“Kind heart,” Viola said.
“His mother’s son,” Betty added.
“She died just a year ago. We adored her, a true artist, a gem in this town. She ran the theater, even let the three of us dress up as extras in a play. Horatio and his sister, Viola, sweet children, are much like their mother. Too bad they were left to get along with the land baron.”
“Here, Julie,” Tootie said then, positioning me so I could look out the window a bit better. “You can see better here. Look over there. You see that water wheel? There’s an old story about the stream that powers that wheel. They say that a fairy enchanted the water, so if you kiss your true love by the water wheel, your love will last forever. Isn’t that a sweet little story? Isn’t it enough to make you fall in love?”
“Fall in love?” I asked, puzzled as I strained to look out the window at the unmoving wheel.
“Fall in love,” the three ladies answered in unison. At the same moment, Horatio walked into my line of vision.
He turned and looked toward me.
Gasping, I stepped away. Great, just what I needed, for him to see me gawking. As I stepped back, however, my head felt dizzy. Too much cleaning. I cast a quick glance outside. To my surprise, Horatio had turned away from the restaurant and was crossing the street. Oh no, I was a total mess.
I looked from my rumpled and dirty clothes to the three women. They were smiling at me.
They turned then, nodded to one another, then Violet said, “Well, Julie, it was very nice to meet you. Will you be staying here from now on?”
“Yes. I think so.” Why did my head feel so weird?
“Great! Well, we’ll be sure to stop by and visit you again soon,” Tootie said. “And we’ll send all the right people your way. Don’t worry, you’ll feel at home in Chancellor in no time.”
“Okay, sure. Sounds great. Thank you for stopping by.”
Tootie smiled. “Anything you need, just call us!” she said and with a wave, she and her friends headed back out onto the porch. I followed behind them just in time to find Horatio headed down the sidewalk toward the shop, a sheepish look on his face.
“Ladies,” he said, smiling awkwardly.
“Good morning, Horatio! Lovely weather. You come to try to buy the shop from Julie again? You do know she’s Mrs. Aster’s relative,” Tootie said.
I suddenly wished I hadn’t divulged so much information. While it seemed like the three women had now officially adopted me as Mrs. Aster’s kin, I had never even met the woman.
“Um, well, no…actually,” he began, then turned to me, “I came to apologize.”
“Oh, well, now that sounds like something a gentleman would do. I hear your father is after The Grove again,” Violet said, motioning to the park across the street from the shop.
“Yeah, Viola mentioned it,” he said as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
“Hum,” Violet said, tapping her foot. “Well, he won’t get far.”
“Not if we have anything to say about it,” Betty added. “Your father can’t snatch up all of Chancellor’s historic sites.”
“Girls, girls,” Tootie chided them. “Horatio and his father are not of the same mind, are you, dear boy?” she said, reaching out to jiggle his chin. “Tell your sister hello for us,” she added, then grabbing her friends by the arms, she maneuvered them off the porch. Before she was out of earshot, she called back to me. “Nice to meet you, Julie! We’ll be in touch.”
“Nice to meet you too,” I replied with a wave. I grinned at the three of them as they headed across the street to the small park. As they walked, they huddled together like football players plotting their next move. Suddenly, I wondered if Horatio and I were in their sights. I laughed, shook my head, and turned back to him.
“Julie, I wanted to come by to apologize. I think I acted like a jerk yesterday.”
“You think?”
“No, I did. I wanted to say I was sorry. My dad puts a lot of pressure on me. But that doesn’t matter. I was out of line. I wanted to make it up to you.”
“Then make it up to me,” I said with a grin.
Relaxing, Horatio smiled. “Any preferences?”
“Surprise me.”
Horatio grinned. “Challenge accepted.” He shot a glance back over his shoulder at the mill. “All right,” he said then, “I need to get back, but I’m going to see you soon.”
I smiled. “Then see me soon.”
Horatio grinned, inclined his head, then turned and left.
Kismet once more. Why hadn’t I come to Chancellor sooner?
Chapter 10: Horatio
Grinning like a fool as I headed back from Julie’s shop to Falling Waters, I plotted the right move. What would a girl like her appreciate? What would be the right way to make it up? An idea started to form in my head as I grabbed a hardhat and entered the old mill. Inside, workers were stringing electric lines, knocking down walls, and maneuvering a massive timber to support the wall on the side of the old water wheel.
“Where did you go?” Dad asked, sounding annoyed.
About fifty lies popped into my mind, but I was getting pretty sick of being fake. “Across the street to talk to Miss Dayton.”
“So you let the property slip through your fingers because the new owner is pretty, did you?”
“No. And I didn’t let anything slip through my fingers. I told you already, Miss Dayton inherited the property. It was a family matter, not a business matter.”
“Everyone has a price. You didn’t try hard enough.”
“They weren’t selling.”
My dad shrugged as he leaned over the blueprints, his sharp eyes taking in the scope of the construction. “Larry, where is the stoneworker?” he called to the foreman.
“Out. His kid has the flu. Single dad.”
“Fire him and get someone else.”
Larry looked shocked. “He’s the best mason around, Mr. Hunter. He’ll be back in tomorrow for sure.”
My dad frowned. “If he’s not here by six tomorrow morning, hire someone else. And tell him to get a babysitter.” My dad motioned for me to follow him as he turned and headed outside.
Behind us, I could hear the slew of names the workers called my father. And honestly, I didn’t blame them. All our lives, our mother had sheltered us from Dad. He came home in time every night to tell us sweet dreams then would work all weekend at the office. Mom, on the other hand, would have me and Viola out playing in the vineyards or on set at the theater dressing up and acting in the background, learning lines to plays far beyond our understanding. No wonder Viola had become so good at playing the part of wine heiress. Very few people understood it was all an act, saw how she really felt under her well-made-up smiles and designer clothes. With Mom gone, we now took the brunt of Dad full-on. It was more than a sane—or decent or kind—person could handle.
“How is it coming, Billy?” my dad asked a worker outside.
“Well,” the man said, pulling off his cap to wipe sweat off his brow, “Fish and Wildlife folks were by and gave us the go-ahead.”
“Good,” my Dad said, then turned to go.
“Only problem is,” the man continued, not realizing he’d been dismissed, “the part we need is delayed. The mold for the pins broke. Gonna take another week.”
“Another week!” My father’s face started to turn red, the angry blush creeping from the neck up.
“They have to remake the mold, Mister Hunter.”
“Jesus Christ, why is everyone so incompetent? What have you men been doing? I told you we need this place open before Thanksgiving...” my dad started and then he just let it rip. His voice became fuzzy as I tuned him out. I gazed back across the street at the little shop.