Page 51 of Fastlander Fallen

“Yes.” Marissa cleared her throat delicately and shook his hand limply. “And I’m assuming that is Captain?” she asked about the titan pacing behind the trucks and talking to himself.

“It sure is. He will join us in a couple minutes when he’s settled down.”

“Great,” Marissa said in a shaky voice.

A growl rattled Ace’s throat, and he shook his head hard. “Sorry. Would you like to take a minute to settle down as well?”

“I’m sorry?” Marissa asked.

“Oh, Hallie told me about some of this stuff last night,” Corey said. “If you act like prey, their animals will see you as prey. They can feel if you’re nervous or scared.” She looked to Ace. “Right?”

He was standing with his hands clasped behind his back, and he nodded stiffly. “Very good.”

“Also, we shouldn’t give them our backs when they’re wound up like this. Would you like to crab-walk with me?” she asked Marissa helpfully.

Corey turned to the side and started walking sideways, one step at a time. Marissa started doing the same, but slower. They had both made the mistake of wearing high heels today.

They made it a few yards, and then a chuckle escaped Ace. “You’re good. You can give me your back. You’re safe. I’ll follow you in.”

“Great,” Marissa murmured, giving Corey a wide-eyed glance. “Your boss tells me she’s looking for a barbecue restaurant and gas station combination. This property was last sold about six years ago, but the owners never could get the funding to do anything with it and posted it for sale a few years ago. It hasn’t had any offers on it.”

“Was the location part of the problem with staying in business?” Ace asked.

“Location is good, but a modern gas station opened up shop a couple of miles up the road and ate up all the customers. This was a mom-and-pop operation, and couldn’t keep up with what they had going on up the road.”

“I saw it on the way in.”

“Is that a deal breaker?” Marissa asked.

“No,” Ace told her, scanning the open garage hangers. “Can I go in?”

“Absolutely.”

“I think that has been the main thing keeping buyers away,” she called as Ace studied the inside.

“That location will go under within a year, I’m betting,” Ace said. “They would get a taste of their own medicine. Moosey’s has an established reputation. If we chose this place, the mom-and-pop shop would be avenged. Do you have any of their information that you can share?” he asked, turning toward Marissa. “If they are looking for work, we would have some positions that need to be filled and would want to hire local.”

“Um, I don’t know if I’m allowed to officially share the information on the last tenants.” She hesitated. “I do know the family personally though, so if you ever happen to meet Mister Timothy Faye in line at the local grocery store, I’m sure he would know what you are talking about.”

Marissa had said the words slowly and enunciated them carefully. Nice. Clever woman.

“Noted,” Ace said with a nod. “Corey, what do you think?”

“Me?” Corey asked, stepping up beside Marissa.

“Yep. You’ve been to Moosey’s. And you’re local to this area. What are your honest opinions?”

“Paint a picture of it for me first.”

He locked eyes with her and gave her a wink that made her heart rate kick up to a gallop. “I would love to.” He gestured to the garage hangers. “We leave these open on all good-weather days, add a huge concrete slab here and cover it with a wooden awning, have strands of lights draped from the rafters, speakers in the corners, country music on low for ambiance, picnic tables and red-checkered tablecloths. The Moosey’s sign up there,” he said, pointing.

“I love it!” Corey said excitedly, invested now. “What about this area over here,” she asked, walking to the side of the station. “You could add more covered seating over here. The trees don’t start until way over there. I think you would still have room for extra parking over here too. Maybe freshen up the gravel.”

“Oh hell yeah,” Ace said, coming to stand beside her, staring at the huge space on this side of the building. “It would solve some of the seating issues. We could possibly enclose this side, and open the windows on the good-weather days so people have the option of eating on the patio or inside.”

“So do it like an add-on?”

“Yeah.”

---