Free Chance of the Heart by Kade Boehme Page A

up. He’d heard the Chamber of Commerce was trying to revitalize their Historic Downtown. Even he had to admit, though it wasn’t the largest town, their downtown had charm.
     
    But this particular building had obviously been left behind. So why was Chance standing in front of it looking like he’d found a miracle. Bradley hopped out of the Jeep and wandered over to Chance who turned to him, smiling shyly. That boyish enthusiasm was still held in check, but it lingered in his glinting gaze.
     
    “So, what do we have here?”
     
    “First,” Chance said, turning bodily toward Bradley. “I want to apologize because it’s not like I spend a lot of time seeking out your company, so I’m happy you actually showed.”
     
    Bradley frowned. He didn’t know exactly why he’d jumped when Chance said jump, either. But he figured he’d done similar things for exes before. Not that Chance was an ex. So he simply said , “We go way back. I do finance. You need help. It’s cool.” Chance didn’t look too sure. “And I get it… our situation is… awkward.”
     
    Chance scrunched his nose, expression remorseful. Bradley changed the subject by repeating his initial question. “What do we have here?”
     
    That seemed to get Chance back to the business at hand. “Ok. So, like I said, I have some money. It’s been sitting around in savings forever. The inheritance was originally in a CD, but that comes open in a few months, so I’ve got all this money and I need help figuring out what to do with it. I’d obviously pay you for your help.”
     
    “That’s not necessary.”
     
    “Yes, it is.” Chance’s tone brooked no argument. “I want to do right by you on this because you’d be doing me a solid.”
     
    “Okay,” Bradley drawled. “What does that have to do with this?” He indicated the building.
     
    Chance’s excited grin was fleeting but there all the same. “Follow me.” Chance led him to a side door, unlocking and letting Bradley in. Bradley walked through, seeing a greasy, neglected old kitchen. The appliances were still there, but whether they were working he didn’t know.
     
    Chance sauntered ahead of Bradley and went through swinging doors. Bradley followed through a galley then out into a barren space. It was decently sized. Too large to have been a diner, but smaller than your average chain restaurant. But it had definitely once been a restaurant.
     
    “You see,” Chance said, waving around the room, “It’s in excellent shape. An inspector told me the building itself is solid. It just needs paint and obviously the fixings and tables…”
     
    Bradley looked at Chance’s obvious enthusiasm. “You want to open a restaurant? I thought you were staying at your dad’s ranch.”
     
    Chance sobered. “It’d mostly be an investment of my money. I’d have a manager run it.” Though he seemed disappointed to say so.
     
    “Why can’t you run it?”
     
    “Like you said, I got responsibilities at the ranch.” Responsibilities. What an ugly word. “And I’m not even sure I can do this or if I should. My parents would say it’s unwise and that I should save the money for my future family.” Chance had lost all the shiny excitement he’d had. Bradley had curled his lip at the thought of Chance’s future family that would most definitely not include him. But he also felt a bit of light left the room with Chance’s loss of enthusiasm, making the building not seem like something with potential, but just a dingy, broken down place.
     
    “Well you never know until we get a look at your portfolio.”
     
    Chance sounded listless when he said “Bradley, I have a CD and a savings account. There is no portfolio.”
     
    “Well, we’ll see how much money you’ve got to work with and maybe we can invest some so that maybe one day you can have your restaurant.” Chance looked around the room thoughtfully and Bradley tracked his progress, saw the way his mind seemed to be going a