“The deal is a no go.”
Keaton sat in State Senator, Ginger Chase’s office. The pretty blonde stared at her computer screen. Her fingers flew on the keyboard as though she were chasing after the insurgent that was standing in their way. But Keaton’s attention was on the beautiful brunette next to him.
Brenda Vance had changed out of her jeans and T-shirt and into a nicer pair of jeans and a blouse. The new jeans were a darker blue and played perfectly against her tanned skin. The blouse, which was buttoned all the way up, still showcased the line of her neck, making Keaton’s mouth thirst.
She’d driven them into town in her old Ford F150. The AC had worked, so she’d rolled the windows up and put the radio on. It had been for the best. Keaton was at a loss as to what to say to the woman. Brenda seemed perfectly content with the silence between them. So, he’d closed his eyes and let her take the wheel.
Keaton’s rental car company had arrived and towed the ruined Jeep back into town. The owner hadn’t been happy when he remembered that Keaton had taken out the insurance policy. Of course, he’d taken out the insurance policy. What responsible adult wouldn’t?
Since the rental car company was on the same street alongside the city council building, he and Brenda had decided to kill two birds with one stone and stopped in. No appointment was necessary, as Maggie Banks had called ahead. Ginger was family, she’d said. However, Keaton didn’t see any physical resemblance.
“I swear with the backward ordinances in this town, it’s a wonder anyone stays here.” Ginger’s husband, Sergeant Colin Chase, leaned over his wife’s chair.
Ginger turned her face up to his. “It kept you here.”
“You kept me here,” Chase countered.
Keaton looked away as the newlyweds made otter eyes at each other. Chase had come with his team to the Purple Heart Ranch nearly a year ago to find healing and rehabilitation after a mission gone wrong. Now, each of the four-man Fire Team was living on or near the ranch in wedded bliss.
The happiness and love between the two were palpable. It was nice; having someone who you could both depend on, and then go on and kiss. A soft place to fall at the end of a hard mission. Keaton wondered if maybe he’d move his five-year plan up a year or two. Maybe he could make time for dating even sooner.
His gaze latched onto Brenda as she leaned forward in the seat beside him. Her lips twisted in impatience as she cleared her throat. It took a second, and a louder throat clearing, for the lip-locked married couple to focus on the matter at hand.
“You’re saying I can’t sell my land to a willing buyer because of some ordinance?” asked Brenda.
“No, you can,” said Ginger. “Just not as quickly as you’d like. The sale will take six months to go through. And in that time, no new construction can take place by anyone but the owner.”
That caught Keaton’s attention and broke his study of Brenda Vance’s lips. “I need to be up and running in ninety days. My guys will be here tomorrow. We need to break ground by the end of the week to stay on schedule.”
He’d planned for some setbacks. But not any of this magnitude. Six months? They couldn’t afford to wait around for six months. They’d lose all their contracts, the contracts that would set the business into the black. He hadn’t gone to the government to gain land for this very reason. The bureaucratic red tape took time to unravel. But here it was rearing its sticky head.
“There has to be a way around this,” said Keaton, his brain already going into tactical overdrive, trying to suss out a workaround.
“Well,” said Chase. “There is one way that I can think of.”
Both Brenda and Keaton leaned forward eagerly. Before Chase responded, he glanced at his wife. The two shared a knowing look. It was the same silent communication Keaton had with Grizz when they were about to slip into some hairy business on the battlefield. Except there was adoration in this couple’s look. Not an any-last-words kinda look he’d often exchanged with his best friend.
Keaton had never had a connection like that with a woman. One where words weren’t needed. He’d learned communication was key with the fairer sex. But at the same time, women didn’t like blunt honesty.
Whatever nonverbal words transpired between Ginger and Chase, they clearly understood each other perfectly and were on the same page.
Another glance at Brenda and Keaton got the impression she’d clued in on this silent exchange. Her expression changed from eager interest to total denial. She was also no longer leaning forward. She had pressed her body back into the chair, as though she was trying to get as far away as possible from the couple and their impending words.
What was going on?
“If you two are thinking what I think you’re thinking …” Brenda waved her finger at them. Then she waved both hands, as though warding them off. Then she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest in the universal language of back off. “Then, don’t even.”
Ginger and Chase only smiled. From the little he knew of Brenda Vance, Keaton knew she wasn’t a woman who rattled easily. She’d faced down a bull with only a bag of grain and sugar. But looking at her in the chair, she looked completely rattled.
“What’s going on?” Keaton asked the question to Brenda. He wondered if he’d get the message looking into her eyes. But she wouldn’t meet his gaze.
“There has to be another way,” said Brenda.
“We could get the law changed,” said Ginger. “But that would take even longer.”
“What if I leased the land to him instead of selling it?” asked Brenda.
“That could work, but it would still take time. Less time. Maybe two to three months before any construction could start.”
“Neither of those options work for me,” said Keaton. “We have a client booked for ninety days from now. They’ll put us in the black for the whole year. We have to be ready, or we’ll lose the contract.”
He looked around the room. Ginger looked sympathetic. Chase looked amused. Brenda looked furious.
“What’s this other way you’re not telling me about?” Keaton said.
Keaton directed his comment to Chase. Chase looked to his wife. Ginger looked at Brenda. Brenda threw up her hands and faced Keaton.
“They’re suggesting we get married,” said Brenda.
Indignation rang through her voice. Her fingers flicked at the air like she was brushing the ridiculous notion aside. The corners of her eyes crinkled, and her brow creased as though the idea was insane.
But Keaton’s brain was working, adjusting his master plan. Suddenly, the notion of waiting five years to find the perfect woman didn’t seem so necessary. It wasn’t ridiculous that he could squeeze Brenda into the plan. He could shift some things around.
Which was insane. Right? It had to be the bump on his head from the bull. Right? Even though the idea made his head stop hurting and his heart race.