The Black Sea. So the guy was likely Russian or Ukrainian. That tracked with the accent.
Sokolov returned the wallet to its pocket. “The grandkids, I think they would like the boardwalk on Hampton Beach, which isn’t too far from here, and my kids would be happy with a quiet place where they can relax, someplace the kids can play and be safe. We all need a place we can get to easily from the Boston area. So I’m looking for a home that will make everyone happy. We visited Nutfield years ago and liked it. When I was doing research, I decided to check it out.”
“Have you found anything?”
“Nothing suitable. Along the lake, there are many homes, but nothing large enough to accommodate my family.”
Didn’t Kade know it. It was one of the reasons he knew his development would be not only a great investment for him and his partners but good for the community. “There are lots of small homes, three or four bedrooms at most. There may be some with converted basements, attic rooms, or other spaces that could make it work for a larger family. I have a friend who manages many of the properties around the lake. I’d be happy to ask him if he knows of anything.”
“They are old,” Sokolov said, “or, if they aren’t old, they are surrounded by old houses. I’m looking for something new, something to suit my wife’s taste.”
“More upscale?”
“Exactly.” Sokolov rested his forearms on the table and leaned on them. “I overheard you on the phone say that you’re working on a housing development.”
“We won’t break ground for months. The homes won’t be ready until late summer at best.”
Sokolov was nodding. “Tell me your plans.”
Kade didn’t have time to chit-chat with this guy, but getting a promise to buy one of the properties might help spur reluctant investors into finally committing the money he needed to get the project off the ground.
“The land I own stretches across the far, undeveloped side of Clearwater Lake. An environmental impact study has already been done, and there’s nothing to keep us from developing it. There are a few marshy areas we’ll have to develop around, but we’ll be able to protect those.” He skimmed through his portfolio and pulled out one of the artist’s renderings of the property. One glimpse of it made his heart thump, but he kept his enthusiasm tamped down and turned it to face Sokolov. “As you can see, the development will include approximately fifty homes. Some will be lakefront, and others will be on the golf course. They’ll each be built on at least three-quarters of an acre.”
Kade glanced at Sokolov to see him studying the rendering. Sokolov pointed to the largest structure. “What is this?”
“The clubhouse. It’ll have a banquet room, a handful of smaller meeting rooms, a pool, tennis courts, and, of course, the pro shop for the golf course.”
Sokolov met Kade’s eyes. “So this isn’t just a housing development. It’s a country club.”
Kade sat back and nodded. “I see it being a gathering place for the entire community, not just the residents of the neighborhood.”
Sokolov looked down again. “And what of services? Will there be shops or restaurants?”
“Not in the development.” Kade tapped the road drawn on the paper. “That leads straight north into Nutfield and straight south to the interstate.”
“So this will be good for your town.”
“Absolutely. The property taxes will be a boost, not to mention the increase to the number of tourists who’ll visit annually.”
“And what does the town think of that?”
“Depends on who you ask, but local business owners are on board. I talked to one of the school board members, and she says they’re all in favor. It won’t add so many kids the schools will be overrun, but it’ll increase their budget. It’s a win-win.”
“Why then is it not fully funded?”
“Because some people don’t want to commit or even look too closely at it until they know it’s going to be built, but the town manager won’t bring it to the board until it’s fully funded.”
“What do you call that? There’s an American expression…”
“A catch-22.”
Sokolov smiled and nodded. “Yes. Catch-22. What does that come from?”
“A book, I think.”
Sokolov sat back. “I am intrigued.” He chuckled and added, “About this”—he tapped the artists’ rendering on the table—“not the book.”
“I have some floor plans drawn up, if you’d like to take a look.”
Sokolov checked his watch, then pulled his jacket onto his lap. “I don’t think I’ll be buying one of the houses until we can walk through them, see what my wife thinks. But the investment opportunity sounds promising.”
Kade forced himself to sit back, not to act too eager. “You’re an investor?”
“I belong to an investment group in Boston. I wouldn’t have considered this if I hadn’t just spent the day looking at unsuitable properties. This is exactly what I’m looking for. And if I’m looking, then others must be, too.” He pulled a business card from his breast pocket and handed it to Kade. “Please, email me all the information you have. My club meets Monday mornings, so I’ll take it to them, and we’ll get back to you by Monday afternoon.”
“That sounds—”
“I’m so sorry to interrupt.”
Kade turned to see Ginny approaching the table. Her cheeks were red, her eyes wide.
“Everything okay?” Kade slipped the business card into his pocket.
“I can’t find my phone. I wondered if maybe it slipped out when I was sitting here or”—she glanced at Sokolov, who’d crashed into her—“when I dropped my purse.”
Sokolov stood. “My dear, I’m so sorry. I’ll look.”
“It’s okay. I can—”
“Absolutely not. You sit. I’ll search.”
He set his jacket on the table, then crouched on the floor near where she’d fallen.
She slid in across from Kade and felt around the bench seat and in the crevice between the seat and the wall. “I never lose my phone. I can’t believe it took me so long to realize it was gone. I got almost all the way home.”
Kade peered beneath their table but saw nothing. Sokolov seemed to be conducting a thorough search of the rest of the restaurant.
When Ginny gave up looking, he said, “You’re not having a very good day.”
She pressed her lips closed and shook her head.
“I want to help.”
“There’s nothing you can—”
“Found it.” Sokolov stood beside the table and presented the phone as if it were a priceless jewel. “Please accept my apologizes. It must have skidded out when I crashed into you.”
Her shoulders relaxed the tiniest bit as she took the phone. “No harm done.” She glanced at Kade. “Sorry again for interrupting. I’ll just let you get back to it.”
Sokolov shook his head. “We’re finished, and I am leaving.” He held out his hand to Kade, who stood and shook it. Sokolov’s beefy grip was firm. “I look forward to hearing from you.” Then, he turned to Ginny and held his palm out. She set her hand in it, and he covered her delicate hand with his other. “Once again, I apologize for causing you such trouble. I hope your day improves.”
“I’m sure it will.” Her words were kind, but she didn’t smile. “Thank you.”
Chapter Three
Ginny stifled a shudder as Sokolov walked out. “Who was that guy?”
Kade slid back onto the bench seat across from her. “Sokolov… uh”—he pulled a business card from his breast pocket and glanced at it—“Mike Sokolov. He’s thinking of investing in my development.”
“That’s great.” She’d heard all about the project and the roadblocks Kade had dealt with in the real estate club they belonged to. She tried to put some enthusiasm in her voice for his sake, but there’d been something creepy about that guy.
What a ridiculous thought. She’d never seen Mike Sokolov before. He was distinctive enough that
she’d remember.
Ginny silently cursed her sister for her remarks that morning. Useless remarks with no details about who the people were who were supposed to be after her. Thanks to Kathryn, now Ginny was afraid of her own shadow.
She just needed this day to be over. She slid out of the booth. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
But Kade slid out, too. “Why don’t I drive you home? I can drop you back by your car tomorrow after lunch, that is if you don’t need it in the morning.”
Did she look so pathetic she couldn’t get herself home? “I’m fine. Really.”
“I know you are.” He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and dropped a five-dollar bill on the table. “I’m sure Bonnie’s ready to have the table back.”
“It’s really not necessary.”
He slid the rendering back into his portfolio, then snatched his jacket from the seat. “I’ll just walk you to your car then.”
That wasn’t going to work, either. “I didn’t drive here. I walked.”
He finished slipping on his jacket and faced her, eyebrows lifted. “Where do you live?”
“Just”—she waved toward the road—“back that a-way.”
He grinned as if he’d just won a prize. “Excellent. Then I’ll walk you home.”
She wasn’t sure if she wanted to cheer or groan. For months, she’d hoped Kade would ask her out, and now he was showing her all sorts of attention. But after the scene this morning… Did Kade feel sorry for her? Was that the motivation behind his sudden attention?
He tucked his portfolio under his arm and offered the other to her. “M’lady?”
She couldn’t help a spurt of laughter. “Okay, then.” She slipped her hand into his arm, and they headed for the door.
The wind had died down just a bit, but the air was chilly now that the sun had fallen behind the trees surrounding the town. Kade stopped on the sidewalk. “Which way?”
She nodded toward the far side of the street. Kade seemed to be in no hurry as they meandered past a few shops and her bank, then turned onto a side street. Now that she was beside him, she wasn’t sorry she’d let him accompany her. Her hand felt warm, tucked into his elbow. She’d made this walk a hundred times all by herself. There was something special about making it with another human being. And not just anyone.
“So,” he said, “this place we’re going… House or apartment?”
“House. A fixer-upper. I bought it when I moved here.”
“Had you owned a home in California?”
Her soft pfft had Kade turning to face her. She offered a kind smile to offset the sound. “I lived in the Bay area. I couldn’t afford to buy a parking spot. I was shocked at the real estate prices when I got here.”
“Definitely better than California, but it’s not as affordable as it was when I was a kid. With the economy growing and more folks escaping the high taxes and high prices in Massachusetts, New Hampshire is booming.”
She looked around at the little town she was blessed to call home. “It’s so beautiful. So… charming. I love everything about it.”
“Even the weather?”
“Especially the weather. Of course, it helps that I can walk to town when it snows, so I don’t have to navigate these hilly roads in my car if I don’t want to.”
He patted her hand, still tucked in the crook of his elbow. “I’m glad you like it. I love it, too. I’ve done a lot of traveling in my life, been all over the country and beyond, and there’s no place I’d rather be than right here.”
“Did you live other places, or just visit?”
“Vacations, mostly. And I used to travel with my dad on business trips sometimes.”
“What does he do?”
“He’s retired now.” Kade steered them around a bush that had overtaken the sidewalk. “He and Mom live in Florida. But he owned a number of businesses. The most lucrative was a software company he bought in the eighties. He knew almost nothing about the industry, but he hired the right people. They developed software for specialized industries—independent insurance agencies and travel agencies, mostly. He sold that business for seven figures.”
“Wow. I see where you get your entrepreneurial spirit.”
He glanced at her, and his smile warmed her in the chilly breeze. “He’s my hero.” He chuckled, maybe a little embarrassed. “That probably sounds stupid coming from a guy in his thirties.”
“Not at all. We all need people to admire.”
“Okay, then. Who’s your hero? Your parents?”
She focused straight ahead, stifling the scoff that tried to escape. “Not exactly. My father was always good to me. My mother… Well, let’s just say I wouldn’t pattern my life or my mothering skills after hers. But neither one was particularly heroic.”
“That must have been hard,” Kade said.
He had no idea. “When I was in high school, I had a friend whose parents were really kind to me. They worked together, made good money. But it wasn’t the success that had me wanting to be like them. It was the fact that they were always so nice. I never heard them say a bad word about each other or an unkind word to each other. They treated their kids with respect and gentleness.” She’d wanted their lives so badly, wanted to have parents who loved her and treated her with respect.
But her parents had never quite managed the love thing.
“I’m glad you found good role models,” Kade said. “I’m sorry they weren’t your own parents.”
She shrugged. “I am who I am because of them.” Though whether that was a good thing or not remained to be seen. How much value could a person have whose own family despised her?
Kade stopped and turned to face her. “Maybe you are who you are despite them.”
“Oh.” She searched for a better response, but he was so close that all intelligent thought flew from her head. Wow, he was attractive. Brown hair trimmed short, five o’clock shadow, strong jaw. His hazel eyes searched hers, and she couldn’t think of a word to say.
They stood like that, face to face, until someone passed them on the sidewalk and jolted them from the trance.
He smiled and cleared his throat. “Anyway…” But he said nothing else as they resumed walking.
“It doesn’t matter now. Mom’s still in California.” Or so Ginny assumed. “My father died last year.”
“I’m sorry. Was he sick, or—?”
“Car accident.”
“That must have been difficult.”
“Yes.” Her father had died, her mother had sent her away, and now her sister had abandoned her. Good thing Kade didn’t know all of that.
“Why here?” Kade gestured at the little street and the old homes all around them. “There are so many newer places you could have bought.”
She looked at the neighborhood she’d chosen. The houses had been built in the forties. They were mostly two-story, close together, but not like houses built in this century. They had big enough backyards for gardens and swimming pools. Each house was unique, interesting.
“I wanted a place that needed some cosmetic work. I thought maybe I’d update it and sell it. And I wanted to be within walking distance of town.” While most people were searching for peace and quiet, Ginny needed people. She needed to hear voices and see faces and share smiles and laughter. Living alone, being alone… She could hardly stand it. That’s why she loved Nutfield. It had taken some time, but she’d finally found friends here—true friends. People who invited her to parties, women who called her just to chat and check in. She’d made a home in Nutfield like she’d never had anywhere else.
“I lost you there,” Kade said.
She smiled at him. “Nutfield is charming, and the people are so warm.”
“Once you get to know them.”
“True. I’ve lived a lot of places. In the South, people are so nice when you first meet them. I had a hard time getting beyond the surface with anybody, though. And I think some of that was me and my family. We weren’t exactly…” Wh
ere was she going with that? She certainly couldn’t tell him what she’d been thinking. “Anyway, here, there’s this… this shell around people, and they’re not super welcoming at first, but I’ve learned that once they know you, know they can trust you, they pull you in.”
He was nodding. “Exactly. It’s sort of a cold-climate attitude. Underneath all the layers”—he plucked at his jacket—“we’re not that bad.”
Not that bad. Kade was about a hundred degrees beyond not that bad. Handsome and kind and considerate. She could easily fall for this guy.
And wouldn’t that be lovely, to fall in love? Despite her past, Ginny had always believed in love. She’s always longed for her own happily-ever-after. Of course, if Kade knew all her secrets, he’d bolt like he was being chased by a moose.
But oh, to pretend something could come of it. To let her guard down…
They turned the corner onto her street, and she looked at her home, a white two-story with a detached garage that was currently housing a lot of her stuff. The gigantic sugar maple that shaded the front yard was just starting to bud. It had turned the loveliest shade of bright red in the fall. She couldn’t help the swell of pride as she said, “This is it.”
He gazed at the house, nodding. “I like it. Good bones.”
“Thank you.”
Across the street, a screen slammed, and an old man stepped outside. Ginny saw him nearly every day. He always wore a fishing cap and, on all but rainy days, sunglasses. He lifted his hand in a wave.
She waved back and smiled.
“Who’s that?” Kade asked.
“We’ve only ever exchanged hellos,” she said. “I looked at that house before I bought this one. It’s bigger than I needed, though. He moved in a few weeks after I did. I went over there with cookies one day, but he didn’t answer his door, even though I think he was home. Maybe he’s an agoraphobic or something.” She took her hand from Kade’s elbow and stepped back. “Anyway, thank you for walking me home.”
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