Page 36 of Lead Me Knot

God.

That man! He’s going to haunt me to my deathbed.

Pris will be over the moon. She’s wanted this for me forever. I’ll text her as soon as my mom takes off again. I say, “I promise to get the decorations down this weekend.”

The shrug is so insignificant that I almost miss it. “Don’t rush on my account. This is all yours now.” She pushes through the door to the back. When she returns with a paper-wrapped sandwich in her hands, she says, “Put it on my tab.”

“Never.” I give her one more hug before she leaves. “Thank you.”

“It’s well-earned. We can start on the paperwork in the next few days.” She cuts through the store toward the door but stops, and says, “I almost forgot to tell you. The apartment got rented.” My heart stops in my chest. “The reservation came in just before I left.”

“For which dates?”

“Prime time. Starting Thursday of the Peach Festival and running for a week in total. That’s our peak week. They already prepaid the full amount.”

My heart starts beating again, but this is the pit in the peach of being given the shop. The bad with the good. “What’s the name?”

“Single traveler out of New York. Mickey something booked it for his boss.” She does a little shoulder shake of excitement. “Who knew our little festival would attract fancy New Yorkers. She pushes through the door. “Love you, honey.”

“Love you.”

I’m happy about the money. That one reservation alone covers a quarter of the costs to build the apartment, so that’s a big win. But a New Yorker? How’d they even hear about our annual festival? “Yeah, who knew.”

CHAPTER 13

Baylor

I pushthe signed contract across the table.

The real estate attorney stands and offers his hand. As soon as I shake it, he says, “Congratulations. You just bought half of Main Street.”

“I consider it an investment in my hometown’s future.”

“A noble purchase?” he asks, stacking the papers and tucking them into a file.

“Not noble but needed. I believe it can be brought back to what it once was.”

He grins. “I’ve seen the pics. Was this in your lifetime or a bygone era?”

I glance at my attorney, Mark, who has made no qualms about his dislike for the other guy. His face is still soured by the joke he made about Texans not five minutes before asking me to sign the paperwork. I almost punched the fucker, but he represents the now-former owner of that strip of shops, so I pushed my pride down and focused on the matter at hand.

It's been years since Peachtree Pass has been active outside of the festival time of year. The farm and orchardget plenty of out-of-towners driving in for the day during spring and summer, even for pumpkins in the fall, but otherwise, half that strip center is sitting empty.

I reply, “It’s something I’ve wanted to do for some time. It was a great place to grow up. I want that for other families. That starts with bringing more business to the area.”

He comes around the table, heading for the door. “Sounds like you’re ready to move back.”

Moving back isn’t that foreign of an idea. Everyone from my dad to my best friend mentions it regularly. Tagger did a few years back, so of course, it’s crossed my mind a time or two. It’s a nice reprieve from the city, a slower pace that gives me room to think about stuff other than my clients’ portfolios and how the stock market is doing.

As for settling in as a solid plan, I’m not seeing a place for me in the Pass. I own 10 percent of the ranch, but now I’m a guest on the land.

I got the impression from Lauralee that she was making the apartment her own, so finding it listed and ready for reservations is a temporary solution for my next visit. But it’s not a viable long-term plan. Or maybe it is.Fuck.I don’t know what I want anymore. “Not ready to leave New York,” I reply just to end this uncomfortable conversation.

Mark walks ahead with the other attorney as they discuss the final details and filings. I follow, stuck in my own mind. As the official owner of that strip, I can get with Lauralee and the other tenant to see what we think the town needs and what would be a good fit in the other three vacant spots. This isn’t about me. It’s about bringing money into the Pass’s economy.

The county was named after my family, but this doesn’t feel like an obligation or a burden on my shoulders to save the town. It feels like an opportunity. I can’t wait to share the news with Lauralee and my family. Even though I’m not sure where we stand on things, I know Lauralee will be thrilled that the ownership will be local. Well, I’m in Manhattan, but yeah, no need to complicate this.

Outside the building, the other attorney leaves, but Mark says, “Congratulations. You own a sizable portion of Peachtree Pass.” He grins. “It’s not every day someone can say they bought a town. And he’s not wrong about it being noble. A lot of towns are left to wither as the population ages. I’m sure your family is proud.”

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