The Echo Ridge Romance Collection

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

CARLOS WORE DRESS PANTS and a button down shirt for the meeting with Keira Kenworth. Her father was ill and from the looks of things, Kenworth’s was struggling without the old man. Keira had grown up in Echo Ridge and it was obvious her interest in the store was beyond money. She and the new PR guy, Tayton Wells, sat down with Carlos and went over the plans to remodel the soda fountain.

“We want to rejuvenate Kenworth’s, bring a sense of community spirit back to Echo Ridge,” Keira said. “We want to give people a reason to step off Main Street and enjoy our little plaza like they did when I was a kid.”

“And we want the store to be in the black this Christmas,” Tayton said. He handed Carlos a grid with a timeline to complete the project. “We have a couple of investors interested in helping us breathe some new life into this place, which is why we decided to renovate the soda fountain. We’ll bring back the old-time feel and add a new feature to the store that will attract customers.”

Carlos looked over the design sheets and timeline. He rubbed his hand over the bit of stubble on his jaw. “I’m probably going to need to hire some help. Is there room in your budget for that?”

Keira nodded. “Yes, and through some persuasion—” she glanced at Tayton. “Cecilia has agreed to have a few temps who could probably help with some of the cleanup if you’d like to use someone Kenworth’s has already approved to work here.” She handed him an index card with a list of four names.

Carlos took the card and felt a little jolt when he saw the first name on the list, Anika Fletcher. Someone or something seemed to be putting her in his path. Did she really volunteer to work with him? Maybe she wasn’t as prickly as she seemed. He thought about the crumpled card from the Hope Tree that was still in his wallet. Anika probably didn’t want to work with him but she obviously needed the extra money. Perhaps he’d have a chance to redeem himself in her eyes, help her see that he wasn’t trying to be condescending. He really did want to help.

Tayton was explaining something on the ledger and Carlos blinked and refocused, but his thoughts kept wandering to the feisty brunette and her little girl. The project was slated to begin on Monday and he couldn’t wait to talk to Anika.