Love After All

He turned the knob and gave the door a gentle shove with his shoulder. The door gave with a high-pitched squeal that made Chelsea wince.

Reid turned to them and shrugged. “Obviously it’s been a while since anyone’s been in here. I assume there’s power.”

Sam nodded. “Yes. I asked the mayor to have the city turn the electricity on here for the day.”

Reid looked impressed. “You do have some stroke.”

Sam laughed. “My grandmother does. She can be formidable.”

“Let me find the light switch.” Reid disappeared inside for a few minutes, and then Chelsea saw the lights come on through the door. He returned.

“It’s pretty dusty inside, and since the windows are boarded up, if anyone has asthma issues, you might want to sit this one out.”

Reid moved into the building, and Sam was the first one in after him, so Chelsea followed her.

The building was filled with old boxes and junk. Reid was right. It smelled musty, and a layer of dust coated everything.

It was a mess.

“Wow, this is amazing,” Sam said as they made their way through the piles of junk.

“You think so?”

Sam nodded. “Look at the wood posts. And the staircase over there. Those handrails are stunning.”

“Besides the dust and clutter, the place has a beautiful old antique feel to it,” Tony said. “Do you have any original photos of it?”

“My grandmother does,” Sam said. “She has photos of the original facade—a picture of her as a little girl standing outside the store. Her parents were visiting with the owners at the time.”

“I’ll bet that’s an awesome photo,” Colt said.

“It is. There used to be a soda shop inside here,” Sam explained. “Grandma said she used to come in here all the time for ice cream and sodas.”

“I’d like to see what’s under these ceiling panels,” Reid said, then grabbed a ladder that was leaning against the wall. He climbed up and popped one of the drop panels out. “Huh. There’s a tin tile ceiling under here. Needs some refurbishing, but I’m sure it’s the original ceiling.”

“Amazing,” Sam said. “Can I see?”

He climbed down and held his hand out to help her climb up. “Sure. Be careful.”

“I think Reid’s checking out her butt,” Megan whispered as they watched Sam examine the ceiling.

Chelsea stifled a giggle. “You might be right about that.”

The two of them certainly made a striking pair. Reid was tanned and incredibly masculine, and Samantha was petite and blond and so peaches and cream. Plus she was incredibly passionate about the mercantile. As Reid made his way through the building, the two of them stuck together like glue, talking about each piece of wood or what new treasure they might locate behind what old wall.

Chelsea found the old business fascinating, but it wasn’t like her life depended on whether it was refurbished or not. She knew Samantha loved old buildings—her flower shop was located in one of Hope’s older buildings, and she knew Sam adored her shop. It appeared she and Reid had a lot in common.

Interesting.

But, she had to admit after they made their way upstairs and looked at the potential of the old mercantile, the building had a lot to offer. She could already envision the possibilities, and as they left and made their way back outside—and thankfully, to fresh air—everyone was chattering about it. Especially the McCormack brothers.

“What’s the verdict, Reid?” Logan asked. “Do you think it’s possible to refurbish it?”

Reid tilted his head back to study the outside of the structure. “It would take a lot of work to restore, but it’s definitely doable. The question is, what do we do with it?”

“You could do a retail establishment downstairs, and maybe office space upstairs,” Samantha suggested. “Or office space downstairs, and condos upstairs. You have so much space, I think the possibilities are limitless.”

“Sam has a point,” Luke said. “I think there are a lot of possibilities for this place. It sure as hell shouldn’t be torn down.”

“Yeah, I can’t see something new here in place of what’s sitting here now.” Logan grimaced. “I can still remember Dad bringing us here when we were kids. Remember?”

“I remember,” Luke said.

“So what do you want to do?” Reid asked, turning to Logan and Luke. “Make an offer on it and buy it back from the city?”

Logan nodded. “I like the idea. And I think we could get the people of Hope invested in the idea. They might take to restoring it much more than some new drugstore or commercial building or whatever the mayor and city council have in mind.”

“Agreed,” Luke said. “It’s a good investment.”

“It’s an amazing old building,” Tony said. “It would be a shame to lose it.”

Colt nodded. “Old buildings like this need a second chance.”

“I think if you make a case for having it named a historical building, the city would have no choice but to sell it to you,” Bash said. “Then they wouldn’t be able to tear it down. I know someone at the historical society who’d get right to work on it.”

Chelsea loved that idea. “And there are a lot of people who work in downtown Hope who don’t want the mercantile torn down. Once word gets out that the McCormack brothers are going to make an offer to buy the building, they’ll start putting pressure on the city council.”