Page 11 of No Good Deed

Piper turned back to face the way they’d come, forcing herself to focus on the job. Troy stopped beside her, but didn’t question her movements.

From here, she could see most of Phail Way. The street was pretty straight because the town had settled in a flat space between the mountains. Stores and buildings lined the street along with some trees. She wondered if the businesses put out flower pots or planters in the summer.

They could hang banners from the light posts to celebrate different town events. At this point, there weren’t any Christmas decorations or ornaments on the trees either. There’d been a few in the windows as they’d walked along the street, but something outdoors would be better. Something that celebrated the season at least. “People who live in Vermont aren’t afraid of winter.”

Troy laughed. “Definitely not.”

“And I’d guess most of them like it, or at least like something about it.”

“Yep.”

But she didn’t see anything to reflect that. That was definitely something to add to her idea list. Asking everyone to put a snowman in their display would be an easy way to create some fun cohesion in the town.

Once they had a town website, they could have a section telling tourists what to search for in every business window during different months. Spot the snowman. Who has the most hearts in their window? Can you spot the purple leprechaun hiding in town? Find a dozen different flowers. Or Phlowers with a Ph? Nope, that would be too much.

She felt Troy’s eyes on her, felt his curiosity. That shouldn’t be true, but it was.

His gruff voice confirmed her thoughts. “What are you thinking?”

She smiled and shook her head. “Not yet. I prefer the ideas to coalesce into some kind of plan before I share.”

It surprised her how many ideas were already swirling. She could use the same kinds of ideas she’d used to build communities in smaller urban neighborhoods. Things to remind people they were connected to each other. Ways to remind community members and visitors alike that they had more commonalities than differences. Ideas to pull the town together visually. That often led to even more connections.

For now, she gestured to the street. “Tell me what the street would look like in the summer. What would I see beneath the snow?”

Troy moved to her side and studied the view with her. “Obviously, there’d be less snow. But there would still be too many empty buildings.”

His tone conveyed his sadness at the empty buildings. At the obvious symbol of how many people had moved away. Troy cared deeply about his town.

Could she use those empty spaces somehow? Change at least a few of the visual reminders that the town wasn’t thriving. The people needed daily reminders that this was a great place. She would have to build confidence in them that the town not only could thrive, but that it would.

Belief and confidence were powerful. Strange that it was a town named Phail that reminded her of that. Her own self-belief and confidence had taken a beating over the past month. Time to turn that around.

Troy talked about the buildings and the people, but didn’t mention flower pots or banners or anything coordinated throughout the town. She didn’t want to talk about those yet. She wanted to get his ideas of where the town stood now. Although some ideas of how that town had thrived in the past would be good as well.

Oreo yipped and stuck his head out of Troy’s jacket. She’d forgotten about her new friend. Forgotten that she was responsible for him. She reached over and stroked his ears. “Hey there. I forgot you were with us.”

Troy laughed. “New dog ownership takes some getting used to.”

Very true. But seeing her buddy warmed her heart. “Do you want to try walking again? Or are you too cozy in there?” She would be very happy to be cozied in with Troy like that. Thankfully, she didn’t say any of that out loud.

Oreo squirmed and Troy laughed again. “Okay, buddy. We’ll get you out. Hang on.”

Piper put her hands in his jacket and lifted Oreo out, trying to ignore the brush of her fingers against Troy’s chest.

To cover her flush, she brought the dog up to her face. He licked her and circled his feet in the air. “You are too cute, Oreo.” Giving this little guy back to his family was going to rip her in bits.

She clipped his leash into place, then set him back onto the snow. He raced to the edge of the sidewalk and plunged his head into the bank. He pulled it out almost immediately and danced in a happy circle.

Troy bent down to scratch him between the ears. “You might be the happiest creature I’ve ever met.”

They turned their steps back to the B&B and she turned her attention back to her job. “Do you have any idea how I could get some photos of what the town looked like before? I searched on the internet when I was still in Chicago, but I couldn’t find anything.”

He nodded. “The town’s not big enough to get much of a mention on the internet. But I did think of that. In fact, I left something at the B&B that might be just what you’re looking for.”

“That’s amazing. It appears that we’re in sync.”

Troy grinned. “I like the sound of that.”

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