there.
“The man is back,” Jake said, giving him a slap on the back when they met for lunch. “That blog you wrote today was on the mark.”
Mack regarded him with surprise. “You read it?”
“Sure,” Jake said. “I heard about it from a guy I met on a job a couple of days ago. What I want to know is why you didn’t tell Will or me about it?”
“It wasn’t a big deal,” Mack said. “More like a hobby till I figure out what I want to do next. In the meantime, I’ve been fielding a few calls from newspapers that might be interested in hiring me.”
“Where?” Will asked, regarding him worriedly.
“Right now the most promising are in California and Colorado,” he admitted.
“Too far away,” Will said succinctly. “Couldn’t you make this blog into something?”
“I don’t know if I want to,” Mack admitted. “It feels like the same old thing, but with a smaller audience.”
“I thought you loved that job,” Will said, looking confused. “Wasn’t that what all the moping and scotch were about?”
“I did,” Mack said, then admitted, “But when Susie and I were talking about all this, she planted another idea in my head, and I can’t seem to shake it. It would be a real challenge. Something new and potentially exciting.”
“Doing what?” Jake asked.
“A Chesapeake Shores weekly newspaper,” Mack said, looking from one friend to the other and trying to gauge their reactions. “Is that insane, especially these days?”
“When has insane ever bothered you?” Will asked. “You’ve always thrived on doing things people tell you are impossible. If you’re excited about it, dig into the details, put a plan on paper and decide if it’s financially feasible.”
“I, for one, would be thrilled to have a place to do cost-effective, targeted advertising for the nursery,” Jake said.
Mack studied him. “Seriously? On a regular basis?”
“Absolutely,” Jake said. “Sign me up now.”
“What would you consider cost-effective?”
Jake threw out some figures, which Mack jotted down on a napkin. It wasn’t much on which to base a business plan, but it was a starting point. He began making more notes, oblivious to everything around him.
When he looked up eventually, Will and Jake were gone and Susie had taken their place.
“Where’d you come from?” he asked, blinking at her in surprise.
“I’ve been here awhile.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“It was nice watching you so absorbed in something.” She reached for the pile of napkins he’d accumulated before Sally had given him a pad of paper and scolded him for wasting her supply of napkins.
Mack wanted to snatch them back, but he recalled the way he’d sworn to Susie that he’d stop keeping things from her.
He kept his gaze on her face, noting exactly when she realized what his notes were about.
She looked up, a smile spreading across her face. “Seriously?”
“I think so. What do you think?”
“There are a lot of questions here. What if you don’t like the answers?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Then it’s back to square one, I guess.”
But as he caught the hope shining in her eyes, he knew he had to find some way to make this newspaper thing work. Not only would it provide a challenge he could sink his teeth into, but it would pave the way toward the kind of settled, secure future he wanted with Susie. For now, those papers in California and Colorado were simply out of the question.
7
S usie wasn’t sure how much longer she could stand waiting around to get the ultrasound done. The test had been postponed twice, ironically once by her.
Something had come up at work, and she hadn’t wanted to reveal to her father why she couldn’t attend a meeting he’d scheduled. At least that’s what she’d told herself as she’d changed the doctor’s appointment. Her mother had been livid.
“You know how important this appointment is,” Jo had scolded. “Why would you do
“The man is back,” Jake said, giving him a slap on the back when they met for lunch. “That blog you wrote today was on the mark.”
Mack regarded him with surprise. “You read it?”
“Sure,” Jake said. “I heard about it from a guy I met on a job a couple of days ago. What I want to know is why you didn’t tell Will or me about it?”
“It wasn’t a big deal,” Mack said. “More like a hobby till I figure out what I want to do next. In the meantime, I’ve been fielding a few calls from newspapers that might be interested in hiring me.”
“Where?” Will asked, regarding him worriedly.
“Right now the most promising are in California and Colorado,” he admitted.
“Too far away,” Will said succinctly. “Couldn’t you make this blog into something?”
“I don’t know if I want to,” Mack admitted. “It feels like the same old thing, but with a smaller audience.”
“I thought you loved that job,” Will said, looking confused. “Wasn’t that what all the moping and scotch were about?”
“I did,” Mack said, then admitted, “But when Susie and I were talking about all this, she planted another idea in my head, and I can’t seem to shake it. It would be a real challenge. Something new and potentially exciting.”
“Doing what?” Jake asked.
“A Chesapeake Shores weekly newspaper,” Mack said, looking from one friend to the other and trying to gauge their reactions. “Is that insane, especially these days?”
“When has insane ever bothered you?” Will asked. “You’ve always thrived on doing things people tell you are impossible. If you’re excited about it, dig into the details, put a plan on paper and decide if it’s financially feasible.”
“I, for one, would be thrilled to have a place to do cost-effective, targeted advertising for the nursery,” Jake said.
Mack studied him. “Seriously? On a regular basis?”
“Absolutely,” Jake said. “Sign me up now.”
“What would you consider cost-effective?”
Jake threw out some figures, which Mack jotted down on a napkin. It wasn’t much on which to base a business plan, but it was a starting point. He began making more notes, oblivious to everything around him.
When he looked up eventually, Will and Jake were gone and Susie had taken their place.
“Where’d you come from?” he asked, blinking at her in surprise.
“I’ve been here awhile.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“It was nice watching you so absorbed in something.” She reached for the pile of napkins he’d accumulated before Sally had given him a pad of paper and scolded him for wasting her supply of napkins.
Mack wanted to snatch them back, but he recalled the way he’d sworn to Susie that he’d stop keeping things from her.
He kept his gaze on her face, noting exactly when she realized what his notes were about.
She looked up, a smile spreading across her face. “Seriously?”
“I think so. What do you think?”
“There are a lot of questions here. What if you don’t like the answers?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Then it’s back to square one, I guess.”
But as he caught the hope shining in her eyes, he knew he had to find some way to make this newspaper thing work. Not only would it provide a challenge he could sink his teeth into, but it would pave the way toward the kind of settled, secure future he wanted with Susie. For now, those papers in California and Colorado were simply out of the question.
7
S usie wasn’t sure how much longer she could stand waiting around to get the ultrasound done. The test had been postponed twice, ironically once by her.
Something had come up at work, and she hadn’t wanted to reveal to her father why she couldn’t attend a meeting he’d scheduled. At least that’s what she’d told herself as she’d changed the doctor’s appointment. Her mother had been livid.
“You know how important this appointment is,” Jo had scolded. “Why would you do
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