Chapter 18

Following their appointment with Randy Myers, the owner of KZRX, on Monday afternoon, Lucas and Austin drove back to the B&B with heavy hearts. Their combined savings of $30,000 wasn’t nearly enough to buy the TV station. Their only hope was getting a loan and it was doubtful that a bank was going to take the chance on a failing operation.

Lucas parked outside the B&B, cut the engine, and rested back against the seat with a sigh.

Austin stared straight ahead. “Major bummer.”

“Yeah,” Lucas agreed. “If we did manage to get a loan, we’d still need operating capital on top of the purchase price. Even if we can get them to come down from the $410,000, thirty grand isn’t going to be enough for a down payment.”

“We need another investor,” Austin said.

“I don’t know anyone who’d be willing to go in with us.” Lucas took the keys out of the ignition. “Well, it was a nice idea, but...” He gave a shrug.

Austin got out of the car and walked away, his shoulders drooping dejectedly. Lucas felt as depressed as his young friend. Owning his own TV station would give him the freedom to produce the kinds of shows that interested him. Plus, he could make a living at his profession and stay in Phantom Horse. Every day he fell more in love with Leanne, and he knew that leaving after Halloween was going to kill him.

However, he didn’t have a solution right then, so he focused on the mountain of work ahead of him concerning the finale.

Since quitting the diner, Leanne had thrown herself into preparing for Minuette’s opening. Although Shirley Jackson, the B&B’s cook and maid, still prepared breakfast, Leanne started using the kitchen there to experiment with menu ideas. The PE and API crews served as her taste testers.

Shirley didn’t mind sharing the kitchen with Leanne and the two women bounced ideas off each other. In the evenings, Leanne and Lucas took to sitting at the B&B’s kitchen table together, working on their individual tasks. They often asked each other’s opinion about something, though.

“Do peach cobbler muffins sound good to you?” Leanne asked Lucas that Wednesday night as she was looking through recipes. No response. Looking up, she saw him staring off. “Lucas?”

“Hmm? I’m sorry. What did you say?” he asked.

“What are you thinking about? You’ve been really preoccupied tonight,” she said.

He gave a brief laugh. “You’ll think I’m crazy.”

She put her work to the side, giving him her full attention. “Try me.”

Lucas tapped his pen on his tablet for a moment. “The other day, Austin and I met with Randy Myers about possibly buying KZRX. They’re going bankrupt and want to get out.”

“You did?” Leanne’s pulse sped up. “Are you going to buy it?” She immediately grasped the implications of his news; he was thinking about staying in Phantom Horse.

“We would, but we don’t have enough for a down payment and since it’s a dying operation, I doubt we could get a loan,” Lucas said. “I’d be lying if I said that I’m not disappointed about it.”

Leanne kept her head. “Why would you want it if it’s not viable?”

“That’s the thing,” Lucas said. “I think it could be. It’s suffered from neglect more than anything.” He smiled and shook his head. “Austin overhead some of Vi’s customers mention it and he told me. I thought Austin was just being Austin, but I have to admit that his instincts were sound. He’s also more business savvy than I realized.”

Leanne said, “That’s why he keeps pestering me about doing a cooking show! I thought he was just teasing me.”

“No, he’s serious.” He picked up her hand and kissed it. “He’s right about the camera loving you, but not as much as I do.”

Leanne blushed and squeezed his hand. “You’re so sweet.” She got up, sat on Lucas’ lap, and looped her arms around his neck. “I love you, too, but I’m not letting you put me on TV,” she blurted.

Lucas inhaled sharply and stared into her eyes. “What?”

“You’re not putting me on TV.”

“What did you say before that part?”

Taking his face in her hands and touching her forehead to his, she met his gaze unflinchingly. “I said that I love you.” She’d been waiting for the perfect time to tell him and hadn’t meant to just spit it out like that. However, she didn’t regret saying it. “I love you, Lucas.”

Joy suffused his heart, and he captured her mouth in a searing kiss. Her ardent response sent desire singing through his body. When she parted her lips for him, she tasted of coffee and cinnamon from their snack, and he wanted to sample all of her. Knowing that she loved him made him want her more than ever.

Ending their embrace, he said, “I think this calls for a celebration of the naked variety.”

Leanne giggled at his remark. “Excellent idea.”

They tidied up, grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge, and headed upstairs to his room.

Leanne woke Lucas with featherlight kisses across his chest and to his lips. Even after their incredibly sweet lovemaking, her mind had refused to shut down and she’d been awake most of the night.