Page 33 of Another Last Call
He nodded. “But not too popular. Keeps it kind of nice and quiet, you know? You said you’re flipping it… to sell?”
“Yeah.”
He hummed softly. “You know, the last time I was up there, I was thinking about looking for a property.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Is that so?”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “How much were you thinking of selling for?”
“It won’t be ready for a while,” I said. “I’m aiming for next spring. I won’t know the final cost until then.”
“True, but…” He put the tailgate up for me, then leaned on my truck. “I mean, I could probably do a lot of the work myself, you know? Save you the hassle of doing the renos only to maybe have them torn out if the person buying it doesn’t like what you’ve done.”
I hoped I didn’t look as unimpressed as I felt. “Too bad I’ve already bought all my supplies. Fromyou.”
Todd grinned. “Well, I could still use the supplies. I’d be willing to include the cost of that in an offer. And maybe there would be some discounts in it for you on your next project, you know?”
I considered it.
I mean, I wouldn’t get what I wanted, price-wise. I’d get back what I put into it, plus maybe a little more for the few upgrades I’d already made. But I wouldn’tloseanything.
And I’d have the money to help Maggie.
Faced with the reality of it, it was crazy. I hadn’t seen Maggie in ten years. It wasn’t like she was family or a close friend. She was the girl I’d lost my virginity to. A childhood friend.
And someone who’d made me open my eyes a little.
It was crazy to even consider it, but…
“You know, I might be interested,” I said. “Maybe you should come up and look at the place first.”
After all, there was no harm in him looking. Maybe he wouldn’t be interested. Maybe he would. I could always change my mind.
Todd kept a practiced, cool look on his face, but I could see the eagerness in his eyes. “That sounds great. You around this weekend? I can be there Saturday around noon.”
“Yeah.” I pulled out my phone. “Give me your number. We can meet up in town first and I’ll show you where it is. You know The Sea Glass? The bar near the beach?”
He laughed. “Uh, yeah. Why don’t we meet at the Starbucks instead?”
“I mean… sure, I guess,” I said. “I prefer The Sea Glass. They’re… they’re kind of struggling right now. I’m trying to help support them so they don’t have to shut down.”
He raised his eyebrows. “What d’you mean, shut down?”
“They need to make some repairs to the building they’re in,” I said, then looked up hopefully. “They don’t have much time, but it’s… I mean, it’s a Marble Beach staple. Actually, if you’re interested, they’re taking donations and I bet a place like this could—”
I didn’t even finish the sentence before Todd burst out laughing, throwing his head back as he shook it. “Oh God. I can’t believe it. No way. No offense, my friend, but no way. Let the place shut down.”
“What?” I said. “Why would you… I mean, that’s someone’s business. They’re nice people.”
He snorted. “Nice people? That little waitress who works there dumped a pint of beer on Peter—my buddy with the place up there—the last time we were there and her mom, the friggin’ loopy hippie chick who owns the place, harassed him right out of the building.”
Anger started curdling in my stomach. “What did he say to her?”
“He was just joking around with her,” he said pointedly. “And anyway, it doesn’t matter. I called up a buddy who works for the town to inspect the place and Peter’s planning on buying the land when they go under.”
I stared at him. “So you’re the reason Marble Beach is losing one of their local businesses and a family is losing their livelihood? And you think that’s funny?”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m sure they’ll be fine. Tell you what, you sell me your cabin, I’ll put a word in with Peter and see if he’ll turn it into a strip joint on the weekends so that pretty waitress can make herself useful.”
