Wanted: Tycoon

by Jenna Brandt

  “Of course, Mr. Holt. We’re happy to oblige in any way we can.”

  As they headed out of the lobby, Willa looked over at Harrison and felt her stomach do a somersault. It seemed his effect on her hadn’t dissipated in his absence. Part of her was nervous while the other part was thrilled. What was this man doing to her and how could she stop it? The better question was, did she want to make it stop? As she watched him from the corner of her eye, she realized she liked the idea of spending time with Harrison Holt.

  The laughter grew louder as Harrison, Willa, and her younger brother approached the wooden stage that was set up at the edge of the empty field across from the Silverpines Inn.

  There was a crowd of about a dozen townspeople gathered, watching the vaudeville performers. There were several Chinamen on the stage dressed in various costumes including a bellhop, a cowboy, and a bandit. In the center of them was a woman with dark hair and piercing green eyes wearing an elaborate teal outfit with tons of feathers. She had a fan in her hands that made Harrison think of a peacock. She was prancing around the stage, making jokes with the men, and causing them to stumble over themselves as they chased after her.

  Next, the woman placed a glass of water in the stage’s center before exiting. A moment later, she returned and placed a handwritten sign on the glass that read, “Oasis.” Suddenly, two of the Chinamen and the woman appeared on the stage, crawling towards the glass, crying out, “Water, water. We need water!” Each of them were acting as if they were dying of thirst, grabbing their throats and writhing around in pretend pain. Two of the men “died” before reaching the glass of water, leaving only the woman to finally make it to the glass. She picked it up and acted as if she was going to finally drink it, but instead, she pulled out a handkerchief, dipped the edge of it into the water, and dabbed her face with a smirk. The crowd roared with laughter, followed with tons of clapping and cheers.

  The woman came to the center of the stage and shouted out to the crowd, “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Silverpines Vaudeville group. My name is Posey Jones and I’m in charge of this entertainment. If you like what you see, come talk to me as I plan to open my theater in the fall. I’m looking for investors, so if you’ve got money, I’m more than willing to take it from you.” The statement elicited laughs and jeers from the crowd. Once the noise died down, she changed the subject by saying,” For our next bit, we need a volunteer from the audience.”

  The tiny, but tenacious woman, placed her hand over her eyes and scanned the crowd. “Anyone? Anyone at all?” she asked, with a smile. “Come on, we don’t bite; no reason to be shy. If you like watching us, you’ll love being a part of the show.”

  Arthur’s hand shot up in the air. He was jumping up and down, drawing Miss Jones’ attention towards them. “I see we finally have a volunteer,” she said as she climbed down from the stage and made her way into the crowd. She made a straight line over to them, but instead of focusing on Arthur, she laced her arms through Harrison Holt’s arm, saying, “How nice of you to volunteer, mister.”

  Harrison balked at the obvious tactic to draw him up on the stage. “Excuse me, miss, but you’re mistaken. It was the lad that raised his hand.”

  The mischievous grin on her face made it clear she knew Harrison didn’t volunteer at all, but it seemed she didn’t care when she said, “Come on, mister, don’t be a stick in the mud. Live a little, will you.”

  Harrison’s eyes darted to Willa, begging her for help. Instead of getting any though, she was laughing and pushing him forward. “Go on up there, Harrison. I want to see this.”

  He liked seeing the twinkle in her eye, but not at his own expense. Before he knew what was happening, he was in the stage’s center and being handed a string. Posey handed the other end of the string to one of the Chinamen.

  Miss Jones stood behind them and was pretending to be wiping something. One of the other Chinamen came up and asked in broken English, “I want to buy a piece of chocolate candy.”

  She glanced up and shook her head. “I’m sorry, I’m all out of chocolate.”

  Next, he asked, “I would like a piece of gum.”

  “I’m sorry, I’m all out of gum.”

  The man pretended to be upset, asking, “I would like a piece of Turkish Delight.”

  “I’m sorry, I’m all out of Turkish Delight.”

  Finally, in frustration, the Chinaman shouted, “I can’t believe you not have any of these candies! What kind of candy store you have?”

  “I don’t have any of those candies, but I do have two suckers holding a string,” Miss Jones yelled, pointing at Harrison and the Chinaman.

  The crowd went crazy this time, the laughter so loud it made Harrison cringe. Part of him wanted to be upset, being the center of her joke, but he knew it would be better for him to not react negatively and allow everyone to enjoy themselves.

  Once the laughter simmered down, Miss Jones stepped forward and said, “Let’s hear it for our volunteer. He’s proven to be mighty agreeable.”

  Harrison let go of the string, bowed slightly to the audience, and then waved to everyone as he headed down the stage stairs. As he reached Willa’s side, she was still smiling and holding back laughter.

  “You were hilarious,” Arthur said with a giant grin. “I couldn’t stop laughing.” Looking past them, he asked, “Can I go play with Timmy for a few minutes?”

  “Sure, but make sure you stay where I can see you,” Willa ordered.

  Once they were on their own, Willa turned to Harrison and said, “I can’t believe you went along with that.”

  “It didn’t seem like I had much of a choice,” he said, glancing towards the stage and the formidable Miss Jones. “I didn’t want anyone to think I couldn’t have a good time.”

  “Well, I don’t think anyone will think that now,” Willa promised. “You’ve proven you can take a joke. That will go a long way in this town.”

  “How about with you?” he asked, with a hopeful grin.

  “Me, too, I wouldn’t want to be married to a man that took himself too seriously.”

  “Then I’m glad I went along with it.” The words slipped out before he could think of how they sounded or what they implied. The more he thought about it, however, the more he realized he didn’t regret saying it. It was true, he wanted to please Willa. He wasn’t sure why that was the case, since he barely knew her, but something made him want to keep a smile on her face.

  “I heard a few people mention you two were spending time together,” a woman said from behind them, interrupting their conversation.

  Both Harrison and Willa swiveled around to find a middle-aged woman with a strong face, inquisitive brown eyes, and light brown hair pulled back in a tight bun. Next to her stood a younger woman with the same color hair and matching eyes—Harrison assumed she was her daughter—who looked embarrassed as her mother spoke.

  “We have been around each other the past couple of days. We’re in the middle of a business negotiation,” Harrison defended, though he didn’t know why he felt the need to do so with this stranger.

  “Someone mentioned it was business, but the way you two are lookin’ at each other, I think it might be more than that,” the woman said with raised eyebrows and a knowing smile.

  “You shouldn’t go reading things into two people talking. You have a bad habit of perpetuating gossip,” Willa accused.

  “I can’t help it if I happen to see all the townsfolks’ letters goin’ back and forth. It’s part of my job to make sure things get where they’re supposed to go, and givin’ priority to important ones means I need to know what each one concerns,” the postmistress claimed.

  “Well, this has nothing to do with any letters we’ve sent,” Harrison pointed out. “I’ve never communicated with Miss Brown via written word.”

  “I’m sure you two have found better ways to communicate,” Mrs. Wallace said with a nod. “Wait until everyone hears about your new budding romance.”

  Willa
gasped. “Mrs. Wallace, I’ll have you know, there is nothing going on between Mr. Holt and myself besides business. I would appreciate it if you would refrain from saying anything to the contrary.” Then gesturing behind the widow, she added, “I think I see Paul Bunyan over there making eyes at you, Mrs. Wallace. Perhaps, you should tend to your own relationship rather than get involved in other people’s.”

  The widow’s eyes darted around, and indeed a tall, thickly built man was standing at the edge of the crowd, staring at them while wagging his eyebrows up and down at the Widow Wallace.

  Her eyes flew back to Willa and Harrison, and a dark look came over her face as she said, “Mr. Bunyan must have a question about the mail. I should go see what he wants.” A moment later, she took off towards him without another word.

  The young woman remained for a moment, and whispered, “I’m sorry about my mother, Willa. She honestly doesn’t mean any harm by what she does.”

  “I know, Penelope. You can’t grow up in this town and not know your mother is difficult at times. However, it isn’t your fault.”

  “I hope this doesn’t affect our friendship.”

  “Never,” Willa said with a shake of her head. “You’re one of my oldest friends. Now that I’m back in town, you should come over for lunch sometime.”

  “I’d like that,” Penelope said with a smile. “I need to catch up with the McGregors. I’m sure Mrs. McGregor has her hands full with Collin.”

  Once they were on their own again, Harrison offered, “Can I walk you home?”

  Willa shook her head. “Arthur and I can make it home on our own just fine.”

  “Let me rephrase my offer. I would like to walk you home, Willa.”

  She seemed to think about it for a few seconds before she finally nodded. “I suppose you can do that.”

  They gathered up Arthur and left town, heading towards the Brown Farm.

  “I’m glad you let me walk you home. If we’re going to make this work, we need to get to know each other.”

  “I know that,” she said, without further comment.

  “Do you always make it this difficult for someone to get to know you?” Harrison inquired.

  Willa shrugged. “I don’t mean to. I think it’s the circumstances. I’m not sure how to handle all of this.”

  “I can understand that. I don’t think either of us thought we would find ourselves in this situation, but now that we are, we need to make the best of it.”

  “I agree.”

  “Good, then I would like to take you somewhere tomorrow.”

  “Where?” Willa asked with interest.

  “It’ll be a surprise,” he said with a grin. “Trust me, you’ll enjoy it.”

  Chapter Seven

  “Where are you taking me?” Willa asked with excitement, trying to peek out from behind the curtain of the carriage.

  Playfully, Harrison swatted at her hand as he chuckled. “Patience is a virtue. Don’t ruin the surprise.”

  Willa sat back on the bench, a teasing pout forming on her lips as she placed her folded hands in the lap of her plum colored dress. “I’ve spent all night and all morning wondering where you were taking me. You have no idea how much this has bothered me.”

  “My goal was to make you smile today, not upset you. If you really must know…” he pulled the curtain back and let her look outside.

  Her eyes took in a large wooden sign that read Timber Town Memorial Zoo above a matching pine gate.

  “Are you taking me to the new zoo? I haven’t had a chance to go,” then a sad look crept into her heart as she added, “or the money for that matter. I didn’t think I would be able to visit for a long time.”

  “We’re not going to worry about our problems today,” Harrison coaxed. “Today is all about having an adventure.”

  “I think that sounds like a grand idea,” Willa said, allowing a smile to return to her face.

  They pulled up out front and Harrison helped Willa out of the carriage. There was a small door to the side of the larger gate. A man was standing next to it, a giant grin on his face as he waved them over.

  “Good afternoon. You must be Mr. Holt. I’m Niles Phinney,” the young man said, holding out his hand to Harrison, who took it and shook it firmly. “I got your message last night. Just as you requested, we shut down the zoo for your private viewing and tour. Why don’t you follow me inside? I’ll take you over to the visitor’s center where my wife is waiting.”

  As they followed Mr. Phinney, Willa’s head snapped to the side. Her eyebrows raised in surprise as she said to Harrison, “A private viewing. I can’t believe you went to all this trouble for me.”

  “I thought we would enjoy ourselves more without the distraction of other people,” Harrison explained to her just as they arrived at the visitor center.

  Just outside the building, there was a stone statue of a lumber jack with an ax over his shoulder, his other arm around a woman in a day dress and apron. The woman was holding the hand of a young boy who was clutching a balloon.

  A young woman with light brown hair and blue eyes came out of the building. She took a spot next to Mr. Phinney. He placed his arm around her shoulder as he said, “This is my wife, Ellen Mae, and the visionary who put this place together.”

  A blush crossed her face as she shook her head. “Don’t let him fool you. It was a joint effort. This place would be nothing without the addition of the animals he brought from West Africa.”

  Willa admired the obvious love and affection between them. She knew Ellen Mae from church and town functions. She had always been nice; however, Ellen Mae preferred the company of animals to people and kept mostly to herself. The man beside her couldn’t keep his eyes off of her, and his devotion was obvious. There truly was someone for everyone.

  Willa glanced over at Harrison and wondered if there was a chance he would ever look at her that way. She hadn’t been foolish enough to expect love when she made the offer of marriage to Harrison, but if she were honest with herself, a part of her hoped it might be possible.

  “Ellen Mae will give you the tour,” Mr. Phinney stated. “She’s much better at it than me.”

  The group made their way inside the zoo with Mr. Phinney locking the gate behind them. He kissed his wife on the cheek before heading off towards the zoo’s office tucked behind the admission booth.

  “I thought we would start on the west side of the zoo and make our way around,” Ellen Mae explained. “We designed the zoo in a giant circle, making it easy for visitors to find each attraction and not get lost.”

  The trio spent the next hour viewing the zebra, giraffe, and tiger exhibits as well as some smaller caged animals such as monkeys and warthogs.

  “This brings us to the end of the outdoor exhibits. I thought you might prefer to view the aviary on your own?” Ellen Mae suggested.

  “Thank you,” Harrison said with a nod. “I appreciate you taking the time to show us the beautiful zoo you created.”

  “You’re welcome, and I hope you’ll come back and visit us again soon.”

  “Oh, we will,” Harrison promised. “I think Miss Brown’s younger brother, Arthur, would really love this place.”

  “Then I look forward to seeing you again soon. Enjoy the rest of your day,” Ellen Mae said before sauntering off towards the office, leaving Willa and Harrison on their own.

  Willa’s eyes darted up to meet his. She gave him an appreciative smile. “That’s kind of you to want to include my brother.”

  “He’s a great kid. I would have invited him today, but honestly, I wanted time alone with you. I figure, if we’re going to be ready for a marriage in less than a month, we need not only quantity but quality time together.”

  “You’re very focused on achieving goals, aren’t you?” Willa teased.

  “It’s why I’ve been able to build eight brickyards in less than four years.”

  “Whoa, that’s an astonishing accomplishment,” Willa said, her eyes growing wide with appr
eciation.

  “Thank you. My first set of bricks from my Idaho Falls yard came here to help build this zoo,” Harrison revealed. “It’s a wonderful sight to behold that my bricks helped this family make their dreams come true.”

  “I’m guessing your business keeps you quite busy,” Willa speculated.

  “It does, but I’m the type of man who will make time for what matters,” he said, looking directly at her pointedly. “My father was absent often, busy with work and social events. I only have a handful of memories with him being present while I was a child. I remember growing up and wondering what was wrong with me that he wanted to spend so little time together. It was why I worked with him at such a young age—I not only wanted his approval, but figured it was the only way I would get to spend time with him. The irony of it was that though we spent time together managing the family holdings, he didn’t treat me like a son, but simply as another employee. It changed nothing between us, and I never felt like I got his approval.”

  “I’m so sorry. That must have been difficult,” Willa sympathized, her heart breaking a little at the sadness she saw on his face.

  “I don’t want to be that type of father when I have children,” Harrison confessed. “And though I’m proud of all this,” he gestured towards the bricks that lined the walls of the different exhibits, “I will be more proud of any family I’m blessed to have in the future.” Taking her hand, he placed it in the crook of his arm. “Let’s go check out the aviary. I’ve always been fascinated by birds.”

  The moment his hand touched hers, a tingling sensation shot up her arm. Her heart raced, as she licked her lips, unable to deny the strong muscles she felt under his coat. Willa tried to focus on what they were doing rather than on the surge of attraction she just felt. Try as she might though, she couldn’t stop herself from thinking about how she would feel if he kissed her.

  Wanting to make the moment light again, Willa jested, “I hope this doesn’t encourage you to make your own aviary in our future home. Birds are pretty, but they always make me nervous. I feel like they’re watching me.”