“We have a problem,” Elmer said as he slid into the other side of the booth.
“What kind of problem?” Lincoln asked.
“I heard a rumor that Nina and Brett are selling the diner. He got a position overseas to teach next year, and they’re looking to unload the place quickly.”
“How is that our problem? And is this why you made me drive all the way over here to meet you for lunch?” All the way over here in this case meant a sandwich shop in St. Johnsbury.
“I didn’t want anyone to overhear us. There’s going to be a lot of interest in that little gold mine of a diner. We have to keep this top secret.”
“Keep what top secret?”
Elmer looked at his son-in-law with exasperation. “Are you paying attention? We can’t let anyone know we’re interested in the diner.”
“Interested in the diner? Have you lost your mind? I’m not interested in the diner.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Please, enlighten me. Why am I interested in the diner exactly?”
“And here I thought you were such a smart guy. You’re not interested in the diner. Hunter is.”
“He’s never said so to me. How do you know that?”
“Lincoln, have you been drinking?”
“No, I have not been drinking in the middle of the day, as you well know. How about you stop talking in circles and give it to me straight?”
Elmer leaned in, speaking quietly. “Hunter wants Megan, Nina’s sister. If Nina sells the diner, where does that leave Megan? And where does that leave Hunter?”
“Ahhh, okay. I’m starting to get the picture.”
“Thanks goodness. I was beginning to worry about you for a second there.”
As Linc scowled at him, Elmer ordered a grilled cheese sandwich with a cup of tomato soup.
“That sounds good,” Linc said to the waitress. “I’ll have the same.”
“So what’re we going to do about this situation?” Elmer asked when they were alone.
“I don’t know what we can do. We just committed to buying the acreage on the mountain. That on top of the website . . . I don’t want to get us overcommitted. Hunter would never allow that to happen.”
“Hmm,” Elmer said as he stirred cream into his coffee. “That is a problem.”
“How’d you hear about all this anyway?”
“Cletus’s son works at that fancy school where Brett teaches. He heard rumblings that Brett applied for an overseas position and got it. After he did a little extra digging, he found out they’re planning to sell the diner before they go.”
“What about Megan? What will she do?”
“That’s the big question. I’ll be honest with you . . . I don’t get what our boy sees in that girl. Don’t get me wrong . . . She’s very pretty. That’s undeniable. But she can be . . . What’s the word? Cranky. Extremely cranky. But from what I’ve heard, Hunter sees past that. If he wants her, we can’t let her get away.”
“All this time, she’s been right across the street from where he works all day every day, and he hasn’t done a thing about it.”
“That’s because she’s been carrying a torch for Will for years. Apparently, she’s only just recently given up on him, which opens the door to other possibilities.”
“So you’re actually suggesting we buy the diner to keep Megan in town in the hope that Hunter might actually— finally—do something about these so-called feelings he has for the pretty but cranky waitress who’s worked across the street from where he works for years?”
Elmer squirmed in his seat. “When you put it like that, it sounds kinda farfetched.”
Lincoln’s laughter had other patrons looking at them with curiosity. “How do you propose I go around my CFO to buy this diner you want me to acquire for my CFO?”
“I’m not proposing you go around him, per se. I’m proposing you make him think it was his idea.”
“And where’s the money coming from? He’ll never go for it after we just agreed to buy the property to expand the sugaring facility.”
“If you can get him to agree to the purchase, I’ll come up with the money.”
“We’ve had a good run, you and me,” Lincoln said, eyeing his father-in-law skeptically. “We’re three for three, on a roll and running the risk of getting a little full of ourselves and our successes. But this one . . . I don’t know if she’s the right choice for him.”
“That part ain’t up to us. We’re just here to give a little encouragement where we can. The important stuff . . . That’s up to them.” Elmer sat back in his seat, gazing at Lincoln shrewdly. “So . . . Are we getting into the restaurant business, or what?”
Lincoln let out a deep sigh, knowing defeat when he saw it. “I guess we’re getting into the restaurant business.”
Elmer smiled. “Excellent. If it goes the way I think it will, this one counts in my column. That’ll make us tied at two, even though Colton should count as mine since I saved the day there.”
“I already told you—Lucy came to us through Cameron, and she was my doing.”
“I’ll give you that, even if I know the truth about how Colton managed to pull off an engagement.”
“You’re a worthy adversary, Elmer Stillman.”
“And don’t you forget it.” He held up his coffee mug in a toast. “Number four, here we go.”
Lincoln touched his mug to Elmer’s. “Here we go.”