“Hold your horses, child!”
Lauren pulled up just under the red brick archway in town. “I’ve got a bone to pick with you,” she told her grandmother. “You knew all along what I was going to do with the house!”
Ava chuckled.
“You could have given me a heads-up. A hint.”
“The clues were all around you.”
She had to relent on that one. Marie had been right, too. Lauren hadn’t been listening.
Sage Springs
A Place of Discovery
Arrive Tired, Leave Inspired
The women in the valley were worn out, working long hours to make ends meet if they had a job, then going home to housework. At other times, they were miserable because there was nothing to excite them.
That was going to change. Sage Springs would give women the opportunity to learn. She’d open up the ballroom and invite select speakers to talk about business skills, marketing, and female empowerment. She’d hire someone to teach them chutzpah if necessary—the very thing men had with an automatic command that many women, even those in powerful roles, lacked. Men carried self-assurance into a job interview even if they didn’t know how to handle the job. Women were more grounded, and honest, and though just as inventive and capable, their apparent lack of self-confidence held them back.
“You still there?” Ava asked.
“I’ll charge low rates for the valley women,” Lauren said, still caught in the grip of exhilaration. She’d offer anything and everything to assist them in whatever they yearned to do. Whether it was starting a small business online from home or opening up a retail space. “I’ll give them discounts and easy-pay options. I’ll find a way to subsidize them. And I’ll give credit points if I end up using the services they’ve devised from my enterprise—but everyone outside the valley will pay.” They’d pay through the nose once word got out and the town became successful. She knew it like she knew the beat of her own heart.
She’d also give women a chance to retreat and indulge. A little time out in fine company, with good conversation where every woman counted. She’d offer wine and cheese tasting on the veranda, a book club.
Try yoga in the gardens.
Take tea in the atrium.
She’d even throw in hand massages!
“I was thinking of renting out one of the cabins in town and turning it into an information office,” she told Ava. She didn’t expect visiting tourists to book a spot there and then, but she’d tantalize them, surprise them with an opportunity for growth. “I’ll create a welcome packet for Sage Springs. A business card, a leaflet of classes and opening times, but I’ll add a posy of sage, or a small, fragrant candle. Something feminine. Something useful for themselves and their homes.” After visiting Surrender and discovering what was on offer at Sage Springs, those women would be dying to make an appointment. They’d feel rejuvenated just thinking about spending a couple of hours in the company of other women who are taking time out for themselves and learning as they went.
“And?” Ava said.
“I know. I’ve got to bring it all together. The house, the local businesses, the atmospheric appeal of our town and its historic feel—but with a contemporary touch.” The Welcome to the Serenity of Surrender sign might mean something once she got her enterprise going. The house would offer relaxation and peace too, for those women who wanted it. Good wine and fine teas—and those hand massages.
“This is all going to appeal to the ladies,” her grandmother said. “What about the men?”
“I guess they’ll have the saloon.”
She glanced at the bar, where the doors were flung open. Stepladders, paint tins, and a moose head were cluttered on the veranda.
She was going to bring prosperity to Surrender, no matter what it took. But him—Mark. What was it with the meet up at the airport and then his arriving in the same crummy backwater town Lauren had been born in? Not a coincidence. So what was the connection between the curse on the Mackillops and Mark Sterrett’s sudden arrival?
“Ava—I have to get him to Sage Springs.”
“Molly tell you that?”
“Yes, but she wouldn’t say anything else. It’s my great-grandfather, isn’t it?”
“It’ll be different for you,” Ava said, her voice taking on a reflective tone. “You’ll be safe if you brave him.”
Lauren blinked. “You mean I have to stand up to him?”
“In your own way—that’s important.”
“But I don’t have a ‘way.’”
“It’s your gift, Lauren. It’s with you. Nurture it. Listen to it. It’ll get you through. And your bar owner is going to be drawn into this, whether he wants it or not.”
“He’s not mine.”
“Get him to come see me.”
“You’re going to warn him but not me? Honestly, Ava—I could do with a clue on this one.”
“Be careful he doesn’t see those blushes, for a start.”
“What blushes?”
“You color up every time his name is mentioned!”
She admitted to her face heating up a few times when under his teasing scrutiny, but—“Do you think people have noticed?”
Ava chuckled, and Lauren pictured her pulling at the brim of her Longhorns cap. “So has he.”
Oh, Lord. She turned her back on the bar.
She’d need support from him for Sage Springs. The marketing of a saloon and what she was going to offer hardly went hand in hand.
“I remember you telling me about Dallas,” Ava said. “I know how heartbroken you were when they pulled the rug from beneath your feet.”
Lauren sighed. “I wish I’d been able to stay there. I mightn’t have gotten into so much trouble.”
“But then you wouldn’t have learned the lessons you were supposed to learn.”
“Everything has an end,” she said before Ava got the chance to remind her. “I just have to go through it.”
“Wise words, child. Don’t forget them.”
Did Ava know about her visions involving Mark? She might know the outcome of whatever was going to happen, and she might pop into Lauren’s head for the odd chat, but she never encroached on her granddaughter’s personal space.
“Ava?”
No answer. Her grandmother had gone.
She turned to face the bar.
Was Mark supposed to help break the curse in some way? Why would that involve visions of beautiful children and a loving relationship with him?
She certainly wasn’t going to marry him to find out. But she had some unbending to do. He hadn’t told anybody his plans, and that proved he was here for no good reason—yet the nagging doubt was there. She hadn’t once sensed any badness in him. He wasn’t mean. He wasn’t spiteful or callous.
She’d have to play it nice with him. Not too nice. She didn’t want him getting the wrong idea, but she had gone at him hard so far, even though she was the only woman in town who thought he was up to no good.
The women were right though. He was handsome. He was also reasonably engaging, if one fell for a charming glow in a man’s eyes and a whole lot of gallant masculinity.
She forgave herself for once having had a tiny crush on him, and headed for the bar.
Just don’t let me blush.
She paused in the doorway. The aroma of chili wafting up to the rafters was so heady that remorse took a hold. Would it be extra, extra spicy?
The bar had been cleared. Dust sheets covered the tables and chairs which were stacked in a far corner. Mr. Gerdin sat on a barstool reading a magazine, seemingly oblivious to the bustle of activity around him.
Ingrid was dusting. Mrs. Fairmont was flower arranging. Butch wrangled shelving, Kid was cleaning the mirror, and Mark was pulling at his earlobe as Doc spoke to him.
Then he looked up and spotted her.
Lauren tensed and ignored the smell of spicy chili.
“I hope you’re not after the Buckners this morning,” he said as he came up to her. “They’re kind of busy.”
He held out his hand, indicating she come inside.
“There’s certainly a lot going on,” she said, walking forward. “I’m glad to see you’ve got your plans underway.”
“Glad?”
This was it. The unbending. The part where she was nice.
“I was wondering if you’d like to visit Sage Springs. I thought we could have that chat about business propositions after all.”
“I’m honored. What happened to yesterday?”
What had happened yesterday? So much she could hardly sort it out in her head.
“When you were so standoffish with me,” Mark explained.
“I had a vision,” she told him, unable to keep the news to herself.
“Was I in it?” he asked, with a tease in his voice.
More than he’d want to know…
She turned for the door. “Shall we go?”
“Right now? Can’t we hold our discussion here?”
“My business plans are quite distinct. I need you to see the house.”
“To ask my opinion?”
“I don’t need your opinion.”
He stuck his hands into his pockets. “Why am I getting the impression you’re up to something?”
“Me?” she said, striking a hand to her breastbone. “You’re the one who won’t tell anyone what your plans are for Scarlet Sage Saloon.”
He had the grace to look abashed. “I could be persuaded to change the name and not use Scarlet.”
“But you’d keep Sage.”
“Hey, I’ve got a business to run too. Although my plans change every time someone walks into the bar and offers another idea.”
That had been Lauren’s doing, along with the chili.
Don’t let me blush.
“This town holds history,” she told him. “It’s got the architecture, for a start, and that’s why I want you to see the house. We need to use the historic feel of Surrender, not try to cover it up.”
“We? Is this you negotiating?”
“Take it or leave it.” He had to be dying to see inside the house. Probably so was everyone else in town. Nobody had been in it for six long years.
“I’ll take it.” He pulled his hands out of his pockets and gave her a dazzling smile. “One-sided negotiation is better than not talking at all. And who knows, maybe you’ll let me get a word in now and again.”
He was scrutinizing her, regardless of his smile. Observing her as he looked directly into her eyes. What did he see?
It was a shame she’d left her sunglasses at home.
“We also need to talk about this committee we’re on, and how it’ll be run,” she said.
“Well, first off, yes—you’re in charge. I don’t usually interfere in arguments, business or personal, unless I’m involved directly.”
“You bought the lease on the bar. You are involved. What happens if the townspeople sell their land? Who are you going to serve drinks to?”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t going to sit on the committee, I’m just saying let’s go easy. See what happens. Take it as it comes.”
“You must be as worried about these developers as we are.”
“Oh, believe me, I am. I’ll be keeping a close eye on them while they’re in town.”
His tone hadn’t changed, he was still wearing his smile, but something in his words struck a chord of concern.
“You have a personal interest in Donaldson’s?”
“Like you just pointed out—I have a business interest. What is it with them, anyway? Do they call you? Pester you?”
“That’s what you’re doing for them, isn’t it?”
“No, come on. I mean it. Have they contacted you? Have you ever felt like someone was following you?”
Lauren shivered. “Are you trying to scare me?”
“If something odd happens, let me know, would you?”
“Why?”
“We’re the committee. We’re fighting this thing together.”
He was still smiling, but was there a warning in his words? What did he know about the developers she didn’t?
Maybe he’s a man with a brilliant future, forced to change his life…
“We need to arm ourselves against them before they camp out on your front veranda,” she said.
“I agree.”
“So when are they arriving?”
“They didn’t say.”
“We have to blindside them.”
“Aren’t they shrewd businessmen? How are we going to do that?”
“You’re a writer. Can’t you think of something underhand?”
His smile softened. “I’m beginning to think I’d prefer it if we went back to not talking.”
“He’s just your backup,” Marie had said. “I promise, sugar—next time you see him he’ll be eating out of your hand!”
He was. But in a way that kept him slightly apart. As though he were playing two sides of a game.
“Hey, Mark!” Ingrid called. “We need your final decision on where all the photos of the town are going. I say above the bar where the moose head was, and Doc says on the side wall, but like I told him, they’ll only get splattered with food and grease if they’re in the diner area.”
“You make the decision,” he said. “We can all discuss its pros and cons later.”
“You’re opening the diner?” Lauren asked, glancing at the cordoned off area.
“I’ve no idea,” he said, shrugging. “I wasn’t even aware I was going to have photos on the wall. I’m getting a jukebox, too, going in that space Butch carved out. Oh, that reminds me—I had a word with the Buckners. They’re all for spreading out the work between your place and mine.”
It was irritating that he’d gone ahead and “solved” one of her problems, but since she hadn’t had time to speak to the brothers about work at the house, she cracked a smile. Cooperation. Be nice. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. They’re a helpful lot, your townspeople. Couldn’t believe it when they all trudged in this morning, offering suggestions.”
“Small town. We get involved in each other’s business.”
“It’s just that it happened so fast. It was unexpected. A bit like an invasion.”
Lauren cleared her throat. “There are plenty of things you’ll discover. We’re no ordinary town. This is no ordinary valley.”
“I’m beginning to understand. There are lots of stories right here in Surrender.”
“And one of them is yours.” She cocked an eyebrow. “How will your story play out, I wonder?”
“Depends on whether you meant it when you said there was a curse on my bar or whether you were just being a smart-ass. Depends on whether the sudden assistance I’m getting is genuine or on whether everyone was told I was floundering and needed help.” He tipped his head, staring her in the eyes. “Maybe by someone who has an axe to grind? Someone who is also going to be opening a brand-new business in town.”
Don’t blush!
“Sage Springs?” she said.
“Yeah. Let’s go. Ingrid,” he said. “Popping out for a while.”
“We’ll be here when you get back, Mark.”
“I bet you will,” he mumbled, with a laugh. “And someone might want to check the kitchen,” he called. “Smells like supper’s burning.” He turned to Lauren. “They’re cooking chili. Real spicy. I wonder why they added beans though. Reckon someone is trying to tell me something?”
He was too darned clever and she was beginning to hate the tease in his brown eyes.
He indicated the door with a sweep of his hand as he beamed down at her. “And I warn you, if I get back and discover I’m going to be adding a nail salon and a shoe shop to my bar—I’ll put full blame on you.”