“Sure. That’s easy enough.”
“And if the same author wrote more than one book, then put the titles for that author in alphabetical order too—OK?”
“Got it.”
“Thank you, Mandy. You’re going to be a great help.”
Mary Beth’s smile faded when the girl’s hot-pink cellphone suddenly blared out a rap tune with unintelligible lyrics and something that sounded like car crashes in the background. Cringing, Amanda glanced at the caller ID and then turned the phone off.
“Sorry about that, Miss Brock. They can leave a message.”
Mary Beth’s smile returned. “That’s very considerate. Thank you.”
Seeing that Mandy was going to be busy for a while, Mary Beth went into the back room and ate the tuna sandwich and potato chips she had brought from home. When she came back into the front of the store, she was surprised to see Ian Butler coming through the front door.
“Ian. Hi. Did you decide to take up knitting?”
Ian laughed, his dark eyes warm. “Actually, I came to talk to you, if you have a minute.”
“Sure. It’s been Grand Central Station around here this morning. But Mandy is tidying up my books for me, so at the moment, I’m a lady of leisure. Come sit down.”
She led him to the circle of chairs usually occupied by the ladies of the Hook and Needle Club, and both of them had a seat.
“So what’s on your mind, Ian?”
“I just had lunch with Annie and Alice. They’re about ready to make war on the town council over this thing with Burly Boy.”
“Ugh. Don’t even mention that name to me right now. I just got a visit from somebody in Corporate Planning or something.”
“Was it that McMillan woman?”
“I take it you’ve already met her.”
Ian shuddered. “I was just glad it wasn’t in a dark alley.”
“She’s not that bad,” Mary Beth said, chuckling. “She’s just very used to getting her own way.”
“Was that her in the SUV?”
Mary Beth nodded. “And her little assistant, the poor thing—he looked all of twelve years old.”
“Poor kid. What did they want?”
“They were scouting out the place, acting as if it already belonged to SPQR & FFA, Incorporated—or whatever it is. I couldn’t believe it, Ian.”
“You should have told them to come back when they have a contract.”
Mary Beth shrugged. “I did, more or less, but then she was going to call up Mr. Huggins at the hospital to get his OK, and I really didn’t want them bothering him right now, you know? Not with his wife as sick as she is.”
“I can understand that.” He gave her a rueful, sympathetic smile. “They didn’t stay long, did they?”
“Just long enough to ruffle my feathers, and that was way too long.”
“I’ll try extra hard to stay on your good side then. I don’t think I could take another beating like the one I got over lunch.”
“From Annie and Alice?” Mary Beth held up one hand. “I swear, Ian, I didn’t send them over to see you.”
Ian chuckled. “I know, but I couldn’t blame you if you had. I’m none too happy about the deal either. But there’s something else I hope you’ll understand about why we’re not trying to stop the sale to Burly Boy. Mr. Huggins needs that money. We’d rather he sold the place to you or to some other investor who would let you keep your store. But he needs to sell, and if Burly Boy is his only option, it’d be pretty heartless for us to stop him and keep his wife from getting the care she needs, wouldn’t it?”
“Nobody wants that. And I hope it doesn’t come to that. I don’t want the town council to miss out on anything that would actually be good for Stony Point in the long run either.”
“Obviously, we want to keep the character of our downtown. Stony Point should stay looking like Stony Point and not Las Vegas or New York, right?”
Mary Beth chuckled. “Right.”
“But there are purely financial considerations also. Not only are the Burly Boy people willing to pay well for the privilege of opening on our Main Street, they’d bring in some good sales tax revenues for years to come as well as provide some entry-level and even management jobs that we desperately need.”
She felt bad for Ian. Life was hard enough these days. He and the town council had not only themselves to consider, but also the welfare of the whole town. Keeping Stony Point’s traditions and way of life alive while not killing its industry and growth had to be a delicate balancing act.
“I can see how that would be a hard decision, especially with Mr. Huggins in his situation. Maybe keeping my little shop open isn’t the best thing for the town.”