Chapter 14
Logan
When Logan entered the bookstore just before closing time, he could hear Lucy talking somewhere farther back in the store. The high pitch and sing-song cadence of her voice made it sound as if she was speaking to a child, and his hunch was confirmed when he heard a young boy reply.
As Logan wandered over to browse the new releases, Lucy led the boy and his mother from the back of the store toward the counter. He gave Lucy a little wave before turning his attention back to the shelf. Something nudged his ankle and he looked down to see Lizzy, the cat he’d met on his last visit. He reached down to pet her head and the cat began walking back and forth to get a few full body scratches before sauntering off to plop down in a patch of sunshine streaming through the front windows. He’d seen a small signed taped inside the window display toward the bottom as he came in that said: “This space is left empty for cats in repose.”It was like Lizzy knew exactly where she was supposed to lay.
Logan returned to scanning the shelves. Maybe he’d find something that was perfect for Island Girl.
“Need a recommendation?”
Logan jumped. Lucy had come up behind him, startling him while he was deep in thought about what his new pen pal might like.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
He debated whether he should tell her about his experience with the Little Free Library, but thought better of it. He was here to go through the financials the building’s current owner had sent over. Besides, it didn’t feel right to admit that instead of buying books from her store he’d been trading books with a stranger.
Turning around, he shrugged. “I mostly read reports and spreadsheets these days. Speaking of which, what do you have for me?”
She sighed and he could tell she was trying to talk herself out of buying the building.
“Here’s what he sent.” She walked back behind the counter and took out a pile of papers, then dropped them on the counter with a thud. “I tried to read through it, but I got a little lost on the last inspection report, and then I saw the reserve numbers and got completely overwhelmed.”
“Investing in real estate is rarely a bad idea. It might be a smart investment for you if you don’t have other plans for the money you inherited. It’ll grow a lot more here than sitting in a bank. Plus, the tax credits for historic rehab will help keep your costs down. Does the store turn a profit?”
She nodded. “A small one.”
“And what do you do with it? Do you take owner distributions or reinvest it?”
“I pay myself a reasonable salary, but the profit at the end of the year is so small, I just leave it in the business.”
“Mind if I take a look at your books? Do you have your PL statements from the last few years?”
She pulled a file from a drawer under the desk and flipped through it, then pulled out a small stack of paper and slid it toward him.
He scanned them quickly. “Are you the only employee?”
“Mostly. There’s a high school student who helps me some on the weekends and in the summer, but she only works maybe ten hours a week.”
He looked up at her. “What if you want to go on vacation or aren’t feeling well?”
“I don’t really take vacations, and if I’m sick or there’s an emergency or something, I just put a sign on the door explaining why we’re closed.” She shrugged. “We all do that around here.”
“Well, as much as I don’t recommend trying to do it all yourself, it does keep your labor costs down. Your books look pretty good for a business this size, but I still think I could help you make it bigger. Better.”
She groaned. “Please tell me you’re not talking about an online store again.”
He put his elbows on the counter and leaned on them. “Why are you so opposed to selling online?”
“It’s so impersonal.” She paused, frowning as she searched for a word. “It’s just transactional. It takes away everything I love about owning this place.” She looked up at him. “Do you remember the first book you read that made you feel something?”
It was an intriguing question, but he didn’t have an answer off the top of his head. When he didn’t respond, she continued, her brown eyes glossing over as she looked into the distance.
“Mine was Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. When I was growing up, my parents were”—she looked at him as if gauging how much to tell him—“having problems. Let’s just say escaping down a rabbit hole sounded pretty good to me.” She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Careful not to reveal what the mayor had shared about her mother leaving, Logan steered the conversation in another direction.
“Did you ever see The Care Bears Adventures in Wonderland?”
He was pleased when her smile grew wider, her eyes showing surprise instead of pain.
“No. Is that a movie?” Her eyebrows furrowed as she searched his face, as if she was trying to figure him out.
“It was my sister’s favorite movie growing up. Very obscure Care Bears film. In fact, one of the only ones they never put on DVD or digitized. She made me hunt down a VHS copy on eBay a few years back and buy a VCR to go with it so we could introduce my niece and nephew to it.”
“Mr. Technology bought a VCR? You must really love your sister.” She raised an eyebrow. “Or the Care Bears.”
He stood taller and gave her his best serious face. “I’ll have you know it’s a very educational film. It teaches some very important life lessons.”
“Oh, please.” She leaned on the other side of the counter. “Do tell.”
“Well, white rabbits make terrible companions for little girls, first of all. Mischievous little things.”
Lucy giggled. “Yes, I always found cats made far more reliable companions.”
“Except maybe Cheshire Cat. Jury’s still out on him.” Logan laughed. “Then there’s Mad Hatter. He teaches us that we should always dress for the job we want.”
She pointed at him. “That’s actually a good one.”
“And then there’s Alice. In the Care Bears version, Alice is recruited to go to Wonderland to stand in for the princess, who has been kidnapped by the evil wizard.” He held up his hands like he was a scary monster. “Except she doesn’t think she can convince everyone she’s a princess. She doesn’t believe she’s special enough.”
Lucy’s expression changed, but he couldn’t quite read it. The pain he’d seen before had resurfaced, but it was more like a kind of knowing. As if she could identify with this version of Alice. He knew there was more to her story than what she or the mayor had told him, but he stopped himself from asking. He couldn’t develop any kind of emotional attachment to her. He just needed to develop the kind of relationship that made her easier to work with and led to reaching a faster consensus on the waterfront so he could get everyone to sign off on a plan.
She straightened her expression, and the moment passed.
“Is your sister younger or older?”
“Carly is older by three years, married to her high-school sweetheart, Nick, and they still live in our hometown.”
Lucy raised an eyebrow. “Meanwhile, you got out the first chance you got?”
“Couldn’t wait. I was counting down the days until I could move away to college. I knew there was this whole big world out there beyond Berlin, but we’d never seen any of it. You don’t really take vacations when your parents run a dairy farm.”
“Little harder to find cow sitters than someone to watch a dog or cat.” Her laughter was like hearing someone hit all the right notes on a piano, light and melodic.
He smiled at her. “Yes, exactly.”
“What about your niece and nephew? How old are they?”
“My niece, Alexandria, is seven now and my nephew, Aidan, is nine. They’re good kids.”
“Do you see them often?”
He thought back. When had he seen them last? Christmas? The previous summer? No, he and Catherine had been so busy with fundraisers and galas and dinner parties that they’d never found a date when his sister and her family could come out to San Diego. It must have been the previous Christmas. He’d flown them to New York to experience a real New York Christmas. He’d offered to fly his parents out, too, but they’d turned him down. He’d been too busy with work to travel back to Wisconsin much the past few years.
Even after his dad had been forced to sell the dairy farm, he still wouldn’t take a vacation. He was content to stay where he was, keeping things the way they were, which wasn’t so unlike Lucy.
He kept his response vague. “It’s been a while. Too long probably.”
Her eyes lit up. “You should invite them down,” she gushed. “That’s the best thing about living in a vacation destination. People want to come to you. I bet the kids would love the beach.”
He didn’t know Alexandria and Aidan that well, just what he got out of conversations with his sister and the rare video chat every few months. All kids probably loved the beach, though. For a moment, he thought about how nice it would be to see his big sister, Nick, and the kids, but he didn’t really have time for a family visit. He had to get things wrapped up here as quickly as possible so he could throw his hat in the ring for the Boston job.
“Yeah, maybe.” He looked away from her prying brown eyes and shuffled the stack of papers on the counter.
“I don’t mean to get on my soap box, but as someone who doesn’t have any family to speak of, I think you should make the most of the time you do have with the people you love.”
He looked up to meet her eyes, expecting to find a look that would incite guilt. Catherine had been a master guilt tripper, although she certainly wouldn’t have tried to guilt him into spending time with his family. She’d never even met his family. Anytime he mentioned life on the dairy farm growing up, Catherine would scrunch up her nose in disgust. She was always reminding him how far he’d come, but also how far he still had to go. She’d pushed him to achieve more in his career, which had fed his already ambitious goals for the two years they were together.
Unfortunately, when she fell for the son of her father’s arch nemesis, she’d made sure Logan found out so he would be the one to break up with her. Then she could play the victim. He just hadn’t counted on her father blaming him too, saying he drove her to Joe because he hadn’t fit into their society life better. When the dust had settled, he realized he was more upset about losing the project than losing Catherine. His work had fulfilled him in ways Catherine never had, and he suspected no woman ever would.
But just because the work he did was an important part of his life didn’t mean his family wasn’t still important too, and Lucy was reminding him of that. She wasn’t trying to guilt him into anything—her expression was sweet and sincere, her eyes a little glassy. She simply wanted to keep him from making a mistake, from always believing he’d have another chance and could put off his family until next month or next year. Maybe he’d call Carly to see if they had summer plans. He could probably fit in a long-weekend visit.
“Okay, enough about me. Let’s focus on you and this store.” He pretended to scan one of the pages as he tried to get his brain back on the issue of Lucy buying the building. “So an online store feels impersonal. I get it. But have you ever considered there are ways to make it personal? Maybe you could have a Facebook group where people post about what books they like or what they’re looking for, and then you could make suggestions and provide links to the books you recommend from your store.”
Her mouth pulled to one side, and a line appeared between her eyebrows. “I don’t really do Facebook anymore. It’s just a bunch of people trying to show off their highlights to people they wouldn’t even keep in touch with otherwise.”
“Fair enough.” He wasn’t really into Facebook either, but more for privacy reasons.
“But it’s a really good idea,” she said. “I’ll look into it. How much do you think it would cost to set up an online store?”
“They make software specifically for doing that.” He caught himself before he volunteered to do it for her. “It’s all very plug-and-play. You could earmark a good portion of the other tenants’ rents to build up your reserves for the building, but it wouldn’t hurt to have another revenue stream that’s basically passive income.”
“That actually makes sense. I know a couple of other bookstore owners, and I can ask what they use.”
She bit her lip as she scribbled a note on the pad next to the computer, and he couldn’t stop looking at her mouth and thinking about how his would feel against it. He forced himself to look away and focus on her financials again. Physical attraction was a chemical reaction, and it was one he could control.
“The bank asked you to add some stuff to your business plan too, right?”
“Yes. They wanted more about my plans for the building’s upkeep and how I intend to pay for it. They’d like to see a timeline, but I’m not really sure how to figure out what will need to be replaced when.” She pressed her lips together and he could see the overwhelm in her eyes again. She looked like a deer who knew it was caught in the crosshairs.
“No biggie. I can help you do all that.”
She tucked a strand of hair that had escaped from behind her ear back in place, then started to speak but stopped.
“What is it? What were you going to say?”
Her eyes scanned his face as if sizing up how he might react. “Do you think you’ll be here long enough to help me? I don’t really know how it works with what you do. Will you leave once the community forums are over and the town decides on a plan?”
“Yeah, that’s usually how it works. Sometimes it’s a couple months, sometimes it’s a couple years. This project is pretty small compared to some of the other work I’ve done. I should be gone by the end of the summer, but we’ll get all this done before then.” He motioned to the financial documents in front of him.
She was still studying his face, as if there was something about him she couldn’t quite figure out. “So you move around a lot in your line of work?”
“Yeah, that’s sort of the nature of consulting with local governments. It means I get to see a lot of different places.”
“Don’t you ever just feel”—she glanced around the room, as if it would provide her with the word she was looking for—“unsettled?”
He shrugged. “Not really. I love experiencing new places, and there’s been something to like about everywhere I’ve lived.”
“What do you like about here so far?”
If he wanted to flirt with her, she’d given him the perfect opportunity to say something vague like, “the people.” Then he could look deep in her eyes, and she’d know what he really meant was her. Flirting had become a second language for him—and made him lose sight of his goals on occasion—but Lucy couldn’t be charmed into cooperating on the waterfront project anyway. He would have to take another approach with her.
“Probably the history. You all have done a great job preserving so much.”
She looked up at the stamped-tin ceiling and then across the room at the wall of handmade heart-pine bookshelves.
“This place really means a lot to me. I promise if I’m able to buy the building I’ll do everything I can to make sure it’s here for a long time to come.”
“I know you will. You love everything here just the way it is.” He gave her a knowing smile. “But on this we agree. I wouldn’t change a thing either.”
She smiled back at him, and for a moment he gave in to the way his heart sped up when their eyes met, the way he instinctively wanted to show her what she could do if she only trusted herself more and dared to try new things.
He’d never met anyone like her, so strong one minute and so unsure the next. With seemingly no family, not even her beloved Annie, he wondered when someone had last told her she was smart or capable. Or beautiful.
A deep tugging in his heart said he could be the one, but his brain said no and reminded him of San Diego. The best he could do was point her in the right direction and hope she found her way. He had his own problems to solve.
After they’d worked out the agenda for the first community forum, Logan fought the urge to invite Lucy to dinner—a working dinner, of course—and instead opted to grab takeout on the way home so he could finally carve out a little time to read the latest book Island Girl had given him.
He called ahead and ordered shrimp salad to go from the Waterway Café. He was hoping Mildred would be there because something she’d said the night he’d dined there after the council meeting had stuck with him. After Lucy had tried to make him out to be a villain in front of everyone, Mildred had stopped by his seat at the bar to confide that she was actually ready to retire. She and Marty had a daughter who lived in North Carolina, and she’d just had their first grandchild. Mildred longed for time to go visit, maybe even stay for a week or two, but they were handcuffed to the restaurant.
“I know I could convince Marty if the math made sense,” she’d said. The city had mentioned some preliminary numbers when the other development options were being considered, but they never got far enough along to present her with a real offer.
Logan had reviewed the lease a dozen or more times. The landlord’s rights to terminate for breach of contract by the tenant were fairly boilerplate, but no thought had been given to the landlord terminating the lease early for other reasons, meaning Mildred and Marty would have to buy out the remaining few years of the lease.
That was part of why his plan needed to generate substantial revenue. He needed to account for buying out the lease, repairing or demolishing the current structure, hiring someone full-time to oversee the management of the real estate and the businesses on it, while also creating a long-term revenue stream to solve the city’s budget concerns. The city was prepared to issue bonds to finance everything in the short term if the long-term payoff was enough.
“Hi, Mildred.” Logan greeted her like an old friend as he walked through the front door and found her at the hostess stand. “How are you?”
“I’m doing just fine, Logan. I don’t think your shrimp salad is up yet, but it should be ready any minute. Can I get you something to drink while you wait? Tea? Water?”
“No, I’m good. Actually, I’m glad we have a minute to chat. I’ve been thinking about what you said the other night?—”
The door opened behind Logan, and he glanced back to see a couple with a toddler enter. He stepped aside as Mildred acknowledged the family.
“Welcome, y’all. Come on in.” She turned back to Logan. “I’ll be right back.”
“Go ahead.” Logan nodded, and the family passed him to follow Mildred to their table. He studied several rows of plaques on the wall to the right of the hostess stand. The Waterway Café had won awards ranging from “Best Local Seafood” to “Best Service” from the local newspaper that dated back nearly ten years, all proudly displayed up front to help persuade anyone who came in to take a quick peek at the menu.
“Thanks for waiting, dear. What were you saying?” Mildred was carrying an extra set of silverware and bent to put it somewhere beneath the stand.
“The other night you said that you and Marty might want to retire if the math was right. I checked your lease, and technically there’s no guidance for the city breaking the lease early.”
Her face fell. He knew she’d been hoping the city would break the lease. What she’d said the other night hadn’t been a passing idea; she wanted out. So he continued with the better news.
“But I met with Mayor Jenkins and he had some informal conversations with a few of the council members, and they’re willing to offer you a buyout on the lease. Really, it’s something they’d have to do if they wanted to terminate early.”
Hope filled Mildred’s face, brightening her gray eyes. She looked around, probably worried Marty might overhear the scheming.
“Really? How much would it be?”
A server rounded the corner from the kitchen that was situated just behind the hostess stand and handed a brown paper bag to Mildred. “To-go order.”
Mildred checked the tag on the bag and held it out to Logan. “One shrimp salad to go. You sure you can’t stay? I can get you set up at the bar.”
“No.” Logan shook his head. “Thank you, though. I’ve got a good book waiting for me back at my cottage.”
“Do you have a number?” she whispered, looking around again to ensure their conversation was private.
“Not yet. But common practice dictates that we take into account your monthly revenue and how much you’d be losing by not being open those months. Plus, there’s usually a little extra incentive for your trouble.” He winked at Mildred. “I’ll make sure of it.”
Mildred clapped a hand over her mouth, trying to contain her excitement. “Oh, Logan. I wasn’t sure if I was really ready to walk away, but then I said it out loud to you that night, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. I want to see my daughter and my grandbaby. I want to rent an RV and travel out west. There’s so much we could do if we weren’t tied to being here every day. Marty says he loves it, but he just doesn’t know anything other than working. He’s afraid he’ll get bored.”
“Have you tried talking to him about it?”
“Not yet. It didn’t seem worth getting him worked up before I knew if it was even a possibility. I think I’ll wait until you get me a number. Math, Marty understands.” She nodded. “Let’s just hope it’s a number he can’t refuse.”
A couple entered the restaurant and Logan stepped aside to let them approach Mildred, who greeted them before turning back to Logan.
Holding up his bag, he said, “Thanks, Mildred. I’ll keep you posted.”
Exiting the restaurant, Logan walked a few feet to the railing that overlooked the water toward the beach side of the island. He’d seen the engineering reports, and pretty much every plan they had for the marina involved knocking down the restaurant building because it needed more work than it was worth, even if they shored up the pilings to withstand future storms. The town, along with Mildred and Marty, had been repairing things as they became issues, but the whole place was basically held together with patches at this point.
However, if they took down all the walls and just left the foundation and the roof, it might make a pretty decent open-air seafood market.