Page 15 of Dangerous December (Northern Pines Suspense #8)
Dev hesitated. “I have to admit I thought about this place last night, when I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking about display cases and merchandise, wondering if it was even possible.”
“Well, I can tell you that there’s not another business like it within twenty miles of Agate Creek, and the tourist trade has been increasing every year. Good, steady business all summer long, and they expect at least twenty thousand visitors during Fall Harvest weekend.”
“But in the winter...”
“In the winter, folks come to Wisconsin for cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. Last year, the mayor’s assistant recorded visitor license plates from all over the Midwest. Not bad for a little town like ours.”
“I’ll give it some thought.”
“Good timing,” Frank mused. “The Fall Harvest Festival is in two weeks. If you get on it, you could put up a few display cases and racks, and bring in some merchandise to showcase your plans for the future. That could really get some word-of-mouth going for you, with all those people trampling through.”
“Sounds like a great idea, but I don’t know where I’d even begin...and that’s not much time.”
Frank rocked back on his heels, rubbing his chin as if deep in thought. “You wouldn’t need to get the whole place pulled together by then. Some nice big outdoor sports posters in the windows might be just the ticket.”
Dev stepped back toward the curb and studied the front of the building. “And bright flags out front—with a few colorful kayaks leaning against the wall...”
“It wouldn’t take that much to get started, inside. Shelving, some displays. Figuring out what to order would be the hardest part, but I might just know someone who could give you some tips.”
Dev glanced at him in surprise.
“After the festival, you could work on stocking in time for winter sports, and you’d have all winter to do the place up right and get ready for spring.”
Dev laughed. “You are a dreamer. ”
“Of course, it’s a big job for one guy. If you decide to go ahead and need some help, a few hours a day with a screwdriver or hammer wouldn’t kill me. Not for pay,” Frank added quickly. “I’d just be returning a favor. I’m sure you’d rather not spend your time riding herd on a bunch of old folks.”
Dev felt a flash of guilt. He’d thought that at first, until he’d started to get to know the folks at Sloane House.
“Days get a little long when you don’t have a job and can’t find one that suits,” Frank added into the long silence. “But I’ll understand if you don’t want anyone in the way.”
With the exception of the bomber hat he liked to wear, Frank looked like an elegant old guy, and he was certainly well-spoken. But the melancholy in his voice revealed the toll his situation has taken. “No luck with the job hunt yet, I take it.”
“I sent out another two résumés this week. But one look at my long years of experience, and anyone can guess my age. Yet I’m too young to retire, and have too many good years left to want that. And I will not consider public assistance.”
From the first moment he’d heard about his role in his mother’s last wishes for Sloane House, Dev had planned to do only what he had to, while guarding his personal distance from the boarders.
Camaraderie could save your life, but real friendship only led to sorrow when a good buddy died in action.
Over the years, he’d lost too many, so he’d developed a tough hide and an instinct for emotional survival.
But Frank, with his stubborn pride and the way he painstakingly dressed up each day in a well-worn suit and tie, as if doing so might help make his own dreams come true, was a man Dev was beginning to admire.
“Maybe I could use help. An employee.”
A corner of the man’s mouth lifted in a wry smile. “I didn’t mean to play a sympathy card, son. I don’t know the first thing about all this high-adventure outdoor stuff. I’m just an old man talking.”
In coming here today, Dev hadn’t meant to open a store, much less offer a job, but the unbidden words had tumbled out of his mouth.
Yet now, the possibilities in front of him sounded better by the minute.
“I’m going to crunch the numbers, like you suggested. If it looks good, I’ll let you know.” Dev felt his excitement over the idea growing. “But I sure couldn’t do it by myself.”
“Well...” Frank hesitated, though the new sparkle in his eyes gave him away. “Then I guess I’m your man. Just say the word.”
“I know you’re looking for a better career than this, though. There’ll be no hard feelings if you come across something else.”
Sirens wailed in the distance. Faded, then grew louder as they wound through town.
Frank’s snowy eyebrows drew together. “There’s a sound I never want to hear. In a small town like this, all too often they’re coming for someone I know.”
Both men turned toward the sound. A second later, an ambulance careened around a corner several blocks down and came roaring up the street, its sirens deafening and flashing lights blinding as it skidded to a stop in front of Beth’s bookstore.
Beth? Frozen in place for a split second, Dev stared. And then he started to run.