Page 38 of Flippin' Cowboy
If Mrs. Snowberry doesn’t see reason today,then I’ll buy her out completely and pay for the restoration myself,he vowed grimly, as he carried a large, dusty filing box back to its place on the shelf.
He could do it, too. His family was richer than hell, and Nick had inherited a large share through a trust. He hated flaunting his wealth, though, preferring to live on what he earned through his own work.
That part had driven Tiffani completely berserk, even though her modeling work before their marriage had provided her with a hefty nest egg of her own.
But now, he battled the temptation to become Winnie’s knight in shining armor. If he went through with it, she’d probably accuse him of some dark plot against her and throw it back in his face.
After leaving the Snowberry Springs Inn in the late morning and stopping for some badly needed coffee at Jenna’s Java & Bakery, he’d tromped across the large square of snow-covered park in the center of town and made a beeline for the Snowberry Springs Public Library.
When he reached the elegant neoclassical brick building, he climbed the broad stone steps leading to the entrance. A double pair of granite Doric columns supported the portico on either side of the doorway, and the building’s triangular pediment displayed a large plaque announcing that it was a 1904 Carnegie Library. Nick knew that Scottish-born industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie had paid for over a thousand such free libraries in the United States and United Kingdom between 1880 and 1919. Each of them was an architectural gem.
Inside, the library was as elegant as its exterior, beautifully furnished with worn but lovingly maintained antique oak bookcases, tables, and chairs, and original hardwood floors.
The town’s archives were located in the library’s basement. Here, the surroundings were much more utilitarian, the wallshidden by industrial metal shelving crammed with record books, filing boxes, binders, and photo albums.
At least it was warm down here. And quiet.
Mrs. Gomez, the library manager, led him straight to the set of shelves holding the town’s records from its founding in 1875 until 1914. She was a short, curvy, cheerful middle-aged woman with graying black hair who, upon spotting the lidded paper coffee cup in Nick’s hand, informed him proudly that she was Jenna’s mother.
Aware of the looming deadline, Nick spent the morning and afternoon frantically searching through boxes of old building permits, tax records, and police files.
Now he had what he needed in a neat stack. He woke up his tablet and methodically photographed each document before returning it to the box or binder where he’d found it.
Time to go. Luckily for him, The Yummy Cowboy Diner was on the same side of the town square as the library. It took him less than five minutes to walk over, his leather tablet case clutched in his gloved hand.
When he arrived, he saw the familiar line of television equipment vans parked on the street in front of the diner.
He pushed open the door. TheReviving Snowberry Springsproduction crew crowded the place, just like the last time he visited.
He spotted Mrs. Snowberry, Autumn, and Winnie sitting at a four-top in the middle of the dining room. An array of bright lights on tall stands and microphones suspended from long booms surrounded them. The makeup artist, Emily, bent over Mrs. Snowberry, vigorously powdering her cheeks.
Winnie was sitting back in her chair, arms crossed, frowning slightly as she watched her grandmother. Nick tried to ignore how the pose lifted and framed Winnie’s full breasts.
Whatever you do, don’t look at anything below her chin, he warned himself as Karla pointed at the empty chair next to Winnie and across from Mrs. Snowberry.
He slid into the seat, and Emily got to work touching up the screen makeup she had applied to his face that morning.
Twenty minutes later, they were ready to begin filming.
“I’m dying to hear what you discovered at the old inn today,” Mrs. Snowberry said, as soon as the cameras were rolling.
They’d made the discovery yesterday, but such was the magic of reality television, Nick thought cynically.
He tried and failed to read the old lady’s mood as Winnie began to describe their finds.
The first few minutes of the scene passed with a milder recap of yesterday’s conversation, minus the threats to pull the restoration project’s funding.
On camera, Mrs. Snowberry reacted to the revelation of the inn’s former purpose with wide eyes.
“You don’t say!” she exclaimed. “Well, this is quite a shock. In all the years I’ve lived here, no one’s ever breathed a word about a bordello in town, or Caroline Snowberry’s possible connection to one.”
Her bright blue gaze went to Nick. “Nick, is there any chance you might be mistaken about the building’s original purpose?”
It wasn’t quite a plea.
Nick knew this was his “make or break” moment. Winnie and her sister were looking at him expectantly.
They’re counting on me to save the day. Well, here goes, he thought grimly.
