Page 106 of Take My Heart
Matt smiles at us. ‘You two are a good team. You ever think of starting a business together? There’s plenty of houses in Haydon Falls that could use a makeover.’
‘Kate’s heading home tomorrow,’ Brody says. ‘Back to Chicago.’
Matt looks at me. ‘You really want to go back there with all the crowds and the noise? And the real estate prices are insane. I don’t know how anyone can afford it.’
‘I keep telling him he should run for mayor,’ Jason says to me. ‘Matt’s always trying to sell people on Haydon Falls so they’ll move here and he can sell more houses.’
‘That’s not the only reason,’ Matt insists. ‘Haydon Falls is a great place to live. It’s clean, quiet, safe, affordable.’
‘I love it here,’ I tell him. ‘But my job is in Chicago.’
‘She’s a financial planner,’ Brody says. ‘She’s really smart.’
‘How do you like it?’ Matt asks me.
‘The job? It’s okay, but I’d rather be doing something else. I just don’t know what.’
He motions to the house. ‘Do this.’
‘What?’
‘Decorating. You’re obviously good at it.’
‘It’s just a hobby. It’s not a career.’
‘It could be. People are always looking for help decorating. Ijust sold a house to a lady that hired a decorator in Madison because there wasn’t anyone here in town that she could hire.’
‘That’s only one person. That’s not enough to support a business.’
‘Why don’t you open a store?’
I laugh. ‘A store? What kind of store?’
‘One of those stores that sells home stuff. Candles, fancy bowls, dish towels. My wife and her friends love those places. Any time we pass one of those stores when we’re on a trip, my wife makes us stop. I don’t get it. I tell her she could buy that stuff anywhere, but she insists it’s not the same. She’s always saying we need a store like that in Haydon Falls.’
‘I don’t think a town this size could support a store like that.’
‘It wouldn’t just be the locals going there. We get a lot of tourists coming through here, and in the fall it gets crazy. The downtown is so packed with tourists it takes 20 minutes to get down Main Street.’
‘He’s right,’ Jason says. ‘It’s crazy here in the fall. People go to the orchard, then go downtown to shop and eat at the restaurants. And what he was saying about the store is true. A place like that would do really well here.’
‘I don’t think I’ll be opening a store.’ I smile. ‘But it does sound fun.’
‘If you change your mind,’ Matt says, ‘I can show you what’s available for lease. There’s a space downtown that’s been vacant for almost a year. The guy who owns the building would give you a deal if you were interested.’
‘Thanks, but I can’t see myself having a store. I’ve never even considered that.’
Matt shrugs. ‘It was just an idea. Hey, I need to get home. I’m taking Tess out tonight for Valentine’s Day and I promised her I wouldn’t be late.’
‘I need to get going too,’ Jason says.
‘You got a date?’ Brody asks him.
‘I wish.’ He rolls his eyes. ‘I have to chaperone the middle school dance tonight. It ends at nine and then I’m going to the brewery and meeting up with some friends.’
‘Don’t you work at the high school?’ I ask.
‘Yeah, but it’s connected to the middle school so the teachers end up sharing duties, and since I didn’t have a date tonight, I agreed to chaperone.’
