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The idea of sitting in the diner where I used to hang out in high school made my skin crawl, but I had a feeling when he found out what was waiting for him, he wouldn’t hold me to it.
“Fine,” I said. “Be at the school in an hour.”
“See you then.”
We hung up just as I reached the city limit sign of Cottonwood Falls. Incorporated. Population 8,432.
An unpleasant mixture of anger, guilt, and regret flooded my body at the familiar sights. My life would have been so different if my dad didn’t have his head up his ass. I would have been working on the family farm, growing something that had been built over generations.
Instead, I worked in an office, had employees working for me that I’d never even met before. I hadn’t even come into town to buy the damn building, but I needed to see Henrietta for myself. I had to make sure she was honest about her intentions before I did what I wanted to do.
I turned down the streets so familiar they’d been buried into an automatic part of my memory. As I reached the school, I saw a red SUV parked out front, temporary tags on the back. Then my eyes drifted to the front entrance of the school.
A woman with dark skin and ample curves sat on the porch steps, her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. An orange security light cast a halo around her, making her black hair appear almost golden. This was Tyler’s Henrietta.
Part of me wanted to hate this woman. Wasn’t she the one who had broken my brother to the point he wouldn’t get out of bed? The one who caused that ever-present glint of pain in his eyes, even months later?
But the way he loved her made me care for her too. I wanted this to work for them—if she was here for good. I couldn’t watch my brother go through this again.
Clearing my throat, I turned off the car and got out, walking toward where she sat. With Tyler on the way, we didn’t have much time, and I had plenty to say.
She eyed me wearily as I approached. “Are you Gage?”
I nodded.
“You look just like him. But you have your mom’s hair color.”
“Except mine doesn’t come from a box for six ninety-five,” I said.
A small smile formed on her lips, but her expression quickly turned serious. “Gage, I want to buy the schoolhouse from you. I have a significant down payment, and even though I don’t have a job here yet, my parents co-signed with me on the loan. I’m hoping Tyler will help me turn this into his dream come true.... together.”
I studied her, looking for any hint of inauthenticity. In my line of work, most of my decisions were analytical, but there also came a time to trust your gut. And this woman, with her wide brown eyes and lips pulled down with worry? She was the real deal.
“I’m not selling it to you,” I said.
Her mouth fell open. “Gage, you have to know how much this would mean to us.” Her eyes grew shiny with tears. “Unless he’s found someone else.” She put her head in her hands. “Oh god, I’m so stupid. I should have called before I—”
I stepped closer, putting my hand on her shoulder. “I’m not selling the schoolhouse to you, because I’m giving it to you.”
All her pain was replaced with shock, so easily visible in each of her features. “What?”
“You said you had a down payment. I want you to use that money, and the money Tyler has saved, to build this business. And if Tyler’s pride requires him to pay me back, I’ll take a cut of the profits over time as an investor. Even if it’s annoying.”
Now a smile played across her lips. “Gage... that’s amazing. Are you sure?”
I chewed the inside of my cheek, not sure how much to give away. “I’ve never seen my brother happier than when he was with you... or more devastated than when it ended. I’d give everything I have never to see him like that again.”
I studied her, waiting to see her response, already knowing I’d be able to read her.
“I may have ended things, but it was the worst mistake I’ve ever made. If he gives me another chance, I promise you both I’ll never waste it.”
I saw something in her face, heard it in her words. The truth.
Headlights panned over us, and we looked over to see Tyler’s truck pulling up to the school.
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Tyler