Page 79 of Meet Me in Ivy Falls

Tessa laughed as the girls raced back toward us and shoved a handful of crumpled napkins at her. ‘Speaking of deals, is Beck making an appearance today?’

‘Yes. He’s at the office waiting on a contract, but he promised he’d be here for dinner and fireworks.’

I couldn’t keep the smile from my face. When Beck had called to tell me they got the Brinkley account he had sounded like a child let loose in a candy store. He profusely thanked me and Manny for helping with the property idea, but in the end it was him and his team who put in all the work. I was so proud of him and I had to admit it was a great opportunity for our business too.

‘Dad is planning on joining us for dinner.’ Her lips pinched together. ‘He’ll give his regular speech on the steps of town hall and then come on over.’ She lowered her voice to a strained whisper. ‘Please try and keep things civil for the girls.’

Lack of sleep and wanting to keep the day happy for my nieces had me vowing to play nice.

‘Tell me more about the house.’ Tessa shifted her hands back on the blanket and kicked out her legs, settling the edges of her white sundress over her knees.

‘I will but I have a question for you first.’ I set my cup down and settled my hands in my lap. ‘Are you having financial problems with the P&P?’

All the sun-kissed color drained from her cheeks. ‘Who told you that?’

‘That anonymous email I talked about at the council meeting alluded to the fact that a lot of businesses in town are struggling.’ I kept my focus on her. ‘And I noticed that the shelves at the store look kind of empty.’

She pushed the thick black sunglasses back up the bridge of her nose with a shaky hand like she thought she could hide from me.

‘Please, Tessa. We don’t keep secrets. Tell me what’s going on.’

‘Since Mom passed, the shop has not met its monthly sales goals. People are buying more and more from online stores. Local authors are going to bigger cities to have their launch parties. As a result, I’ve barely made my last few payments to the bank.’ She grabbed a napkin and dabbed at her cheeks. ‘I’ve let Mom down and I don’t know what to do.’

I wrapped my arms around her and smoothed down her hair as she shook under the weight of all her responsibilities. ‘She’d be damn impressed by how hard you’ve been working, Tessa. How you’d do anything to keep the store going.’

A quick thought hit me and I couldn’t hold back my next question.

‘Did you send the email to Hearth and Home? I’d understand it if you did.’

‘I wish I was the one who’d been smart enough to think of it, but it wasn’t me.’

I played with the edge of the blanket. ‘Do you think it was Dad?’

She leaned back and stared up at the trees. ‘As much as I’d like to say yes, I don’t think it could be him.’

‘Me neither. Supposedly the email was sent from a computer at the library. If Dad was going to do something like this, he’d totally want to own it.’

‘True.’ She kept her eyes focused on the sky above. Several times she blinked like she was holding back more tears.

‘Hey,’ I said, snuggling closer to her on the blanket. ‘We’ll figure this out together. If anyone knows how to bring a business back from the brink, it’s me. I mean, how many people can say “fuck” several times on a home renovation show and still have a running business?’

‘That’s true.’ Tessa snorted out half a laugh in between her sobs. ‘The girls though, they’d be crushed if I lost the store. The P&P is like their second home and they’ve already been through so much.’

I placed my hands on Tessa’s shoulders forcing her to look at me. ‘The P&P will not go under. I’m doing the show and hopefully that’ll bring people to town. If that doesn’t work we’ll put together a plan, even if it means going to Dad for help. And you know how much it pains me to say that.’

‘Okay. A plan. That’s good,’ she said, swiping at her cheeks again. ‘Enough crying for now. Please tell me more about the house. I need a good distraction.’

‘The kitchen is gorgeous. I managed to save the built-ins, and the refinished cabinets are perfection. After putting out some feelers to local antique dealers, I located some circa-1900 drawer pulls.’

She gave me that knowing nod like she could picture everything I was saying. ‘Mom would be proud of what you’re doing for Ivy Falls, Tor.’ Her eyes darted around the busy square. ‘She loved this town so much.’

‘I think that’s why she wanted me to work on Huckleberry Lane. She knew if we could get it done it would be positive for the town. I just wish there was a way to prove to everyone that the restoration of the house, the production, it’s all good for business.’

As soon as I said the words an idea began to fill my head.

‘What do you think about holding a community open house after it’s finished? Invite the entire town to come and do a walk-through. Maybe then they’d all see how committed Manny and I are to the town.’

‘I think they already know that after your speech at the council meeting. But inviting everyone inside could certainly quiet the last of the complaints.’