Page 59 of Up All Night
“You send your email?” I asked as I plated some eggs and toast for her with a side of marionberry jam.
“I did. Thank you, sweetie.” She smiled up at me as she sat at the end of the counter again. “I’ll miss you.”
“Where are you going?”
“Me?” Her eyes went wide, eyebrows rising to her dyed-red hairline. “You’re the one who always talks about moving on. I figure after the Honey family meeting tomorrow, you’ll be hitting the road. Especially since you don’t want to take my advice to call you know who.”
“Oh.” A stone sack smacked into my gut, stole all my wind. I leaned against the counter, hands digging into the counter.I don’t want to go.A voice from my past, the younger self I tried so hard to block, rang louder than a siren in my ears. Huh. Maybe all this time, I’d been outrunning myself.
“Figure I’ll get on with one of the chain places.” Tammy was still talking, oblivious to the seismic shift in my brain. “ I’ll keep myself busy, don’t you worry. Keep adding to the rainy day someday fund.”
I had one of those, a seldom-touched bank account. Funny how fast it grew without drinking and partying to drain it and with working long hours with few expenses. I took a breath, head tilting as I studied Tammy. And thought. And thought some more.
“About that someday fund.”
ChapterTwenty-Seven
Denver
“Is that a suit?” Tammy eyed me critically as I stepped out of my truck at the downtown hotel where the Honey family was scheduled to meet in one of the event spaces, having outgrown gathering at one of their houses, what with all the kids, grandkids, and a few scattered great grandkids.
“It would appear so.” I bent to inspect myself in the side-view mirror. I’d slicked my curly hair back the best I could, trimmed the facial fuzz, and even put on a splash of seldom-used cologne from some long-ago impulse purchase. “According to the checkout clerk at the thrift store, it’s a designer brand.”
It had also been the only suit at the used clothing store that fit my wide shoulders and long legs, but hey, I looked decent in the gray three-piece number. The clerk had helped me find a white dress shirt, and I’d opted to skip the tie. My throat was tight enough on its own.
“Well, you look good.” Tammy pronounced this with the sort of firmness Wren used for sharing scientific facts.
“You too.” I gestured at her black dress. A bit dated in style, she nonetheless managed a regal air with her hair piled even higher than usual and red lipstick. “Are we ready to do this?”
“Nope.” She cackled, grinning widely. “But we’re gonna. Hey, what’s that?”
Tammy pointed across the parking lot where a large contingent of folks had gathered near the entrance to the hotel conference center. A big percentage of the people appeared to be first responders—EMTs, firefighters, nurses, and police officers in uniforms. I recognized many of them from late-night meals at Honey’s. There were also a number of suits—management types. Near the front of the group, I spotted Sean’s father, along with the police chief and the mayor, who was accompanied by her library-director wife.
“Is that the mayor?” Tammy marveled as she grabbed my elbow and hauled me closer to the group.
“It appears so.” I continued scanning the crowd as we approached, knowing exactly who was behind this. And yup, there was Sean, stepping out from behind his father.
“What are you doing, Murphy?” I said as Tammy led me right to him.
“I could ask you the same thing.” He grinned, gaze doing an appreciative once-over of my suit. “I’m here with a group of concerned town leaders and citizens to ask the Honey family to reconsider selling to developers for the land value. There aren’t nearly enough twenty-four-hour eating options for shift workers in this town.”
“Exactly.” Tammy nodded. “Honey’s is too important to lose.”
“You also came to ask them not to sell?” Sean asked.
“Nah.” Tammy gave a wide, secretive smile. “We’re here to offer to buy the place.”
Sean’s shocked look was worth all the sleep I’d sacrificed to work on this plan with Tammy.
“You—bothof you—want to buy Honey’s?” Sean’s eyes were wide and confused. Good. We could be confused together.
“Well, lease. We probably don’t have enough for an outright purchase. But we’re hoping they might consider a mortgage or a lease.” I did a pretty good job of sounding all professional. I hoped I could keep it up when it counted, not give in to the inner voices that kept mocking my efforts. Who did I think I was?
However, in front of me, the crowd was nodding, including the mayor.
“That’s an excellent idea.” The mayor beamed, gesturing widely with perfectly manicured hands. “I think that’s one plan we could all get behind.”
Plan. Ha. For the first time ever, I did have one, and it felt itchy and a little tight, not unlike my suit and new shoes. And now I had to worry about letting down more folks than just Tammy. I hadn’t expected support, and all those smiling and nodding faces added pressure to my shoulders and chest, a heavy, unsettled feeling.