“And in you,” he confirmed. “Now where’s this building you want to buy? Is it close enough we can take a look at it?”
“Down a block and across the street,” Ronnie told him, his head spinning. “I’ll pay for the coffee and we can take a look. Of course, we can’t see inside without Mary Vaughn.”
“Then call her,” Butch said. “Might as well satisfy her curiosity. She’ll be able to get started on the paperwork that much sooner.”
The next two hours were a blur to Ronnie. Butch moved fast when he was on a mission. Inside the hardware store, he barked out comments about immediate changes Ronnie ought to consider, then gave Mary Vaughn a figure to take to the owners that was well below the asking price.
Ronnie winced when he heard the offer. “I don’t want to lowball Rusty and Dora Jean,” he protested. “They spent their whole lives with this business.”
“Here’s a lesson you need to understand,” Butch responded. “There’s no room for sentiment when it comes to business. I believe in being fair, not idiotic. That offer is thousands more than they paid for this place and thousands more than they have in their pockets right now. Getting out from under any overhead they have should be worth the difference between their asking price and our offer.”
Mary Vaughn met Ronnie’s gaze. To his surprise, she nodded. “He’s right. It’s a good offer.”
“Okay, then,” Ronnie said. “But before you take it to Rusty, let me have a word with your uncle, okay?”
“I’ll be outside filling out the paperwork,” she said.
After she’d gone, Ronnie leveled a look into Butch’s eyes. “I thought you were planning to be a silent partner in this.”
Butch immediately looked chagrined. “You’re absolutely right. I’m so used to taking charge and getting my own way, I got carried away for a minute there. I swear it won’t happen again.”
Ronnie regarded him skeptically.
“Okay, it probably will,” Butch admitted. “But feel free to tell me to butt out. I’ll put that in writing if you need me to. I am not going to try to micromanage this business of yours.”
“I think I will get that in writing,” Ronnie said. “Just to be on the safe side.”
“You’re going to do fine on your own,” Butch told him approvingly. “Now, how about that lunch you promised me? Maybe Mary Vaughn will have some news for us before we’ve finished eating.”
“Don’t you want to take care of all the paperwork on our deal before she presents that offer to the owners?” Ronnie asked.
“I keep my word,” Butch told him. “So do you. We’ll get it all down on paper to keep the lawyers happy, but as far as I’m concerned we have a deal right now that you could take to court.” He scrawled his signature across the bottom of Ronnie’s papers, just below the figure he’d added. “You sign there, too. Then we’ll let the lawyers make it all nice and tidy.”
Ronnie nodded. “I look forward to doing business with you, Butch. I really do. And even though I made a big deal about you being a silent partner, I know I’m going to be turning to you for advice so much you’ll get sick of hearing from me.”
“Couldn’t happen,” Butch assured him. “Nothing I like more than talking business to a guy who’s interested in learning something. Now, let’s tell my niece she can do her thing, then get some lunch. Spending money always makes me hungry.”
Ronnie realized he was starved, as well. “We’ll take my car. Sullivan’s is about a mile from here.”
As they made the quick drive, Ronnie realized he’d never gotten around to filling in Dana Sue on his plans. Once Mary Vaughn made an offer on the hardware store, the news was going to spread like wildfire. He just prayed he’d get to Dana Sue before she tapped in to the Serenity grapevine.
* * *
When Dana Sue walked into the kitchen at Sullivan’s through the back entrance, Erik looked at her with surprise. “I didn’t think you were coming in till later.”
“I was getting antsy at home and I think Annie was getting sick of my hovering,” she explained. “I made sure she ate her lunch, then slipped away to check on things here.”
“Your ex is having lunch in the dining room,” Erik said.
“By himself?”
Erik shook his head. “He’s with a man I’ve never seen before, and about five minutes ago, Mary Vaughn joined them.”
Dana Sue bristled. She’d known Mary Vaughn most of her life. Usually they got along, but ever since Mary Vaughn’s divorce from Howard Lewis, Jr., the mayor’s son, she had been on the prowl. Lately she’d been living with her boss, but rumor had it that the relationship was already in trouble. The last few times they’d eaten at Sullivan’s, the tension was so thick it could have been cut with a knife. Dana Sue had a sudden image of Mary Vaughn making Ronnie her next target. She didn’t like it. With Dana Sue telling anyone who’d listen that she didn’t want Ronnie back, Mary Vaughn would see him as fair game.
“I’ll be back,” she said tightly, stalking into the dining room and scanning the crowd until her gaze caught Ronnie’s. He gave her a distracted wave, then turned back to listen intently to whatever Mary Vaughn was saying. Dana Sue had a sudden urge to plunge a butcher knife straight into the woman’s heart. Or maybe into Ronnie’s.
Her reaction was so intense, it scared her. Not because she thought she would ever act on it, but because she’d even thought such a thing. It meant Ronnie was starting to matter to her again. It also meant she still didn’t trust him.
Cursing herself for being a fool, she ignored the temptation to bust up their little party, and headed for her office and shut the door. At least she’d had the presence of mind not to slam it and let Ronnie
