Chapter 12
12
MIKA
S low day at Bruno’s Diner.
There’s the usual early morning rush, then extended periods of quiet. I spend most of my time sitting by the register, my head propped up on my hand, listening to Lottie and Tish gossip. The hot new bachelor in town is long gone, and they’ve already moved on to the rumored hot new single dad moving into Lottie’s neighborhood soon.
Lucky them.
Me, well... I haven’t quite moved on yet.
It’s been two days since goodbye. Two days since Carter checked out of my life and drove out of Small Town for good. It took nearly a whole day for me to realize that I should have at least got his number or something, but today I wonder what good that would do. He’d still be gone, off on new adventures in mergers and acquisitions. He wouldn’t want to come all the way back to Small Town, anyway. Especially not for me.
I glance across the diner, my eyes drifting toward his booth, only to retreat quickly. Someday I’ll be able to serve that section again. But not today.
Today just sucks.
I clock out just after three and slowly begin my journey home. Along the way, I slip into Hot Beans and talk to the manager about the Now Hiring sign out front.
“Come back Thursday,” she says. “Open interviews start at nine.”
That clashes with my shift at Bruno’s, but I’m sure I can sneak over during my lunch break.
With an application folded in my pocket, I walk home to Two Hearts Inn.
As I approach, I notice several vehicles parked out front that weren’t here this morning. A few cars. A delivery truck. Another with the Mister Fixin’ logo, a local repair man we practically had on speed dial before the money troubles began.
Curious, I cross the porch and make my way inside, holding the door open for two men carrying a long ladder and waiting for them to pass by first.
I walk in and I already sense something’s… different. Above my head, the chandelier shines with light. All fixed.
“Papa!” I call out at the front desk, eying the few men in the sitting room with suits and clipboards.
Papa appears in the office doorway with a wide grin on his face. “Mickey!” he says, his arms open for a hug. “I’m glad you’re here! You came just in time!”
I hug him tightly. “Just in time?” I ask. “Papa, what’s going on?”
“I sold the inn!”
My stomach drops.
I knew this day would come.
I hoped I had more time to prepare for it.
“What?” I ask, my throat clenching already. “You sold the inn?”
“I sold the inn!” he says again with even more excitement.
“But...” My head spins, the world so fast. “Hold on, Papa.”
“The new owner’s already replaced the stove!” he says. “Even called up Gladys and offered her her old job back. Food is officially back on the menu at Two Hearts Inn! Can you believe it?”
No.
I can’t believe any of this right now.
“Who, Papa?” I ask.
“Gladys. The cook. She’s back!”
“Not Gladys, Papa. The new owner. Who bought the inn?”
“I did.”
I look up, my heart skipping twice at the sound of his voice.
Over Papa’s shoulder, standing in the office doorway in a sleek business suit and tie holding our guest ledger, is Carter Cartwright.
He smiles at me. “Hello.”
“Hello,” I say, somehow finding my voice.
“He did!” Papa says, patting my shoulder. “Made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.” He inches closer, lowering his voice. “Fifteen percent more than it’s worth, but don’t tell him that.”
“Uh-huh,” I murmur, too shocked to say much else.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, honey,” Papa says, “I believe I have a few more things to sign. Point me toward the suits?” he adds to Carter.
Carter points into the sitting room and Papa walks off, his step more jaunty today than it’s been in a long time.
I stare at Carter with disbelief. “Hello,” I say again.
“Hello,” he says.
“What are you doing here?”
He tilts his head, amused. “I bought the inn. Didn’t you hear?”
“Uh-huh. I heard that. Why did you buy the inn?”
Carter closes the ledger and safely tucks it away behind the front desk. “Come with me.”
He walks out the open front door.
“Carter,” I say, following a step behind him, full of shock. “Hold on.”
He descends the porch stairs, then spins around to walk backward along the path toward the lake. “Remember how I told you what I did?” he asks.
“You tell rich guys what to spend their money on,” I say.
“Correct. Imagine my surprise the other day when I reached Big City and met with a prospective client about a property in Small Town.” He points behind me. “This property.”
“This property?” I ask nervously.
“He wanted to buy it,” he says. “No, not just buy. He wanted me to come back and find out the lowest amount this place was worth and find flaws he could exploit to make that number as low as possible.”
I stop walking, the confusion in my chest shifting toward tepid rage. “Why would he ask you to do that?”
He stops, too. “Because that’s what I do, Mika,” he says, his eyes pinched with shame. “And I’m very good at it.”
“Congratulations,” I spit.
Carter continues down the path. I reluctantly follow him past the boathouse to the dock, crossing my arms as I take heavy steps.
“He wanted the inn, but...” His jaw flexes. “He wanted to strip out everything that made it beautiful. He was going to level this place, expand the inn to a stupid amount of rooms, destroying the land and making it a shadow of what your family built.”
My gut churns at the thought. “So, you bought the inn for him?”
“No,” Carter says. “I bought the inn for you, Mika.”
“Me?”
Carter continues forward down the dock and stops at the end. For a moment, he does nothing but stare across the lake, taking it in. “The other night when you brought me here,” he says, “I felt something.”
I pause beside him, needing him to explain.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” he says, reading my expression. “It was like something awakened in me, or like I’d finally come home after being away for so long.” He looks at me, his blue eyes reflecting the lake. “When I left the other day, I could feel this place pulling me back. I wasn’t sure why, but when that asshole was talking about all the things he planned to do here, I realized why.”
Carter reaches for my hand. I give it to him, trembling as his strong fingers wrap around mine.
“Carter...” I say, full of doubt.
“I know it’s ridiculous,” he says. “But maybe there is something about this place. About Kiss County.”
“It’s just marketing,” I say.
“I didn’t just buy an inn because of marketing, Mika.”
“What do you even know about running an inn?”
“Nothing,” he says. “That’s why you’re going to run it.” He faces me, his eyes so serious, so handsome and kind. “I want us to run it together.”
My heart pounds. “You do?”
He nods. “I’ve tried for years to find a home. I knew it was out there somewhere. I just had to find it.” His fingers entwine with mine. “I think this is it, Mika. Here, with you.”
My breath catches in my throat. Lost for words, I look down, only to feel his hand touching my chin, guiding me back up.
Carter kisses me softly, and the last of my anger and confusion melts away. “If you’ll have me,” he says with a smile. “I realize I may not have been the cleanest guest in the world.”
I laugh, my blush deepening. “We’ve had worse.”
He cups my face and kisses me again.
“Are you sure?” I ask, my entire body tingling. “Small Town is... kinda boring sometimes.”
Carter chuckles. “I’m sure you and I can think of ways to pass the time.”
“How did you even afford this?” I ask, my thoughts running wild.
“Ah, well... over the years of traveling around, not paying rent or a mortgage or anything, I’ve saved almost every dollar I’ve made. That’s left me with a heck of a savings account.”
“I’ll bet.”
“It’s nearly gone now, so…” He smiles, our lips grazing. “I better learn fast how to run this place.”
I grin, bursting with happiness.
He crushes his mouth on mine, and I kiss him back. He holds me close as I hug him against me, my chest full of love, while we both look out across the lake.
Love.
For the first time in my life, I think there might be something more than marketing in Kiss County, after all.