anything with the loft he’d made love to her in, he would go apeshit on them. “There might be.”
Lottie smiled sadly. “That’s how some of the people in town feel about the square. They don’t want to see it changed, and telling them it has to, or that it’s what’s best, isn’t going to work.”
Nate sighed heavily, realizing that maybe he was friendly and approachable, but not nearly as good with people as he’d previously thought.
“This is why I need you, Charlotte. You’re so good with everyone, always knowing what they need.
” He gripped her hands, hoping that she wouldn’t leave him to flounder on his own.
“Will you still help me? Even though I don’t know what to say or how to say it, will you stay? ”
Lottie nodded. “Of course I will.” She lowered her eyes a little and spoke softly. “I’ve always believed in you, Nathan. I agree that the square needs updating, I just think we can go about it another way.”
Nate tugged on her hands and pulled her closer, trying to keep her warm in the frigid air that surrounded them.
“Then show me another way.” Lottie gazed up at him and licked her lips.
God, he wanted to taste her again so badly, but before he could do that, he needed to prove to himself and to her that he wasn’t going to get stupid and push her away again. “I’ll follow your lead.”
Smirking, Lottie picked up her bag and handed it over to him. “If only you’d said that ten years ago. Things could have gone a lot differently between the two of us.”
Nate smiled as he followed her out of the alleyway, picturing another life where he’d done exactly as she said and let her lead.
They would probably be married with at least one kid by now, but instead of letting that impossible past sadden him, he let it bolster his resolve to make that vision a part of his future. Their future.