As she signed, she looked up and said, “I noticed some boxes were still around. Will the current owner be getting rid of those?”
“Oh, I’m sure, I’m sure,” Mr. Gillespie said, nodding emphatically. “I’ll mention it as soon we get the papers to the Mayor.”
Two hours later, it was done. She had filled out all the paperwork and put in her offer for the building. There was only one thing left to do before she could be really comfortable about her decision.
She pushed open the door to Careway Nursing Home, moved directly to the reception desk, and signed in. The Head Nurse’s office was just down the hall, and as she looked up, Belle popped out.
“Rose! How are you?”
She smiled at the pretty nurse, unable to think of how much Belle had changed since she first met her. Belle had been raised in Baytown, but a couple of years younger than Katelyn and Jillian, she was not part of their high school clique. Somewhat shy, but learning to come out of her shell, she had greeted Rose as a new friend years ago and had remained so in the intermediate time. She remembered that Belle worked at the assisted living facility near Baytown and had contacted her, thrilled that Belle was now the Head Nurse.
“I’m good, thank you. I wanted to come by and talk to Mom.”
Belle nodded and said, “She’d love that. Stop by on your way out, and I can give you any updates you need.”
Nodding her agreement, she offered a little wave and walked down the hall toward her mother’s room. She knew that Belle must have been curious about how her morning went; after all, it was not a secret that she was going to be with the real estate agent. But Rose did not want to talk to anyone until she had a chance to talk to her mom.
Her mother was not in her room, so she continued down the hall to the large, sunny lounge. The facility had another large activity room, where residents and staff could often be found playing games, watching movies, listening to visiting musicians, getting their nails painted, or just enjoying each other’s company. But the lounge was her mother’s favorite place. Soft yellow walls with lots of windows, gatherings of sofas and chairs in small conversation settings, and bookshelves along one wall made the room warm and inviting.
There, in a corner chair, with a book in her lap, sat her mother. Her blonde hair, streaked with silver, was trimmed short, a style that was not only flattering but easy to care for. Her body was thinner than Rose would have preferred, but with continued good food and exercise, she looked healthy. Walking toward her, her mother looked up, and as recognition lit her eyes, her beautiful smile lit Rose’s heart.
Reaching her, she bent to offer her a hug, saying, “Hey, Mom. How are you today?”
Her mom patted her arm and nodded, still smiling. “Good.”
The stroke had initially robbed her mom of her ability to speak, and it had taken over a year for her to regain much of what was lost.
“You look wonderful,” she said, honesty, not platitudes, pouring from her. She pulled up a chair so that she was sitting directly in front of her mom, their knees touching, and when she leaned forward, she could clutch her mother’s hands in hers as they rested on top of the book pages.
Her mother’s gaze held steady, although her head shook slightly. Rose knew her mom wanted to know how today had gone, and she did not want to keep her in suspense. The ability to speak was difficult, but her mom’s mind was still very sharp, and her memory keen.
“I put in the bid today for the building, Mom. I can’t believe how nervous I am. I really want this place.”
“How is the location?”
“The location is good. It’s not directly on Main Street but is the first building on another major side street. The town allows businesses to place signs along Main Street that have an arrow showing where customers can find them.”
Her mom nodded and smiled, then demanded, “Tell me more.”
“I don’t want to jinx it, Mom,” she admitted. “I’m afraid if I get too excited about it and the bid isn’t accepted, then I’ll be so disappointed again.”
Her mom said nothing but continued to hold her gaze, and she knew that if her mother had been able to go with her that morning to look at the building, she would have. And now, her mom wanted to see it through Rose’s words.
“Okay, it’s an old, two-story brick building, like all the others in town. It’s not terribly wide, but it is deep. The front is full of windows that overlook the street, there’s plenty of room for tables and chairs, and the counters would fit perfectly. If my bid is accepted, then I’ll have to have it inspected, but from what I saw, there are plenty of outlets toward the back, and it’s already plumbed for sinks.”
Her mom nodded encouragement, and she continued, “The walls are exposed brick, and the floors are original wood, which could give it such a homey feel. The upstairs has a two-bedroom apartment, and guess what?”
Her mom’s eyes widened at the excitement in her voice, and she added, “There’s a terrace on the roof, with a rail all around and decking as the floor.” Leaning forward, she squeezed her mother’s hands and said, “I’ll be able to watch the sunset!” Unable to contain her excitement, she knew that emotion laced her words even though she had tried to caution herself to wait until she saw if her bid was accepted.
Her mom’s right hand was able to squeeze hers as her smile widened. “So glad, Rose.”
They sat for a moment, and her thoughts drifted to what she had not told her mom. Perceptive as always, another trait the stroke did not take away from her, her mom asked, “What?”
Sucking in her lips as she considered what to say, she finally decided to admit to it all. “The building is right across the street from the garage and the tattoo parlor.”
Her mom attempted to lift her eyebrows, but only the right one moved. One night, months after her father died, she confessed her one-night relationship with Jason, including how she had wondered if something more could have developed. Not wanting to cause her distress, Rose rushed, “It’s okay, Mom. Honestly. There’s no way I can live in Baytown and not run into Jason. I know it will be awkward at first, but hopefully, we can settle into professional politeness.”
Her mom said nothing, but she did not have to. Rose knew the words were as empty to her mom as they were to her. Refusing to allow her thoughts to travel down that morose road, she wondered what else they could talk about when she felt her phone vibrate in her purse. Pulling it out, she stared at the text, unable to believe the words she was seeing.
Jerking her head up, seeing her mom’s questioning gaze, she gasped. “Mom! I got it! The agent just said the Mayor accepted my bid!” Her mind racing, she looked back at her mother when she felt her hands squeezed again, seeing an equally wide, if slightly lopsided, smile on her mom’s face. Finally…something going right!
6
One Month Later
Hair pulled up in a sloppy bun, covered with a hot pink bandanna, Rose stood in the middle of the large room, staring at the mess. Corwin Banks had been eager to sell and happy for Baytown to have an ice cream shop. Ben told her that Corwin was thinking of jerking her around on the price until his wife put her foot down and told him to sign the papers. After meeting the Mayor’s wife at the closing, she had to grin, seeing it was easy to imagine the indomitable Phyllis Banks putting her husband in his place.
After sharing the news with her mom, she had walked back down the hall to let Belle know what was happening, sure that Belle would quickly set the telephone lines on fire with her news.
By the end of the day, her friends had gathered at the Sea Glass Inn to celebrate. While they had all promised to help her with the cleaning and setting up of the shop, she knew they each had their own jobs, families, and lives.
As soon as the building passed inspection, she and Corwin moved directly to closing, and now she was the new owner of a one hundred and fifty-year-old building in Baytown, soon to be the new home to Sweet Rose Ice Cream Shop. While she had been planning for her shop for years, she had decided on
the name first. Sweet Rose was her father’s nickname for her, and she knew it would serve as a memory to him as well as identify her brand.
The first night that she had the keys to the building, she took a towel to the rooftop terrace, spread it out, and plopped down to watch the sunset over the bay. As the sun sank lower in the sky, she watched the blue morph into every color of the spectrum. For a moment, the sky was cast in a rosy glow, and the name Sweet Rose sounded even better. With tears in her eyes at the memory of his nickname for her, she had jumped up with her arms above her head and twirled in a circle. With everything that had gone wrong in the last several years, finally, now, something was going right.
Glad to be back in Baytown, other than seeing a few of her girlfriends she had avoided any large gatherings. She had spent her days and evenings planning on what needed to be done until she finally had the keys in hand a week ago and threw herself into getting the shop ready.
She had torn down the old paper that covered the front plate glass windows and replaced it with fresh paper with the words ‘Ice Cream Shop Coming Soon’ painted on it so that townspeople would be able to see what kind of store she was opening.
Rose told herself that she avoided everyone else because she was so busy, but she knew she simply was not ready to face Jason yet. Hating that she was such a coward, she knew she would come face-to-face with him soon now that she was right across the street.
The girls had come by last weekend and helped her do a good scrubbing of the apartment upstairs so that she would be able to move in. Tori had insisted that she should continue to stay at the Sea Glass Inn, but Rose could not wait to claim her own place. She had moved her kitchen items from storage into the second-floor apartment, and with Belle’s husband Hunter’s help, she now had a small bed in the bedroom as well.
It was the barest of apartments, but it gave her a place to eat, sleep, and shower, which were the only things she was doing besides getting the shop downstairs ready.
Now, she was attacking the dirt, dust, and grime with a vengeance. With a large, wide industrial broom, she was pushing the dust from the front of the store toward the back, where it could be swept into the alley. There was no way to complete the task without the dust swirling all around, so she pulled another bandanna from her overalls and tied it around her face, covering her nose.
With the front door propped open to allow fresh air to come through, she continued to sweep the floor, now blinking in pain as the dust irritated her contacts. Throwing down the broom, she wanted to take them out but looked at her filthy hands. Walking to the small bathroom in the back, she scrubbed her hands clean then dug her contact case out of her purse. Popping out her contacts, she put them in her purse and continued to work.
Unable to see distances clearly, she did not need her contacts to continue sweeping the floor. Finally getting the piles of dust out the back door and into the alley, she walked back into the large shop and stood near the front door for a moment. Jerking the bandanna from her face, she reveled in the fresh spring air.
Glancing outside, she was unable to distinguish anything beyond the sidewalk just in front of her shop. Knowing the girls were going to be arriving again today to assist, she turned and hurried to the back to find her buckets and mops.
Jason stood at the front of one of his garage bays and looked across the street. For the past week, he had watched from a distance the activity going on. One day he noticed the old, yellowed paper covering the front windows had been torn down, replaced by clean, white paper with the words ‘Ice Cream Shop Coming Soon’ painted on them. His mechanics had responded with excitement, saying that not only were they looking forward to an ice cream shop in town, but it would be great for their customers to be able to go across the street and get something to eat while waiting on their cars.
He could not argue with their logic but had remained quiet. He had avoided some of their friends’ gatherings, telling them how busy he had been, when the reality was he had not figured out what to say to Rose when he saw her again.
Shaking his head, he decided to stop being such a pussy and stop avoiding her. We’re going to be working across the street from each other. Hell, we’re going to be living across the street from each other.
Determined to greet her, a flash of hot pink caught his eye, and he saw her standing in her doorway. She appeared to have a bandanna tied around her head and one across her face, jerking it down just as she reached the door.
She was wearing oversized coveralls and pink boots on her feet. Utterly ridiculous and absolutely adorable. His heart gave a little skip at the sight of her, and he lifted his hand in a wave, the smile on his face sincere.
He watched as she stared right at him, giving no evidence of knowing who he was, before turning and walking back into her building. Irritation slid through his veins, as he realized she had just dismissed him completely. Great. Just fuckin’ great. She walks out on me in the middle the night, comes back a couple of years later and is just as pissed as before.
Turning on his booted foot, he headed back to the car he was working on. Reaching behind him, he cranked up the music to a level he usually did not allow and lost himself in the engine he was repairing.
"Katelyn!" Rose called out, staring toward the back of the room at the dark-haired woman.
“What?” came a voice from directly behind her.
Whirling around, she blinked, staring at Katelyn standing right next to her. Jerking her head around to the direction that she had been looking, she asked, “Who’s back there?”
Katelyn laughed and replied, “That’s Belle.”
Blinking several times, she huffed as Katelyn asked, “Do you not have your contacts in?”
“It’s too dusty in here,” she answered, shaking her head. “I’m blind as a bat, but I figure I don’t really need them inside. I managed to get them out earlier so I can keep them clean and my eyes less irritated.”
She had been shocked when a huge gathering of friends showed up a few hours ago, ready to work. She once again realized how much of life in Baytown had passed her by during her years away. Brogan was now married to Ginny, a police officer in town, and Aiden was engaged to Lia, an accountant. Jade, who had moved to Baytown at the same time she had originally tried to come, was now married to Lance, another police officer. Zac had married Madeline, a counselor, and Callan was planning on getting married to his childhood sweetheart, Sophie.
Ginny was waddling around, due with her first child in a couple of months, about the same time that Katelyn’s son would be a year old. Tori’s son was already a year old.
With all of her old friends and now the new ones, the room was filled with laughter and chatting as well as a lot of cleaning. She could not believe how fast the inside walls had been hosed down along with the wooden floor, all of the dirty water sent out into the back alley.
At first stunned by Katelyn’s suggestion, she realized that the pressure from the power washer would do a far better job cleaning off the exposed brick and wooden floor than slopping around water buckets and rags. Mops took care of the moisture on the floor, and several friends brought in fans that soon had the interior dry.
She could already imagine the stainless steel appliances and the large marble slab on which she would experiment with some of her creations.
As she looked at the clean room, she knew a health inspector would have no problem with what they had done. What would have taken her days was accomplished in one afternoon. She looked around at the other nine women, all a bit wet and dirty but with wide smiles on their faces, and felt tears prick her eyes.
Katelyn threw her arm around Rose’s shoulders and said, “Hey, none of that."
She swiped a dirty finger under her eyes, knowing that she was only making her face filthier than it already was. Looking about her, she said, “I don’t know how to thank you. Those words sound so trite to my own ears, but I truly don’t know how to thank each of you for giving up your time to help me make this dream come
true.”
Tori stepped closer and grabbed her hands. “Rose, there’s not one of us that hasn’t been in need at one time or another. Some of us were lucky to have grown up in Baytown and understand what community means. Others of us have come, and each discovered what’s special about this place.”
During the time that they had been working, she had been amazed to hear bits and pieces of the other women’s stories, and her admiration grew for all of them. As they were readying to leave, they asked what else they could do to help.
Shaking her head, she said, “There’s nothing right now.” Seeing Jillian about to protest, she shook her head and added, “No, I really mean that. Getting this huge room clean enough that I can actually start working in it is perfect. Now I need to take my plans for the interior and start moving in some of the equipment. I have electricians and plumbers coming in the rest of this week to make sure I have everything that I need."
“What about upstairs?” Jade asked. “I’ve peeked up there, honey, and it’s pretty sparse, and that’s being generous.”
Throwing her hands up in front of her, she said, “All I need is a place to shower, sleep, and eat. Upstairs is clean, and it takes care of those three things adequately. I want to focus everything down here on the shop. Once the movers bring the equipment from the shop and my furniture, then I’ll be able to think about making the apartment a little homier.”
Standing at the door, she offered hugs goodbye, no one worrying about the dirt since they were all equally wet.
As Tori left, she said, “Keep in mind that when your shop is open, I want to talk to you about offering some of your ice cream to the guests at the Sea Glass Inn.”
Sweet Rose: Baytown Boys Page 5
