Page 16 of Valentine's in Bayberry

Chapter Six

What was she goingto do?

It was the question that had plagued her until the wee hours of the morning and into the next day. Carrie still didn’t have a marketing plan for Valentine’s week—at least not one that would stand out and impress people.

She’d considered a sale, but she had to be careful with that, since she’d just opened. She couldn’t afford to operate at a loss. She’d sunk all of her savings into this place. So, a sale wouldn’t work.

She could offer something special—something just for Valentine’s. But what? She’d already used up all of her great ideas for the grand opening.

Carrie grew frustrated and instead turned her attention to making some chocolate-covered strawberries. They had been a popular item so far.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Really?Jackson was at it again. She thought they’d agreed he was going to keep the noise down.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The pictures hanging on the wall rattled. She inwardly groaned. There was more banging. It was so loud that it sounded like he was coming through the wall. As the noise continued, her jaw tightened and her back teeth ground together. This had to stop.

She marched out the back door and over to the unit next door. Before her hand reached the doorknob, the door swung open. She came face-to-face with a big burly guy in a red flannel shirt. He grunted something that might have been some sort of greeting as he carried lumber into the alley. It was only then she noticed the work trucks at the end of the alley.

Her agitation ebbed away. Mark had come through for her. She would have to put together some chocolates to thank him.

She stepped inside the store, which now looked like a demolition zone. There were half a dozen men inside and not one of them was Jackson.

When she spotted Mark, she headed toward him. “Hey, you don’t waste any time, do you?”

“Good morning.” Mark smiled. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I came to yell at Jackson for banging on the walls so hard that it rattled the pictures on the wall. I thought they were going to fall off.”

“Oh, man. Sorry about that.” Mark turned to his men. “Hey!” When the guys stopped and looked at him, he said, “Take it easy when you’re working on the shared wall.”

The men grunted their acknowledgment and then returned to work.

Mark turned back to her. “I don’t know who did the original work on this place, but it’s definitely not up to code. Don’t worry. We’re going to beef up the shared wall and include sound proofing. Just bear with us until we get through this process.”

“Carrie, what are you doing here?”

She turned to find Jackson entering the building. “Hey, I stopped over to, uh, see how things are going. Imagine my surprise when I walked in and found all of these guys.”

“Yeah.” Jackson nodded his head. “Mark offered to help move things along at a much faster pace. I thought you’d like it if the work was done as quickly as possible.”

She wouldn’t miss the noise. That was for sure. But the completion would mean Jackson would be gone again. She wasn’t anxious for him to leave.

She glanced around to see a marked advancement in the demo work. Strangely enough, the place was already looking worlds better, even though it was being stripped down to its studs.

“Things are looking good,” she said.

Jackson glanced around. “You and I have very different ideas about what looks good.”

She let out a laugh. “I guess I can just see the potential of this place. By the way, what are you going to do with it?”

“I don’t know. It’ll be up to the new owner.”

“Owner?” This was news to her. “You sold the building?”

He shook his head. “Not yet. No one wanted to take it on in its former condition. Hence all of this work.”

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