“Everyone will know I’m a force to be recognized. And when I finally get back to the city full time with my beautiful wife on my arm?—”
“The city?” I set my fork down and stared at him. “But I thought we were going to live here?”
“Of course, we’ll keep a place here. But the city is where it all happens. And once Timberstone takes off, there’ll be so many more opportunities to take advantage of. Oh, that reminds me.” Trevor dropped his bun, dusted his hands together and reached for his phone. “We need to add a few more people to the guest list. I’ll just send myself a little note.”
“Who are you adding?” I tilted my head, waiting for him to finish on his phone. “I think we should keep an eye on the guest list, Trevor. Last time I looked, it was starting to creep up.”
“We can afford it.” He waved a hand, dismissing my concern. “After all, Timberstone is going to make us very, very wealthy.” He set his phone next to his plate and raised his glass. “And we should toast tothat.Doesn’t the sales office look good? Having a physical presence in the plaza will be huge this summer. The tourists are going to be able to stop right in while they’re on vacation, and before they even know what hit them, you’ll be selling them their own little piece of mountain paradise.”
He laughed and drained his glass of wine.
I put my own glass down without drinking. “But it’s mostly affordable housing,” I reminded him. “We’re not focusing on the out-of-town market.”
“No, of course not.” Again, he waved away my concern and picked up his phone. “But we’re notnottargeting it. I’m sure we’ll have more than a few out-of-towners take advantage of the location and the opportunity to get a foothold in Trickle Creek.” He took a drink of his wine. “Besides, this is just the first phase. Once we get going, there will be lots of opportunities.”
I opened my mouth to object, but before I could, he cut me off.
“And, I’ll let you in on a little secret.” He leaned in conspiratorially, and reflexively, I moved too. “Selling a handful of units to tourists at higher prices is how we can manage to keep the majority of the development as an affordable housing project. It’s simple math. And really, it’s win-win for everyone. And that’s exactly what you want, isn’t it?”
I hadn’t thought of it that way. Of course, this was the first development project I’d been involved in, so I did have a lot to learn. Trevor had taken the lead on almost a dozen projects before coming into Trickle Creek with his Timberstone project.
That’s actually how we’d met. He’d knocked on my office door with his plans in hand and a proposal for a partnership and the investment opportunity of a lifetime. Little did I know how quickly that partnership would grow into a lifelong commitment. Things had an odd way of working out.
My lips curled up into a smile as I sat back and listened to Trevor talk about how things would progress once we got the all clear from the town, and I couldn’t help but be caught up in his excitement as he spoke.
Itwasgoing to be fantastic.
How could it not be?
Chapter Two
Preston
“Okay,” I said to the puppy as I stepped back from the makeshift bed I’d made him under the front desk. “You can hang out here while I’m working, okay?”
Dutifully, Summit pounced onto the flannel blanket I’d set up for him and immediately spun in circles before flopping down and looking at me expectantly.
“You’re a cutie.” I laughed and pulled a piece of beef jerky from my pocket.
I’d picked up a bag of kibble from the grocery store the night before, but I still needed to find time to stop by Mountain Mutts, the local pet store, to grab proper supplies. I didn’t know much about dogs, but I was pretty sure beef jerky wasn’t a suitable treat.
“Thanks, brother. Iamfeeling pretty cute today.”
My head shot up to see Brody, his laptop in his arms, laughing at me. At the sound of his voice, Summit burst out from behind the counter and ran to Brody, where he immediately started to nip at his jeans, looking for attention.
So much for lying down quietly while I worked.
“He’s going to be a shop dog, huh?” Brody crouched down to let the puppy lick his face and greet him properly. “That could get interesting.”
It sure would. I didn’t know the first thing about having a puppy. Let alone one in the shop. But Summit was here to stay. After less than twenty-four hours with him, I’d already grown pretty attached to the fluff ball.
“It’ll work out,” I said. “Besides, you know I don’t plan on being in the shop much anymore.”
Brody rolled his eyes. “Don’t I know it.”
A few years back, when Brody had approached me about the idea of going into business to open Peak to Path, an outdoor shop that specialized in mountain bikes in the summer and ski equipment in the winter, I’d been a little wary.
Not because it wasn’t a good idea. It was. Trickle Creek desperately needed a shop to serve locals and the growing number of tourists with all their adventure equipment needs. I was nervous because I didn’t have any experience in running a business, and I wasn’t convinced I’d be any good at it.
