Right from the Start (5 page)

“When can I realistically expect my part of the building to be
ready?” she asked.

Will reached for a laptop case and withdrew a folder. “City
won’t release funds to start the renovations until both tenants sign the leases.
Give me an idea about what you think needs to be done so you can function in
your space.”

Motioning her to the counter, he spread out a sketch of some
floor plans. “Take a look at these. I’d like an idea if I need to start knocking
down walls.”

He’d
be knocking down walls?

Kenzie saw a problem. “You’re in charge of renovations?”

He nodded.

Maybe that shouldn’t have surprised her. Maybe she should be
relying on what she’d heard about him instead of trying to be
too
fair. “You mentioned spending the city’s money,
yet you hired your own firm?”

“There’s no conflict of interest if that’s what you’re asking.
I promise. The mayor and the other members of the council are all fully aware of
the situation. We’ve worked out an equitable arrangement. Of course, you’re
welcome to confirm that with the mayor or the council. There’s the Historic
Preservation Commission and the Main Street Advisory Board, too. And Angel
House. A lot of people to be accountable to and to govern the budget. Give any
or all of them a call.”

“In my seventy-two hours?”

He smiled at that and she took a step back instinctively. She
was too close to this man whose charm oozed off him in a physical wave.
Way
too close.

“So, do I need to knock down walls?”

Would she be foolish not to take advantage of an opportunity to
create a new floor plan when the city footed the bill?

She indicated the plans. “May I?”

“Please.” Will stepped back from the counter, clearly willing
to give her whatever time and space she needed.

Kenzie studied the floor plans.

Various options were laid out from barely changing anything
except constructing the walls that would separate Positive Partings from Angel
House to literally restructuring the main studios into smaller rooms, similar to
how they’d reallocated the space in the recital hall.

And Kenzie knew right then that if she decided to seize this
opportunity, she would fit her business around the rooms that had served Madame
Estelle so well for decades.

Big classrooms. Smaller classrooms. Spacious and comfortable
mediation rooms. And an office with a view.

“No need to knock down walls. I’d rather see your efforts spent
on updating what we’ve got.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” He sounded relieved.

“Really? Why?”

“Because I can get you in here more quickly. I’ll do
preliminary work like the air handlers and painting, but the rest can be done
once you’re in. That will give you a chance to see what you want done. I can
work around your schedule so I don’t interfere with business.”

He spoke as if she’d already signed on, when Kenzie hadn’t even
decided if she could make such a big decision in seventy-two hours. She’d call
her parents and ask their opinion. Singular. They’d only have one. They’d
discuss, debate then decide on one common opinion to suit them both. They were
an excellent example of a longtime couple who had worked hard to master the art
of marriage.

And her dad was insurance savvy having been the owner of a
title insurance company until his retirement. He’d figure out the coverage she’d
need and what it would cost.

“It’s my understanding the lease on your current property is up
in April, Kenzie. Did I get that right?”

She nodded. The fact he’d taken the time to research her bore
up her impression that he was personally invested in the outcome of her
decision.

“Okay, so making a move is coming at a pretty convenient time
for you. I mean, you won’t have to deal with prematurely ending a lease and may
have only a few months overlap. Were you planning to stay where you are
now?”

She considered how forthright she cared to be. There was really
no comparison between her strip plaza offices and this building, as he surely
already knew.

“I hadn’t really decided. This opportunity is convenient in the
sense that if I wasn’t going to sign my lease again, I’d have to notify the
management company by the end of this month. They require ninety days written
notice to vacate.”

“Did you want to spend another year there?”

She shook her head. “Not really, but I might have stayed simply
because I haven’t yet contacted a real estate agent to begin scouting a new
location.”

“Why not?”

“Too busy. And I’m not sure if I’d be better served buying my
own location. Real estate being what it is right now, I can get more for my
money with a mortgage than a lease.”

“Except with the City of Hendersonville. Best deal around.”
Those dimples again.

Her breath did a little fluttery thing in her throat and she
had the sudden memory of the conversation she’d had in class only a few nights
ago.

Lust at first sight
?

Oh, please... Well, okay.
Maybe.

Just because lust at first sight wasn’t a good idea didn’t mean
it didn’t happen. Even to someone who had her inner child firmly under
control.

Will returned the floor plans to the folder, shuffled through
the papers with those long fingers as if checking to make certain everything was
there then he slid the folder toward her. “This is yours. Everything you need to
know about Family Foundations. The lease is there for you to review along with
the proposed floor plans. I put a lot of contact information in there in case
you think of more questions. My cell number, too, so you can call me
anytime.”

“Thank you.” She
wanted
to hang her
shingle outside this building, so the real questions were whether or not the
move was viable and if she could determine that in seventy-two hours.

There was also Will Russell to consider. If the man’s company
was renovating, he’d be around. In her building. Did she really want to involve
herself with a man whose integrity she’d questioned enough to not even consider
voting for him?

A man whose charming presence had unexpectedly whipped her
usually well-mannered inner child into a frenzy?

“I’ll get back to you with my decision in seventy-two hours.”
She extended her hand, and he took it.

Unfortunately, invisible sparks flew.

“I’ll look forward to hearing from you.”

Kenzie had no doubt he meant what he said.

CHAPTER THREE

W
ILL
STOOD
AT
the front door of the
suburban-style home, a well-landscaped yard and sizeable house that looked
similar in size and style to the house next door. And the one across the street.
And the one up the street. Why builders never used architects who designed
houses with continuity of style rather than cookie-cutter designs was a mystery
to him.

He didn’t bother ringing the bell again, knew the effort was
wasted. Guadalupe would get to the door when she got to the door. She had her
hands full inside. That much he knew.

He heard her voice even before the locks started rattling.

“Coming, Will. Coming. As fast as I can, which isn’t fast
enough.”

Guadalupe Santiago was the only person Will knew who could
stretch his name into two syllables.
“We-el.”

Better yet, when she referred to him with the kids, she managed
to turn his name into lyrics.

“Me-ester We-el.”

The last lock jangled and the door opened to reveal the short,
rounded form of Guadalupe wearing a patterned housedress, her wild
salt-and-pepper hair barely contained under a kerchief.

“Come in. Come in,” she said. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“No problem,
chica.
”

Will entered and toed off his shoes to add to the heap already
in the foyer. A sacred house rule. Guadalupe didn’t like people tracking in dirt
on her clean floors. Her floors were always clean because people didn’t track in
dirt.

She could have covered her windows with aluminum foil for all
Will cared because this home had the most important things as far as he and Sam
were concerned: accessibility for a child with special needs, hearty laughter
and lots of love.

“I told him he could finish his coloring.” She wiped her hands
on a dish towel. “You in a hurry?”

Will shook his head. “Not today.”

“Good. Then come to the kitchen and tell me how it went this
morning. You never texted me, so I fretted all day. Did you charm her with this
cute smile?” Guadalupe reached up to grab his cheek and gently tugged.

Will didn’t think he’d charmed Kenzie James. Unfortunately. Not
for lack of trying, though, but he didn’t want to make Guadalupe worry more than
she already worried. She was as invested in Angel House as he and everyone
else.

A Cuban native, Guadalupe’s thick accent accompanied a heart of
pure gold. She’d come to this country after her husband’s death to assist her
daughter and son-in-law in caring for their son, Rafael, who was two years older
than Sam and further along his journey to higher functioning.

Thanks to Angel House.

In fact, it was Deanne who had arranged for Guadalupe to help
Will during those first dark months when he’d been alone playing both dad and
mom and failing miserably. And trying to work. And run his company. And deal
with the house. And feed them. And get Sam to and from doctors’ visits and
therapy sessions and Angel House. They would have never made it if not for
Will’s mother who, although she also worked full-time, had cared for Sam when
she wasn’t working and cooked and cleaned and helped Will get their lives under
control.

Then Deanne had suggested Guadalupe as a possible solution to
the care-giving problem. She already knew the drill because she took care of her
own grandson. Guadalupe had become the living manifestation of Deanne’s favorite
saying.

God provides
.

A day didn’t pass when Will didn’t reply with a,
“Thanks.”

Rafael had found his language and proved an excellent role
model for Sam. And while they didn’t see each other much at Angel House, they’d
become great friends during their afternoons together.

“Go sit at the table while I check on the boys and make sure
they’re not getting into mischief,” she said, leading him into the kitchen where
something that smelled really good simmered on the stovetop. “I’ll let Sam know
you’re here.”

Hanging the dish towel on the refrigerator handle, she slipped
from the room.

Will sat and checked his phone for messages.

She reemerged as he sent off a text to a subcontractor on a
remodeling job stalled while they waited for an inspector who hadn’t shown up
for the second day in a row.

Will would place a call to Building Services. Of course, he’d
have to wait until Monday now. Damn.

“Going to be a few minutes,” she said. “There’s still some
white space on the page. You look hungry. Will you eat?”

He nodded, grateful. All he had at home was leftover delivery
pizza from last night’s supper. There hadn’t been time to cook while he’d been
researching Kenzie James, preparing her proposal for today’s meeting and moving
Sam through their nightly routine.

Guadalupe set a bowl of steaming beef and beans in front of him
along with a napkin and silverware. “Now tell me how the meeting went. Deanne
wouldn’t say a word when I picked up the boys.”

“Thanks.” He snapped open the napkin and grabbed the fork.
“Deanne didn’t say anything because she didn’t know anything. I haven’t spoken
to her yet.”

“Now you’re making my heart hurt. The lady didn’t like the
building? How could she not like the building? It’s beautiful, and big.”

“The lady liked the building. I’m sure she did.”

“Then why don’t you look happy?”

He had to think about that. “I’m not unhappy.”

Guadalupe gave a huge, disgusted sigh and yanked open a cabinet
hard enough to make the hinges squeak.

“Relocating a business is a big decision,
chica,
” he said. “I didn’t expect the lady to make a decision on the
spot.” In his dreams maybe... “She’s a businesswoman. As it was I didn’t give
her much time to think things through.”

“How long?”

“Three days. We should know something Monday.”

“If she liked the building, then why do you look worried?”

He used a mouthful of Guadalupe’s shredded beef and beans as a
distraction to avoid answering her question. Will wasn’t sure he knew himself.
But Kenzie had bugged him. He hadn’t expected her to be so...unapproachable.

Guadalupe knew he was dodging her question. Setting a glass of
iced tea in front of him with a sniff, she left the kitchen to check on the boys
again.

Will dealt with people. Always had. He could read them. Win
them over if he put his mind to it. Even the tough ones who took some time and
effort. Not that he was God’s gift or anything, but people had always come
easily to him.

Not Kenzie James.

She had some sort of invisible wall around her. As if right
from the start she’d decided to keep her distance. She’d been polite and
businesslike and
remote.
Only once had he gotten
even close to an unguarded response from her. He’d told her his name and they’d
connected for an instant, one fleeting interaction when he saw humor twinkling
in her hazel eyes, heard amusement in her sudden laughter.

She was a lovely woman, fresh-faced and a lot younger than he’d
expected a divorce mediator with such a stellar reputation to be. But when Will
thought about it, which he hadn’t had time to all day, he realized she was
likely good at what she did because she had such a gentle, unflappable calm
about her.

Was that what he hadn’t been able to get around?

Maybe her distance had nothing to do with him personally and
everything to do with a career that dictated she be the calm in the middle of
storms. By definition when a couple needed mediation, they weren’t agreeing on
something. After two divorces Will knew that firsthand. In order to be an
effective mediator for people who were at each others’ throats, Kenzie James
probably had become an expert at wielding her calm the way he wielded his charm.
Like a weapon.

Only he hadn’t wielded enough to make a dent this morning, the
one time in his life it really counted.

Guadalupe returned and dropped into the chair adjacent to him
with a sigh. “You were hungry.”

“The meeting this morning put me behind. I spent the day
running from job site to job site playing catch-up.”

“You should pack a lunch.”

He supposed he could have thrown a few slices of leftover pizza
and an ice pack into one of Sam’s lunchboxes. Cold pizza from a superhero
lunchbox. Better than starving.

“This is really good. Thanks.”

She leveled her dark gaze at him. “What’s bothering you?”

He shrugged. “Meeting went okay. I guess I wanted more than
okay.
Maybe some indication she was going to
sign on and solve a big problem.”

“Is there something wrong with this lady? Why wouldn’t she want
to help us?”

Guadalupe lived to care for people. A born nurturer, so
obviously her thoughts were about helping and that’s how she would have talked
to Kenzie. But Will hadn’t slanted his presentation that way. He’d been all
about what she could get out of the deal. He didn’t think he would have gotten
any further had he appealed to her charity and asked her to help a bunch of kids
and their families. Not when it meant relocating her business.

“Maybe she will. We’ll know in a few days, anyway, so no more
fretting.”

But, like the rest of the parents, grandparents and caregivers
of Angel House’s kids, Guadalupe would continue to worry until Angel House got
on solid financial footing or shut its doors, whichever came first.

“Well, if the lady turns down that big building, we can find
someone else who’s not so silly.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Will wished the solution was that simple.
Despite what he’d told Kenzie about moving down the list of businesses
interested in Family Foundations, the truth was that list consisted of one
name.

Positive Partings
.

The criteria were just so damned specific. And if he didn’t get
to work on that building yesterday, there would be no earthly way to make the
deadline.

“I’ll light a candle at church.” Guadalupe pushed up from the
chair. “It’s the weekend, so I can slip out of here for the morning mass. Now,
you take some of my apple bread home. I baked it this morning. Sam ate two
pieces after school today.”

Fickle taste buds came with the territory. Rafael had already
transitioned to a gluten-free diet, which was encouraged by Angel House’s
nutritionist. But Sam wasn’t even close, compliments of Will’s epic failure.
They’d failed every time Will had tried to introduce and transition Sam to new
foods. Time was the biggest deterrent. No time to cook. No time to deal with
Sam’s behavior when he didn’t want to eat something. Texture was a big issue, so
until Will could make the time to consistently travel the long road to behavior
modification, Sam’s taste buds would dictate the menu. At the moment, they were
both lucky they didn’t starve.

Will scarfed down the last few bites then grabbed his bowl and
glass from the table. He set them in the sink then dropped a kiss onto the top
of Guadalupe’s head. “There’s a halo under that kerchief, isn’t there? Don’t
know what we’d do without you.”

“Starve for sure.” She waved him off, a fierce-looking gesture
as she held a knife to cut the bread, but she beamed. “You know if you need
extra time to work on the building or to find another business to help us, Sam
can stay here. Even overnight. Gabriella and Jorge don’t mind. They like when
Rafael has friends over.”

“Thanks, my little Cubanita.” Will only hoped he would get to
take Guadalupe up on her generous offer.

For all their sakes.

* * *

W
ITH
SO
MUCH
at stake and so much
to gain, Kenzie had enlisted the aid of almost everyone she valued in her life
to help her make an informed decision. With only seventy-two hours to gather
research, answer questions and assess the consequences of becoming a part of
Family Foundations, she’d needed help.

So she’d put both her parents to work even though they were
still wintering in Punta Gorda. And Geri, who had recommended Positive Partings
for consideration. And Nathanial, her lifelong best friend and sweetheart. And
Lou, her proficient administrative assistant.

On the surface the decision was a no-brainer. Opportunity
knocked, too good to pass up even for the few months overlap with her current
lease. That overlap would enable her to move her offices around her current work
schedule, which was a plus.

Classes were scheduled in advance, so she would have plenty of
attendees to contact about the move, which was a minus. But the overlap gave her
the option of working between the two buildings while Will and his company
renovated—another plus.

Unfortunately this move was not a surface decision. And some of
her most basic questions required ridiculous effort to answer because her
seventy-two-hour window fell on a weekend.

Had Will Russell intended for her to be challenged by the
inability to talk to her bank or easily access public records or consult with a
real estate agent? Or had the timing simply been an oversight on his part? She
supposed the reason didn’t matter when the end result meant more work for
her.

But there was the real problem—Will Russell. Her opinion of his
integrity and her unexpected reaction to him had muddied the water of her
decision.

All weekend Kenzie had operated like the president being
briefed on the issues by an attentive staff. The fax machine churned out
documents for her perusal. The phone rang constantly with calls and texts coming
in during other calls and texts.

Geri had been in charge of providing information about Family
Foundations. As a close personal friend of the mayor, she was in a unique
position to get the inside scoop. Through her, Kenzie had learned that not only
was Will the mayor’s representative for Family Foundations, but he’d actually
conceived of the original proposal as part of his platform to run for city
council.