Anna’s eyes fairly twinkled. “Well, now, there’s sharing—and there’s gifting. Or rewarding. Why, the possibilities could be endless.”
“Aunt Anna, I simply love the way you think.”
Alice’s mouth began to water with all the possibilities—and one of them included hot tea and cookies.
* * * *
The stink of fire still hung in the air. Ian let his gaze travel around the interior of the store. Beside him, Bob Travis shook his head.
“I don’t understand. The police asked me if I had any enemies, and I couldn’t think of a single one. I do know for certain none of my people would have done this, either. They’re all, by the way, thrilled to be the newest members of the Edgers family.”
“Cops asked us the same question. We’ve no idea who could have set this fire. But the investigators will likely get to the bottom of this. I have confidence they’ll eventually make an arrest.”
“I hope to hell they do. In the meantime, my insurance company is holding out on paying out on the lost and damaged inventory, pending the outcome of the investigation.”
“Don’t worry about that, Travis,” Ken said. “It’ll be a bit longer than anticipated before we’re ready to stock the shelves now.”
“You’re going to pull down the entire structure?” Travis asked.
“We’re considering it,” Cameron said. “I’ve completed my assessment, and the inspector from the fire marshal’s office agrees.” He looked around then met Ian’s gaze. “It’s actually a faster job, replacing as opposed to refurbishing.”
“That’s probably why so many people buy, tear down, and then replace buildings here.” Travis shook his head. “Do you know, we have damn few really old buildings in this country? My wife and I vacationed in England last year. We stayed in a castle—a beautiful place—that was built in the twelfth century. The twelfth century! You sure don’t find anything like that here.”
Ian nodded his agreement. Of course, he didn’t point out that in the twelfth century, Europeans hadn’t yet visited North America. And while some of the native peoples in the twelfth century or before tended to build caves in the sides of cliffs for their homes, they definitely had not constructed European-style castles.
Sometimes it’s hard not to let my inner smartass speak up.
Ken walked Travis out while Ian turned his attention to their builder. “How soon do you anticipate getting started?”
“I actually just got a call from the Fire Marshal. They’ve concluded their investigation. Everything’s been turned over to the police. So I just have to get in touch with the lovely and congenial Sergeant Portman. Hopefully, he’ll have gathered all the evidence he needs from what’s left and will release the site.”
Cam’s grin told Ian he knew how prickly the cop could be. “Do you want me to handle that?” It was the least Ian could do, considering that Cam had already rearranged his own schedule for them.
“Naw. He doesn’t have a hard-on for me the way he does for you and Ken. Could be just because you’re from out of state.” Cam shrugged. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Preston, Taylor, or Charles—or hell, Samantha, for that matter—haven’t already put a call through to Lieutenant Corbett to let him know of the shabby way one of his people treated members of their family.”
Ian wasn’t used to the expectation that family would step in order to smooth things over. “Portman has attitude, but he’s just doing his job.”
“Well, there’s doing your job, and then there’s having a shitty attitude while doing your job, which is what I think was happening here—at least from what I overheard coming out of his mouth the day of the fire. So why not let me call him? My last name isn’t Kendall, I’m a local boy, and his butt might still be a mite tender from the reaming he likely got from his boss. He’ll think of you as my boss and likely commiserate.”
“Thanks for putting that picture in my head about his ass being reamed,” Ian said. He laughed, as did Cam. “Do you need anything more from us?”
“No, sir. Your check cleared, and I’m in the midst of calling my people. I’ll let you know how it goes with Portman. I expect you’ll be stopping in on a regular basis to see our progress?”
“Not if it’s going to disturb your rhythm. Besides, we have a few more venues to check out for our ‘connections’ side of the business.”
“Jordan said y’all had gone to Cypress Valley a couple weeks ago. How was it?”
“Interested in a little zip-lining?” Ian asked.
Cam shrugged. “I’m only taking a few days here and there this year for vacation time. My ideal place is anywhere not too far away that’s good. Linda—my wife—has been a real good sport about all the hours it takes to build a business. But I still want to make sure I take care to get a few days in, just the two of us.”
“I think it would be a good choice. We had a great time, there.” Ian told him about the venue, about the zip-lining, and about the privacy, the awesome view, and the unique accommodations.
“She’d love one of those treehouses,” Cam said. “She’s quite the avid reader. Actually, we both are. If she could have just the two of us, a nice pot of coffee and a good book, she’d be in heaven.”
Ian grinned. “That’s what Alice said.” Their woman had had a lot of very good ideas, and she possessed a different point of view from them. Neither he nor Ken would have thought of the attraction of quiet reading time. He decided to ask one more question of his site manager. “Alice suggested setting up a display featuring ‘staycation attractions within a couple hours’ drive’ in a corner for our local, walk-in clients. It was something we’d considered. What do you think?”
“That would be awesome. I know a lot of people—some my age, some a bit younger—who can’t afford the big
