With Baited Breath (15 page)

“What are you going to tell your Gramps?” Kathy asked as she pushed the shopping cart beside the market’s meat counter.

“Gee, I hadn’t thought of that. Slumber party?”

“Did you mention to him that I’m staying for a few days?”

“It may have slipped my mind. But don’t worry. He’s an easy-going kind of guy.”

Kathy picked up a package of chicken breasts and placed it in the cart. “I’ll sleep in the boathouse if I have to, but I need to be around my house.”

“It’s not yours yet.”

“But it will be. I have faith.”

Lucky you
, Tori thought. Her future appeared to be a black hole where hope was in short supply.

Kathy selected a package of pork chops and some burgers. They moved on to the produce department, where they grabbed a couple of bags of salad, a cucumber, radishes, and tomatoes. “If we can get a couple of plants in this week, we should have decent-tasting ones by Labor Day.”

“Where are you going to plant them?”

“By the side of the Lotus Lodge, and in my side yard.”

Tori was tired of mentioning that Kathy didn’t yet own the property.

“Are we done?” Tori asked.

“No. I need to get some flour, brown sugar, eggs, and a few spices. I need to bake, and I don’t think your Gramps will mind if I share the bounty. I’ll pay for the groceries.”

“You will not. You’re unemployed,” Tori pointed out.

“So are you. And I’ll have money coming in when my birthday arrives. We’re not so sure about you.”

“Thanks for reminding me,” Tori said flatly. “Okay, you pay for the stuff; I’ll go buy Gramps a couple of lottery tickets. Maybe he’ll win the Mega Millions, give me the compound, and move to Florida.”

“I’ll cross my fingers for him,” Kathy said with sarcasm. They gathered up the last of the groceries and Kathy headed for the checkout while Tori went to the service counter where she was fourth in line. By the time she got to the desk, there were three more people behind her. Apparently, Tom’s Market was the go-to place to buy lottery tickets. By the time she finished her transaction, Kathy was waiting. They walked to the car.

“What if we have to pull an all-nighter?” Tori asked.

“We did it in college all the time.”

“That was eight years ago. These days, I get crabby if I don’t get my full eight hours of sleep.”

“You sound like a grandmother,” Kathy teased, then grimaced. “I’m sorry. I forgot it’s been less than a week since you lost your grandma.”

“It’s okay. I do pretty well during the day. It’s at night when I have time to think that I start to cry.”

They loaded the groceries in the back of the car and Kathy returned the cart to the store, then they took off.

“I love that little store. I love this little village,” Kathy commented as they passed the self-clean car wash.

“Not many amenities, but Rochester is only an hour away. And you can order just about anything online these days. There’s nothing wrong with door-to-door delivery.”

Kathy took in the scenery like a tourist. She seemed to have rose-colored glasses on. Did she even see how many run-down houses and rickety barns lined the highway? Most people thought of poverty as being just an urban problem, but there was plenty of it right there in Ward County, where the summer people in their pretty little cottages on the water bore an unfair portion of the tax burden. Before she got serious about trying to persuade Herb against selling their property, she had better make a point of asking about the county and school taxes.

They arrived back at the house and Kathy insisted on making dinner. Tori didn’t object. Her specialty appeared to be making coffee and boiling water for tea. Take-out was always the best option at her house.

Tori went back out to the yard and packed up the unsold yard sale items. Some of the iffy ones went straight into the Dumpster. Herb closed the door to the bait shop and locked it at precisely six o’clock, just as Tori was closing the door to Lotus Lodge’s unit 1.

“What’s for supper?” he asked, rubbing hands together.

“Chicken. Kathy’s cooking, so at least it’ll taste good.”

Anissa’s blue truck rumbled to a halt in the parking area. She got out, carrying a brown paper bag. “I didn’t know what you were serving, so I brought a bottle of red and white.”

“Either works for me,” Herb said, as they ambled over to the house.

The aroma of Italian spices greeted them as they walked into the kitchen. “Something smells good,” Herb said.

Kathy looked up from the salad she was assembling. “It’ll be ready in about fifteen minutes.”

“Then we’ve got time for a drink,” Anissa said, and set the bag on the counter. “Sorry they’re not chilled. I know it’s gauche, but we can toss a few ice cubes into the glasses.”

“I’ve done it before,” Tori admitted.

“I’m going to wash up,” Herb said. “Been handling worms half the day,” he said and disappeared in the direction of the bathroom.

Tori gestured for Anissa to take a seat at the table and washed her hands at the kitchen sink. By the time she sat down, Kathy had opened the Chardonnay. She set the bottle, glasses, and a bowl of ice and some tongs on the table, then sat down. Herb joined them a minute later.

“Oh, Gramps, I forgot. I got you some lottery tickets,” Tori said, and reached for her purse on the counter. She retrieved them and handed them to her grandfather.

“No scratch-offs?” he asked.

“I didn’t know which ones to buy.”

“You didn’t get Powerball.”

“The odds are astronomical. I figured you had a better shot at Mega Millions.”

“What’s the jackpot?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Twenty million. Something like that.”

“It’ll have to do,” Herb groused, and shoved the tickets into the breast pocket of his flannel shirt. “Thanks.”

“Mr. Cannon,” Anissa said, her voice subdued. “Have you ever seen strange lights out on the bay?”

“Nope,” he said succinctly. “Lights from boats, yes. Strange lights? Nope.”

“Why would people be out on the bay late at night?” Kathy asked. “Isn’t it dangerous?”

“Only if you don’t know what you’re doing,” Herb said.

“Did you ever do much night fishing?” Tori asked.

Herb shook his head. “I don’t really like fishing. I always thought I might like to learn to play golf. Maybe I’ll do that when I retire to Florida.”

“When are you going to do that, Mr. Cannon?” Anissa asked.

“As soon as I sell this place—or I win the Powerball.”

“Never,” Tori mouthed.

“You hear anything about that house yet?” Herb asked Kathy.

She shook her head. “No. Tori thinks I made a hasty decision in making an offer.”

“I’ll say. You don’t really know anything about the area, do you?”

She shook her head. “But I like it here.”

“It’s nice. In the summer,” he amended. “Come winter? It’s like living on the moon. Dark, cold, and inhospitable.”

“I thought I might look up the local historical society to see if I can find some pictures of the house in better days, and to find out the history of the area.”

“Nothing much ever happened around here,” Herb said. He frowned, as though rethinking that last statement. “Well, not since prohibition, anyway.”

“Prohibition?”

“Yeah, smugglers used to sneak beer, gin, and whiskey across the lake from Canada. They say a house up on Willow Point has a really big basement where they used to stash the stuff before they could distribute it.”

“Really?” Anissa asked.

“No lie.”

“I never heard that before,” Tori said.

“There’s lots of things you haven’t heard,” Herb said, pouring himself a glass of wine. He bypassed the ice.

“Why would rum runners want to come to such an out-of-the-way place?” Tori asked.

“I think you just answered your own question,” Herb said. “You think this place is dead now, think how it must have been a hundred years ago. There was a bridge, but nothing else.”

“How would a boat find its way across the lake in the dark?”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” Herb said, taking a sip of his wine. He grimaced. “We got any beer left?”

Kathy got up to get him a can from the fridge.

“What have you girls got planned for this evening?”

Kathy and Anissa looked to Tori to answer.

“We thought we might just hang out in the boat house.”

“What for?”

“Isn’t there supposed to be a meteor shower tonight?” Kathy offered.

“Not that I heard,” Herb said, cracking the tab on his beer.

“Anissa and I have a lot of years to catch up on,” Tori said.

“That boat house is really dirty. Are you sure you want to sit up there with all the spiders and God knows what else?” Herb asked.

“Kathy cleaned the windows,” Tori said.

“Anything else?”

“Not yet,” Kathy admitted.

They sipped their adult beverages. It was Kathy who broke the quiet. “Tori says you want to sell the business.”

Herb’s eyes widened and he cocked his head to look at his granddaughter. He did not seem pleased, but he did answer the question. “I’m thinking about it.”

“What do you think it’s worth?”

“Kath!” Tori implored.

“I need to get a feel for what the business climate is here in this part of Ward County.”

A plausible, if dubious explanation.

Herb shrugged. “Half a million.”

Tori nearly choked on her wine. “Are you crazy?”

Herb looked at her quizzically. “No. There’re houses on the east side of the bay that are going for more than that and on much smaller lots.”

“Have you thought about holding the mortgage for a potential buyer?” Kathy pressed.

“No. You got someone in mind?” he asked, looking across the table at Anissa.

“Yes, Tori.”

“Kath!” Tori cried again.

“Tori?” Herb asked. “Why would she want to waste her life here?”

“Because she loves this place,” Kathy said matter-of-factly.

Herb turned to look at his granddaughter. “And why is that?”

A walloping surge of emotion swelled within her and Tori had to force herself to speak. “Because this is the place where I’ve felt most loved.”

“Your mom and dad love you,” Herb said.

“Yeah, but you and Grandma loved me more.”

“Oh, Tori, you know that’s not true.”

“No, Gramps, I don’t,” she said in all sincerity.

It was a terribly awkward moment that Kathy quickly diffused. “So, what would you let Tori buy the business from you for?”

For a long moment, Herb looked thoughtful, but then he shook his head. “No, I couldn’t do it—not in good conscience. Because this place would suck her life away, and in the end she’d just resent it and me.”

His words stung like acid on a wound. He had no faith in her or her abilities. Well, what had she expected?

Tori pushed back her chair. “If you’ll excuse me,” she said, rose, and headed for the back of the house.

The door to what she now thought of as her room was ajar. Daisy was sacked out on the bed. She opened her eyes and blinked as Tori came in and sat down beside her, then rose and stretched before climbing onto Tori’s lap.

“I knew you’d be here for me,” she whispered into the cat’s fur, hugging her tightly. Daisy purred even louder.

Tori sat there, staring at nothing, feeling empty—too empty to even cry. What would she do with the rest of her life? Days ago, she was set to send out resumes to schools in three different counties. Now the thought of going back to the classroom made her feel miserable. Talking with Kathy about the possibilities for the bait shop and reviving the Lotus Lodge had sparked the entrepreneurial spirit within her. The idea of living across the street from Kathy had been another perk she couldn’t have anticipated a week before. Despite her grandfather’s announcement about selling, until Kathy had actually asked him point blank about the possibility of letting her acquire the business, she’d still held out hope.

Now she felt a grief akin to losing her grandmother. And maybe that was part of the problem. If she could no longer be a part of Lotus Bay, her grandmother would be forever lost to her.

That was stupid. She’d hold her grandmother in her heart forever, but somehow the idea of losing this little piece of paradise would wound her forever.

Daisy suddenly jumped down to the floor and Tori’s head turned at the sound of a knock at the still-open door. Herb stood before her. “Can I come in?”

Tori shrugged, hanging her head once more.

Herb stepped inside the room and sat beside her, resting his hands on his thighs and looking very uncomfortable. “I never knew you loved this place so much.”

“I always thought
you
did.”

“I told you; this place was your grandmother’s dream, not mine. You never told me you were interested in going into business.”