I’d become a regular at the diner, I knew which days to go to the grocery store to get the good deals, and I’d finally found out about that loyalty program at the hardware store. I’d signed up for it, too.
Nobody treated me like an outsider anymore and it was pretty great, getting drawn into random conversations anywhere I went. Just about an hour ago, I’d run into Harvey and he’d come with me to the autobody shop, which was how I’d found myself chatting away with him and Clyde, Avery and Raquel’s dad, on a normal Monday.
I sat on a rolling stool while the two older old men argued about roof sealant like the very life on our planet depended on it. Harvey scoffed and pointed a finger at Clyde. “Never. I’m telling you, silicone is the problem nowadays.”
Clyde barely looked up from the carburetor he was tinkering with. “You say that about everything.”
“That’s because everything is worse now,” Harvey muttered.
“Including your blood pressure.” Avery smirked from behind the front desk. “Stop worrying so much, Harvey. Let your hair down and live a little. You’re retired. These are supposed to be your golden years.”
“No such thing anymore.” Clyde finally looked up, but instead of talking to Avery, he turned to me. “You know, if Frieda ever lets you go, you could take over Randy’s contracting business and he could finally retire.”
“What happened to there being no such thing as the golden years anymore?” Harvey asked, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair. “What, you think Randy’s going to get them, but not you?”
“Randy is seventy-three,” Clyde retorted. “I’m only fifty-five. I’ve got a lot of good years left in me.”
“Age doesn’t matter,” Harvey said sagely. “Randy is still going strong, but if anyone has to replace him, I agree. Theo is the best man for the job.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I’m not sure I’m cut out for a contracting business, though.”
Clyde waved me off, but as he and Harvey started going back and forth about whether anyone could afford to really retire anymore, I thought about that comment he’d made. I’d learned a lot about this sleepy little town so far, but one thing that had stuck out to me was that Quartz Pass was aging.
Most of the people keeping the town running were at retirement age or older now, people who’d spent decades building steady little businesses that held the place together, but not all of them had someone to pass it along to.
Avery and Raquel were already stepping into larger roles here. I’d heard Miley talk about eventually buying the café from the owner. Even Frieda, who I strongly suspected would outlivecivilization itself, had told me once that she wasn’t sure what was going to become of the motel when she was gone.
Naturally, as a Westwood, I’d been born and raised to spot opportunity when it came my way and I’d seen plenty of those in this town. Opportunities abounded here, one after the other, each business as viable as the last.
Quartz Pass needed investment, infrastructure, and tourism money that would have to be handled carefully so as not to destroy the town itself. There was an entire stretch off the pass that could become destination property if someone developed it right and the motel had so much potential if someone just upgraded it.
For the first time since I’d arrived, I suddenly found myself looking at this place as both versions of myself, the Theo who didn’t want to leave and as Theo Westwood, who knew how much this town could grow.
I was still struggling to come clean about who I was, so I hadn’t mentioned it to anyone, but I had considered calling Alex a few times. There were so many potential acquisitions here, and from what I’d heard, the same was true for a least a few other towns in the area, but this wasn’t really W&S’s usual deal.
We dealt in major acquisitions, international development, and Fortune 100 negotiations. Billion-dollar deals.
Quartz Pass was old trucks, dusty storefronts, and customers who paid certain services back with casseroles. These people were blue-collar, down-home, small-town folk, and as tempted as I was to call in the cavalry, I just didn’t know if something like this would fit in with Alex’s vision for expansion.
Clyde and Harvey eventually wandered out toward the breakroom, still arguing about roofing materials and societal decline, and I went back to working on my motorcycle. Avery had finally agreed to let me help, but not with any of the stuff that actually mattered.
Basically, I was just polishing some parts while Raquel worked on designing a replacement for the component that was impossible to find. Avery had been servicing the motor while we waited, but for now, there wasn’t that much else we could do.
He kicked away from the front desk and strode over to Bay Four, where he’d been working on diagnosing a strange noise being made by a pickup. Clyde had obviously provided a refill coffee for the thermos Harvey always carried around with him, but I hadn’t seen Raquel around all morning.
I looked around once again, but the diesel bay was empty and quiet. No sign of her anywhere. About an hour later, Raquel’s truck pulled into the lot so fast that the tires kicked up dust.
Her door burst open and she climbed out fast, her sunglasses on and her expression unreadable. Clyde had been walking Harvey out, but Raquel intercepted him before he could walk back into the shop. They talked for a minute. Then Raquel got back into the truck and Clyde climbed into the passenger seat beside her.
They drove off with more dust being kicked up behind the truck and I frowned, glancing over at Avery, who was also watching the truck disappear around the corner. “What’s up with them?”
“Raquel is finally forcing Dad to go to the doctor.”
I frowned. “What for? He didn’t seem sick this morning.”
“Nah, it’s not a flu or anything like that.” He shrugged. “She’s been bugging him about getting a physical for, like, a year now, but he hates going to the doctor and he hates having to go to the one a town over even more.”
“That’s every dad over fifty.”
