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Chapter 9
Plan. What was herplan?
Hunter’s question rang in Aria’s ears for the rest of the day. Truth be told, aside from a vague notion of drumming up community support, she didn’t have anything remotely resembling a plan. All she had was indignation and an uplifting movie trailer in her head.
Based on the papers and reports she’d seen on Hunter’s desk at the Outside Inn—he had a dozenplans, all backed up with measurements and data. He’d probably been born with a plan in mind. He’d be eating solid food at six months, walking by nine months, enter an accelerated kindergarten program to prepare himself for Harvard…
With a snort of amusement, she closed up the café and drove to her mother’s house. She’d struggled with plans her entire life. And though she didn’t like the idea of taking a page out of Hunter’s book, she couldn’t just huff and puff about the negative impact of Oceanview Plaza. She also had todosomething practical.
She steeled her spine as she entered her childhood home. Though she’d considered begging off their weekly dinner, she also had to stand her ground against her family. Her mother and sisters were in the kitchen, which smelled deliciously of chili and cornbread.
After greeting them, Aria settled on a stool at the kitchen counter as her mother scolded her for how she’d handled Hunter’s appearance at Sugar Joy that morning.
“Mom, he’s trying to push me out of a building I own.” Aria gratefully accepted a full glass of wine from Rory. “I’m sure as heck not going to be polite to him.”
Callie vigorously stirred the pot of chili on the stove. “Your confrontational approach is no way to get him to see your point of view.”
“Thanks, professor.” Aria eyed her oldest sister. Callie would have been a fantastic pioneer woman, all straight-backed, hard-working, butter-churning forcefulness. “You’ve made it clear you’re on Hunter Armstrong’s side.”
“It’s not a question ofsides.” Impatience edged Callie’s tone. She set the wooden spoon down and grabbed a towel. “Given the state of Mariposa Streetandyour café, you should consider his offer. Getting angry with him won’t make him back down.”
“Just the opposite.” Rory arched an eyebrow. “A man like him will fight fire with an inferno.”
Aria clucked in irritation and took a healthy swallow of wine so she wouldn’t have to admit that her sisters were right. Like they’d been her entire life.
But what was her alternative with Hunter? Despite what had happened between them, she couldn’t befriend him. She certainly wouldn’t try and use theRescue of Porkchopnight in an attempt to sweet-talk him into agreeing with her—and they weren’t going to bring it up anyway. All she had was her hope of rallying the Mariposa owners to her cause.
What’s your plan for turning things around?
His question poked at her again.
“Has the town ever allocated funds to renovate Mariposa Street?” Rory picked up an oven mitt and took a batch of cornbread muffins out of the oven.
“A long time ago,” Eleanor said. “But after the fishing company shut down and the economy went downhill, the town council rightly diverted funds to schools and downtown initiatives. They had to close the Historical Preservation Society. Businesses started moving away from Mariposa, so there was less and less reason to preserve it.”
“Now it would cost a fortune to renovate.” Callie stepped aside so Rory could set the muffins on the counter. “To stay alive, a historic neighborhood needs financial and community support.”
“That’s what I need to do for Mariposa.” Aria lifted her head, a faint spark of hope lighting inside her. “I can drum up support with a petition to present to the town council and to the Mariposa Business Association. If the other owners know how many residents are against the construction, they’ll be a lot more likely to vote no on signing their contracts. I can start a fundraiser too.”
There. A plan.
She glanced at Callie, but her sister was at the sink, her back turned.
“I’ll donate to the fund,” Rory said. “And sign the petition.”
Aria shot her a grateful smile.
“I will too, of course.” Eleanor took the chili pot into the dining room. “Rory, bring the wine in, please.”
Rory grabbed the bottle of wine and followed her.
“You think I’m being foolish.” Aria looked at Callie, unable to keep the hurt note from her voice. “Like I always am.”
“I just don’t see why you think this will be any different from all your previous ventures.” Callie tossed the spoon into the sink, her mouth tightening. “A fundraiser is fine and good, but you’re going up against a company that puts billions of dollars into their projects.”
“Iknow.” Frustration gripped Aria. “But I have to start somewhere, don’t I? I have to dosomething. Or Hunter Armstrong is just going to railroad over the whole district.”
“I really don’t think he’s trying to railroad over anything.” Callie rubbed her temple and sighed. “Have you eventhoughtabout what he told you this morning? He made some excellent points. Your café would get a lot more traffic if you were in another location.”
