Cole had always thought himself to be too practical for nostalgia, but the acreage was vast and grassy if he looked past the buildings. Plus, it was kind of cool to own a place with a little bit of history, a place that someone else had once sunk their own blood and sweat into. Maybe it was all those years living in barracks on military bases, but he was itching to replant some roots and this neglected-looking property needed him. It felt good to be needed again.
The possibility of a challenge flared up inside of him and he wondered out loud, “So maybe instead of bulldozing everything to the ground, we can repurpose some of these buildings. If only we knew what was what.”
“Down at the Gazette offices, I think we have an old photo of this place in its heyday,” Lydia explained, walking toward a smaller structure. “I believe that this peeling white building up front is the actual depot, but because nobody in town came this far out, it never saw too many passengers. That huge brick monstrosity back there is a freight house, where they’d store the loaded cars.”
“Looks like they left one behind when they closed down operations.” Vivienne pointed to an abandoned railcar sitting at a crooked angle, the lower half almost hidden by overgrown grass and the inside probably home to several different species of critters. Cole watched the wedding planner as she studied their surroundings. He’d half expected her to jump back into the truck at the first sight of a prairie dog. But she surprised him when she said, “There’s something alluring and fascinating about it all, isn’t there? I mean, all that rustic brick is totally back in style right now. And the tiny depot is adorable. Can’t you just picture what it would look like with a fresh coat of white paint and some flower boxes planted around the platform?”
“What used to be the platform, you mean.” Cole squinted at the collapsed, rotted-out planks.
“Let’s go check out the freight house,” Vivienne suggested, surprising him again by leading the way. Her legs trembled slightly as she trudged through the path in her high heels, and Cole found himself appreciating her determination and curiosity.
When they got to the wooden plank doors of the large brick structure, he saw that the padlock was relatively new, but the hasp was so rusted that it all but fell at Zach’s feet when his brother gave it a slight tug.
“Whoa,” Cole said, taking a step back. “Isn’t that breaking and entering?”
“Not if you guys own the property,” Vivienne replied, before being the first to walk inside. Cole almost asked if prowling and trespassing were included in her wedding-planner fees, or if she charged extra for that service.
“We don’t own it yet,” Cole called out when Zach and Lydia followed her lead. Super. Now they were all committing a crime. He stepped in after them. “Technically, Dad never mentioned whether or not the offer was accepted.”
“Relax, Sergeant Save-the-Day,” Zach said, using the hated nickname from childhood. “The lock is probably just to keep out the bears and the teenagers looking for a hangout. It’s not like they’re storing any valuables in here.”
Okay, so maybe his brother had a point. Aside from some spiderwebs and a few broken wooden crates in one corner, the place was empty.
“Wow.” Vivienne did a complete circle as she looked up at the row of dormer windows lining each side of the roofline. “Look at all the natural light coming in here. An open floor plan like this would be the perfect place to host some sort of housewarming party.”
Cole squeezed his eyelids shut for a few seconds, then opened them, wondering if the woman was seeing the same run-down barren building he was. Who in their right mind would throw a party here? Or maybe the fee calculator in her mind was ka-chinging like a cash register, and Vivienne was hoping to make a killing on his family with her suggestions for additional parties they didn’t need.
“I’m afraid your vision is completely lost on me,” he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
“Look.” She pulled a small electronic tablet out of her purse and made her way toward him as she tapped on the screen. She held up a picture of what looked to be some fancy hall decorated to look like an old barn. Or maybe it was an old barn cleaned up to look like a fancy hall. “People actually pay thousands of dollars to rent out aged buildings just like these for private events.”
“Yeah, but how much work would it take to make this—” Cole gestured to the brick walls and windows caked with years of grime before pointing at her device “—look like that?”
“I guess it would depend on how motivated you were. I bet a cleaning crew could have this place scrubbed down in a couple of days. The roof might need some repairing, just in case it rains during the event, and you’ll probably need a new shed door. I’m not an expert at refurbishing old buildings, but you’d only need to make it structurally sound, not livable. Part of the charm is in keeping the thing as rustic as possible. Then you bring in your own tables and chairs, or you get them from a party rental company, call up a caterer and go from there.”
“Can I see that picture?” Lydia asked as she and Zach huddled together on one side of Vivienne. Cole found himself practically pressed up against her other side so that he could still see the screen as she swiped through similar images. But instead of focusing on the photos, his eyes kept straying toward the V-neck of her dress. Again.
Lydia’s gasp caused his head to jerk up, an innocent expression pasted all over his guilty face. But instead of accusing him of ogling the wedding planner, his soon-to-be sister-in-law said excitedly, “You know what would be perfect? We should have our reception here. Just think! It would serve a dual purpose of celebrating our wedding and formally welcoming the Daltons to Rust Creek Falls.”
“I love it,” Vivienne gushed, before looking down at a text that popped up on her tablet. Unlike Zach and Lydia, who had stepped back and were too busy making googly eyes at each other and the derelict building, Cole was still right by Vivienne’s side and could easily see the message.
You better be getting more bookings while you’re there, or else. Her finger quickly swiped to hide the notification, but as soon as it was gone, a second one popped up. This time, there were no words. Just a row of dollar signs.
Luckily, he was able to look away right before she turned her head in his direction, probably hoping he hadn’t seen her boss’s directive. Even though his instincts had now been confirmed, there was something about the threat at the end that evoked just the smallest pang of sympathy.
Once, he’d had an old blowhard of a first sergeant who’d gotten in his face and cussed him up one side and down the other when he caught Cole helping another recruit clean the latrine. The dressing-down took place in front of the entire platoon, who all did their best to pretend nothing out of the ordinary was happening. So he was familiar with being embarrassed by high-handed bosses who never appreciated a job well-done. If only Estelle of Estelle’s Events could see that her employee was currently reeling in her clients hook, line and sinker.
Still. Someone had to look out for his brother and make sure nobody was taking advantage of the lovestruck groom. Cole couldn’t tamp down the need to remind the couple of the more practical side of things.
“I know you guys are thinking with your hearts right now, but maybe you should be thinking with your checking accounts.” Honestly, Cole had no idea what their budget was, but every time Vivienne had made a suggestion during the car ride over here, he’d been reminded of one of those bar-code scanning machines in the grocery store, each beep signaling a rising total.
“Like I said, I’m not sure how much it would cost to get the building fixed up, but if you’re not tearing it down, you’d likely be