He walked back into the bedroom and took off his shoes. He grabbed a stack of folders from his briefcase, along with his computer. He settled back against the stack of pillows on the bed and began reading through the information in the files as well as checking the photos his assistant had sent to his tablet. Yes, he hoped his plan was going to work out well here.
CHAPTER THREE
The next morning Owen stood on the sidewalk of Main Street in Comfort Crossing, Mississippi. He admitted it was a quaint little town with its cobblestone main street, well-kept storefronts, a park off Main Street that looked like it belonged on a postcard. There were even old fashioned street lamps lining the street.
His research team had done a good job of providing him with information that he needed to make his decision. He’d read the team’s statistics and the town was having a good revival. The small town had come up with a handful of festivals throughout the year to attract tourists. More families were moving here from the New Orleans area and commuting to work.
But he wanted to see the actual building. It was a well maintained building. Large old windows, brick walls, updated electricity. The building even had a new roof. His architects had come up with a plan on how to update the building to make it a bit more efficient for the business.
Owen walked down the street, looking into the store fronts, noting the range of businesses from a handful of shops, to galleries, to professional businesses, and the shop in the building he wanted to buy. Bella’s Vintage Shop. He’d been told it was a mix of antiques, decorating items, and gifts.
He opened the door to the shop to take a look at the inside of the building. A bell jangled from over the door. Nice touch. He appreciated the small details in businesses.
A woman looked up as he entered the store. “May I help you?” Her warm Southern voice welcomed him.
“I’m just wanting to browse.”
“Take your time. There’s also more upstairs. The stairs are in the back of the building. Call out if you need me.”
“Will do.”
Owen walked through the shop, noticing the displays the shop had put together. Each room was a feast to the eyes, cajoling a person to recreate the mood in their own home. Someone had a really good eye for putting things together. Unusual combinations of items. He would bet the shop did a good business.
He walked up the stairs The windows on this level looked to be originals, old glass panes with metal grids. More exposed brick walls. He was hoping they could save a lot of the original wooden floors. He walked down the stairs and back to the front of the store.
“Find anything you like?”
“Someone has done a really nice job with the shop. A good eye for color and combining unusual items together.”
“Thanks. I’ll let the owner know. She has a talent for setting up the displays, doesn’t she?”
Bella, the owner, he presumed, since the shop was Bella’s Vintage Shop.
The bell over the door jangled again and the woman turned to greet the new customers. A trio of ladies chattered their way into the shop. He watched as they picked up objects and oohed and aahed over everything.
Time to make his escape. As the woman went to show the customers how an intricately carved wooden box opened, he slipped out the door.
~ * ~
The weather was one of those perfect spring days that lured a person outside with promises of sunshine and warm breezes. Bella took a much needed afternoon off work to take the boys to the town park. She sat on a bench and watched them run around with a bunch of their friends. She figured her ex-husband owed her one for wearing the boys out before they went to his house for a long weekend. The boys didn’t have school tomorrow, so Rick was taking the boys until Sunday night.
Rick had said he wanted the boys this weekend and he was used to getting his way. It took too much energy to argue with him, so she usually gave in. She still had the boys most of the time because Rick would go out of town on business for weeks at a time fairly often.
Anyway, the acquiescing to Rick's whims was a routine she’d gotten into when they first had gotten married. That first year he had started to critique what she wore—he didn’t like anything bright— and what she cooked. Rick had gotten rid of a car she loved that had been her father’s, and bought a fancy one that she never liked. When she’d gotten pregnant with Jeremy, Rick had commanded she stay home with him. Their lives had always been planned around what Rick wanted, what Rick demanded.
After they separated, Rick had insisted that opening the shop was a mistake, that she’d never make a go of it. But she’d stood up to him for the first time in her life, and opened the shop anyway. It was the first time she had ever in her life tried to support herself totally on her own. It felt darn good, too.