Tessa inhaled like someone punched her in the stomach. Dandelion seeds burst from their pods and rushed toward her. “You can’t be serious.”
“They make a lot of money,” Ralph said with a shrug. “It would generate hundreds of thousands for the investor.”
“That’s a horrible plan for this land,” Tessa argued. “A Fat Betty’s in a historic neighborhood? This house has been around for more than one hundred years, and it has a history that is worth preserving. Don’t you have any respect for history—”
Paul interrupted Tessa’s tirade. “Excuse me, but what is a Fat Betty’s?”
Tessa’s scowled. “It’s a heart attack in a paper bag. A greasy, disgusting place where your shoes stick to the linoleum—”
“That generates a few hundred thousand dollars per store per year,” Ralph said.
Tessa pointed at the house. “This home has been a haven for longer than you’ve been alive, Ralph. I can’t believe you’re encouraging the idea to tear it down.”
“Nothing’s going to be torn down today,” the older man growled. “Damn bulldozer won’t even start, the company doesn’t have a spare machine this afternoon, and this greenhorn is barely old enough to drive it.”
“Hey, Greg,” the younger man argued, “there’s no reason to be disrespectful. The dozer was working when I left this morning.”
The older man tossed his hands into the air in frustration, reminding Tessa of an angry gnome. “Take it back, and be here at eight a.m. sharp. Tomorrow you’d better not bring another piece of junk with you.” Then he stalked to his dually and drove off.
The younger man shrugged and crossed the street to the Ram. The diesel engine rumbled, and he drove down Dogwood Lane, dragging the yellow monster behind him.
Ralph cleared his throat. “Listen, Tessa, I only do what my clients ask me to do.”
Tessa scoffed. “Somehow I think you only do what’s going to put more money in your pocket.”
Ralph’s back stiffened, and he smoothed a hand over his already-slick hair. “Is this about the expensive bottle of wine I wouldn’t buy for dinner? I can’t believe you’re still mad about that. It was, what, eight months ago? You know they always try to upsell dinner, which was already putting a dent in my wallet, I’ll have you know.”
Tessa’s mouth fell open. She flitted her eyes toward Paul before shaking her head. Paul looked held in rapt attention. “This is about Honeysuckle Hollow. I don’t care about that dinner, but since you brought it up, the wine wastwenty dollars, Ralph. I hardly think that’s excessive. This is about you not caring about the people in this neighborhood and not caring about preserving the history of Mystic Water.”
“That’s unfair. Mrs. Steele said she had no interest in the house, and it’s not even worth the time it would take to fix it up.” He gestured toward the house. “Look at it, Tess—”
“Don’t call me Tess.”
He groaned. “Would youlookat it? It’s a derelict eyesore. Mrs. Steele asked me to search for interested investors, and I did. I only learned this morning about the investor’s plans to build a Fat Betty’s here. He hasn’t put down the money for the land yet. Mrs. Steele has to demolish the house first, and that’s not happening today.” Ralph pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll call the investor and let him know we’ve been pushed back a day. He might want to go ahead and fork over the money for the land even without the completed demo. Mrs. Steele is impatient to get this off her hands.”
Ralph tried to connect the call, but he couldn’t get a signal. He walked around the yard, holding his phone to the sky like a lightning rod.
“You know lifting your phone like that doesn’t actually improve your chances of reception, right?” Tessa pulled her cell phone from her purse and shrugged. “I’ve got signal.”
Paul checked his cell. “Me too.”
“What is goingon?” Ralph whined. He pressed a few buttons and groaned. “It died. My phone just died. It was fully charged this morning. Good to see you, Tessa. Sorry about the house, but you don’t have to worry about it after eight a.m. tomorrow. Everything has an expiration date.” He walked toward the red Audi.
Ralph revved the engine unnecessarily and drove away, leaving Tessa and Paul standing on the sidewalk. Tessa clenched her fist and the keys to Honeysuckle Hollow dug into her palm. She opened her hand. “I forgot to hand these over ortoss them on the porchlike Mrs. Steele said.”
“What do they need them for if they’re going to tear it down?”
“They might need them to disconnect plumbing, electrical, and gas before they can safely tear it down,” Tessa said with a shrug. “But maybe they’ve already done that.”
“Since we’re here, want to show me around?”
Tessa shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
Paul nudged her with his elbow. “You’ve got a lot of chutzpah. Lots of passion burning inside you. You know what you believe, and you don’t back down. That’s admirable.”
Was he serious? Tessa characterized herself as more of a self-doubter than someone trailblazing with passion. She thought of the notebook in her purse, which was full of examples of how she didn’t trust her own instincts. “I just can’t stand the thought of this housing being torn down.” She pressed a hand to her stomach. The idea stirred nausea in her gut. “I need to call the cleaners and the exterminators. They’re obviously not needed now.” Tessa quickly made the calls and then walked toward the front porch.
Paul traversed the weedy front yard. “The wildness has taken over.”
