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He snorted, opening his front door. Without even a dismissal wave or a verbal goodbye, he climbed in and slammed the door.
I stood, red-eyed, as he drove away with my daughter. This was going to be a long six weeks. I’d never been away from her for so long.
I stayed in the parking lot of the McDonald’s until his car was out of view. Then I stood there a little longer before I finally made it back to my Mom Van. I bought the used minivan the same day I put the bid onto the old bar here in Shadow Cove. I didn’t feel comfortable making the three-hour drive in the 1969 Corvette that Dad had left me when he passed away last year. It still needed a lot of work, and I wasn’t risking the transmission blowing on the drive down here with precious cargo.
Paisley. She was my precious cargo.
So, I rented a trailer and pulled the car on the back of the minivan. Now, here I was driving the Mom Van a majority of the time. Climbing into the seat, I decided tonight I was taking my old lady for a spin.
We’d been here four weeks, and I hadn’t gotten her on the road since before we left Charlotte. I was too busy trying to get us settled in our new town. We were still living out of the hotel while I waited for the tiny home I purchased to arrive. The home was taking longer than expected. Turns out, used travel units with two bedrooms and two bathrooms were harder to come by. Luckily, I’d found one and it would be here in a few days.
What better way to spend my first night as a lonely single parent than taking Dad’s old car out for a spin? But first, I needed to sign the papers to take over the bar.
Chapter Two
Thea
I cut the engine to the Stingray when I pulled into the parking lot of my new business. Bought sight unseen because I was an impulse buyer. Apparently that extended to realty property, too. Leaning against the steering wheel, I glanced out at the abandoned building.
The inspector promised the electric and water were in working order, but glancing at the building now, I wasn’t so sure. It kind of looked like a small house situated in a large parking lot. The exterior stone was in great shape, and would probably look new with just a good power washing. I would definitely have to repave the parking lot, though. It’s cracked pretty good, with weeds growing everywhere. And a new roof is a must.
I pulled out my phone to start a voice recording. The best way to get through the first walk was to talk while I checked out what needed to be put on my To-Do list. Later, I could prioritize and itemize.
“Okay, Thea…” I paused, letting out a sigh. Talking to myself always made me feel awkward. “You’ve got your work cut out for you. We need new pavement, a new roof. Scrub this stone siding. Maybe we can add a wrap-around porch on this for outdoor seating? Yeah. That would make it look more like a cute house. A home away from home.”
I stepped out of my Corvette. Closing the door, I glanced around the lot. To my right was an auto-body shop with a sign that read “Auto-body.” I snorted, amused by the bland name. The fresh black paint meant it was probably newly renovated. That was good for me. My business neighbors valued keeping up with their appearances.
Behind me was the highway. The bar was right off the road, the parking lot basically an extension of that. It was a great area for traffic flow, and this was a tourist town, so if I made the bar appealing, I bet I could get a lot of patrons that were just passing through.
The realtor had mentioned this location was a popular vacation spot in the summer for young families. The prospect of Paisley meeting these potential friends excited me. I pulled her from her old school, and I was still nervous about how the new one would play out in the fall.
And the view. Fuck, the view across the highway was amazing. Full of green mountains and a beautiful blue sky. I could see myself having a cup of coffee on the porch while Paisley played, and the thought made all the anxiety I had over uprooting her life seem like a distant worry.
I could make a life for her here. A good one that was full of peace and happiness. Living in North Carolina, being so close to Kyle, was suffocating me. My ex was a good father when he wanted to be. I wish I could say the same about him being a decent boyfriend.
It only got worse when I left him. He thought that even though we were broken up; he had a say in the men I dated. That he could still control me, even though he was building a new life with Riley.
Yeah, I needed this distance from him. This was a wonderful decision. The right decision, I thought, as I glanced around. I turned back to the bar and headed for the front door. There was a sign hanging overhead that was so old and damaged, I could barely make out “Rusty’s Eats and Drinks.”
Putting the phone back to my face, I said, “Get a new sign and come up with a name for this place.” Then I set it down to reach up and pull off the sign. There was a thin layer of dirt and dust that immediately covered my hand and shirt with filth.
Tossing the sign to the side, I tugged at the door. It was unlocked because it was broken, so the keys weren’t necessary. I grabbed my phone from the ground. “New door should probably be first. And fix these broken windows.”
This place was definitely going to be a money pit. I stepped inside, searching for a light switch. Relief struck me when about half the lights flickered on. The other half, hopefully, just needed new bulbs. I was pretty handy, but electricity was out of my realm.
There were still tables and chairs scattered about, and they seemed to be in good shape. And the bar. Wow, it was long and covered the entire side of one wall, with a curve to dip out a bit into the middle of the room. There was arched woodwork from wooden beams in the ceiling, and I knew without a doubt that when I was finished, this place would be beautiful.
It would be a challenge, but I’d make it work.
“New flooring. Add some chalk paint to the back wall of the bar. Mostly just need to clean up the space. Try out lightbulbs. Take inventory of the usable tables, chairs and stools. More fresh paint.”
I continued myself led tour to the kitchen. Everything was covered in dust and needed to be gutted at some point. But for now, a good cleaning would be enough until I had some cash flow from the bar. The stove and fridge were broken, so they’d have to get replaced.
Finishing up the inspection, I headed back through the bar. I struggled to get the door closed again. I’d leave it open, but I didn’t want any creatures getting in. Though, I doubted closing the door would really matter when there were broken windows.
I wasn’t sure how the place didn’t have bird poop in it, now that I was thinking about it. I brushed away a few strands of hair from my face, then turned to head for my car.
When I caught a man in front of it, I stopped in my tracks. It wasn’t because of the odd behavior–I was used to men stopping and staring at the vehicle. No, when my eyes caught sight of this man, I immediately wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
