Page 44 of Unlocking Melodies

“You know,” he said as I rolled down the window, “most people who want to watch the sunrise do it from somewhere with actual seating.”

“I was just–“

“Strategically surveying potential investment opportunities?” His raised eyebrow could have rivaled Mia's. He handed me the coffee – in what I recognized as one of Nina's personal mugs – and leaned against my car with the casual disregard for expensive paint jobs that seemed to characterize everyone in this town.

“Something like that.”

“Right.” He settled against the fence, clearly preparing for a conversation I wasn't sure I was ready to have. “Interesting choice of location. When Jimmy first came to Oakwood Grove, he used to park in this exact spot.”

The parallel hit like a hostile takeover bid. “He did?”

“Mmm. Said something about being close enough to run but far enough to remember why he shouldn't.”

I stared into Nina's coffee mug, wondering how many of my carefully constructed walls this town had already seen through. “Did he tell you why he stayed in Oakwood Grove?”

“He came to help Liam with a performance initially,” Caleb said, a fond smile crossing his face. “But you know those two became inseparable. Liam, he gave Jimmy a reason to stop running. They're thick as thieves.” He paused, watching my reaction. “Though he'd still sit here for hours sometimes, playing that piece you two performed last night on his phone. Over and over. Some things stick with us, even when we think we've left them behind.”

My phone buzzed again - Mia, with another update about my father preparing to leave New York. Caleb caught my flinch.

"You know," he said carefully, "your father's company just bought three properties in town. Nina mentioned the realtor called this morning."

Ice settled in my stomach. "Which properties?"

"The performance venue where Liam has his regular gigs. The recording studio space he uses. And..." He hesitated. "The warehouse district where we're planning to build the new music center – the one Jimmy's been working on for local youth programs."

"Of course he did." The words came out sharper than I intended. Harrison Cole never did anything without a reason.

"Town's talking," Caleb continued. "About development plans. Corporate expansion. The kind of changes that tend to erase places like The Watering Hole."

I stared at my phone, my father's messages suddenly feeling heavier.

"Maybe you should ask him," Caleb suggested quietly. "About why he's really buying these properties. Because right now, everyone's assuming the worst."

The implication hung in the air between us. My father might have his reasons, but without explanation, the town was preparing for war.

"I will," I said, surprising myself with the conviction in my voice. "I need to know what he's planning."

I looked toward the stables where Jimmy was now visible, going through his morning routine with Melody. Even from here, I could see the easy confidence in his movements, the way he'd found pieces of himself in this place.

Clara's Place wasn't exactly designed for running a multi-billion dollar defense strategy. The antique desk barely fit my laptop, and the WiFi kept dropping every time Mrs. Henderson's bridge club met next door (apparently, their collective signal consumption was enough to crash small networks). But right now, it was command central for Operation Stop Harrison Cole From Destroying Everything. Again.

Mia's updates kept coming, each one more concerning than the last.

Mia

Your father had lunch with three local business owners yesterday.

He's asking questions about the music center project.

His assistant booked meetings with every bank in a 50-mile radius.

Also, Some Mrs. Henderson called our corporate office to invite you to bingo night. How did she get this number?

I was mid-reply when a knock interrupted my crisis management. Riley stood in my doorway, his ever-present notebook already in hand, looking far too pleased with himself.

“Before you say no,” he started, running a hand through his perpetually disheveled hair, “I'm not here about Jimmy.”

“That would be a first.”

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