Page 5 of All Because of You

“Yes, thank you for being here, everyone.” He made eye contact with each person from Herman Hardware, including a short man with a wide girth—Hank Aldrin, the guy they really needed to impress—and Roxy Chamberlain, Aldrin’s assistant and Evan’s ex-girlfriend from high school. Now she lived in San Fran, working in the headquarters for Herman, a regional hardware chain with great reach and a small-town feel perfect for Walker Beach.

Despite his and Roxy’s long-ago breakup, they were still on decent speaking terms. In fact, she was the one who’d told Evan that Herman was looking to open a handful of new locations in California.

Evan passed out the proposals then sat next to Dad. “I hope the drive down wasn’t too bad today.”

Mr. Aldrin pulled a pair of readers from his jacket pocket and slid them on. “Not too bad, no, though we had to leave so early that I didn’t get my breakfast.” He picked up the proposal and began to peruse it. If only the man weren’t so difficult to read. Roxy had warned Evan that Aldrin, the company’s vice president of regional development, liked to be incredibly thorough, so Evan had spent the last week agonizing over this proposal.

Evan turned to Greta, who sat on the other side of Dad, pen poised over a notebook. “Greta, since our guests haven’t had a chance to eat, would you mind making a trip to the Frosted Cake? I’ll reimburse you later.”

Greta nodded and stood. “Of course.” She hurried from the room.

Mr. Aldrin’s eyebrow rose. “The Frosted Cake?”

Evan leaned back in his chair. “When you need a donut fix, there’s nothing better. Trust me on this one. They’re heaven.”

Aldrin grunted. “Hope that doesn’t mean I’ll die of a heart attack when I eat one.” But the corner of his large lips lifted, and Evan mentally whooped when the crowd broke out in a round of chuckles.

The tension effectively broken, Evan tugged on the cuffs of his suit jacket. “While we’re waiting for our late morning snack to arrive, should we get into the proposal?”

After a moment of nods and murmurs of agreement, he continued. “Since our initial conversation, I’ve put together this proposal with the advantages to your company and our town.” He rattled off a list of facts. “In short, I believe Walker Beach and Herman would serve each other well.”

From the corner of his eye, he caught his father’s nod of approval.

Evan hoped he could bring this home.

Mr. Aldrin adjusted his glasses and looked up. “One of the major concerns I have is the lagging economy due to the earthquake that occurred six months ago. I realize I’ve only taken a cursory glance at this, but do you address that at all? Have your businesses seen a decrease in revenue since then?”

“Yes, if you turn to page six”—the room filled with the sound of rustling paper—“you’ll see our plan for continuing to revive the economy. I’m not going to pretend that the earthquake had no effect.”

The small California city’s downtown was unofficially divided into the more historic South Village and the more modern North Village, and the whole town sat just west of Pacific Highway 1. Rolling hills on the east side of town boasted tall green trees, some of which had fallen in the earthquake, devastating several homes in the region. “At least fifty residences and ten local businesses in our North Village were damaged, including a prominent inn along the beach. Our public library was also damaged and has yet to reopen.”

Brow crinkled, Mr. Aldrin looked as if he were about to ask more, so Evan rushed to finish his thought. “Tourism has been affected slightly, but as soon as more businesses get back on their feet, the better. We’ve been able to secure extra grant money we hope to use to help our local businesses succeed. And as I mentioned earlier, we offer fabulous tax incentives for new businesses coming in.”

“Not only that, but this is the year Walker Beach will celebrate one hundred and fifty years since its inception.” Evan’s father leaned forward, an excited glint in his eyes. “We are planning a sesquicentennial celebration in December, and it is bound to attract hordes of tourists from miles around.”

“Thanks, Mayor Walsh.” Evan turned back to Mr. Aldrin and team. “What other questions do you have? We want nothing more than to ease your mind about this entire process.”

“As you know, Mr. Herman insists that each of our small-town locations is integrated into the downtown. Do you have the space for that?”

“Yes, in fact, right now we have the perfect location in mind.”

The two storefronts next to Hole-in-the-Wall Hardware had been available for some time and would suit Herman Hardware well. Of course, Evan never would have considered it—or invited Herman Hardware to move in at all—if Chrissy had still been here.

Although her niece was. But just temporarily.

Meeting Madison Price yesterday . . . wow. There was something about the curl of her brown hair, her piercing eyes, the hug of her jeans against her hips that had made him feel like a preteen with his first crush. But it wasn’t just her beauty. The woman Chrissy had described was quiet and shy, but Madison had held herself with confidence, unafraid to look him in the eye.

He hadn’t felt an attraction like that toward someone in a long time.

Evan tugged at his collar. At the sudden quiet in the room, he glanced up. Everyone—including Dad with his narrowed eyes—was staring at him. Uh-oh. He’d missed something. Great. If he wanted the job of head community developer, he’d need to remain much more focused. “I’m sorry, can you repeat that, please?”

Mr. Aldrin’s frown deepened, and beside him, Roxy’s lips twitched.

“Mr. Aldrin was just asking about the hardware store that’s currently in town.” The heat of Dad’s glare simmered onto Evan’s skin. “But that’s not a problem, is it?”

Had someone turned up the heat in here? A dip in the ocean sounded refreshing right about now. “I don’t believe so, no.”

Dad’s fake smile wavered. Okay, definitely not the right thing to say.

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