Page 49 of Hometown Girl

It’s a second chance.

She pulled her portfolio from her bag and laid it on the porch between them. “Molly said you used to come here when you were a kid?”

He nodded. “Years ago. Haven’t been back since, though.”

“I’m not sure how much you remember.” She leaned back on the porch railing, trying to figure out how to sit properly when conducting business on the wide, run-down porch of an old farmhouse.

He looked away. “Not much, I’m afraid.”

She looked out across the acres. Knowing she could own a third of the farm still overwhelmed her. All that was left to do was sign the contract. This meeting might determine whether or not she did. She stood. “Maybe we should walk?”

“You’re the boss.”

She started off toward the barn and discovered he held back, just a few steps.

“Do you always walk this fast?”

She tossed a glance over her shoulder. “Do you always walk this slow?”

He caught up with her as they reached the barn.

“You’ve been in here,” she said. “This is the main building, the big white barn. You probably remember this is where the store was. And the fudge counter. And the—”

“Bakery.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I remember.”

“The coolers are still here. I just don’t know if they work. And of course everything needs to be cleaned.”

“You want to get the store up and running right away, I’m assuming?”

Beth faced him. “I guess we do. We have a lot of ideas right now—we’re still working on prioritizing them. My sister isn’t exactly practical, so I have to lay out some clear guidelines.”

He frowned. “Something got you worried?”

She must wear worry on her sleeve. “Look around. It all has me worried.”

He nodded.

“Anyway, back here ...” She walked toward the kitchen. “We’re thinking a little bakery and restaurant.” She’d been half joking with Callie about opening up her own business, but she actually thought it was a great idea. Could she get her friend to leave the comfort of working at Butler’s? That remained to be seen.

Drew walked the edge of the barn, probably making a mental tally of the enormous workload in front of them.

“So, I’m thinking we’ll need to talk about refinishing the floors, repairing the walls and roof, painting, getting the kitchen in shape, that sort of thing. We’ll likely need new appliances, and it has to pass health-department inspection.”

That sounded like she knew what she was talking about, right? Maybe this wasn’t so very different from what she was used to. If she could run an office, she could do the same thing at Fairwind Farm.

Part of her wondered how long she’d need these daily pep talks.

He followed her out the back of the barn and onto the patio.

“They did a good job cleaning this Saturday,” Beth said. “I want to make sure it’s inviting. We want people to rent the space for family gatherings, weddings, reunions, parties.”

“So, will you restore the little chapel on the west side of the property?”

Her eyes darted to him. He stared out in the direction of the church and didn’t meet her gaze. “How’d you know about that?”

He shrugged. “Doesn’t everybody?”

She studied him, suddenly aware of how little she knew about him and his connection to Fairwind. “I never did.”

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