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“Desperately,” Baxter said. “I want to feel a part of something. And when I drove through White Plains just now, I realized this place has a story deep in its bones. It’s the people who care about it; they decorate it head to toe for Christmas, and they ask one another how they are over coffee at the diner. That’s why city folks like us come out here. We want to feel that heartbeat.”
Charlie wasn’t sure if Baxter was spouting poetry to manipulate him. Perhaps Baxter was cleverer than Charlie gave him credit for. Although he wasn’t a self-made billionaire, he’d made a series of well-timed choices that Charlie couldn’t turn up his nose at.
“So,” Baxter said, clapping his hands. “When will you show me your vision? When can I see the newest Charlie Bryant original?”
Charlie led Baxter to the designs on his desk. Baxter sat down before them, put on his reading glasses, and scoured the pages, moving each aside delicately. Charlie leaned against the wall throughout, watching the fire die out across the logs. He felt too exhausted to sustain the blaze. Somehow, in showing Baxter his newest passion project, he felt as though he was tainting it.
After more than twenty-five minutes of silence, Baxter raised his head and blinked at Charlie. He looked mesmerized.
“This is sensational.” Baxter was very quiet. “Truly. It steeps old-world charm with modern luxuries.”
Charlie had said basically the same thing to Charlotte. He hated remembering this now. Was he just as soulless as Baxter?
“It’s genius to tear out that wall on the second floor,” Baxter went on. “And I just love these shower concepts. The waterfalls? The jacuzzis? They’re gorgeous. The guests will go bananas for them.”
Charlie nodded. He’d thought the same.
“Tell me,” Baxter said, removing his glasses. “How do the current owners feel about this?”
“They’re coming around to it,” Charlie lied.
Baxter grinned. “They’re resistant, I suppose?”
Charlie raised his shoulders. “It doesn’t fully align with their memories.”
Baxter laughed. “I imagine not. People are nostalgic, aren’t they? Well, I’m willing to put down a very, very kind offer.”
“It needs a lot of work.” Charlie wasn’t sure if he wanted to chase Baxter away from the idea or lure him closer.
“My offer stands,” Baxter said.
Charlie was quiet for a moment, imagining himself telling Charlotte about the money. This would be money for her daughter, her grandson, her grandfather, and whoever else she cared about— enough to change their lives forever. She just had to stop being so stubborn.
But wasn’t Charlotte’s stubbornness one of the reasons he couldn’t get her out of his head? She was unlike anyone he’d met in years.
“Listen, Charlie.” Baxter’s smile wavered. “I’m an honest man. As honest as they come in the business world, at least. And for that reason, I want to acknowledge what I know to be true.”
Charlie maintained eye contact.
“You tried to run away. You don’t have to own up to it. I already know. You fled the city and everyone in it as though it were on fire,” Baxter went on, speaking casually. “And I think I know why. You want a life like this. Peace and quiet. Time to whittle or whistle or whatever it is you creative people do. And if you close this deal with the Cherry Inn, I can promise you many more months here, just like this. Once we re-open the Cherry Inn, we’ll be able to capitalize on all those city folks eager for a breath of fresh air. And maybe you can find another inn to flip after that. What do you say?”
Charlie’s throat was tight. He’d grown to suspect that making deals with Baxter Bailey was a bit like making deals with the devil. There was always a catch.
But Baxter knew what Charlie wanted. Charlie had all the money in the world, and now, he just wanted time to work and time to think. More than that, he wanted time to mourn— and to punish himself for what he’d done. And he just couldn’t do that in the city.
Charlie’s hand shook as he extended it. “I’ll convince them to sell.”
Baxter’s smile was enormous. “I always knew you were my guy,” he said. “Ever since I first met you. I knew you’d change my life.”
Baxter convinced Charlie to go out with him after that. He wanted to celebrate their “newfound commitment” to one another. Charlie couldn’t think of an excuse not to go. Because Rudy’s was the only bar in town, Charlie found himself elbow to elbow with Baxter at Rudy’s bar-top, clinking glasses of the best scotch they had. Rudy eyed him from the corner of the bar, drying a beer glass with his head tilted. Charlie felt his judgment— he understood what he looked like, seated next to this well-dressed billionaire in a dive bar. But when Charlie raised his glass toward Rudy, Rudy smiled and nodded back. It was as though he understood the chaos that whirled in Charlie’s mind. Maybe that was the magic of bartenders. They were a bit like therapists and psychics all rolled into one.
“To your new life in this two-bit town,” Baxter said. “And to my next pay day. Who would have thought it would have come out of a place like White Plains? I guess life can still surprise me.”
ChapterTwelve
In the wake of their reunion at the Jeez, Louse diner, Louise and Charlotte continued to hit roadblocks in their relationship. It wasn’t like they could go from not speaking for years to a loving mother-daughter relationship with the snap of their fingers. That wasn’t how people worked— and it certainly wasn’t how Louise Summers operated. Louise still found ways to poke and prod Charlotte, to remind Charlotte of her anger and brokenness. Charlotte was surprisingly resilient, able to brush off her mother’s comments, reminding herself of her mother’s tremendously painful life. Perhaps because of Charlotte’s continued commitment, Louise appeared on the doorstep of the apartment nearly every day. Her excuse was simple. Apparently, it had nothing to do with Charlotte. Louise wanted to hold the baby.
Miraculously, Louise had listened to Charlotte’s advice to hire more people to work at the diner. Twenty-somethings who needed extra shifts for their expenses during the Christmas season ambled in and were given the job immediately. When they asked Louise where the computer was and why the diner didn’t take credit cards, Louise glowered at them until they apologized and put on their aprons.
