Love After All
Page 35

It never had where her friends were concerned. While she’d always wanted that for herself, she never resented her friends being happy. In fact, she’d pushed them toward their happily ever afters, even when they’d balked.
That’s what friends did. Sometimes love was blind, and her friends hadn’t seen it when it was right in front of them.
That was never going to happen to her. When the right man for her came along, she’d know it.
“Are you gonna just drink coffee all mornin’, or are you gonna sit down and have breakfast?” Martha asked, pinning her with that motherly look.
She pushed off the counter. “I’m going to sit down and have some of those blueberry muffins you and Megan were talking about.”
“Good luck with that,” Carter said. “Because we’ve just about eaten all of them.”
Chelsea wedged her way into a spot between Molly and Megan, then glared at Carter. “Don’t you dare eat the last one.”
“Not to worry,” Megan said. “There’s another batch hidden away for those who decided to sleep away the morning.”
Chelsea rolled her eyes. “It’s like eight o’clock.”
“Half the day is gone already,” Logan said. “We’ve already milked the cows and fed the chickens.”
She grabbed for a muffin from the fresh batch Martha set in front of them. “You’re so funny, Logan, in no way whatsoever.”
“Yeah, I can’t imagine Chelsea getting in the mud with those high heels she wears.”
That came from Bash, who sat at the other end of the table. “Fortunately for you, I’m way too much of a lady to throw my shoe at you. Which, by the way, is a tennis shoe today.”
“Color me shocked,” he said. “Maybe you are intending to feed the chickens.”
She bit into the muffin and sighed at the burst of blueberry flavor, deciding not even Bash could ruin her high. “Not on your life. I’ll leave that to the experts.”
“The chickens are adorable,” Des said. “And you’re welcome to come feed them with me anytime.”
As she poured a glass of orange juice, Chelsea graced Des with one of her thanks-but-no-thanks smiles. “Aren’t you so sweet. But I’ll take a rain check today since I guess we’re all headed into town to check out that old building. Right, Reid?”
“I’ve been told there’s a field trip this morning,” Reid said. “Samantha has already called the city to get keys to the building.”
“Ever the resourceful one, aren’t you, Sam?”
Samantha nodded at Chelsea. “I figured if we were all going to go out to take a look, we should also get a peek inside. And my grandmother is a close friend of the mayor’s parents, so he couldn’t refuse my request.”
It seemed as if they had a plan, and Chelsea had to admit she was curious about the old mercantile, which had been closed up for a couple of years now. It was a shame for it not to be used. It was a gorgeous old building, and she’d hate to see it torn down.
After breakfast she went upstairs to pack her things. She wouldn’t be coming back, so Chelsea said her goodbyes to Martha and Ben, then they all loaded up in the cars and made the trek into Hope.
It was a caravan of vehicles, since Colt and Tony and their friends Callie and Sarah had wanted to make the trip as well.
So when they parked on the street, Chelsea counted at least ten vehicles.
It looked like a parade.
She got out of her car and walked nearly a block to meet up with everyone else. She was so used to driving into the main part of Hope and seeing the old mercantile that she never paid much attention to it. It had just … always been there on the corner. But now she studied it, since they had to wait for Sam, who was stopping off to get the keys.
It was a beautiful redbrick building, two stories. It was old and worn, but she couldn’t imagine some fast-food joint or one of those fancy new drugstores replacing it.
“I didn’t know you even cared about what went on in downtown Hope.”
She really wanted to ignore Bash today. Or like … forever. “I care about a lot of things. This place is my home. Of course I love the old mercantile building. I’d hate to see it torn down.” She turned to face him. “And what about you? I wouldn’t think you’d care.”
“Of course I care. What’s good for the town is good for my business. It’s not like I tore down the old bar and replaced it with a franchise. I like the history of our town. The mercantile is one of the oldest buildings still standing. Why they want to tear it down makes no sense to me.”
At least they were in agreement on something.
“I love downtown,” Colt said. “It’s one of my favorite places to visit. I wish everyone was open today so we could shop.”
“I could open the bakery for you, Colt,” Megan said. “But it might take me a few hours to fix you some croissants.”
“Please,” Colt said, rubbing his stomach. “I’m already going to have to do some brutal gym time next week after all the food I’ve eaten the past few days.”
Megan laughed. “Then no croissants for you.”
When Sam arrived with the keys, she headed to the front door, and they all followed. She unlocked the door, then turned the knob to open it.
It stuck.
“Okay, that didn’t work,” she said.
Reid stepped beside her. “Let me try.”