The Goodbye Guy (The Men of Lakeside)

by Natasha Moore

  Then Glen pointed the camera at him and Stu told Beck to tell the viewers what his vision was for The Salvage Station. He froze. His mouth opened but no words came out.

  “Cut.” Stu frowned. ”Is there a problem?”

  “No. Sorry. Got caught by surprise.”

  Rachel came up to him. “Don’t let the camera freak you out. Pretend you’re talking to a friend.”

  He sure didn’t want to look like a fool in front of everyone, but the blood pounded in his ears and his chest hurt from the thudding of his heart. His eyes were probably deer-in-the-headlights wide.

  “Tell me what you want for the bar,” Rachel said softly. “Talk to me like you did the first time.”

  Beck turned to look at her. He put the camera and other people out of his mind, but he didn’t think about the first time they talked about The Salvage Station, back when they barely spoke a civil word to each other. Instead, he pictured Rachel as she’d been the night before. Her hair spread out around her head like a halo. The unexpected emotions had appeared out of nowhere. Sex didn’t mean love, didn’t even have to mean like, but he liked Rachel Bradford. How crazy was that?

  What was even crazier was that he knew he could fall in love with her given half a chance, but that was asking for heartache. She wasn’t the settle-down-in-Lakeside kind of woman. She wasn’t the stay-with-Beckett-Colburn kind of woman, either. Neither one of us is looking for a commitment, ever.

  But now, as she looked at him with an encouraging smile, Beck knew he’d enjoy being with her for as long as she stayed. After all, he was a pro at watching women leave him.

  He smiled at her, but he still couldn’t think of the words to begin. She took pity on him.

  “As I’m sure everyone has heard, you and I went to the same high school, and this week we’ll be working together to turn your vision into reality.”

  She addressed the camera again. “And yes, guys, Beckett Colburn’s just as sexy as he was in high school.” She grinned. “Look at those tattoos. And the muscles.”

  Beck lifted a brow. Really? Were they really going to make this personal? He didn’t remember comments about homeowners like that on any other episode. Then he remembered Stu’s demand that they pretend to have a relationship. Didn’t get more personal than that. So his first words on camera ended up being, “Rachel’s even hotter than she was in high school.”

  She laughed. “And now to get back to business.” She glanced at the camera and then back to Beck. “Your family’s architectural salvage company has been thriving for almost fifty years. That’s amazing.” Rachel’s face expressed her overwhelming enthusiasm. That had to be part of what drew her fans in. “Now you’ve decided to expand your business and purchased this quaint old fire station right next door. The idea to repurpose a vacant building as a neighborhood pub is genius. It falls right in line with your family’s salvaging credo. The Colburn family rescues anything they can instead of leaving it to be destroyed. So tell me, Beckett, what do you have in mind for The Salvage Station?”

  A place where I can show my family I’m more than just the muscle for the salvage business.

  “I want my bar to be a gathering place for locals and a draw for the tourists and summer residents who flock to Lakeside to enjoy Lake Margaret.”

  “Like we enjoyed it last night?” While Beck was rendered speechless again, she addressed the camera. “Beckett took me on a boat ride yesterday and it let me see a little more of this area. It’s grown a lot in the past twenty years. The lake is beautiful and the region has become known as a summer vacation destination. So we want to make this bar a welcome place for residents of Lakeside and the surrounding area to hang out in, yet unique enough to pull in newcomers. I think the quaint building itself will help with that.”

  She went on to explain the industrial theme she planned and, while Beck still wasn’t entirely convinced it was the best way to go, he’d decided to trust her. But when she started talking about bringing in upcycled tables and chairs, wall art, and stuff like that, it was time to add in one of those arguments she’d been talking about.

  “I don’t like that idea, Rachel. I’m not convinced that bringing random furniture over from Colburn and Sons is the way to go.”

  Her eyes sparked. “What don’t you like about it?” She gave him that little lift of her chin, but this time, instead of appearing snooty, he saw it as issuing a challenge.

  “Are you kidding? All the tables and chairs should match, for one thing.”

  “Hmm. Are you afraid if they’re not identical, it will make the bar look shoddy?”

  “It should have a cohesive look.”

  “I see. Anything else?” She was so condescendingly calm it pissed him off.

  “Why do we want to cover the walls of the bar with stuff that people can already see in the showroom? This isn’t an extension of my parents’ store.”

  “I never said we would display only salvaged wall art. There are some talented local artists and I’ve already contacted a few of them to display their work.”

  “Oh.” His sisters-in-law were both creative. Anita was a painter and Katie was a photographer. Noah had probably told Stu about them. Beck knew he should have been the one to tell Rachel earlier. “You could have mentioned that.”

  But it still didn’t address his main concern.

  Rachel leaned in and bumped his shoulder with hers. “You still don’t look happy. And that’s my job. To make you happy.”

  He could think of many ways for her to make him happy…

  “So what’s the problem?” she asked.

  “We don’t want The Salvage Station to look like the Colburn and Sons showroom.”

  “Yeah, Beckett, we kinda do.”

  He couldn’t think of a worse idea. “The Salvage Station is a totally different kind of business than Colburn and Sons Salvage—”

  “But we still want there to be a tie-in. They’re both Colburn ventures. We want people who come into the showroom to be curious about The Salvage Station. And we want people who drop into The Salvage Station to be curious about Colburn and Sons. You can plan lots of cross promo events and besides…” Rachel glanced at the camera again. “Your talented crew is constantly designing and building stunning, one-of-a-kind tables and chairs from items you’ve salvaged elsewhere. Not to mention creating amazing art pieces. If you place these things in your bar, they’re not only an advertisement for the showroom at Colburn and Sons, right next door, but they’re also ‘conversation pieces.’” She made air quotes with her fingers. “‘Let’s stop by The Salvage Station for a drink. I wonder what new cool stuff they’ll have inside today.’” She bumped shoulders with him again. “It’ll make your place unique. And that’s what you told me you wanted.”

  Beck could only stare at her in silence as he took in her logic. Nothing his guys made would look shoddy or second-rate. There was a triumphant sparkle in her eyes. He slowly nodded. “Maybe you’re right.”

  “Cut.” Stu studied the two of them. “Play up the banter more. A teaser video will be going up today, with that kiss on the dock.”

  “Already up,” Mia called out. She sat in a corner with a tablet on her lap. “Viewers love banter.”

  “I’m not going to be in front of the camera every day, right? Isn’t it Rachel and the work crew from now on?” Beck knew Rachel said the camera would be following them around sometimes, but…

  Stu laughed. “Tomorrow we’re filming one of your salvage projects. Rachel will be coming, too.”

  “Hell, no.”

  “Chuck Colburn, that’s your father, right, has already agreed to it,” Mia chimed in. “He said to remind you that it’s more promotion for the business.”

  Beck turned to Rachel. “Did you know about this?”

  “First I’ve heard about it.”

  “It came up when I was talking to Pop this mornin
g,” Stu said.

  Beck bristled to hear the producer call his father Pop, like he’d known him for years. Of course, his father told everyone to call him Pop.

  “Should I tell her about Friday night?” Mia asked.

  Stu glanced from Mia to Rachel. “Have you talked to your mother today?”

  “No. Why?”

  “She’s throwing a big welcome home party for you Friday night and has invited us there, cameras and all.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  “And the Colburns invited us to their Fourth of July barbecue,” Mia added. “Maybe the families are trying to one-up each other.”

  Stu chuckled. “You weren’t joking when you said there was a family feud.”

  “It’s not a feud,” Beck mumbled. He’d had about enough of cameras and it was only the first day. He pictured his goal, as Davis had suggested, the finished bar full of laughing happy people, and told himself this was all going to be worth it.

  Stu turned to Beck and Rachel. “I don’t care if there isn’t an actual feud between your families. Right now, you are Romeo and Juliet. You’re romantically involved, and your families don’t like each other.”

  “It’s supposed to be about the design.” Rachel huffed. “I’ve never had to play games for an episode before.”

  “You’ve never been an inch away from being cancelled before. I want you on social media, posting pictures of you and Romeo here, and getting your fans excited. We’re going to play these stories for all they’re worth. Does Colburn and Sons have someone handling your social media presence?”

  “My cousin, Ginny. She manages the showroom, too.”

  Mia had joined them after shooing all the gawkers out. Stu nodded toward the showroom. “Go talk with her. For maximum impact, we need all sides working together.”

  “Got it.” She left the building.

  “Now you two. Don’t tell me that hinting, or announcing, you two are having a fling would be a lie. You spent the night together on his boat. You’ve kissed in public more than once. The air between you two is practically vibrating. It’s disgusting for the rest of us who aren’t having a fling at the moment.” For the first time, Beck saw Stuart Wilson smile.

  Beck caught Rachel’s glance, but neither one remarked about the air-vibrating comment.

  Stu went on. “Tomorrow we’ll follow you to your salvage site. An old corner store, I’m told?”

  “Yeah, from back before there were big-box stores.”

  “We’ll be following you and your crew all day, so you have to be ready to explain what you’re doing, how you make a plan of attack, all those things. Be prepared to spend a lot of time in front of the camera.”

  Great.

  “Oh, and you’ll need to find something Rachel can do. I don’t want her just standing around. Put her to work on something. There are things a woman can do, aren’t there?”

  Glen and Russ groaned and Beck saw Rachel stiffen. “I can’t believe you said that.”

  “We have women on our crews,” Beck told him. “It’s not a matter of gender but of strength, skill, and training. As long as Rachel can follow orders, I’m sure we’ll have no problem putting her to work.”

  Rachel caught his gaze and he liked to think she was remembering the orders she followed last night when she smiled. “Don’t worry about me.”

  Stu looked at Beck. “By the time we leave, having a camera in your face will be second nature to you.”

  “I doubt that.”

  Stu clasped Beck’s hand for a quick shake. “You hang around this pro for long and you won’t be able to help it.”

  Rachel winked at Beck and, even though he knew it would be impossible, he couldn’t help but wish he’d be hanging around her for a long, long time.

  …

  Removing ceramic tile from around an old fireplace required a putty knife and patience. The job was tedious and painstaking. And nerve-racking. If you weren’t careful, you might break one beautiful tile and just like that, it would diminish the value of the entire set. So far, all Rachel had broken were a couple of fingernails, but it was early yet.

  She had to admit she’d thought architectural salvage mostly involved sledgehammers and crowbars. Pull off the decorative moldings. Pry up the hardwood planks. But all of that had to be done in a painstaking manner as well. Wood could easily splinter or break. More money down the drain because, of course, this was a business, and Colburn and Sons was in the business of reselling items as is, refurbishing them, or repurposing the pieces. Skill and creativity were every bit as important as brute strength. More important, as she was discovering.

  The old corner store had been abandoned for years and was slated for demolition. There had to be great satisfaction to sweeping in and rescuing so many items that had been created with careful craftsmanship. Items that would have been lost forever if not for people like the Colburns. They rescued bits of history that could be appreciated again.

  The Rachel Touch crew wandered around, watching, asking questions, filming. The Colburn and Sons crew continued doing their job despite all the distractions and interruptions. Rachel was working in one of the rooms upstairs where there’d been an apartment once upon a time. She liked to imagine it in its prime and wished she could have seen it then with its high ceilings and carved oak moldings and glass doorknobs.

  Not that she’d want to live in that time. Not only would she not have the career she did, but she couldn’t communicate with all her fans, keeping them up to date on how things were going. She removed her safety glasses, took a photo of the job she was working on, and posted it on social media, including the Lakeside village page, and tagged Ginny so she could include it on the Colburn and Sons page.

  “You’re supposed to be wearing safety glasses.” She hadn’t even heard Beckett come up the stairs, but the grumble in his voice made her jump.

  “I was. I took them off to see my phone.”

  “You’re not supposed to be playing on your phone. You’re supposed to be working.”

  “This is work,” She held up her phone. ”Smile.” She took a quick pic of Beckett and posted it, too. Her fans had been oohing and aahing about the handsome, sexy, hot Colburn brother ever since the first pictures were posted the day before.

  He hadn’t smiled and now he was frowning. “Did you take my picture again?”

  “Get used to it.” She gestured to the pile of tiles stacked in a box. “What do you think? No breakage so far.”

  “You should be done by now.”

  “Give the first-timer a break.”

  “No breaking, remember?” The corner of his mouth lifted.

  “That’s why I’m going so slow. I’m scared to death of cracking one of these things.” Beckett had said she could remove the glass knobs from the doors if she had time after the tiles. At the rate she was going, someone else was going to get to rescue them. She was disappointed, but she was going to keep them in mind for use in a future Rachel Touch episode. She had to believe there would be future Rachel Touch episodes.

  “I’ll send Lindsey up to help you in a few minutes. She’s almost done with the light fixtures.”

  “How’s it going downstairs?”

  “Slow,” he grumbled. “We keep getting interrupted. Questions. Camera shots. It’s taking twice as long as it should.”

  “I know. But Stu said he’s getting some great footage.”

  “He wants you to come downstairs now.” Beckett reached out and helped her to her feet. She groaned. She’d been on her knees too long. “We’re taking out the shelving and he wants you to look like you’re helping.”

  “If I’m in the shot, I want to actually be helping.”

  “The job’s all set up. We don’t need you.”

  “Just what everyone likes to hear. There must be something I can do down there.”

&
nbsp; “You could get hurt if you get in the way.” He sidled up to her. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I promise not to get in the way. I want to help. I can carry. I can lift. I do it on my show all the time.”

  His eyes skimmed over her as if he appreciated the way she kept in shape. She appreciated the way he kept in shape. “Let’s get downstairs and I’ll see what we can do.”

  The long counter that had served the general store for decades had been removed. Beck said they already had a buyer for it. Floor-to-ceiling built-in shelves stretched along the wall. It looked as if they’d been dividing the shelves into sections and were ready to start pulling them down and out to the waiting box truck. There were straps—Beck called them control lines—stretched in all directions, and members of the crew had hold of them. And a dolly to roll the shelf up the ramp and into the box truck.

  Rachel addressed the camera. She wore one of the black Colburn and Sons Salvage T-shirts, the safety boots she always wore during construction episodes, and chose shorts in hot pink for her pop of color. “This looks like a tricky situation to me. These suckers are heavy but you can tell a lot of thought has been put into the…what, mechanics? The engineering? Whatever’s involved in coming up with the way to do the job safely, both for the crew and the salvaged shelves. I told Beckett I wanted to help, but he said I’d be in the way, and you know what? He’s right. I’m going to stay out of the way. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

  She began to step aside when Stu called out, “Hey, big tall guy, look over this way. At the camera.”

  The young man, Todd, who’d been at Bud’s with them the other night, said, “What?” Startled, he turned to look at Stu and lost his grip on the strap. The top of the heavy section of shelves swung down and out, toward Rachel.

  Beckett shouted out a warning and jumped in faster than she even had time to process the danger. He grabbed her and pulled her out of the way. He cradled her with his body, so that when they hit the floor, he took the brunt of the fall.