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“I don’t have one—so failure isn’t an option for me either.”
Her patience was wearing thin. How could she explain this to him in a way that made more sense to him? She sighed. “You don’t have a plan B because you haven’t put one together. If you ask me, your coffee shop should have been your plan B.”
“Yeah?” He was smiling now, but it was tight. She’d wandered into a territory where he wasn’t comfortable. Unfortunately for him, she didn’t care. Sometimes the hard lessons had to be learned. “Let me guess,” he sighed, “you think my plan A should have been the ranch. I told you—”
“Yes, I do think the ranch should be your plan A but not in the way you think. I don’t think you should count on your family’s ranch to be your thing. I expect you to find your own. Save your money, buy a small parcel of land and work it until you can expand. Or find a parcel you can lease to own. I’m sure there are several options out there for someone like you.”
He stared at her, mouth hanging open.
“I know, you already told me it wasn’t an option. Financially or whatever. But honestly? You never know what you might find if you’re looking in the right place. Are there any old farmers out here who didn’t have children? How about those who did but their kids all moved away because they were some of the very few who didn’t want to raise their children in the country? So many variables.”
Daniel closed his mouth and got to his feet. “You know what? I’m exhausted. I’ve been up too long and I’m going to be up early again tomorrow so I’m heading home.”
He reached for the bucket and she held up her hand to stop him. “I’ll finish up. My shop doesn’t open as early as yours. Let me do this for you.”
The hesitation was plastered all over his face. But so was the fatigue. She was going to win this argument hands down and she knew it.
Finally, Daniel nodded. “I’ll get your things for you and you can bring me the bucket back in the morning when you get here.”
“Sounds good.” This mess might not have been her fault, but she wouldn’t have been surprised if Daniel had hit the nail on the head. One of her fans might have taken out their rivalry on his shop and she still felt somewhat guilty after all the feuding they’d participated in toward the beginning. It was time to make a change for the better.
CHAPTERELEVEN
Daniel wasn’tsure what he expected when he went into work the next morning. There was still a lot of work that had to be completed when he’d tapped out. He really shouldn’t have left Megan with the mess. It was his building, for heaven’s sake.
But when he arrived, he was shocked to find the place looking better than it had on the day he’d moved in. Not only had she cleaned up the brick, she got the sidewalk and the glass cleaned as well. It was amazing.
He caught himself staring at it longer than he should have, because Corbin showed up beside him and he didn’t usually arrive for at least fifteen minutes after Daniel opened up shop.
“What are we looking at?”
Daniel jumped then gestured toward the building. “Just look at it.”
“I am. But what are we looking at?”
He shot his friend a flat look. “You can’t tell me you don’t see what I’m seeing.” He gestured wildly at the front of the building. “It’s clean. A lot cleaner than usual.”
Corbin scratched his head then shrugged. “I guess I don’t pay much attention to that sort of thing.”
“Of course you don’t,” Daniel mumbled. “Your livelihood doesn’t depend on it.” He turned. Megan’s shop was still dark and yet he wanted nothing more than to go over there and tell her thank you. That would be ridiculous when he knew she was still fast asleep in her bed at the home where he’d grown up.
He’d have to remind himself later to tell her how much he appreciated her stubborn willingness to help him out last night. Corbin was already inside, flipping on the lights and pulling the chairs down from the tables. Daniel still couldn’t take his eyes off just how pristine everything looked.
Corbin tapped on the window then motioned behind him and yelled, “You coming to work today or are you going to gawk at your storefront?”
Daniel rolled his eyes and shuffled toward the door. Just because his friend couldn’t appreciate what they had didn’t mean Daniel wouldn’t.
For the next hour, he helped get everything set up for the day. The first early customers entered the shop and soon they were off to a great start. Every so often he’d look toward the bookstore, but it was still closed up.
Then his gaze flitted in that direction out of habit and there she was, unlocking her door. He tugged at his apron, tossing Corbin a look. “I’m going to talk to Megan—”
Right at that moment the shop filled with a group of ten people.
“Guess that’s gonna have to wait, boss.” Corbin didn’t even attempt to hide the grin on his face.
They worked through rush after rush. And when they weren’t rushed, there was always something else keeping him from taking a break long enough for him to visit Megan and give her his gratitude. There were spills, malfunctioning equipment, and deliveries he had to take care of.
On top of all the regular stuff, he was now a little more paranoid about watching the front of the store to make sure no one did a repeat of the mess from last night. Each time his focus shifted toward the bookstore, he felt more and more agitated. He didn’t want to let this go so long that she thought he didn’t appreciate what she’d done for him.
