Henry sighed. “Yes, he does. Hayden, this has been in the works for a while.”
“How long?”
“At least two years.”
“Two years?”
“Hayden, don’t get upset.” Henry’s voice carried its usual calm tone. His brother, like Dad, rarely got upset about anything. That made him a great lawyer but irritating to talk to sometimes. “Mom and Dad didn’t want to bother you with it. You had just gotten drafted by the Tigers when they started talking about selling, and then your accident happened—”
“I’ve been living with them for six months. I’ve worked here every minute the store has been open since I got back. It’s not like I don’t see them every day.”
“You’ll have to discuss it with them. I’m sorry you had to find out this way, but I can’t get involved in something that’s between you and them. Look, I’ve got a client coming in a few minutes, so I have to let you go. I’ll give you a call back later.”
“But—” The phone went dead on the other end.
Hayden shoved the phone back into his pocket and scowled. Henry was a busy attorney, and deep down he knew his brother was right. But that didn’t stop the betrayal from winding through him right now. His whole family had been planning on selling the family business, and no one thought to mention it to him, using his now nonexistent career and then his injury as an excuse. Didn’t they think he had an opinion? Did they bother to consider that he would?
When he heard the bell above the front door jingle, he gathered himself, shoving his feelings inside like he’d always done when he was in pain or hurt. The years of keeping his emotions wrapped tight were failing him. He took a few deep breaths to calm his mind. Finally he was collected enough to greet the three customers who had walked in, and to do so with a friendly smile—just as his father taught him the first day he started working in the store.
When Dad came back from lunch, they were still busy with customers. Hayden skipped lunch, which was fine since he didn’t have an appetite. He also didn’t have a chance to talk to his father, and by the time they closed for the day—an hour later than normal—he needed to head over to Erma’s.
“Today was a good day.” Dad pulled out the cash drawer and started for the back. “I’ll lock up, son, so you won’t be late. Lord knows Erma is a fussbudget when it comes to punctuality.”
Before Hayden could say anything, his father was halfway to the back of the store. Probably a good thing, since this wasn’t going to be a quick conversation.
“See you later,” he managed to say.
“Bye, son.”
Usually after closing, Hayden left the store through the back, where he parked his car in the small lot behind the store. Today he walked out the front door, needing the longer walk to gather himself again. The sun was low, and they hadn’t gotten a break from the hot, swampy air. He passed Petals and Posies and saw it was already closed. Then he noticed the peeling paint on the front facade, a contrast to the bright and cheerful floral display in the picture window.
He paused, noticing a bit of dry rot on the bottom left corner of the doorframe on the building. Turning, he took a good look at Main Street. The yarn store, the bakery, the diner at the end... Each of their facades were worn and in various states of disrepair. Then there were the empty buildings in between the decades-old businesses. For Sale and For Rent signs were posted on the glass. One, only half attached to the inside window, had been there so long the bright yellow paper with black lettering had faded to white and gray.
Why would anyone choose to shop in Maple Falls when there were bigger stores in surrounding cities? For the first time he saw hometown businesses with a critical eye and realized that the town’s mainstays were literally dying away. Could he blame his father for wanting to sell?
An unexpected wave of sadness hit him. What would happen to these historic buildings once they were sold? Would any of the legacy businesses survive? He didn’t know if the prospective buyer of Price’s Hardware would even keep the business the same.
A more chilling thought entered his mind. What would happen to Maple Falls if there were no businesses? No parades? Nothing to draw people here to spend their money and enjoy what used to be a quaint, and yes, a little bit quirky, town. Would Maple Falls end up like so many other small Southern cities and become a ghost town?
Could he allow that to happen? Did he even have the right or the means to stop it?
***
Riley pulled back one of the pleated sheer panels that covered the front window in Mimi’s living room and peeked at the driveway. Hayden still hadn’t arrived. She frowned, kicking herself for being so snippy to him earlier. Then again, he had been a bit snippy himself by mentioning her having a lawyer. Was he making fun of her business sense? Or was he expressing frustration with her insisting on a contract for a few common repair jobs? She suspected it was the latter.Can’t blame him for that.
After calling she had worked the rest of the day at Knots and Tangles. She’d had to force herself to focus on organizing the back room so she didn’t think about seeing Hayden later or worry that she had driven him away.
She’d decided to move all the shelves, the table, and boxes of yarn away from the walls so she could clean behind them. Once everything was in the middle of the room, she saw that the space needed a paint job and added that to her ever-growing punch list. Between the shop and Mimi’s house, there was no way she could finish even half of what she wanted to do without help.
When she arrived in Maple Falls last week, her sole goal had been to take care of Mimi until she got back on her feet. Now that goal had changed, and she wanted her grandmother to have the house and business she deserved, instead of settling for what Riley considered subpar. The thought that it might not happen all because she’d gotten into a snit over a trivial comment bothered her. She didn’t like that she had become so touchy lately. It wasn’t Hayden’s fault she liked him. Well, it was a little, but he couldn’t help being himself. She was the one who had a problem, and she needed to get a grip on it.
She looked out the window again. There was nothing she could do except hope she hadn’t driven him away
“Don’t fret, sugar. He’ll be here soon.” Mimi tapped the end of her ballpoint pen against her temple, then said, “Aha! That’s it.” She filled out the final squares of the newspaper crossword. “Viola! Done. That was a toughie.”
Riley turned to her. “You must be the last person who gets a physical copy of the newspaper.”
Mimi took off her reading glasses and gave Riley a stern look. “I’m sure I’m not, or there wouldn’t be any newspapers available. Also, doing a crossword puzzle on a computer isn’t the same.” She set the paper on the table next to her recliner, then started to use her free leg to push the footrest down.
