Page 49 of Whispers at Seaside
“Why not? I haven’t seenThe Wizard of Ozin years, and Hagen promised to make sure I didn’t get scared when the flying monkeys came on stage. How can I pass that up?”
It warmed her heart thinking about Matt wanting to do this for Hagen and that Hagen had made that promise. He liked to take care of the people he cared about just like Matt.
“What about your writing? I don’t want you to feel like you have to do it just because he asked.”
“Mira, I want to, and my writing is fine. This morning I wrote for two hours before driving Hagen, and I’ll write for another few hours after we get off the phone. Rest assured, I don’t feel like Ihaveto do anything. I’ve waited months to be able to do these things. Now, stop worrying and tell me about your calls.”
As she drove to work, she told him about her morning. “All the research I did just made me look like a scam artist who wants to take their money.”
“Because they don’t know you. I get it. It’s like when I first began receiving emails from publishers. They were just faceless sales pitches. You need a personal connection.”
“A personal connection? But how? What made you decide which publishers to call back?”
“That was an easy decision. One of the emails was less of a sales pitch. It asked if we could sit down over lunch and talk. It was a no-brainer after that. He was a living, breathing person. That’s it, Mira. That’s what you need.”
“How can I do that? I work full-time and have Hagen. I can’t exactly take the time to visit a dozen businesses.”
“No, but you said you had three out of nine companies who requested more information, and you only need six, right? Isn’t that what you said?”
“Depending on the investments from each, five or six, yes.” She parked behind the hardware store. “Are you thinking I should keep trying to garner interest, and then go visit the businesses who request more information? Two of the three are in Boston and the other is in New York.”
“Exactly, sunshine. You wanted to take a trip down the East Coast. Why not mix business and pleasure?”
“I want to take the road trip as a vacation with Hagen. There’s no way I can meet business owners with a six-year-old in tow, and I can’t leave him for a week.”
“You’ve got me now, and a little boy who wants to see a few special libraries. We’ll all go. I’ll watch Hagen while you meet with them. It can’t take more than a few hours at most with each. Then we’ll hit the libraries. It’ll be fun. We might not be able to see all of the locations you and Hagen planned, but I’ll make sure he has a great time.”
“Are you kidding? Even if I get five or six people to agree to meet with me, that could take a week or more with driving time.”
“So we’ll fly if we have to.”
“I can’t afford that.” She cut the engine and sank back in her seat. “This is too much, Matt. I don’t think I can make it happen.”
“But I can, and it’s my father’s store you’re trying to save.”
“Matt…” Could she let him do this? It was a lot of money and time. “What about your writing? You said you needed to go into Boston next weekend for research. I can’t keep you from that. Besides, how can you get anything done if we’re traveling? You only have a few weeks before you have to go back.”
“I haveseveralweeks, and I’ll make the time to write in the mornings before Hagen’s awake, or after he goes to sleep at night. And I’ll put off the research in Boston until we take the trip.”
“But I can’t leave your father without help for that long.”
“You won’t need to. My father built that store for his family. It’s about time we stepped up and helped him out. I’ll take care of it. If we work together, wecando this. Can you handle making more calls if I drive Hagen into camp for the next few days?”
Between her excitement over taking this project to the next level and Matt’s selfless offer, she could barely think.
“What do you say, sunshine? Want to go on a road trip with your two favorite men?”
“More than you can imagine.”
MATT HEADED OVER to Pete’s yard, where he and Caden were unloading pieces of a swing set from Pete’s truck. Joey barked and trotted over. She jumped up, putting her paws on Matt’s thighs, and he loved her up.
“Hey, Matt,” Caden said. “You two catch up. Pete, I’m going to run inside and grab a drink. You two want anything?”
“No. I’m good, thanks,” Matt answered.
“No, thanks. Down, Joey,” Pete said, and the pup dropped to all fours. “Sorry about that. I was going to text you. You up for a baseball game with me and the guys Tuesday night?”
“I haven’t been to a game in ages. Yeah, I’m in. Should I ask Mira and Hagen?”
