Twenty-Six

Jack

I wasn't sure what was happening, but Hudson had a look on his face like he knew exactly what had happened and he was not happy. "The guy from that company has been around town a lot the past few months. But like I said they've been buying up a lot of land, so I didn't think anything was strange about that. What do you think is happening?"

"I can't say for sure, but I think they may have been pressuring Dad to sell. Not once in my life have I ever heard him say he wanted to sell. That's what bothered me so much and that's the reason I came right after he called. I knew something wasn't right," Hudson said while staring at the card. "Do you know if he's been in here lately?"

"Yeah, last week. He came in for something, I'm not sure what. He left when I told him Jonas wasn't here and never mentioned what he needed."

"Do you know if he's staying in town?" Hudson asked, and there was an edge to his voice that worried me.

"Yeah, he's got an RV that's parked behind the bar. He's usually there every night having a beer," I said.

"Pints n' Pool?" he asked, and I nodded. "Mind joining me there tonight?"

"Sure," I said and felt like I should be as concerned as Hudson was.

"Does Nate Cloverdale still own it?" Hudson asked, trying to mentally prepare for what I hoped would happen.

"Yes, there's a guy that's new to town and has been helping him out lately, but I don't think he's involved with any of this," Jack said.

"Good, he's never been someone to take any shit, and if he thinks he's renting a space to someone who's starting trouble around town, I can't see him not doing something about it."

"What if he knows about it but doesn't care?" I asked. I didn't know Nate Cloverdale very well. He seemed like a nice enough guy when a few of us met up for beer and pool. He was a small business owner himself so I couldn't really see him going along with ruining another business in Foggy Basin.

"I doubt that's the case. Do you think he'd be there now?" Hudson asked and checked the time on his phone.

"He's always there. Why?" I wasn't exaggerating. Nate was at his bar every time I went, and I knew if he wasn't busy with something at his RV park, or with one of the rooms he rented, then he was busy with the bar.

"Can you handle things here? I'm going to go speak with him," Hudson said, and didn't wait for me to answer before he was walking out the door.

I thought about what Hudson had said, but I still didn't understand why that guy would try to harass Jonas for the store. There were a few other places on Main Street that were empty, why wouldn't he buy those? What was so special about Nuts and Bolts that he'd spend a year trying to get Jonas to sell it?

Another customer came in and bought some bait to go fishing and when they left, I noticed the rocking chair boxes. Hudson had ordered three, and from the size of the boxes it would probably be a good idea to start assembling them and get the boxes out of the way. I slid everything off to the side of the register in case someone else came in, and after checking the directions gathered the tools I'd need.

"Come on you fucker," I mumbled as the stupid fucking bolt didn't want to go through the back of the seat. After wiggling it around it finally went in, and after I checked everything was tightened, I stood and gave it a good shake before sitting down.

"Hey not bad," Hudson said as he walked through the door. "It's a lot bigger than I thought it would be, but I love it. Let's put the other two together too."

He held the door open while I slid the first one out front. "This looks great out here," I said and took a seat in it and rocked a few times. "So did you talk to Nate?"

"Yes, and you were right. The real estate guy has been camping out there for around a year. It seems they were looking at developing by the lake, but it hasn't been going well for them. They definitely want the store."

"But why?" I asked and stood from the rocking chair. Across the street was the bakery, and down the street was the post office, and the bookstore. The four-way stop that was off the main highway was just off the end of the sidewalk and directly in front of us making every vehicle that passed here see the place. A few people waved when they noticed us out front and one car stopped to get a good look at the rocking chair.

"You can't tell?" Hudson asked while he focused on the street. "What is the one business everyone sees as soon as they enter town, or just before they leave?"

I looked around again, and it hit me. "Holy shit, do you really think that's why they want it?"

"I think so. They could tear it down, build something new, and make this location the gateway to their up-and-coming projects. It would be cheaper for them to have an office here than it would be in Sacramento, but they can draw people from there that are willing to spend money."

"That asshole has been giving Jonas a hard time just to steal his building?" I asked and really hoped Hudson was wrong, but then I remembered seeing that guy hanging out taking pictures around town of the different buildings including this one. "What do we do?"

"Well, first we go to Nate's tonight as planned." He had something planned, and no matter what it was, I was going to be there for it. No one was going to try to run a friend of mine out of their business and they were about to learn that lesson.