Natalie held Mia’s hand as she led her to the children’s area in the back of the coffee shop. “You play here for a little while, honey. I’ve got a meeting.”
Mia sat down at the low table. “Can I make a wreath?”
Ever since Aunt Rose had taught them how to decorate a Christmas wreath from ready-made grapevine wreaths, Mia had made one every week. The Easter wreath adorning the town clock was the little girl’s creation as well. And it was while helping her niece make that wreath that Natalie had first decided she wanted to change their relationship. The three of them had been sitting at a table in front of the fire, and Natalie had looked at her aunt Rose and Mia with their heads bent together. In that moment she’d known this was what she was supposed to do. It was time she quit looking over her shoulder for Lisa to show up.
Natalie smiled. “I’d like that, honey. I’ll be right over there.” She pointed to the seating area.
Her stomach was jittering with the beat of Ben King crooning “Stand by Me” that was playing from the speakers, and she shot up a quick prayer for help. What had she been thinking when she decided to ambush Carson this morning when he came in for his coffee? Last night it had seemed a good idea to let him meet Mia and talk to him about the town at the same time.
The bell on the shop door tinkled, and Carson’s broad shoulders blocked the sunlight. No wonder Lisa had lost all sense. The man was downright gorgeous. No one could have muscles like that and not work out, but Reese said she’d never seen him at the gym. Maybe he had barbells at home.
Natalie told Zoe she could take a break, then stepped to the counter to wait on Carson herself. At least the shop wasn’t full of customers. Carson tended to stop by after the first rush was over.
His extremely male presence made her want to back away, but she held her ground. “Black coffee?”
He nodded. “You’re running the place yourself today?”
“Zoe’s on break.” She poured him coffee and slid it across the counter to him. “My treat.” She pushed his two dollars back into his hand. “Any new thoughts about our plan after sleeping on it?”
He eyed her over the top of his steaming cup. “A little sleep isn’t going to make it logical. You’ve got the whole town talking about it. I stopped by the bank this morning, and the manager mentioned two people had already been in to apply for business loans.”
She nodded. “Bet Ellie Draper was there to get her fudge shop up and running.” The woman had been making fudge as long as Natalie could remember. It was about time she turned it into a career.
“How’d you know?”
“She mentioned it when she got her coffee this morning. She’ll be right next door. We’re going to do a joint café area outside.”
“You’ve got it all figured out,” he said. “But I’ve got my own ideas. We need something that isn’t a pipe dream. There are leading manufacturers who are scouting for towns where taxes are low and workers are abundant. I’m working on figuring out some incentives to offer. That will save us. Not making a mockery of our name.”
“Aunt Nat?” Mia stood at her feet, holding a grapevine wreath covered with dried lavender and baby’s breath. “I have my wreath done.”
Natalie sneaked a peek at Carson’s granite jaw. Surely he’d see how cute Mia was, with her dark curls and dimples. Carson was staring at her, or maybe at Mia. Natalie couldn’t tell. “This is Mia,” she said. “Say hello to Mr. Carson, Mia.”
“Hello,” the little girl said.
Natalie’s brown eyes studied him. “Is the wreath for me?” she asked Mia.
Mia nodded, her dimples flashing. “It’s for the door of the coffee shop. Aunt Rose said the wreath means forever and ever. I want Smitten to always be here. So I want to put up a wreath to show God we know he’s going to take care of us.”
Natalie stared at the slightly lopsided wreath. “That’s very sweet, honey.” Oh, the faith of a little child. Even Natalie wasn’t sure this would work. She hoped it would, but that was as far as it went.
“Can I put it up now?”
“Sure. There’s a hook on the door that I use for the Christmas wreath. If you can’t reach it by yourself, I’ll help you in a minute.” She watched Mia carry the wreath to the door.
“You planned that, didn’t you?” Carson said the second Mia was out of earshot. His dark eyes were intense. “She’s cute, but she’s not mine, Natalie.”
“That’s not what Lisa said.”
“I might not be perfect, but I’d never in a million years abandon a child of mine. All I did was give Lisa a ride that night when her car broke down. I never so much as kissed her.” He jumped to his feet and strode toward the door. “Oh, what’s the use,” he muttered.
Well, she’d blown that battle. On both counts.
The town square was filled with people as Carson walked to work the next morning. Two men were putting a park bench under the old green clock. Other men were hammering together wooden flower boxes while women painted ones that were already done.
Zak Grant, a longtime friend, motioned to Carson as he neared the door to Smitten Hardware Store. Zak was thirty-two, just like Carson. They’d been friends since Carson knocked Adam Denton off Zak in the playground when they were in kindergarten. The two could have been brothers— both tall and strong. Both had dark hair and eyes. And both had come to the conclusion that the perfect woman didn’t exist for either of them.
Zak stopped in front of Carson. “Spill it, Carson.”
“Spill what?”
“Don’t act like an idiot. Well, more than usual anyway. Why did your uncle close the mill? It’s been three days. You have to have talked to him by now.”
Carson stepped past Zak and unlocked the door, then motioned him inside. “Let me get things opened up first.” He got the computer booted up, then turned it over to Candy, one of his employees. “I’ll be in the back,” he said.
Zak followed him into the storeroom at the back of the store, past rows of steel shelving units that held overflow merchandise. Carson flipped on the coffee machine and motioned to Zak to have a seat at the break table. “What’s up?”
Zak pulled out the steel chair. “Did you see all the craziness out there? It’s like the whole town has gone mad.”
“When people are desperate, they’ll do anything,” Carson said. “Folks are hurting.”
“But a resort town focused on romance? Come on. Have you talked to your uncle?”
“No, it’s none of my business. If he closed the mill, it’s because he had no alternative.”
Zak nodded. “Maybe it has nothing to do with the economy, though. Maybe it’s just that he’s getting older and isn’t up to it anymore.”
Zak had a point. Uncle Howard had been battling diabetes and never seemed to feel like doing much of anything. “But he loves his employees. If there were any choice, he would have kept it open.”
“We could do something with it,” Zak said. “You and me. A wood chip mill maybe.”
“Come on, Zak. I don’t know a thing about running a mill.”
Zak folded his arms across his chest. “I’m a fourth-generation logger. I know everything there is to know about wood and mills.”
“There’s a lot more to it than running the equipment. There’s vendors, suppliers, payroll, selling the product, marketing, overseeing everything. It’s a big job.”
“You’ve been in business for ten years. And we can get help. Would you at least talk to him?”
“I don’t have time to run my own businesses and the mill, buddy.”
“Just call him,” Zak urged. “See what he has to say.”
The last thing Carson wanted was to get involved with his uncle’s business, but he supposed he owed the town that much. People had already been asking him if he knew why Uncle Howard had made his decision. He pulled out his phone and called his uncle’s cell.
“Hi, Carson,” his uncle’s voice boomed. “I wondered how long it would take before you broke down and called to get the inside scoop.”
The two men had always been close. Uncle Howard had helped raise Carson after his dad was killed in an accident at the mill, and had given Carson his dad’s share of the mill to start a hardware store in Boston. When this place in Smitten had come up for sale, Uncle Howard called him and invited him to come home. Carson owed him a lot.
“People are asking,” Carson said. “You okay?”
“As okay as I can be,” his uncle said. “I thought about filing for Chapter 11, but I don’t have it in me to fight any longer. The economy has taken its toll, and I don’t see any possible way of pulling the mill out. It’s been running in the red for five years.”
Five years. How had his uncle kept it open that long? “I had no idea,” Carson said.
“Helen’s asthma has gotten worse too, and the doctor says she needs to move to a warm, dry climate like Arizona.”
“But will you have enough money to live on?”
“Don’t worry about us, boy. I’ve made prudent investments. We’re losing the mill, but thanks to the smart thinking of those ladies, I’ve already got an offer for the property.”
“What? Who would want it? And why?”
“Some big investor from New York wants to build a resort on it. It would take years to get up and running, though. They’d have to level the buildings, get architect drawings done.”
“You’ve accepted the offer?”
“Not yet. I’m thinking it over. I wanted to give you a window, Carson.”
“What kind of window?”
“Time to renovate your cabins into some high-class lodging. You’ve got the premier spot right on the lake. Folks love that rustic feel if you can combine it with inside luxury. At least that’s what Helen tells me.” His voice held laughter. “I can help you with funds for that.”
“I don’t want to take any money from you.”
“Consider it an investment. When it’s up and running you can pay me back.”
Uncle Howard was an astute businessman. If he saw the potential, maybe it wasn’t as crazy as Carson thought. He ended the call with a promise to stop by and talk about it.
“The place is bankrupt,” he told Zak. “And he already has an offer for the property. He’s moving to Arizona.”
Zak leaned forward. “He’s taking the offer?”
“Thinking about it.”
“Get him to put it off. Let me find out what it will take to get a wood chip mill going.”
“I’ll talk to him.” Carson knew if anyone could make a go of a wood chip mill, it would be Zak. He’d taken a ramshackle building and turned it into a thriving bar and grill for the workers at the mill. He cared about those men and their families.
“I wish that whole romance thing wasn’t so crazy,” Zak said. “At least we’d have some hope.” He stomped off and slammed the back door behind him.
Carson poured a cup of coffee and thought about his uncle’s offer. Maybe he’d do some research about destination tourist spots. He took a sip from his mug and grimaced. It didn’t compare to Natalie’s brew.