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“No,” I decide after a moment. “It doesn’t get old.”
“You’re so ridiculous,” June says, and when the door opens, she hurries ahead of me. I catch up to her quickly, pull her to a stop so her back is pressed to my front, and bury my lips in her hair next to her ear.
“The only one I’m looking back at is you, Juniper. Don’t forget that.”
She clears her throat, takes three steps forward, and raises her hand to knock on the Newkirks’ door. Only, before she makes contact, the door swings open.
“Well, June,” Sally says with a happy smile. Her hair is as white as snow, and even though she’s just a tiny thing, she looks healthy as can be as she opens her arms in an invitation for a hug. “Come in, dear. And you brought Apollo. What a lovely surprise.”
“He asked to come along,” June says as she hugs the little woman. “How are you, Sally?”
“I’m fit as a fiddle. Fred is soaking up some sunshine on the balcony. Why don’t we join him?”
“Sounds good. How is he?” I ask, and some of the enthusiasm from just a moment ago falls from her face.
“He’s getting by,” is all she says as she leads us through the small apartment to the glass door that opens out to a little balcony. It has a great view of the mountains in one direction and of the ocean in the other. “Fred, honey, June is here, and she brought Apollo Winchester with her.”
“Oh, good.” Fred turns and tries to get up, but I hurry to shake his hand and keep him in his seat. Fred’s health took a turn for the worse last year, and the couple made the decision to move into the assisted living facility so Sally would have help if she needed it. “It’s good to see you.”
“You, too,” I reply. “It’s a beautiful day to sit outside.”
“That it is. Never get tired of the sea air.” Fred gestures for us to sit, and once we do, Sally smiles at June.
“What can we do for you, dear? Is everything all right at the chapel?”
“Oh, yes. It’s great, actually. When I have some more work finished, I’ll have to take you over there so you can see all the progress.”
“We’d like that,” Fred says.
“I actually came to talk to you about another piece of property,” June continues. “The lot next door to the chapel with the two abandoned buildings on it.”
“Oh, we’ve had a few offers recently to buy that,” Sally says. “In fact, one young man has been very insistent.”
“I told her to just sell it,” Fred adds. “We don’t need it.”
“Is his name Eric, by any chance?”
“Yes, that’s him. He’s from the city, and he’s not terribly friendly, but he offered a good amount of money for the property.”
“Sally,” June says, leaning in, “I had a conversation with Eric recently, and he told me about his plans for that property, as well as the rest of the town.”
Systematically, June tells them everything she knows about what Eric plans to do. Hearing it again makes my blood boil, and I can tell by the looks on Sally’s and Fred’s faces that they feel the same way.
“Iknewsomething was off about that man,” Sally says when June finishes. “What do you suggest, June?”
“Well, I would like to buy it from you. One reason being that I don’t want Eric, or any other developer, to get their hands on it, but another is that I’d like to restore the existing buildings and rent them out.”
Fred and Sally share a glance.
“I like the idea of the buildings being restored,” Fred says slowly. “I was born in the house closest to the street.”
“I didn’t know that,” I murmur, but I feel like maybe I should have, considering everyone at this table has deep roots in Huckleberry Bay.
“Of course,” Fred continues, “those buildings are in rough shape. I don’t know if they’re salvageable.”
“I would like the chance to try, and if they’re not, I could rebuild them, keeping the same style as the originals. I don’t want to build a huge bed-and-breakfast or hotel. I want it to look like it always has and still be functional.”
“Sold,” Sally says, slapping the table.
