Page 45 of Our Now and Forever

To his delight, Snow waited for him to come around and open her door. A positive change from the Saturday before. They entered the restaurant with his hand on the small of her back, and followed the hostess to the back room. The space was mostly empty, but Lorelei and Spencer were already there.

“Hey, you made it,” Spencer said, extending a hand.

Caleb accepted the greeting as Lorelei and Snow hugged. “Told you we’d be here. Are we early?”

“A bit,” Spencer replied. “Meeting starts in fifteen minutes. The usual suspects typically roll in with a minute or two to spare.”

“You guys look great together,” Lorelei said, gaining confused looks all around. “What? They look nice,” she said to Spencer.

He leaned close but spoke loudly enough for Caleb and Snow to hear. “What did we discuss about your meddling?”

“I’m not ...” Lorelei started. “I only meant ...” To Spencer’s raised-brow look she said, “Fine. You guys ready to sit down and order?”

“We are,” Caleb answered.

The foursome took their seats along the side. The room was set up with long tables arranged in a U-shape, with a podium, shorter table, and projection screen at the front. Orders were taken with pleasant efficiency, and before long the rest of the attendees filed in. Caleb recognized the woman Snow had bid against for the doilies, the owner of the hardware store, and an older couple who ran a B&B on the outskirts of town. Mike Lowry, who owned the construction business Cooper had mentioned, entered minutes before the meeting started and took a seat next to Spencer.

As Caleb ate the best catfish dinner he’d had in a while, Lorelei whispered bits of information on most of the attendees, reserving her least favorable comments for the town mayor. Based solely on the looks Jebediah Winkle was shooting her way, the civic leader didn’t like Lorelei any more than she liked him.

Observing the meeting as an unbiased outsider, Caleb noticed three things—there was a power struggle within the group, Spencer Boyd was the de facto leader, regardless of who held the title, and this project was bigger than Caleb had expected.

Based on what he’d learned, the Ruby Theater deserved to be saved, if for no other reason than the fact it was built in 1937 and was still standing as a single-screen movie theater. It was as if the Ruby was the theater that time forgot. A full restoration would be a major boon for the town.

Leaning close to Lorelei’s ear, he whispered, “Can I see this theater sometime?”

She leaned back and tugged on Spencer’s sleeve. “Caleb wants to see the theater.”

Spencer caught Caleb’s eye and nodded. “That can be arranged.”

Snow asked, “What’s going on?”

“I asked to see the theater.” Caleb kept his voice low as they’d begun to draw attention. “I have some ideas.”

She blinked in surprise. “Really? Has your family helped restore a theater before?”

Caleb shook his head. “No theaters, but several churches and countless historic buildings in New Orleans, especially after Katrina.”

“Oh,” she said, awe in her voice.

“Don’t be too impressed. My parents simply wrote a check. It’s not as if they got their hands dirty.”

“Are you willing to get your hands dirty?”

He smiled her way. “Maybe. We’ll start with a tour first.”

Snow’s reaction to his answer lacked enthusiasm as she nodded and returned her attention to the speaker at the front of the room.

Snow was seriously questioning her plan. Caleb was never supposed to become part of this town. He definitely wasn’t supposed to make friends. Less than a week in Ardent Springs and he already had a job and was taking a major interest in the Ruby restoration project. Or at least he might be, once he saw the place. Whatever ideas he might have, Snow hoped they would help the cause, but she didn’t want him sticking around to see them through.

The only reason Snow had never joined the committee herself was because she didn’t feel she had much to bring to the table. She didn’t know the first thing about restoring a theater, and when the group extended the call for fundraising assistance, she’d stepped up as a willing merchant. Until Caleb came to town, she’d assumed that would be the extent of her involvement. Now she wasn’t so sure.

If he made commitments before heading back to Baton Rouge, Snow would be obligated to step up in his place. She’d created this cluster of a situation, and she was quickly losing control. She couldn’t exactly tell Caleb to stop talking to people because his time in Ardent Springs was temporary no matter what. Then the arguments and head-butting would start all over again.

While Caleb paid the check at the checkout counter near the restaurant entrance, Lorelei pulled Snow aside. “So?” she asked. “How’s it going?”

Snow watched the young cashier blush while taking Caleb’s money. “Not good,” she said. “Can’t you tell Spencer to ignore him or something?”

“According to Spencer, Caleb deserves a chance,” Lorelei said.

---