“He’s still complaining every day about wanting to retire, but not actually retiring?”
“Exactly. He says he can’t commit to the project because he doesn’t know if the business is still going to be running by the time they need the fencing.”
“When do they need it?”
“Next week.”
I chuckled. “Wow.”
For the next few minutes, I closed my eyes, pretending I was sitting on the porch with her while she talked. I could practically smell the cigarette smoke hanging in the air.
“Avery is still refusing help at every turn.”
My eyes snapped open. “What do you mean? They haven’t sorted that out yet?”
She snorted. “Not even close. They’re getting nowhere with the bank, so he’s been trying to talk to investors, but they won’t touch the shop. They say Quartz Pass is slowly dying because young people won’t stay. I told him to remind them that theycan’tstay if no one will invest in the town.”
She blew out a heavy breath I suspected had been filled with smoke, then jumped right back in. “It’s a vicious cycle, I guess. No one will invest because young people are leaving, but young people are leaving because no one will invest, and without investment, they can’t make a living in towns like ours.”
“Yeah.”
“Small towns are becoming a breed of the past, Theo,” she insisted fiercely. “Do you know I read the other day that most big cities in the world are experiencing housing crises? Housing crises. What a crock. We got plenty of housing here in Quartz Pass. Places big enough that your bed and your toilet are in separate rooms, but nope. People flock to the cities for work because they can’t get it here, and their toilets are right next to their beds. It’s ludicrous.”
“Right.”
As she talked for at least another ten minutes, I muttered a one-word response every so often, but I wasn’t really listening anymore. The gears in my head were turning too fast, renewed worry about Raquel, Avery, and the shop invading my blood and too many thoughts suddenly rattling around my mind.
“—and Raquel is starting her own contracting business.” I snapped back into the conversation immediately, straightening up as she kept going. “The motel is going to be her first client. She’s going to remodel the rooms for me. Bring them into this century.”
I nearly fell out of my chair, but at the same time, I suddenly knew exactly what she was using that money for, and I’d been right. It was important.
Investors might think that Quartz Pass was a dying town, but not my girl. She was going to give it all she had, and despite the odds being stacked against her, I knew she was going to make a success of it.
CHAPTER 38
RAQUEL
The delivery van I’d just bought was a piece of junk. A beautiful piece of junk, but a piece of junk all the same.
I stared into the open engine bay and used the back of my wrist to wipe sweat from my brow. Instead of taking the van to the shop to work on it there, I’d brought it to my house, a decision I was truly regretting right about now.
Where I was standing in my driveway, midday sun beat down on the back of my neck. The metal body work was hot enough to fry an egg. I was seriously missing having a roof over my head and AC running.
Either way, I needed this van to stop being difficult and start proving that its previous owner hadn’t been a complete liar when he’d sworn up and down that itran great.So far though, I had the distinct feeling that before I would be able to start mynewjob, I was going to need more than a few skills I’d learned in theoldone.
I was still cataloging the components I’d need to replace when I heard a truck peeling onto my property.Well, it looks like my brother has once again invited himself over.
Avery was the only person I knew who’d take a turn like that on gravel, and when I looked up, my suspicion was confirmed.He was racing toward me, not even taking a second glance at the van as he climbed out of his truck before the dust of his arrival had even started settling.
Our relationship still hadn’t recovered. We spoke to each other only when strictly necessary and even those interactions were cold. It kind of felt like we were standing on opposite sides of a divide neither of us knew how to cross.
“What?” I called over as he slammed his door behind him. “Don’t tell me you found Dad inyouroffice again.”
Since he was wearing sunglasses, I couldn’t be sure, but I definitely thought he’d just rolled his eyes at me. “No, it’s not that.”
“Oh.”
I pulled off my work gloves and turned to face him, crossing my arms lightly over my chest and bracing myself for another argument. While Avery was still working out all the legalities surrounding having the business transferred to him, he was already acting like he owned it and he wasn’t subtle about his management style either.
