“And look.” Pam walked over to a glassed-in sun porch. “Is this great or what?”
“She could use this as her art studio. Nothing but light. It’s perfect.”
“I know. And I’d love it with y’all being right next store.”
“Y’all?”
“Oh, come on. You should just move back. I miss you like crazy.”
“I miss you too.”
“There’s plenty of room here. You could stay upstairs. Nana isn’t getting any younger.”
“Don’t be putting that guilt trip on me. I could come and visit more often though.”
“Okay! That’ll work just as well.”
Elli walked back upstairs. “I could at least stay up here until Nana gets settled in. Then I could rent it out furnished, and that could cover Nana’s bills. It could really work.” She could really see the potential. It met all of Nana’s criteria too. “Tell them not to list it just yet. Maybe we can bring Nana over here tomorrow to take a look. I have a feeling this is going to be the one, but let’s do a ride by on these others on the list…just in case.”
“You got it.”
Elli drove while Pam called her neighbor, who was almost as excited about Elli’s interest as she was. Two of the places were in such poor condition they didn’t even bother getting out of the car. The others were okay but couldn’t hold a candle to the location of the Lazy Daisy, so they headed back to the spa.
“Thanks for coming with me today. That was fun. Like old times.” Elli looked at her watch. “I think I have just enough time to get up to Kill Devil Hills to pick up some tools and supplies for Brody before the town hall meeting. He’s going gangbusters on those boards for me. Lot of good that’ll be if they shut down the pier though.”
“Well, never lose hope. Keep focus on what you want. You get what you expect.”
Pam was always finding the positive in every situation. If that girl ever came yelling catastrophe, Elli would be the first one to run because it just wasn’t in Pam’s nature to worry.
“I’ll try. Want me to pick you up for the town hall?”
“No. I’ll just meet up with you there.” She got out of the car and waved as she went inside the resort to her office.
It would be nice to spend more time here.
CHAPTER NINE
It hadn’t been easy finding a parking space at the town hall. Either Pam was just out of the loop about the situation, or she’d hustled up a lot of attention in the past few hours.
Elli’s stomach clenched as she got closer to the building. She really hoped this bad feeling in her gut was something she ate and not bad news getting ready to come her way.
Inside, there was standing room only, so she edged her way around the right side and took a spot against the wall. She didn’t know as many folks as she used to around here, but she looked for familiar faces and saw a few. She did a double take at the guy sitting all the way across the room. From the back it looked just like Brody.
He was seated next to two men in suits, and it looked like they were having a casual conversation. No surprise. Brody seemed like the type who could get along with anyone.
Then the guy turned and glanced around the room.
It was Brody.
Why would he be here? He must have caught wind about what was going on and decided to come. He probably thought she didn’t know. Maybe she should’ve gone back to the beach house before coming, but she hadn’t wanted to lie to Nana and hadn’t wanted to worry her either. It had seemed easier just to come straight here. But she could have saved Brody the trip.
Just as the mayor, town council members and committee chairs filed into the room, Elli saw Pam come in. She waved to catch her attention and watched as she excused her way through the crowded room toward her.
“Hey, sorry I’m late, have I missed anything?” Pam said, half-winded.
“No. They’re just calling the meeting to order,” Elli reassured her.
“Something’s fishy. No one I know knew anything about this. I went online and it was posted in advance as it’s supposed to be, but boy was it hush-hush and buried in the middle of a bunch of other stuff. We rustled up the troops.”
“Well, it looks like you did a good job.” Elli watched the expression on the faces of the committee members as they took their seats. They didn’t look like they’d expected this kind of outpouring. And then she made eye contact with the man sitting to the left of the mayor, and when it all registered, she elbowed Pam so hard that Pam yelped.
“Ow.”
Elli whispered through gritted teeth. “Look who is up there.”
Pam glanced around, and then her mouth dropped wide open. “I knew he was working for the town, but I had no idea …”
“I should’ve known he was up to something when he asked me over and was so nice.”
“What?” Pam grabbed her arm. “You went to his house?”
Elli shushed her. “I’ll tell you later. It’s a long story.” A heaviness centered in her chest.
“This is like the craziest day ever.”
The secretary got up and read the minutes from the previous meeting.
The facts listed out like that, one by one in a monotone voice, were somewhat depressing and unfortunately accurate.
As the secretary read through the estimates to repair the pier, it became abundantly clear where the meeting was headed. Under the best-case scenario it was a two-year project, and it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars that the town just didn’t have.
Elli wished she could march up there and demand more time to reconsider, but all the Buy A Board campaigns in the world weren’t going to raise that kind of money in time to reopen the pier anytime soon. Talk about determining adequate pile bearing capacity, including the static formula method, the dynamic formula method, the wave equation analysis, point bearing piles, and pile load tests made her almost dizzy. Then there were non-water loads, including dead loads, live loads, construction loads, and wind loads to consider. It was an engineering macramé to say the least. On a personal level she was disappointed to the point of sadness, but as a businesswoman she knew that what they were saying made sense.
One by one, locals took their turn at the microphone. Some sad, some angrier than all get-out that the town let this happen. A couple went in for the personal attack on Holden Moore.
Elli had to admit she appreciated those the most.
A guy with a ponytail, wearing a baseball cap with a fish embroidered on the front, stabbed his finger in the air toward Holden as he spoke. “And we brought back a local like you, way overpaid you, to do this? What kind of economic development is it to shut down the one real tourism draw we have? You’re nuts, man.”
Elli wanted to applaud him. Pam did.
The image of that snaggle-toothed jack-o’-lantern popped into her mind. At this point it sounded like there wasn’t much anyone could do to revive the pier for this summer any more than they could have revived a rotten pumpkin.
The waitress from the diner who’d been so nice to Holden the other day, Evelyn took the mic next.
“Every one of y’all sitting up there was voted in to help us, or hired in on a platform to save this town’s legacy and bring in tourism that would support but not swallow the town. I get it that the insurance and liability of that pier is a problem, but y’all were trying to be all sneaky about this. Don’t think we haven’t noticed. If I hadn’t gotten a well-timed phone call I wouldn’t have even known this meeting was going on.” She leveled a stare directly at Holden. “And I see some of you several times a week. Not so much as a peep. Seriously?”
Holden spoke into the mic in front of his seat. “The town meeting and announcements made regarding earlier discussions on this subject were made in accordance with the guidelines set for the town of Sand Dollar Cove.”
His matter-of-fact tone rubbed Elli like a jellyfish sting.
Apparently the waitress felt the same rub, because she pulled her hands up on her hips. �
�We don’t care if you followed it to the letter. The point is we usually know and we’re always here. This was done differently than business-as-usual and I think that’s shady. I’ve said what I have to say.”
Someone on the board spoke up. “We realize this isn’t what you were hoping to hear tonight, but the truth is that pier has been uninsurable since the storm of 2007. We’ve done our best to keep it up and going just because of its landmark status, but we have to do what’s right for the financial stability of this community. We will be looking into other ways to promote tourism and viable alternatives to facilitate those ideas for our community and the visitors that those pastimes bring to the area.”
“Sounds like a political line to me,” someone shouted from the crowd.
“Please no comments unless you come to the microphone and state your name.”
“Are you going to say anything?” Pam asked.
“What’s there to say? It’s a budget thing. I can’t raise the kind of money it would take to fix it even if they granted it. They’ve got us over a barrel.”
Pam walked over to the microphone and stated her name. “Some individuals have gone the extra mile to raise money to try to fix some of the problems with the pier. Was that even taken into consideration?”
Holden said, “I’ll take this one. Yes. Trust me, we are aware of the individual efforts, and we’ve considered all options, but at the end of the day our mission is to keep this town working toward a long-term plan that will help the town grow.”
Pam leaned into the microphone. “And what are we supposed to do with all the materials purchased by people who donated specifically to help this town repair the pier and do just that?”
“That’s between the private parties, not a matter for this town council or commission.”
“Nice,” Pam said, and simply left the microphone.
“Look,” Holden said. “Make me the bad guy if you have to, but I love this town as much as anyone. I grew up here, and I wanted to save the pier too. It just isn’t in the numbers. Maybe one day it will be, and that can all be revisited. I know lots of you here today participated in the Buy A Board campaign. I’m sorry. My hands are tied. You elected me to help not only keep this town on its feet, but also to expand tourism in a way that fits the community. I’m trying to do that.
“We’ve sustained considerable damage over the years since then, and the town is simply out of funds to keep it in a safe condition.
“The hurricane took the first two hundred feet. Shortening the pier was an option, but with this last nor’easter taking over two hundred feet from the middle, between pilings, strings and decking, repairs were expected to run over a $1,000 a foot, and that didn’t include stabilizing the rest of the structure that was already in disrepair. It’s just not safe.”
The noise level in the room got louder, and Elli wiggled her way between the bodies and met Pam halfway. “Let’s get out of here.”
They walked outside. Elli sucked in a lungful of air, and then tears of frustration fell.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t know all this was going down.”
“It’s not your fault. I know what they are saying makes sense in my head, but my heart is so broken. That pier has been a local landmark since the ’50s, a part of my family as long as I can remember.”
“Well, maybe there’s another option. Maybe Nana can put her things in the spa gift shop to sell. Or we find another location or something.”
“The only thing I know for sure is that I have piles of lumber that people paid to sponsor already purchased and ready to be personalized. This is one hot mess.”
“No one will expect their money back. We can still put those boards to good use in this town somehow. Give us a day or two. We’ll come up with something. We always do.”
“The guy I brought in to do that work for me, Brody, he was in there. He has got to be wondering what kind of kook I am to drag him all the way out here to work on something that isn’t ever going to happen.”
“You didn’t have any way of knowing, and even if it didn’t change the outcome, it was quite clear that this town won’t stand for that kind of behavior again.”
“At least Brody can start that little vacation he was hoping for early. I sure can’t just send him packing because everything just fell apart.”
“What was that you were saying about Holden in there?”
“I was hoping you’d forget that.”
“And why am I just finding out now?”
“I didn’t tell you or Nana because I didn’t want y’all to get all crazy-eyed thinking we might get back together or something. Or maybe I didn’t want the speech about how I shouldn’t go out with him.”
“So you really went out with him?”
“Worse. He cooked for me.” She closed her eyes. “At his house, and we walked in the moonlight.”
“Oh, Elli. No.”
“Yes. And we kissed.” She felt like such an idiot.
“Come on. This deserves wine. Follow me to my place.”
The other night ran through Elli’s mind the whole drive over to Pam’s. Had Holden just been trying to keep her on his side before things blew up? Why had she trusted him? Or maybe it had been his way of schmoozing her to ease his guilty conscience.
He knew what that pier meant to her…to her family.
He had to have known when he stopped her on the pier the other day. And yet he hadn’t said a word. Just let her ramble on about all she had to do. He’d even seen all those stacks of lumber.
Then again, it shouldn’t surprise her. It wasn’t so unlike that summer years ago. He only told half the truth, and he didn’t seem to care if the half he did tell was misconstrued.
But that was water under the bridge, or a dilapidated pier as it were. She ran the back of her hand across her mouth, wishing she’d never given in to his kisses that night. Just one more mistake.
CHAPTER TEN
It was close to eleven when Elli finally got back to the beach house. She’d called and let Nana know she’d be home late so she wouldn’t worry, and by the looks of the house she’d chosen to not wait up. The whole house was dark, and that was actually a relief.
She hadn’t had the heart to tell Nana what happened over the phone. She was pretty sure Brody wouldn’t spill the beans. He didn’t seem the type to stir up trouble or invite conflict. She’d have to explain to them both tomorrow.
“We have to stop meeting like this,” Brody said.
Elli stumbled backwards, half-startled. “You have to quit scaring me to death.”
“Sorry. I like it out here.”
“Apparently. Have you been sleeping out here too?”
“No, but I would be tempted if it was a little warmer.”
“Yeah, it is nice out here.” She walked over and stood next to his chair. “So you were there tonight. You know everything I know.”
“You didn’t see that coming, did you?”
“No,” she admitted. Maybe she should have, but even knowing it was a possibility, it had still come as a shock to hear it in certainty.
Brody pushed a hand through his dark hair. “It’s a mess. After hearing all the stories about that pier from your grandmother, I have to say it kind of blew me away.”
“Well, then you know how I feel.” Rather than pull up a chair she sat on the deck cross-legged and set her elbows on her knees. “It’s such a mess. I’m sorry I drug you all the way out here for nothing.”
“You didn’t really. I had other reasons to be out here too.”
Probably, finding himself or something simple and uncomplicated like that. Must be nice to be of that mind set. What she’d give for one uncomplicated day like that.
He set his iPad on the table next to him. “Would it make you feel better if I said I think things will improve around here in the future?”
“You psychic or just an optimist?”
His laugh was nice. “Neither. There are always options. So, Elli, what are your options?”
“Bury Holden Moore up to his mouth in the sand and hope the sand fiddlers eat him alive from the inside out?”
“My. You have a little dark side. That was unexpected.”
“Sorry. I exaggerate a little when I’m mad.” She looked up at the stars. “Maybe I’m more disappointed than mad. And I feel guilty that I haven’t been back much to see Nana. I didn’t even realize the pier was in that bad of shape. I just whipped up a solution and didn’t even consider that things would continue to degrade while I raised money. Plus, I misled all of those people who donated to the project.”
“You didn’t knowingly do that.”
“But that’s what has happened. Does it really matter that it wasn’t intentional? At the end of the day, it’s all the same.”
“You’ll find another path.”
“You were there, Brody. You heard them. Even in the best-case scenario, if I hit the lottery, it’s at least a two-year project.”
“Never give up hope. You’ll think of something. Maybe an interim solution until the pier can be repaired. Keep your mind open. Think outside the box.”
She appreciated his optimism, but she was out of energy. “I’m going to call it a night. I hope you know that you’re welcome to stay here with us the whole time that we’d planned. It’s really the least I could do.” She stood.
“Great. I mean, if you don’t mind. I’d like to stick around for a while.”
She turned to leave and then stopped. “You didn’t happen to mention any of this to Nana, did you?”
“No. Not my place. And why don’t you wait to say anything to Nana for just a day or two. Let’s brainstorm some options first.”
“I don’t know that there are any, but yeah, let’s touch base after I get some rest. Good night, Brody.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The next morning Elli didn’t have any more answers than she had last night. But at least the house stuff was working out. The Lazy Daisy was perfect for Nana, and if Ed fell in love with the Sol~Mate like most everyone who ever visited did, then that would be a done deal.
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