Cadence slipped a few grocery bags from Tillie’s arms and followed her to a small SUV. “I’m guessing Denver has quite the appetite,” she joked.
“You have no idea. Heisa Grant, though.” Tillie closed the back door and opened the front. She paused before getting in. “It’s a shame you won’t be staying in town, Cadence. Patty would have loved to see you girls take that place over. You were the only family she had, you know.”
Cadence offered a weak smile, but that feeling of letting down the town crept back in and stole it away. It was such a long shot, and she wouldn’t make promises to anyone until she knew she could keep them. “I wish I could make it work.”
“I know Ford would like it if you stayed.” She gave a wink before slipping into her car. “See you at the festival, I hope?” she called out the window, waving a good-bye.
“I’ll be there.”
With a deep breath, Cadence continued down the street toward Mr. Jenkins’ office. She wasn’t sure whether he kept Saturday office hours, and she’d left her cell phone back at the lodge. Funny how little she seemed to need it here. All the ties she was convinced she had to her life in the lower forty-eight seemed like loose floating strings now.
“Mr. Jenkins?” she called when she stepped inside the unlocked door. There’d been no sign to tell her either way, but the open door seemed invitation enough.
“Ah, Ms. Whitmore. Good to see you again.” He waved her into his office and offered her a chair. “Have you and your sisters arrived at a decision?”
“I thought so.”
“Oh?”
“What would it take? To keep it?”
“Just three signatures before the deadline.” Mr. Jenkins dug in the top drawer of a tall filing cabinet, extracting a light blue folder. “As we discussed, you ladies do have thirty days to make your decision. But it has to be final.”
“And ithasto be unanimous?”
“I’m afraid so. Patty was very specific about it being an all-or-nothing deal. I think she hoped it would bring you closer. So one of you can’t buy out another or anything of that sort.”
The news, though disappointing, wasn’t surprising. It wasn’t as though she had half a million dollars to buy out her sisters anyway. “If we decide to keep it now, what happens if we change our minds later?”
Mr. Jenkins shuffled through the papers in the folder, pulling out a form from somewhere in the middle of the stack. “If you decide to keep it, you have to sign this addendum of intent. It locks you into a one-year commitment. You’re not allowed to sell it before that time is up, no matter the circumstances. If you try, it will revert to the historical society. You’ll get the bills, but none of the proceeds.”
“One year?”
“Yes.”
“And then, if it doesn’t work out, we can still sell?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
One year.A small shred of hope clutched at her chest. If her sisters didn’t have any responsibility in running it with her, simply ownership, maybe they’d let her try. But the hope died when Cadence remembered Sophie. Until she got to the bottom of her troubles, she couldn’t ask this of her.
Cadence stayed to ask a few more questions, all theoretical for now. Things she would need to know if they were to keep the lodge. How the trust worked. How the bills got paid. How much money was set aside for them to run the place. Questions she would have to answer for her sisters.
“Anything else, Ms. Whitmore?” Mr. Jenkins asked, closing the folder and stuffing it back in his drawer.
“Not today.” She rose from her seat, thanking him for his time. Almost to the door, she stopped. “I leave tomorrow late afternoon. If I wanted to sign . . .”
“You can give me a call on my cell. I’ll be out at the festival but I’d be happy to meet you in the office.”
She nodded her thanks, letting the door close softly behind her. Thoughts whirled around in her mind. She didn’t dare get her hopes up. Sophie and Tessa would never go for it. Not when they could possibly find a buyer and have a check in hand before the end of the summer.
Her attention was focused on closing the door behind her, so she didn’t see Ford until her nose bumped into his chest. The same woodsy, masculine scent from their kiss on the trail last night surrounded her like a comforting cloud.
There was no doubt her wanting to stay had at leastsometo do with Ford Harris. She could so easily fall in love with him if she let herself.
“Hey.” His hands lingered on her arms, steadying her.
Her heart did funny pitter-patters when she met his gaze. Golden flecks twinkled in those dark brown eyes. “Hey.”
