Steph agreed with Matt on this. “Okay. So what are your plans for here, then? When do you anticipate taking over? I’ll be happy to work up until then and try and make other arrangements once you take possession.”
Matt shook his head. “I don’t want you to make any arrangements. I’ve bought the business too. I want to keep Heat Wave going, and I want you to run it with me. Ideally, I want us to go into partnership.”
Steph’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
Matt nodded. “My development plans will be for the cottages on the property and the gardens. I’d like to turn the whole place into a wellness retreat. Combine yoga with attractive accommodations and hopefully food and other facilities. It’ll all take time, and we’d do it in stages, but the one area that I think you and Bodhi have nailed is the yoga studio. Just walking in here, you feel the change in energy. It’s really great, Steph, and Bodhi said this is all you.”
Steph blushed. “I’m not sure about that, but we have done our best to make it a nice experience. But as far as a partnership, I don’t have much money for investing.” And she wasn’t sure partnering with someone who’d own recently shown such unethical behavior was a good idea. She could only imagine what Asha would say.
Matt nodded. “I’d like to go into partnership with you for a couple of reasons. If you own part of the business, you have an incentive to make it a success. Also, after the situation with Asha, I don’t suddenly want to own a yoga studio and find you setting up your own business somewhere else. During the summer, there’s probably enough room in Hope’s Ridge for two studios, but for the rest of the year, there’s not. I’d rather we work together, exactly like I should have done with Asha to start with.”
“It makes sense,” Steph said. “But I’m not sure I want to go into debt to finance an investment.”
“We could work out a deal you’re happy with,” Matt said. “Would you be willing to step up to run the yoga studio and teach in it? Possibly employ another teacher if you need help?”
Steph nodded. “Definitely.”
“Okay. So that would mean a raise from whatever you’re currently being paid. We could work out some kind of deal where, rather than taking the raise as additional income, you stay on your regular income, and we convert the increase into a percentage ownership of the business. We’d have to work out the details and make sure you’re happy, of course. This discussion is just to see if you’re interested.”
“What would you do if I wasn’t?”
Matt grinned. “I’m counting on you being interested. Heat Wave is you, Steph. As sad as I know you are that Bodhi has to sell, it could be an amazing opportunity. Not only for you but for the community. There’s so much we could do here to turn it into a retreat.” He stood. “Look, I don’t need an answer today. Think about it and give me a call during the week. Bodhi and I will work out the exact terms of sale, and then you and I can do the same if you decide you want to be partners.”
Steph nodded. “I guess one thing that concerns me straight away would be you owning the majority share and having the final decision on everything. I’m not sure that would work.”
Matt laughed. “Steph, I’m asking you to join me in this because I already know you’ll take my suggestions and improve them a million times over. I don’t think it will be a case of me making the decisions, just the opposite. Look, have a chat with Bodhi too, check that I’m not out to rip him off, and then think about what you want long term. We can always have an out clause in the contract, so if it doesn’t work out between us, then I’ll buy back your percentage, and you can walk away.”
Steph nodded, feeling dazed by the speed at which things were moving. Owning part of Heat Wave would be a dream come true. Partnering with Matt Law, however, was not part of that dream. Nervous energy coursed through her as she thought of telling Asha what he’d proposed. The one thing she knew without a doubt was Asha would kill her.
❖
Buster’s mind buzzed after his phone call with Cora. He’d replayed the discussion many times over. Had her tears been an act to get him to agree to visit? He didn’t think so. She was genuinely upset, and he understood that. Not only had she lost her granddaughter, but the change to her daughter’s life was probably hard to comprehend. She’d given him the information he needed to arrange his prison visit and offered to come with him. As much as he appreciated the gesture, he knew he’d be better off going on his own. He didn’t need to be worrying about anyone but himself and Eve.
He stretched, realizing how sore his arm and leg muscles were. He needed to do something about his fitness. He’d always kept himself very fit with running and the gym before Holly’s death. He was active with her too, kayaking, biking, and chasing her around, but in the last twelve months, he’d been going through the motions of life. Exercise had been the last thing on his mind.
His thoughts went to Steph. He imagined she’d held up a lot better than he had. She was a walking advertisement for fitness. Her yoga left her lean and toned, and with upper body strength most people would kill for. She might be small, but she was strong. She’d proven that the day before. He wished he had her number. He’d love to give her a call and see if she was okay and thank her for yesterday. She had helped him decide to call Cora and agree to visit Eve. She’d also helped him to open up and talk about Holly. Not that he and Steph chatted about who Holly was, but he could imagine doing that with her. He wished she’d met his daughter.
He pulled himself up off the stool and found himself immediately drawn to Holly’s bedroom. Instead of stopping outside like he usually did, he pushed open the door, his eyes taking in the perfect room. The bed was neatly made with her favorite princess bedding: a huge wand on the bedspread with May all your dreams come true! printed across it. Her soft toys took up so much room on the bed that it was hard to believe she’d even fit.
He smiled as he looked at her four different-colored walls. Over the summer before her death, he’d suggested they repaint the room. He’d painted a different color sample on each wall, and she’d immediately fallen in love, insisting that each wall be a different color. Now the room was pink, purple, pale blue, and yellow. He hadn’t minded; it was her room and her choice.
Her bookshelf was full of books. Both grandmothers loved to read and had insisted on buying her books, and then, of course, there was her collection of rocks. It seemed like a strange thing for a five-year-old to collect, but she was out in the yard most afternoons digging for special rocks and had Buster take her all over the area on the weekends so she could dig up new areas. They’d spent a lot of time at the Bluff and down at the rocky end of Lake Hopeful.
Buster sat down on Holly’s bed and picked up her beloved cuddly dog as he thought about their trips to the lake. How ironic that a place she’d loved so much was the place that also claimed her life. He closed his eyes and cuddled the dog, wishing with all his might he was cuddling his daughter. But instead of being sad, he remembered her laugh, her long blonde hair flying in the wind as she ran to the next place to search for gems. She’d had a wonderful love of life that had captured his heart. He doubted he could ever love anyone as much as he’d loved his daughter. Her face was suddenly replaced in his mind with Steph’s. Steph’s brilliant sparkling eyes smiled at him, encouraged him to want to reach out and touch her. His eyes jolted open, and he stood, replacing the dog on the bed. It appeared he was going insane.
He had the same thought a few hours later as he walked the lake trail along the edge of Lake Hopeful. The same lake he’d driven away from only a few days earlier, feeling melancholy and making the decision he needed to leave the area for a fresh start, had called to him today. On an impulse, he’d driven to Hope’s Ridge, hoping he might bump into Steph. He’d thought maybe she’d be hanging out with her sister, but he’d been disappointed to find Asha’s food truck closed. He was sure she opened on a Sunday, but maybe it was just for the morning.
He decided to take a walk along the lake edge. If he wanted t
o, he could ask around, find out where she lived, but he didn’t want to seem that pushy. Although she and Zane shared a house. Could he think up a reason to need to visit Zane and hope she was home? He leaned down and picked up a rock and threw it into the lake. If Zane still worked for Matt, it would be easy enough to make something up, but he didn’t.
His thoughts turned to Cora and Eve as he rounded a corner. He was coming to the end of the trail and would have to turn around soon, which was probably a good thing. He pulled his jacket around him; it was cold and getting colder. He wondered what Eve would say to him and how he should respond. Maybe he should make an appointment with Dan before he saw her, get some advice from the area’s local shrink. He squashed that idea as quickly as he’d had it. He’d had a couple of sessions with Dan after Holly’s death, but it wasn’t for him. He couldn’t process his feelings on the spot, no matter how many probing questions Dan asked. No, he’d just have to turn up and see what Eve wanted. He rounded the final corner, ready to turn around, and stopped. Steph had her yoga mat rolled out and was on her knees, arms over her head with her face down. His heart rate increased as he waited and watched, not wanting to disturb her.
❖
Steph’s breath rumbled in her throat as she practiced her Ujjayi breathing. She’d done a lot of ashtanga yoga in the past that focused on breathing, and while she didn’t teach it in her hot yoga classes, she still practiced it herself. It brought heat to her body and calm to her mind that she adored. She wanted to clear her mind and give more thought to Matt’s proposal before she discussed it with Asha or anyone else, so she had brought herself to the end of the lake for some yoga. It was a beautiful spot, with the tall trees bordering the lake and the birds calling out from time to time. She rarely saw anyone this far along the track. The last person, and only person, she’d ever seen when practicing here was Zane. She inhaled before pushing her arms and legs out and moving from child’s pose into downward dog. She continued her breathing, then stopped, suddenly conscious of someone standing at the edge of the walking track.
She pushed herself up to standing and turned around, her heart catching in her throat. Buster was watching her.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey, yourself. What are you doing here?”
Buster cleared his throat. “I don’t know. But if I’m honest, I was hoping to see you.”
Butterflies flitted in Steph’s stomach. “Really? How come?”
“To thank you again for yesterday. You made me think about a few things. I called Cora, Eve’s mother, this morning, and I’ve agreed to go and visit Eve this week. I think I owe her that.”
Steph nodded and bent down and picked up her yoga mat. “Why don’t we go and sit by the lake. It’s so beautiful.”
“I hate the lake.”
Steph jolted back up at his words, her eyes immediately flooding with understanding. “Then let’s go somewhere else.”
Buster ran his hand through his blonde hair. “Sorry, I don’t know why I said that. It just came out. It’s only water, of course, I don’t hate it. I wouldn’t be walking around it if I really believed that.”
Steph moved over to him and linked her arm through his, doing her best to ignore the shiver that ran up her spine. “It took your daughter. You can hate it if you want. It’s understandable. I hate driving and being a passenger in cars. We all deal with things differently.”
They walked in companionable silence back along the track to an area that branched out into a clearing. “How about we sit down behind those rocks.” Steph pointed to a large pile of rocks set well back from the water. “Then we can’t see the lake at all.”
Buster smiled. “You must think I’m crazy. Here I am walking around the lake, and now I don’t want to sit by it.”
“I don’t think anything about you at all.”
“Really?”
Steph’s skin tingled. Was he flirting with her? No, of course, he wasn’t. He’d bumped into her, and the conversation had taken a strange turn.
Buster cleared his throat and sat down on the yoga mat when Steph unrolled it. “What do you mean you don’t drive?”
“Since the accident, I haven’t been able to get behind the wheel of a car. I just can’t. It doesn’t matter, since Hope’s Ridge is small. I have my bike and either walk or cycle. It keeps me fit.”
“But what if you need something from the city or even Drayson’s Landing?”
“I go with Asha or Mom if I’m desperate. But to be honest, I prefer to stay out of cars, so I’m quite happy staying here.”
“You went with Ryan yesterday.”
Steph nodded. “I did, and I’m glad I went. But it’s never easy. I have to psych myself up.” She hesitated. “And close my eyes during certain sections of the road.”
They sat in silence while Buster absorbed this information.
“Speaking of psyching myself up. I went into Holly’s room today,” Buster said. “I haven’t been in for months. It’s made me too sad each time I’ve opened the door. But today was different. I remembered her and enjoyed being around her things. I guess that was why I was thinking of you and wanted to thank you. Something shifted for me yesterday.”
“Me too,” Steph said. “What a shame we didn’t have our conversation months ago. It was Ryan’s return to the Ridge that forced us together. I guess we have him to thank.”
“Did you and Ryan go out last night?” Buster asked. “The guys said he was pretty interested in asking you out.”
“Really?” Steph thought back to Ryan squeezing her knee and her hand. That was probably just friendship and nothing else.
Buster nodded.
“Ryan and I were friends in high school. Nothing more. I doubt he’d be thinking of me like that. Anyway, I’m not ready for a relationship.”
“Why’s that?”
Steph took a deep breath. “I was in a relationship before the accident. We’d only been together for a few months, so I guess what happened was a real test. I disappeared into a dark place when it all happened, and he couldn’t handle it.”
“He left?”
Steph nodded. “A month to the day. Funnily enough, I was relieved. He couldn’t handle my grief, and I failed miserably, trying to act as if everything was normal. I shouldn’t have had to pretend. If he loved me, he would have tried to help me, not become frustrated that I was going through a difficult time.”
“And you haven’t dated anyone since?”
Steph shook her head. “No. Overall I’m doing well.” Even as the words came out of her mouth, Steph knew they weren’t true, but Buster was the last person she wanted to lay her problems on. She didn’t want him to feel guilty. “But I do have my ups and downs, and I think it would be unfair to expect someone to put up with that. It’s easier to just be on my own.”
Buster nodded. “I understand that.”
“Have you spoken to Matt today?” Steph changed the subject.
“No, why? Has he done something else to upset Asha or the town?”
Steph laughed. “Not that I know of. He’s asked me to be a partner with him in Heat Wave. He and Bodhi have agreed on a price.”
“Matt hasn’t taken advantage of the situation, has he?”
“No. It’s awful to admit this, but I’m surprised. I thought he’d try to get the property for as little as possible. Instead he agreed to pay Bodhi’s asking price.”
Surprise registered on Buster’s face. “Really? Your little chat with him yesterday at the Bluff must have had an impact.”
“I’m surprised Matt would listen to anyone,” Steph said. “I must admit I am waiting to see whether there’s a hidden agenda or underhanded move like there was with the development along Lake Drive.”
“I don’t blame you,” Buster said. “Although I will tell you one thing. Matt, Travis, and I went back to my place for a few beers after the climb yesterday. Matt was very complimentary about you. Said how much he admired you and that it was a shame you weren’t in a position to b
uy Heat Wave yourself.”
“He did?”
Buster nodded. “But, like you, I’m not sure whether you can trust him or not. The whole situation with Charlie leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I know I shouldn’t say that. He’s our biggest client, but I do worry he’s out to rip people off. Be careful if you do decide to join him.”
Steph nodded. Buster hadn’t said anything she hadn’t already thought herself. She shivered. The sun had dropped low on the horizon, and the temperature had plummeted.
Buster stood and held out his hand. “Come on. It’s freezing. If Asha’s business were open, I’d buy you a hot drink, but it’s not, and I’m not sure anything will be.”
“Come back to my place,” Steph said, taking his hand and letting him pull her to her feet. “We can make a pot of tea and sit by the fire pit. Zane and Asha might be home, and I’m sure they’d love to see you.” She laughed. “You can be my buffer when I tell Ash about Matt’s proposal. I guarantee you she won’t be pleased.”
5
Won’t be pleased was an understatement! Buster half expected Asha’s head to explode, she was so angry.
“How can you even consider doing something with Matt after what he did to Charlie and to me? He’s an awful person, Steph. You know that.”
Steph shook her head. “My gut tells me there’s more to Matt than the awful side we’ve seen of him.”
“Be careful,” Zane warned. “When I returned to the Ridge and he offered me the job, I genuinely thought he was doing everything for the good of the town. He had me wrapped around his little finger, while at the same time, he was having other plans drawn up that I wasn’t aware of. On top of that, he was doing his best to steal Charlie’s properties from under him. I agree, there is a side to Matt than can be decent. Unfortunately, his evil side dominates.”
Beyond Hope's Ridge Page 7