A pretty impressive soccer club if Noah was to be believed. The people of Cherry Lake seemed to adore him, hero worship him even. Although Dakota wasn’t ready to bow down at his feet, she was rather interested in seeing more of him, even if it didn’t go very far. One dinner date might not be enough for her. If they could have a comfortable friendship for now, it would go a long way to her believing in herself again. And who knew if he really would go back to the city or not?
The chatter sounded like a flock of parrots as she walked through the back entrance of the hotel. She pushed the door open and stopped for a moment, amazed at how many people had come out to try and rescue the Grange. Before she got to the bar, a voice called out to her and she paused, coming eye to eye with Arabella.
“Dakota, I want you to meet my husband. This here is Percy. Percy, meet Dakota Moore. She’s the little lady I told you about living in Woodsie’s Galway Cottage.”
A hand thrust toward her. “Pleased to meet you, young lady. Welcome to Cherry Lake.” Warm eyes crinkled in pleasure as she met the vigorous handshake with as much effort as her hand would allow. His gray wispy hair sprouted from under a tweed cap. His face shone with glee as he shook her hand. A sense of warmth exuded from him and she immediately felt as though they’d get along well. He had that kind of face. Warm, inviting and friendly.
“It’s lovely to be here and very nice to meet you, Percy.”
“Percy owns the veterinary service just out of town. Big old building past the Grange surrounded by large trees down a cobbled driveway. Can’t miss it.”
That explained her immediate bonding to the elder man. “Oh that’s interesting to know. I have a little dog, Tiny.” Who was probably not happy with her right now.
“Heard that she’s a cute little thing. Make great companions, don’t they? If you ever need anything, feel free to call and see me.” He pulled a card from his jacket pocket and waved it in front of her. “After hours number is here too. Don’t be shy ringing after dark if you need me. Animals are like children, always get sick once the doctor goes home.”
“I’ll remember that, thank you.”
“Let me get you a drink, Dakota. What will you have?” Percy guided her toward the bar while his wife turned to talk to someone else who’d walked in. “So kind of you to want to get involved in the town. Young people these days don’t always want to waste their time, not that I blame them. Just the way it is. Too busy with their own lives.” He leaned on the bar.
“A white wine would be great, thanks. I decided when Mari convinced me to live here that I would do just that. In L.A. it’s rather hard to be a member of the community because it’s such a big city. I think the timing was right for my move.”
“And what do you do exactly?”
“I’m a jeweler. I have a workshop set up in the cottage and I’ll work from home as I’ve always done.”
“And such a pretty spot to do it too, overlooking Flathead Lake.” He passed her the glass of wine and lifted his own glass up. “Welcome to town.”
She tipped her glass at his. “Thank you so much. It’s a pleasure to be here.”
“Dakota. You made it.” Mari walked into the bar with a tray of clean glasses and slid them under the bar. “Have you seen Adam? We can’t really start without him. Thought he’d be here by now.”
“No. Sorry. Not since last night.”
Mari’s eyebrow rose in question.
She’d have to explain that one. “Let’s give him another half an hour and if he doesn’t show, we’ll start without him. We all know why we’re here.” Percy turned to speak to another person and left the girls alone. Dakota had to lean over the bar to hear her sister over the chatter of everyone talking at once.
“So, what did you think of the Grange?” Mari wiped the top of the bar with a damp cloth.
“I love it. So much history in that building. I agree it’d be a real shame to see it deteriorate any more than it has already. The thing is, how much will it cost to repair?”
“No idea. Adam’s father was supposed to get quotes I believe. Not sure if that happened before he had his heart attack or not. But regardless, we’re going to need a fair bit of money to throw at it to make it useable again. Did you come up with any ideas?”
Oh had she! As soon as Adam had driven up to the Grange, her brain had gone into overdrive with ideas to bring in the money they’d need for the renovations. When she’d gone home again, Dakota had drawn up sheets. One headed ‘immediate’ with things they could do now, one headed ‘future’ better for when they had weather and ideas they could do on site. The list on both sides was impressive, even to her.
Bake sales, gala stalls, picnics, cherry harvest activities and the one she liked the best was the event she wanted to pitch to the town tonight. The event to kick-start the money raising with a huge bang and everyone could get involved. Nerves rippled over her skin. Would they like her idea or would they think she didn’t know what she was talking about? She was a stranger to them so it wasn’t a given that they would listen.
But
