“Then maybe Greg’s your guy.”
“Imagine that.”
Chapter Eighteen
Saturday night, the welcome dinner for Fischer Robbins turned into the opening of Longboard Pizza. Sort of. The place was packed with those residents who couldn’t wait for the official grand opening in two days.
While traditional pepperoni would no doubt win out as the most popular item, there was a long list of gourmet concoctions for the adventurous types who wanted to build their own.
The restaurant offered every kind of cheese you could think of—gorgonzola to smoked gouda to the standard mozzarella, and every veggie to go with all that cheese and crust. You could mix it up any way you wanted including an array of herb toppings to add to the varied meat choices, like tender roasted chicken, crispy bacon, hot capicola, and the traditional Italian sausage.
Tonight the wait for a pizza was zilch unless you ordered a pizza to-go. For the crowd that dined inside, Fischer had spent several hours making up an assortment of extra-large pies served buffet style. But the wait for a table was another matter. Maybe that’s why it seemed like the entire town had begun lining up at six o’clock to get inside for a sample.
Thane had managed to squeeze two more tables into the eating area, which made for seven inside and four on the side patio. With the counter on the side wall, it brought his maximum occupancy up to a grand total of forty-eight. Not bad for a tiny eatery. It didn’t sound like a lot, but when the throng included elbow-room-only it meant one thing. The advertising and word of mouth had paid off.
Lilly’s mural grabbed the attention of all who came in, as well as the photograph of a young, teenage Thane that dominated the front wall. She’d drawn a map of California using light blues and greens, added famous surfing spots, painting them in complete with foaming whitecaps. From Stinson Beach to Mavericks all the way down to Baja, the places she’d highlighted made patrons want to dive into the water, right then and there, and catch a wave.
For the time being Thane had hired only one other employee to help out. Tonight, pretty Madison Colter, daughter of Emma, sister to Gerald, helped him jot down customer orders. As people continued to sail through the door, Thane tallied up their bills, worked the register, while Madison took drink preferences, either beer or soda, filling pitchers to the brim and handing out glasses. After placing their food requests, patrons could then move on to grab a table and wait for their pie to be brought out to them.
Because seating was scarce tonight, every table taken, many were getting their orders to-go. The busy crowd kept them all hopping. Isabella had volunteered to help with orders. And Jonah’s role was to meet and greet or hold the door open or bus tables if people didn’t clean up after themselves and left the table messy.
Logan and Kinsey pitched in to keep the line moving and organized, while Murphy and Carla Vargas helped with crowd containment.
The party atmosphere rocked until it began to wind down four hours later. Everyone had been fed and those that remained were die-hard friends who stayed to help with cleanup.
Ryder and Julianne’s group had stayed on, sitting with Nick and Jordan. Gavin and his wife, Maggie and their kids had been latecomers, but they now clustered around, pulling up chairs to eat their pizza. When the festive mood began to die down and taper off, the talk turned to more serious subjects. It was Ryder who brought up the Taggert Farms issue of limited growing space.
By that time Thane, Isabella and Fischer had joined the assemblage as Ryder took the lead, trying to figure out what to do about the problem.
“After Gavin mentioned it, the two of us sat down and looked at the subject from several different ways. For the past few weeks we’ve kicked it around and found there’s no way around it. The farm is slowly running out of growing room,” Ryder explained. “We’ve increased production so much that there’s a real chance in five years we’ll be at a limited capacity.”
“I guess that’s my fault,” Nick admitted. “I thought adding more products would be a good thing.”
“It is a good thing,” Gavin said in response. “The farm provides jobs for more people in town than any other business. So don’t spend too much time beating yourself up about your decisions. It runs like a well-oiled machine and that’s because of you and Jordan.”
“Thanks for that,” Nick said in gratitude.
“What do you suggest we do?” Jordan asked. “There’s no available land between the B&B and the farm to expand. Nick’s already checked several years earlier.”
“There might be an alternative,” Logan prompted from the end of the table. “Recently, Isabella brought me an idea. I’ll leave it to her to tell you about it.”
“But it’s your property,” Isabella pointed out.
“That doesn’t matter. It’s a solid plan,” Kinsey noted.
“Okay. There’s the piece of land at the lighthouse, at least three acres, between the road and the forest to the north. The space is just sitting there wasted. It could certainly be utilized as a secondary site to grow quite a number of vegetables. The stipulation would be to keep the yield right here in town instead of shipping it to other parts of the state. In that way it would benefit the people right here in town.”
Jordan and Nick exchanged glances. It was Jordan who said, “That’s it, that’s the solution we’ve been missing. It’s a win-win for the town. That’s brilliant, Isabella.”
“I’m no expert but I’ve read about other places that started a successful co-op by growing things on rooftops. I figured surely we could take that available land and do something worthwhile with it.”
Heads turned, eyes got big, until Thane said, “If the residents helped work the land, it would keep costs down, significantly.”
“We should all thank Logan for his generosity,” Fischer suggested.
“But Logan had nothing to do with coming up with this idea,” the sculptor replied with a grin. “Isabella is the generous one. That’s what makes this town work, why I’m proud to be a part of it. We have people here who care what happens to one another. They care about the town as a whole. You can’t get any better than that.”
Fischer raised his glass of red in a toast. “Then here’s to all of us who had the presence of mind to move here and put down roots.”
After the other guests left, Isabella lingered behind. She wandered outside to the little strip of patio. She was looking up at the starlit sky when Thane joined her. “I never thought I’d feel this comfortable in a little town like this. It never occurred to me people could accept a stranger so willingly without bias.”
“Bias? You mean like racial bias? Jonah goes to school with all different types of kids. It’s one reason I feel the way Logan does. I’m proud to be part of a town that comes together in a crunch.”
“No, I wasn’t really talking about that kind of bias. Sometimes outsiders find themselves shunned starting over in a small place among strangers. For months, I’ve been keeping my distance. Now, I’m beginning to settle in, get more comfortable, get a better feel for the people.”
He was tempted to pursue why she’d been so aloof. But one glimpse into her eyes had him offering, “Fischer’s watching Jonah for the night. Let’s go back to your place and take advantage of it.”
She glanced up at his tall form, hooked a finger in the loop of his jeans and tugged him over to her. “Take advantage of me, Thane.”
“You bet. Several times.”
“Promise?”
“Watch me.”
Chapter Nineteen
For four decades, April to mid-November, the Taggert Farms fruit and vegetable stand stood on the side of the road to town, open rain or shine, enticing travelers to stop and sample the produce.
Any resident over the age of five knew you could fill your basket here with crisp apples, tasty pears, or sweet cherries. In the mood for a salad or fresh kale? No problem. They offered five different kinds of lettuce to pile on your plate.
This year, parents themselves,
Gavin and Maggie Kendall had made a few changes to the traditional fall event. With Nick and Jordan’s approval, they’d added a slew of activities for the kids. An inflatable bounce house in the shape of a magic castle offered the kids several hours of jumping up and down. Gavin had talked Cord and Keegan into providing whatever animals they could spare for a petting zoo. The Bennetts had shown up with a goat, a couple of lambs, a litter of piglets, and plenty of rabbits to play with. They’d provided a pony from a nearby ranch so parents could snap photos of their little ones on a horse. For babies, parents could choose the pumpkin patch as a backdrop. Maggie had persuaded Abby Bonner into setting up a face-painting station.
Izzy took in the scene, looked up at the tall scarecrow at the entrance and announced, “It’s like fruit-stand-meets-fall festival.”
Thane agreed. “I’m sure somewhere outside Manhattan they grow pumpkins but there’s nothing quite like this. Jonah will go wild here.”
This morning they’d left the house, dogs included, with one goal in mind—to help Jonah search for the best, the fattest, the biggest pumpkin he could find. There were so many to choose from though that the six-year-old ran from pumpkin to pumpkin unable to make up his mind.
“Which one? Which one should I pick?”
“Tell you what,” Izzy suggested. “How about we take a stroll through the corn maze first so you have time to consider your options? After that you can take your turn inside the castle and bounce until you’re able to come to a major decision.”
Jonah responded by pumping his fist in the air. “Yessssss!”
Thane watched his boy take off in a rush and head straight to where the animals were located surrounded by a circle of hay bales.
“You have a way with him,” Thane commented. And should he mention that it triggered a memory of his own mom’s enduring patience? Probably not.
“I like kids. They’re usually the most honest and boldest little souls around.”
The couple watched as Jonah shifted gears into the farm pen where he ran around like a wild man tagging after a baby pig. When the boy grew tired of that, he segued to getting his face painted and then went on to wander through the maze before finally getting to bounce around in the castle.
“He’s a ball of energy and cute as a button.”
“Mischievous.”
“That too.”
When the bundle of energy came running up, Izzy suggested, “Let’s pick out that pumpkin and head back to your house. How about we pop in a movie? Maybe one with a Halloween theme to keep the topic consistent?”
“Shrek, I want Shrek,” Jonah said.
“Then Shrek it is.”
The last day of October Bradford Radcliff took down the chain on his car lot next to the bank and made it official. His place was open for business. He’d re-paved the lot, transported his ten-car inventory up from L.A., and had a small four-hundred-square-foot prefab house delivered to use for an office. The little clapboard building sat at the corner of the property, and now for the first time that morning, Brad walked outside to take in what was happening on Main Street.
Brad didn’t have to wait long before Thane Delacourt brought him his first customer, a beautiful woman with a good eye for detail and color. The couple had a little boy with them who ran around opening all the doors so he could crawl into the interior and sit behind the wheel. Brad didn’t mind, he liked kids. Besides it was Halloween. He’d be pretty lame if he didn’t have candy on hand for the kid.
Brad went back into his office, picked up the bowl full of mini Snickers and Milky Ways, and brought it back outside.
“Is it okay if the boy has candy?”
Thane called to Jonah who hadn’t yet put on his costume. “One, you can pick one and eat it before lunch,” Thane cautioned.
“Yay! Chocolate! I get more tonight when I get dressed up,” Jonah told Izzy as she rubbed her hand across the hood of a 1970 gold Karmann Ghia, a vintage ride to be sure. “Ninja, right? You plan to wear the ninja outfit tonight?”
“Ninja!” Jonah said as he sent several karate chops through the air.
“What do you think of this one?” Thane asked, standing beside her at the Volkswagen. “Brad says this one he restored himself.”
“I really like the style.”
“The style is classic with the bug headlights and rust-free,” Brad pitched. “I can vouch for the engine and the drivetrain, starts the second you turn the key.” Brad dangled them in front of her. “Take it for a spin, judge for yourself.”
“Let’s go,” Thane said, opening the driver’s door for her. “Let’s see how it handles. Hey, Jonah, climb into the backseat. Isabella’s taking us along for a ride.”
They cruised through town, made a turn at Crescent, headed over to the pier and circled the block. By their second trip down Ocean Street, Isabella declared, “Oh, I love how it drives!” She looked in the rearview mirror and asked Jonah, “What do you think?”
“It’s a lot smaller than Daddy’s car.”
She guffawed with laughter. “It certainly is, maybe a tad too impractical.”
“No such thing if you like it,” Thane said eyeing the joy on her face. “Just out of curiosity, how long has it been since you’ve driven?”
“He wouldn’t let me have a car. I mean, I had a car when I married him, but he made me get rid of it. Some days I felt like I was barely getting permission to breathe.”
“How did you put up with that? And why did a woman like you let yourself be controlled like that?”
“Lack of self-confidence, I suppose. I don’t know.”
When she pulled into the lot, Brad was waiting for them. “Well?”
“I don’t have a trade-in. What’s the best price you can give me?”
Brad threw out a figure.
Isabella countered with a thousand dollars less.
“In honor of you being my first sale…” Brad shoved his hand toward her and said, “We have a deal. Let’s do it.”
They went into the little office—a tasteful clapboard building with white trim on the glass-paneled door that matched the shutters—to sign the papers.
To celebrate car ownership and before taking Jonah trick-or-treating, they stopped in at Longboard Pizza to grab a bite to eat. While stuffing his face with pepperoni, Jonah announced he’d changed his mind about dressing up as a ninja.
“I wanna go as Dracula and wear a long black cape and fangs.”
“What about the ninja? It’s more appropriate for a first grader to be a ninja turtle than a Dracula,” Thane pointed out.
But Jonah shook his head.
Somewhere between lunch and dinner he’d gotten it into his head that Halloween was all about scary and the ninja wasn’t terrifying enough. In order to make a convincing Count he needed a long black wig on his head. He claimed the costume wouldn’t be complete without smearing his face with white face paint so that he’d look “dead.”
Thane wasn’t all that convinced about the white makeup, especially since it denoted the “lifeless” look. But Isabella persuaded him not to make a big deal out of it.
Fischer backed her up. “He’s at that awkward age where he wants to make sure he isn’t a baby and emulate the older kids.”
“And I’ll need drops of blood dripping out of my mouth, too,” Jonah proclaimed.
Thane stared at Jonah. “Did someone not like the ninja turtle outfit?”
“It’s a little kid costume.”
“Uh, I hate to point this out to you but you are a little kid,” Thane told him.
“But I want to be so scary that the other trick-or-treaters run when they see me.”
“I run when I see you now,” Fischer retorted.
“Ha. Ha. Just wait till you see me all made up and you’ll run all the way to Santa Cruz,” Jonah fired back.
“Good one, sport,” Fischer said, rubbing the kid’s head. “What do you think, Izzy?”
In a voice that resembled Count Dracula, with her hands held out towar
d Jonah, fingers moving like she intended to weave a spell, she mimicked, “I see the night ahead. I see Jonah’s carrying a bag weighted down with lots and lots of candy. I see it’s cloudy with a chance of Halloween. Bwaahahahahaha!” With that, she began to tickle his belly and ribs until he roared with giggles.
Once they got back home, Thane decided to compromise. “I’ll tell you what. You can make up your face but since we’ve already bought the ninja outfit, you have to wear it tonight. Deal?”
“O-kay.”
Thane took out the pumpkin they’d bought for carving. While he cut out the top, scooped out the goopy guts, he turned to Isabella. “Why is it I get this messy job when there are three of us here?”
“Uh, because it involves a sharp instrument and one of us is six,” Isabella tossed back. She watched as he whittled out a pair of eyes and a nose. “You do know there’s a way to do that without all the slicing and dicing.”
“Now you tell me. Take over here, will you, while I go check to see if he’s getting into his costume.”
She did a mock salute and said, “Aye, aye, sir. I’m on it, sir. You betcha, sir.”
“Funny, very funny,” he countered, wiping his hands before heading into Jonah’s room. Thane found his son struggling to get into the ninja top and pull-on bottoms.
“You gotta take your shoes off first.”
“Oh, I forgot. Is Izzy ready to make up my face?”
“Just about. I wanted to talk to you about trick-or-treating. You know we’re going to businesses only tonight. And you have to stay with us and not go darting across the street by yourself. Understand? There’s traffic out. The sidewalks will be crowded and a lot of people milling around town. So, stick to us like glue. Got it?”
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