“What was that in there?” she demanded.
Luke kept his face a blank mask. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure, and I’m the damn tooth fairy, Pointer.”
“Look, April, you’ve got three days to try and sort this,” he said, his voice tight. “Do you really want to waste your time interrogating me instead of looking into the land status?”
OK, so hedefinitelyknew something. But why wasn’t he letting on?
As April studied his face, she felt her anger receding slightly. What was it he’d said? That he had a duty to his client? So maybe he physicallycouldn’tsay more to her. Maybe he was giving her as much as he could to give her a chance.
Luke stepped forward, closing the distance between them.
“Jones, if there’s anyone who can figure this out, it’s you.” There was a gravelly note to his voice, something deep and sincere that she hadn’t heard directed at her before. “You’re the smartest person I know, and tenacious to a fault. Three days might not seem like much, but tight deadlines never stopped you from beating me at high school … why start now?” He reached up, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear, and the fleeting contact sent desire skittering down her spine. “And I’m sorry. I should have given you a heads upabout the construction starting, that was low of me. You just got in my head a bit, after …”
His voice trailed off and she swallowed thickly. She knew from the strained look in his eyes that he was remembering the last time they’d been alone, just as she was.
“Thank you,” she murmured and reached up onto her toes to press a kiss to his cheek.
He blushed, the pink flush making her grin as he shrugged. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Sure,” she said and watched him walk away. As he disappeared round the corner, she drew a shaky breath. She could deal with whateverthatwas later. For now, she had a business deal to ruin.
The group was huddled in her mom’s living room, every pair of eyes watching April for guidance. It was Tuesday evening, the earliest everyone had been able to gather since the events of that morning.
“I don’t know where to start,” April confessed.
Izzy wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “You told me that you thought Luke was trying to help. That he pointed us in the right direction. So let’s start there.”
April nodded. That made sense. She tried to channel her old tennis captain energy—she was confident and in charge. She could do this. “OK, Luke said something about protected land. I’m not sure what exactly he was talking about, but I did some research this afternoonand I found loads of information about why land can be protected.” She was getting into a flow now—this was just like presenting a research project.Easy. “Sometimes things like environmental considerations can lead to land gaining protected status, but I don’t think that’s what this is, given the store is right in the center of town.” At the silence that met these words, April rushed on. “However, there is another option: heritage sites. These gain protected status if the land or buildings have some kind of historical or cultural significance. And given the store is in the old town, I wouldn’t be totally surprised if there’s something along those lines that could save it.”
Emma gave a low whistle. “Damn, April, sometimes I forget how smart you are.”
April smiled shyly as Luke’s words rushed into her mind.You’re the smartest person I know. She shook her head slightly. She needed to focus.
When she looked up, Noah was frowning slightly. “And you’re sure this wasn’t just Luke trying to waste our time? I mean, I love the guy—don’t get me wrong—but he’s wicked sharp, Bug.”
It was a fair point, but something told April that wasn’t the case. “I trust him,” she said and paused, surprised at herself. “Either way, it’s a place to start.” She ignored the looks being shared between her friends. Let them think what they wanted. Right then, they had bigger problems. “Noah and Izzy, why don’t you head to the library and see if you can talk to thelibrarian about town history? It’s open late on Tuesdays, right?”
Izzy nodded. “Oh yeah, I reckon Tasha will be helpful—she’s really into this sort of thing, I think. Plus, there’s a historical society that sometimes meets there too—they might have some insights. I’ll see if we can get in touch.” She glanced at Noah and a light blush touched her cheeks when she found him watching her. Izzy inclined her head and the two of them left, the front door closing gently behind them.
Emma and Kathy watched April, waiting for instructions, and she took a second to just breathe. “If anyone knows something about the buildings in Main Street, it would be their owners.” Most of the shops in upper Main Street had been closed for a long time, but there was someone who would know. “We need to get all the papers Dad had in the workroom and sort through them.” She grimaced. There were alot. “I think the deed would have more information.”
The others nodded and April blew out a breath, glad they thought this plan had merit.
“Your dad was something of a local history buff; I think he even joined that group Izzy mentioned. It’s possible he researched the building at some point.”
And her dad had infamously never thrown things away—like an information packrat, hoarding every little thingin case it came in handy. Of course, if they found what they were looking for, then he would have been proved right after all this time. Though, equally,he’d made it difficult for them given the sheer number of papers they’d have to look through.
“Let’s get to work.”
There was a crick in her neck that April couldn’t seem to relieve. They had brought stacks of boxes, files, and papers down from her dad’s workroom so they could sort through them in the living room, where there was more space. The sky outside of the window was now an inky black, and after hours of sorting through papers, April’s eyes were beginning to blur. Words no longer held much meaning and she sighed, standing up and stretching while Em did the same, her back making a popping noise that sounded satisfying.
“Let’s take a break.”
“I’m good,” Kathy said without looking up. “You girls go, though.”
April hesitated before deciding to let her mom continue, if that’s what she wanted.
