AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Shaking her head, Bobbie settled her drink into the rickety old cupholder attached to the worn seat. She had to set her popcorn down to remove her coat, but finally, she was seated, popcorn bag in hand. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as slideshow images flashed on the screen in front of her.
What a waste. Most of the slides were quizzes and fun facts. Mike could make some good money putting local ads in those spots, but he was selling the theater anyway. There was no telling what it would become. Someone might even tear it down and turn it into another bank—as if the town didn’t have enough of those already.
Squeak, squeak, squeak.
The sound behind her yanked Bobbie from her thoughts, reminding her she wasn’t alone in there. It was rare that she didn’t have the theater to herself during the week, but not unheard of. She looked toward the aisle, expecting to see a couple of hooky-playing high schoolers…or hooky-playing grownups taking a day off work.
Instead, Gus was the one strolling purposefully up the aisle toward her. “I have an idea.”
He said those words just as her gaze met his. He was standing at the end of her row by then, no longer wearing the thick coat he’d had on in the lobby. His hands were empty, too—a sure sign he wasn’t planning to watch the whole movie here.
“What’s that?” she asked.
Something having to do with their properties, no doubt. Or maybe he had an idea for bringing their families together, as they’d discussed earlier that week.
“Mind if I sit down?” he asked.
She shook her head. The previews should be starting any minute now, so whatever his idea was, he’d better spit it out quickly.
Gus took the seat on the aisle, which put one empty chair between them. He angled his body toward her, grasping the armrest with his left hand.
“Mike’s right,” he said.
He hesitated. Was she supposed to guess? Mike was right about selling the theater? He was right to let Gus pay for her refreshments? What?
“He has me thinking,” Gus finally continued. “You get to a certain age, and you don’t want to hustle anymore. You just want to enjoy your family. I have a good twenty years or so before I’m there, and I want to make those years count.”
What exactly was he saying? Should she ask or just wait it out?
“We go into business together,” he said. “We both make an investment in our future.”
Our future. Never, in her wildest dreams, would she have imagined Gus including her in any plans, let alone plans that involved partnering in a business.
“We both already have businesses,” she said. “We’re ranch owners.”
“Yes, and our kids do a lot of the legwork these days.”
“But we’re the CEOs of our companies,” she pointed out.
That was how she liked to think of herself, anyway. The brains behind the operation. She regularly had meetings and got input, but the final say was hers. At one point, she’d had to defer to her husband, who often partnered with their oldest son to overrule everyone else. But once Thomas died, she took over and made sure every family member had a direct role in all decisions.
“I’m not talking about our ranches,” he said. “Those run themselves. Our kids know their jobs by now. We can make money off them, sure, but it’s the same old, same old. This farm thing we started up has me realizing just how much I crave something different. Something besides going to auction and battling over cattle and trying to compete to make sure I get the best price.”
There was no denying he was passionate about the subject. His eyes were practically sparkling as he stared off in the direction of the wall to her right, his mind seemingly spinning.
“I want to have fun, and I want to make money,” he said.
She opened her mouth to answer, but before anything came out, music blasted through the speaker above her. She jumped, the sudden noise was such a surprise.
“I should be quiet,” he said.
Perfect. He could go back to his seat, and they could discuss this later. But she had to know what he was talking about. She couldn’t sit here for two hours and wonder.
“What are you proposing?” she asked.
Surely, he wasn’t about to try to rope her into some sort of pyramid scheme. She certainly wouldn’t fall for that. She’d learned her lesson there. When the kids were young, a friend talked her into selling overpriced candles. She ended up losing a bunch of money. She still had a stash of candles in a closet somewhere.
Gus started to say something, then glanced over at the screen. After tossing a look of frustration in that direction, he got up and crouch-walked his way to the chair directly next to her, pulling the seat down and settling into it.
