“I don’t think I know him.”
“His property abuts ours, but his house is actually on the far side, so he’s in the next town over. He doesn’t come to Whitford often.”
“And he wants to kick your ass why?” She held up her hand. “Wait. Let me guess. A woman?”
“We were nineteen and she told me they were broken up.”
“One of the first things I learned when I moved to Vermont is how much New Englanders love holding a grudge.”
“Will you come with me?”
“Sure. Other than the part where a guy I don’t know might kick your ass for something you did when you were nineteen, it sounds like a good time.”
He grinned at her, then set about devouring the fried bologna sandwiches. He cleaned up while she changed into jeans and threw on a light sweatshirt, and then they headed out of town.
She could feel the tension in his back and she wondered if it had to do with the impending visit to Grandmaison or if it was lingering from whatever the “brother stuff” was he’d referred to. She’d wanted to poke at that a little—see if that was what was really bothering him—but it seemed like a very girlfriend thing to do, so she didn’t.
Instead she was silent, enjoying the ride until Mitch put on his blinker and turned down a long dirt road. She held her breath, hating the sensation of a big Harley on dirt, but Mitch had no problem bringing the bike to a stop in front of an old, but impeccably kept, farmhouse.
She followed him up the front steps because she wasn’t sure what else to do with herself, so she was close enough to hear the curses Ed Grandmaison muttered when he saw Mitch Kowalski on the other side of the screen door.
“What the hell do you want?”
“Hey, Ed. I, uh…” Mitch hesitated, shifting his weight from one foot to the other in a rare display of anxiety. “I’ve come to ask you a favor.”
“You slept with my wife.”
“I did not sleep with your wife. I didn’t even technically sleep with your girlfriend, since you were broken up at the time.”
“It was just a fight.”
“We were nineteen.”
Paige had to work hard to keep a straight face. Not because Ed Grandmaison could seriously hold a grudge, but because watching Mitch’s charm have absolutely no effect on somebody was a first.
“What kind of favor are you looking for?”
“I don’t know if you’ve heard anything, but things are a little rough at the Northern Star right now,” Mitch said, which had to be tough for him to say to a man who hated him. “We were thinking, if we could connect to the ATV trails, we could have business year round instead of only when there’s snow on the ground. But to do that, we’d need your permission to cut in a small trail across the far corner of your property.”
“You’re kidding.”
“It’s not just about the Northern Star Lodge,” Paige said quickly, stepping forward so she was next to Mitch. “If we can get the four-wheelers into Whitford, it would benefit the entire town. If visitors stay at the lodge so they can access the trail system, they’ll also get gas and eat and buy incidentals.”
Ed looked at her, his mouth in a grim line. “Are you his girlfriend?”
“I’m Paige Sullivan. I own the Trailside Diner.” She shook his hand without answering the question. “‘Trailside’ means the sled trails right now, but ATVs coming into town would benefit my business, as well as the Kowalskis’. And many other businesses as well.”
“I’d have to talk to my wife,” he said, with a noticeable emphasis on the word “wife.”
“Absolutely,” Mitch told him. “You’ll both have questions, and we’d put you in contact with the ATV club so they could explain how the insurance policy that would cover you works and all of that. But right now, I just need to know if you’ll at least consider the possibility.”
Ed shrugged. “I’ll consider it. The economy sucks all over and I’d hate to put the screws to a whole town because you put the screws to my wife.”
“I—” Mitch began, but Paige poked him in the back. “Thank you.”
They left before the conversation could go downhill any further. Mitch kept a sedate pace on the dirt, but as soon as they hit the main road, he cracked the throttle and let the bike roar back toward Whitford.
*
The following day, the guys set to work emptying out the last few piles of crap in the barn so they could finally start work on the floor, while Mitch’s brain set to work on the puzzle of the fried bologna sandwiches.