Kian, too, was doing what he loved and was actually quite good at it. Didn’t he deserve as much of a chance to realize his dream as she did hers? The deal he’d offered—getting her dad’s shop on the First Friday Arts Trail in exchange for her finding him a headliner—came to mind. Could she actually help him?
She’d gotten her break when a friend showed off her one-of-a-kind Autumn Molinero engagement ring to her famous boyfriend’s billionaire friends. As word spread, opportunities came in. Nothing changed in Autumn’s product or process—just her exposure. Maybe she could do the same for him. She knew some pretty influential people—influential people who might like his good, clean comedy in a fun environment. She pulled out her phone, captured a couple seconds of video, and sent it off to a couple of friends. Looking for an escape? Come visit. I want to take you to this new comedy club I found.
She put her phone away and relaxed into her chair, drinking in every nuance of Kian’s performance. He knew how to work a crowd; he was comfortable and friendly, drawing everyone in.
Every so often, instead of scanning the crowd, his eyes grazed hers, and her heart answered with an involuntary stutter. Was it her imagination, or was he singling her out? Warmth filled her chest. Even while he was onstage performing, he was still thinking about her, and she most definitely was thinking of him.
16
Every year, the third weekend in July was heaven to Kian, even though it was also the hardest, most demanding week of the year. The Eureka Springs Multisport Festival brought in hundreds of people from out of town for a triathlon, numerous runs of all the typical lengths, and even a Gran Fondo bike ride. Not only did that mean every one of his bike tours was filled with spectators looking for trail adventures of their own, but every comedy show was packed with participants and spectators looking to blow off some after-hours steam.
As a sponsor of the event and advertised on all of the T-shirts, banners, and write-ups, Spokes kept a constant flow of customers. It was a good thing he’d known it was coming. Kian had hired temporary employees—guys who knew the business—to staff the shop and help with bicycle repairs as well as to run some of the tours, because Kian also had responsibilities with the committee to keep the event running smoothly.
This year was just as amazing as previous years, except that it consumed every minute of every day. After saying good night following her appearance on his show the other night, he hadn’t had a chance to catch up with Autumn again. With the increase in tourists, the Looking Glass had been busy as well, so he didn’t feel too bad about it, but he was starting to miss seeing his pretty brunette friend. They’d had a few fun texting conversations spread out over long periods of time, and he’d seen her, but only as she made her way across the parking lot at night or when he waved at her through the window as he passed.
Mafalda had been fairly quiet as well. He’d played around with the lights a couple of times but hadn’t visited the Looking Glass for several nights. Tonight, he would.
He’d realized the night he’d shared a stage with Autumn that he was tired of keeping her at a distance. He liked having her next to him, and with the Eurekan over for another year, he could finally ask Autumn on a date, and he was going to make it epic.
After Autumn left for the night and he was sure the shop was empty, Kian made his way to his office, but this time when he opened the secret door, the wall scraped noisily, the sound of metal dragging. With his phone’s flashlight feature, he peered in, gently moving the door with his other hand to see where the holdup was. A dull metallic glint at the back corner inside the track had him leaning closer. Something was definitely there.
Knowing he didn’t have any kind of stick or long tool, he searched Tommy’s storeroom turned Autumn’s new jewelry workshop and found some kind of long metal corner. After some work, he got hold of a chain, and with some luck, he freed it and the pocket watch it was attached to. It must have been hidden behind the door for years.
Cupping the grimy watch in his palm, Kian wiped away the dust on the tarnished metal cover and ran a thumb over the etchings. With as many years as it had been stuck behind a door that Kian had used with more and more frequency, it was difficult to tell right off which scratches were intentional and which were damage, like when his thumb fell into a strange indentation.
He clicked the button on the crown, and the cover popped smartly, the hinge no worse for wear, revealing a beautiful crystal watch face with four dials. It brought to mind the photo he’d studied of his great-grandparents a few weeks before. Could it be the watch his great-grandfather wore in the photo?
He slipped it in his pocket and flashed the light into the track once more to make sure nothing else was in there to obstruct the door. A folded ivory piece of paper stood up next to the inside of the wall. He reached in and pulled it out. Shining a light on the paper, he read:
“A gift to my dear friend and driver—
May this watch be a reminder of our Thursday night poker games. May you always be on time and never forget where you came from. It’s good to have you in the family.
—A.C.”
This watch? It would be coincidental for the watch and the letter to be together in a place like this, unless they were hidden on purpose. Would he be wrong if he assumed A.C. was Al Capone? So many questions, but could this also be a key to answering more? Kian’s hands shook with the discovery. He leaned against the doorframe for support as he worked to figure out if this helped his quest in any way.
After a few moments, his phone buzzed in his pocket and broke him from his reverie. When he checked, it was a social media notification. Autumn had posted on the Spokes page: Loved the show! Looking forward to the next!
Paranoid that he was being watched, he looked around her new studio. Had she set up a camera to catch Mafalda? If so, he was toast.
Not seeing one, he returned to accomplishing tonight’s goal. Once he returned the metal rod, he exited the other side of the Looking Glass’s storage room and ran up their flight of stairs to the main shop. There, he went straight to the workbench. He pulled the pad of paper toward him and selected a pen from the mug of writing implements.
“Town tour today?” The scribbled words filled the tiny page, left unsigned as if Mafalda the non-ghost would write Autumn a note. She’d figure it out. He left the notepad front and center in her workspace, and with his newly found pocket watch and mystery note on his mind, he left the Looking Glass, closed up the wall between their stores, and secured his shop till morning. He couldn’t wait to tell his dad what he’d found.
Kian couldn’t very well call his dad at midnight when he got home, but he made sure to do it as soon as he thought his dad was enjoying his bagel on his morning commute. Kian rode to Spokes, unsure when Autumn would want to get together—if she said yes to his date idea—and planning to clean up a little after the weekend. He placed the call and pulled out his broom.
“Hey, son.” His father’s voice came through clearly, though Kian could hear honks and road noise. He guessed his dad was walking the busy downtown Seattle sidewalks. “You have no idea how much I missed being with you at the Eurekan this year. Wish I could have made it.”
“Ah, no worries, Dad. I was busier than a farmer with one hoe and two rattlesnakes. I didn’t even get a chance to ride.”
“So you’re okay with me picking a different race?”
“Heck yeah,” Kian said. “Where haven’t we been yet?”
“Boise,” Dad deadpanned.
“I can’t tell if you’re serious.”
“Of course I am. Or Moab.”
Both would be gorgeous in their own way. “Both sound great. You choose.” Kian couldn’t wait any longer. “I found it, Dad. I found Grandpa Niles’s pocket watch.”
“You what?”
Kian switched over to FaceTime so he could show his dad.
“Looks like it to me, but where did you find it?” His father’s excitement was palpable.
“You’ll never believe it.
All those times when the upstairs shop was empty and Roger wouldn’t give us access, but we were going in anyway?” Kian couldn’t help but chuckle. Pulling one over on the guy always held its own satisfaction. “I can’t believe how many times we went through that passageway and had no idea it was there. Last night, though, I went through and the door got stuck—”
“It was in the—"
The door to Spokes flew open, and Kian had a feeling it might be Autumn. He widened his eyes and put a finger to his lips to shush his dad before she overheard. “I’m going to have to call you back later, Dad, but I’ll send you some pics.” He glanced nervously over his shoulder even as Autumn marched in, hair flying and eyes flashing with interest. “Talk soon, Dad.”
Ian laughed and said goodbye, making some crack about “a certain special woman” that Kian was pretty sure he didn’t want to hear. He’d made the mistake of telling his dad all about haunting Autumn and had regretted it ever since.
Autumn walked to the bar and slammed her palms on the counter. “How?” Though her voice was demanding, she was excited, not upset. “How are you getting into the Looking Glass at night? Do you have a key?”
Kian shook his head, happy that he could tell the truth, at least to the second direct question. “I do not have a key to either of your doors.” He could see the gears whirling in her head. “And before you ask, I’m not going through the windows or the upstairs apartments either.”
She paused, and he could see her trying to figure out her next step. She rubbed her top teeth on her bottom lip as she thought. “Can I see your storeroom or whatever you have up there?” She pointed above their heads, and his stomach clenched for a brief moment. But she couldn’t know, and she hadn’t overheard, right?
“Sure.” He led the way to the staircase with a confidence he was beginning to second-guess. “It’s my office, not that I spend much time in there.” Their feet clomped noisily on the worn wooden steps. “What do you hope to find?”
“As if you don’t already know. You’re the one who asked me out; I just need to figure out how you got into the shop.” She spoke a mile a minute as if talking it out would help her find the answer. “If you’re not coming through the front door or the studio door, and you can’t access it from the upstairs apartments, this is the only other way I can think of.”
He thought about asking her if she’d inspected the wall from her side but opted for a completely different question. “What makes you think I asked you out?”
“I . . . um.” Eyes straight ahead, it was obvious she didn’t want to look at him.
He bit back a smile, pleased he had her flustered. They reached the top of the stairs, and he open the door. “Here you are.” He stepped back to let her enter first. “Happy sleuthing.”
She walked to the wall between their two rooms, and he went to the window. He tugged on the cord to raise the blinds, flooding the room with light. He had nothing to hide.
Hand on her chin, she studied the wall from afar, and then went first to one corner and then the other. To hide the sliding mechanism, the room was trimmed with board and batten paneling and finished with thick crown molding and baseboards in dark wood tones. Through the years, the wood had been scuffed and beat up, but because the wall slid sideways into itself, there was no telltale wear mark on the floor.
“It’s got to open somehow,” she said, emphasizing each word as she pried trim with her fingertips and then pressed her palms against the wall to see if it would pop open with a simple spring. She had no idea how close she was, but she wouldn’t find the touchpoints by accident; they were too far apart and not marked in any way.
Next, she knocked her way across the wall, the pitch changing as she moved across, but she seemed to expect this and ignored it. Eventually, she gave up and leaned against the wall, her arms crossed as she glared at the opposite side of the room. The construction was uniform throughout the room, effectively hiding the room’s secret. She sighed heavily.
Seeing her flustered like this amused him more than he would have thought possible. The flush in her cheeks brought a beautiful coppery tone to her smooth skin, and her eyes sparked with energy.
“Satisfied?” he asked.
She turned her head away from him. “Hardly.”
“Tell you what. Since you came here looking for a date, and I happen to be available, I accept.”
That got her attention. Her eyes snapped to his. “You accept? You asked me out.”
“If you say so.” Kian shrugged and ushered her back out of the office. “If you have your dad’s shop covered, I might have an idea.” He more than might—he’d even asked Mollie the ghost tour guide if she’d help him out—but if he was pinning this whole thing on the ghost, it needed to look off the cuff.
“I’m game.” She folded her arms and smirked at him.
“Cool.” He might have felt a little smug at being able to pull of the ruse, but he remained aloof, thrilled that she was playing along. “I’m free now if you are.”
Before he closed the door to Spokes, he flipped the sign to Closed. It was Monday, after all. They stepped out into the bright July sun, Kian hyperaware of Autumn at his side. He cleared his throat, affecting a tour guide persona. “Today’s question is simple. How well do you know Eureka Springs?”
Confident, Autumn met him with a challenging look. “Pretty well now, I think. I mean, the town has, what, two thousand residents?”
“And as many tourists,” he grumbled.
“Careful, your livelihood depends on those tourists.”
He bowed his head in acknowledgment that she was right. “You were saying . . .”
“I was saying that yes, I think I know Eureka Springs. I know, for example, that you can’t rely on GPS completely.”
“Because of the ghosts?” He quirked an eyebrow at her.
She smirked back. “Because of the wonky streets and steep hills that give so many of the buildings two addresses.”
So she had learned. “Then I propose a scavenger hunt. I’m going send you a checklist of interesting things we can find, and you can decide which, if any, you’d like to visit.”
She nodded. “Do I get points if I know where they are already?” As if they were keeping score.
Instead of answering, he pulled out his phone and typed out a quick list:
3 giant garden gnomes and a big egg
Your future
Magical mini village
Hat shop
Waterfall mural
Metallic instruments make their best music in the rain
Rock house with rock fence
Big cats
Blue clay from blue water
He left off some of the more well-known sights like the Thorncrown Chapel, the huge Christ of the Ozarks monument, and the Crescent Hotel, but the hat shop was an easy one. Everyone knew Agnes’s shop. The list was nowhere near inclusive, but these were the first things that came to mind. He sent the text.
Autumn regarded the list on her phone. “I have to say the first two on the list intrigue me most. I mean, who can pass up looking for their future?” She paused a beat, and he couldn’t help feeling gratified that she would take the bait. “Also, I notice you said ‘big egg’ and not ‘bad egg,’ so that helps.”
“I never thought about it before, but he could be a bad egg. You never know.” Kian started walking them to the right, toward one of the items on the list that was closer than the egg. He waved at Ever Bryant across the street. “Have you been to Ever After Dress Shop?” He nodded toward the store across the street. “I hear it’s got great vintage dresses, if you’re into that kind of thing.” It seemed like it would be Autumn’s style. Other than when they went biking, she was always dressed up—full makeup, a different piece of jewelry every day, never looking less than gorgeous. And yet, she was the kind of beautiful that didn’t need the adornments.
“Thanks for the recommendation.” Autumn waved to Ever as well, a friendly smile on her face. “I’ll be sure to
check it out.”
Not far down the street, another set of stairs similar to theirs connected the street they were on to Spring Street where most of the tourist shops were. The only difference was that this staircase was painted.
“Ah! The waterfall mural! It’s so pretty!”
He couldn’t have scripted a better reaction.
In front of them, the concrete stairs had been painted in bright colors. The left half of the mural was like water running down the stairs with rocks and moss lining the edges. The other side was a tree with rainbow colors twisted around it. Autumn picked her way up the stairs as if in a river of real water, each footstep carefully placed on a rock or tree root.
He chuckled and urged her up the stairs a more quickly. They had a lot of ground to cover. “When are Tommy and Angie coming back from their honeymoon?”
“Not until after Labor Day.”
“Must be nice.” Having the means to travel for so long sounded amazing, but it was completely foreign to Kian. He barely made ends meet with enough over to put a little away. Though if attendance at the comedy club kept up, at least he’d be able to breathe easier. “I can’t help teasing him about coming here to open up a shop and then taking off his first summer season. Love can mess with your priorities; that’s for sure.” He fell silent for a moment. What would he change for love? And why would that question even occur to him right now? He couldn’t think about that. “He’s lucky to have you take over for him.”
Autumn pulled her long hair up off her shoulders and gathered it into a ponytail. For some reason, the movement took his breath away. “He made it as easy as he could for me. He must have worked nonstop to create the pieces to keep the store stocked.”
Kian stopped himself from agreeing. He’d seen the stock when he’d come in from his office, but he certainly couldn’t admit that.
“I don’t mind tending the store,” she continued. “I have some experience, and it gives me a chance to get to know Eureka Springs. If I’m going to live here . . .”
Bargaining with the Billionaire (Billionaire Bachelor Mountain Cove) Page 12