‡‡
An uneasy feeling settled in Carter’s gut as he faced Amanda. She hadn’t liked the question he asked her, but she’d answered it. He thought she was telling the truth. She hadn’t committed any federal crimes.
Had she committed some other kind?
He remembered Dennis’s accusations the day he’d brought Amanda to the Ridge. Had the old man seen something in her face he’d missed?
Had he experienced the kind of premonition he’d had before the crash?
Carter shrugged off the nagging questions. Nothing about Amanda suggested she was a law-breaker, but it was clear if he kept pressing her, she might walk away from him. He couldn’t let Dennis’s accusations goad him into being suspicious of her. He had to trust that Amanda would tell him everything when she was good and ready.
Meanwhile, she was right; they should be renovating something, but that was hard enough when you were in a good mood. Amanda was out of sorts. Before they tackled number twenty-three, he wanted to get things back on solid ground between them.
Carter bridged the distance between them and twined his fingers with hers.
“If we’re going to get Megan involved, why don’t we walk through some of the other houses in the subdivision and make a to-do list of what it will take to get them ready to show.” That was an easy task they could do together. “We just need to grab the keys.”
“All right.”
Her willingness cheered him up a little. They returned to the deck, where his brothers were still talking, and Carter explained his plan to them.
“That sounds like a good idea,” Nate said.
“I’m going to take the master key ring.”
“Just bring it back when you’re done,” Gage said.
Exactly what their father would have said if he was here. Carter ignored him and led the way through the house. He pocketed the large ring of keys from the top drawer of the hall table on their way out the front door. Outside, he brought Amanda to the section of houses flanked by Elliott Way and Center Street. Number twenty-three stood in the middle of this section, but he started at number nineteen, a small white bungalow on First Street with large front windows and a tidy aspect to it.
“This one is nice,” Amanda said, but when Carter opened the door and they went inside, she wrinkled her nose. “What’s that smell?”
He went to investigate, following the musty odor to a back room, and pointed to a corner. “Something got in here and made a nest.” He’d have to go over the house to see where the animal had entered. “I don’t think it’s been here for a while, though.”
“So Dennis isn’t infallible.”
“Guess not.” He surveyed the rest of the room. “Needs a coat of paint, at the very least. We should pull out the carpeting.”
“It’s in rough shape,” she agreed.
“Let’s check out the kitchen.”
“Do those appliances even work?” she asked when they walked into the small space.
“Don’t know.” The electricity wasn’t turned on in the uninhabited houses. “We can’t afford to buy new appliances for everyone, though. People will have to do that for themselves. I think our basic plan should be to gut the houses, clean them, put a coat of primer on the walls and then let the buyers have at it.”
“Not every house comes with a Navy SEAL renovator?” she teased.
Carter shook his head. “Yours is special.”
“It is.” She smiled up at him, and he couldn’t help leaning in to steal a kiss. When she met him willingly, her mouth soft and delicious under his, he followed it up with another, tugging her closer and taking his time. This was more like it. The tension between them disappeared. Amanda seemed as eager as he was to be close.
“We could survey the houses some other time,” he suggested when they parted.
“We just told your brothers we were doing it now.” She pulled back and looked around. “We need to take notes about what has to be done. Then we can make a checklist.”
“How can you even think about checklists?” He drew her close and wrapped his arms around her. Rested his chin on the top of her head. “You feel good.”
“You feel good, too, but we can’t spend all day messing around.”
“I don’t know why not,” he grumbled.
“Because we’re reviving a town for us to live in, and that takes time. Besides, I want to do this right. I want to get to know you—and I want you to know me.”
He stopped himself from making a joke about getting to know her in the Biblical sense. Instead, he pulled out his phone, tapped on a notes app and jotted down a few specifications for what needed to be done to prepare number nineteen for sale before they moved on to the next one.
After a while they fell into a rhythm that allowed them to evaluate the homes quickly. By the time they made it to number twenty-four, where he’d bunked the first night Amanda was in town, Carter felt he could estimate what the remaining homes would need. Many of the houses were in better condition than number nineteen, but almost all of them needed new flooring, fixtures and appliances.
The uneasy feeling in his gut relaxed a little as they worked together. Amanda was too conscientious and hardworking to have done anything really wrong. She’d said she’d tell him her secrets soon. He’d asked her to trust him. He needed to trust her, too.
After all, how much trouble could one woman get up to?
“I’m going to get my brothers over here,” he told her, deciding to let it go for now. He messaged Lincoln, Hudson and Nate. When they assembled a few minutes later, he said, “Here’s the thing. If we’re going to get Elliott Ridge ready for people to settle here, we have to treat this like a mission. A year-long mission. Which means we need to start at the beginning, set goals, break them down and implement them.”
“I’m good at plans.” Amanda pressed her lips together. “Sorry,” she added. “That popped out, but it’s true. I’m the only one in my department who could see a big project through from beginning to end.” She looked from one to the other of them. “What?” she asked. Carter wasn’t the only one chuckling.
Lincoln grinned. “Between us we’ve got over forty years in the military.” He pointed to each of his brothers in turn. “Completing missions is what we did for a living before we came here.”
“You don’t need my help. Got it.” Amanda looked down at her hands.
“No, that’s not what I meant.” Lincoln rubbed the back of his head. “Hell, guess it came out that way. Just—all of us are good at planning, which means we should be able to pull this off.”
“Unless it’s too many cooks in the kitchen,” Amanda said.
Carter let out a laugh. “You’ve got us there. Could turn out that way,” he admitted. “It’s been a long time since we worked together, and we weren’t always very good at that, were we?”
His brothers shook their heads.
“We’re older now. Don’t need to prove ourselves to anyone,” Hudson said. “We’ve done all right at the mill so far.”
“We’re not at each other’s throats this time,” Nate said.
Carter knew what he meant. The last couple of years before they left Elliott Ridge, they’d bickered and fought like wildcats caged together. There’d been so much work. So few hands to get it done. Each of them had taken on more and more responsibility until it seemed like it would crush them—if it didn’t kill their father first.
“Anyway, we need to get these houses cleaned up—fast. We won’t renovate them; the buyers will have to do that. We’ll just pull out old carpeting. Give them a coat of primer. That kind of thing. Not counting number twenty-three, there are twenty-nine houses in this part of town. That’s seven for each of us and one left over.”
“What about Gage?” Nate asked. “Why didn’t you call him over here?”
“He’s made it clear he’s waiting to see what the rest of us do,” Carter told him. “I’m not going to hold my breath for him to help.”
“I’m happy to lend a hand,” Amanda said.
“I’m counting on that,” Carter told her.
“I still think we need to get Megan Lawrence on our side,” Lincoln said. “Gage still hasn’t called her, and he should.”
Carter shrugged. “Nate, why don’t you work on that?”
“Why me?”
“Why not you?”
“I’ll talk to her,” Amanda announced, surprising all of them. “Next time I go for the mail and groceries, I’ll pop in and see her at her office. I bet she’ll listen to me.”
“You think so?” Lincoln asked doubtfully.
“I know so. I didn’t renege on a deal with her like the rest of you did. She and I have something in common. We’ve both been taken in by Elliott men.”
Uh oh, Carter thought. She must still be upset by what Warrington said.
She smiled at him gently. “I’m kidding. But it is true you lured me here under false pretences. You claimed to have a plan, when the reality is you didn’t. Like you said, you’ve been making all this up as you go along. That’s what I’ll tell her. I’ll say she’d better come talk to you while you’re still in the planning stage. That way she can put in her two cents.” She paused. “There’s something going on between her and Gage, right?”
All of them straightened. “How can you possibly know that?” Carter asked.
“I’ve got eyes. I saw the two of them together the other day,” she said. “Maybe I’m not some hot-shit military hero, but I’ve got skills of my own.”
“I guess you do,” Carter said. “Gage danced with Megan at a wedding last month.”
“And kissed her,” Hudson spoke up. “I saw him.”
That got Nate’s attention. “Gage kissed Megan Lawrence?”
“That’s right,” Lincoln said.
“Then we’d better get her involved,” Nate said with a grin.
“I’ll do my best to persuade her,” Amanda said. “And now I’m going to get back to the library. If I’m going to start helping you clean houses as well as cook two meals a day, shop, run errands and renovate number twenty-three, I won’t have much time to get the books in order.”
Carter and his brothers watched her walk to the town hall.
“You did good bringing her here,” Nate said.
Carter thought he had, despite the mysteries that swirled around her.
“Now all we need is a few hundred more people to fill up this place,” Lincoln said.
“Hi, Mom, it’s me. I’ve got a new number,” Amanda said two days later as she sat in Carter’s truck outside Carmichael Realty. She’d put off this call as long as possible, since she didn’t want to explain everything that had happened since the last time they talked, but if she waited any longer, her mother would try to call her and panic when she couldn’t get through to her old number. At least here in town, neither Carter nor his brothers could overhear her conversation. The truck doors were locked and the windows barely cracked. Amanda scanned the street again. It seemed impossible that Buck could have traced her this far, but she wanted to be careful.
She’d already stopped and bought an air mattress for Carter. After her meeting with Megan, she planned to grab a few groceries and check the mailbox before returning to the Ridge. She hadn’t made any progress figuring out what to do with the painting. Alone in the library on Saturday afternoon, she’d done some research online but had come up empty on ideas. She’d spent all of Sunday painting the other two bedrooms in number twenty-three. Carter said he’d finish the master bedroom soon and then the second story would be done.
“Hi, honey. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll save it to my contacts. What are you up to today?”
Amanda was grateful her mother accepted the news without concern and didn’t press her for explanations. Sooner or later she’d need to confess she’d taken her father in and been dragged into the middle of a crime, but she wasn’t ready for that yet.
“Just running some errands. What are you doing?”
“Heading out to lunch.”
“Where are you going to eat?” Normally her mother stayed at her desk on workdays, claiming she was much too busy to leave it. Amanda knew it was an excuse. Years ago, her mother had been active in many facets of their community in Dallas, but she’d kept a low profile since moving to Houston, just like Amanda had done before coming here.
“One of the neighbor ladies invited me to try a new place.”
“Really?” Amanda tried not to sound too surprised. Since when did her mother talk to her neighbors? “What type of food does it serve?”
“Vietnamese. Linda says it’s wonderful.”
“How did you two meet?” It was getting warm in the truck’s cab. Amanda wished she’d found a shadier place to park.
“I was washing my front windows one day, and she stopped to talk to me. She lives at the Eastman.”
Amanda tried to picture that meeting. Had her mother been pleasantly surprised, or had she felt overexposed, the way Amanda used to when someone new tried to strike up a friendship? The Eastman was a condo complex a couple of blocks away from her mother’s small house.
“She invited me to join her book club. Now we get together every week to do something.”
Book club? Amanda blinked. Was this her mother? “I didn’t know you joined a book club.”
“What else am I supposed to do when neither of my daughters live near me?” her mother asked defensively.
“I’m glad you’re finding things to do. A book club sounds great.”
“You could try doing things, too. I worry about you. You know that job of yours isn’t very challenging. You never go on dates. What do you do when you come home at night? Watch TV?”
As far as Amanda knew, that’s what her mother had done for years up until now. “I try to keep busy.”
“You need to do more than try. You need to build a life for yourself. Build a community.”
Amanda wanted to protest that she’d been following her mother’s example, but instead she said, “That sounds like good advice.”
There was a long silence on the end of the line. “I thought you’d have some smart answer,” her mom said. “You always do when I invite you here.”
She was right. Maybe it was time to be more truthful about how she felt. They were always dancing around the subject of the past and never actually talking about it. “I’d like to see you more, Mom. It’s hard for me to go back to Texas, though. I’m uncomfortable there.”
“It’s not like I’m still living in Dallas, where all the bad things happened. I thought you liked Houston.”
“I did. For a while, at least.” Amanda hesitated, unsure whether she wanted to dredge up the past. “I guess it’s because of Erik and Maddy.” The two names felt strange in her mouth since it had been so long since she’d spoken them. She barely let herself think about her old boyfriend and best friend anymore. Amanda scanned the street again to make sure Buck Bronson wasn’t sneaking up on her, but it was talking about the past that was making her feel vulnerable rather than any real fear Buck might be around.
Her mother hesitated again. “I know they hurt you a lot.”
“That’s an understatement.” Maddy had been her best friend for years. Erik had been her first love.
Neither were in her life anymore.
“Maddy and Erik did what was right for them and their careers,” her mother said gently. “That doesn’t mean you can’t move on, too.”
She knew that now. Her flight from LA had shaken her out of her lethargy, and these days she felt more alive than she had in ages, but that didn’t explain why her mother had suddenly changed her way of life.
“How come you’re ready to move on all of a sudden?” Amanda asked her.
“I’ve… been going to counseling,” her mother admitted in a rush. “Linda pushed me to do it when she saw how sad I got around Christmas. She kept bugging me until I finally tried it.” Her mother sighed. “I should have done this years ago. I owe you an apology, Amanda. I’ve been a rotten example for you. I’ve been stewing in the past—in the unfairness of it all. I got stuck when your father did what he did. I couldn’t forgive him. I couldn’t forgive anyone—especially after the fire.”
“I don’t blame you. I’ve been feeling stuck, too.”
“I blame me.” Her mother sighed. “I acted like there was nothing left when your father went away. Like my career and my girls meant nothing. I know,” she added when Amanda began to protest. “At first I was shocked because of the trial and the fire. Of course I struggled. But even after I moved to Houston, I refused to get on with living. No wonder Melissa ran away. No wonder you left, too. I must have seemed so pitiful, holding on to the past like that.”
“It sounds like you’re making changes now,” Amanda made herself say. She wasn’t sure why her mother’s sudden revelations felt like a betrayal, but they did. Maybe because she’d used her mother’s inability to move on to justify her own lack of progress? If so, she was the one who should be in counseling. At least she was working on creating a new life for herself.
“I am. I was wondering if you’d visit soon, actually. I’m going to sell this place and start over. I’m moving to the Gulf. I could use some help.”
“You’re moving to the Gulf?” Amanda couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“I’ve always loved the ocean. Why shouldn’t I move there?”
It had been hard enough for her to leave Dallas—even after Buck attempted to burn their house to the ground. “You won’t miss your book club? Linda?”
There was another pause. “Linda has a house on the Gulf in addition to her condo here in town,” her mother admitted. “I could do that, too. I could have the best of both worlds.”
“That sounds great, Mom. I’ll figure out when I can come and see you soon.” Amanda’s mind was spinning. How had her mother kept her new social life a secret for so long? And why had she done so?
“You don’t think it’s strange for me to change after all this time? I thought maybe you’d be angry. That I should make sure you’re all right before I think about myself.”
“Mom, I’m twenty-six.” Was her mom afraid she wouldn’t approve of her new choices? “You can’t worry about me all the time. Besides, I’m thinking of making some changes, too. When I know more, I’ll tell you all about it.”
“I can’t wait.” Her mother sounded thrilled.
“Love you, Mom.” The ache in her chest was still there—they’d both endured so much—but it wasn’t as sharp anymore. Her mom was moving on from the past, and so was she.
“I love you, too, honey.”
“Let me think about visiting. I’ll call you when I have some dates in mind.”
“Sounds good. Talk soon.”
“Bye.”
Amanda’s head was still spinning when she ducked inside Carmichael Realty, and she forced herself to put what she’d learned aside and focus. “I’m looking for Megan Lawrence,” she said to a middle-aged woman working near the front of the small office. Megan popped her head around a cubicle wall.
“Amanda? What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you,” Amanda said brightly. “Want to grab a coffee?”
“Sure. I could use a break. There’s a good place a couple of doors down.” Megan gathered her purse and came to join her. She was wearing a cute green dress with sensible pumps, but the work outfit served only to make her look younger than Amanda knew she was. It had to be hard to break into real estate in a town where everyone knew everyone else. Amanda supposed the old-timers in the business probably had their fingers in a lot of pies.
Grateful they wouldn’t have to walk far, she kept pace with Megan, looking around once more to see if Buck had found her. Talking to her mother had made the threat of him seem more real.
She didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, though, and soon they were seated at a small table at Linda’s Diner. They ordered a banana walnut muffin to share along with their coffees. Once the waitress had delivered everything, Amanda got down to business.
“I don’t blame you for being angry at the Elliotts. They weren’t forthcoming with me, either,” she began. “But I think their hearts are in the right place. Carter has admitted to me they’ve been short on plans and long on ambition.”
“They’d better start making plans, or all that ambition won’t mean a thing. I can’t believe they sold you a house for a dollar.”
“Carter figures once one woman lives on the Ridge, others will be more comfortable moving there.”
Megan shrugged. “I hope it works out for you.”
She was still mad. Amanda wondered how to ease her mind. “Did you know Carter and his brothers want to bring their folks back to the Ridge?” she asked.
Megan shifted in her chair. “No, I didn’t.”
“I thought you should. They’re serious about making this all work. I think Carter and his brothers miss their mom and dad a lot.”
Megan looked down. “I sure miss my parents.”
Amanda reached across the table to touch her hand. “I’m sorry for your loss. Carter told me about it.”
“I never thought I’d lose them so early,” Megan said. “It was just the three of us, so we were never a big family, but my parents were full of fun. We used to play cards all the time. Sunday was pizza night, even after I grew up. They knew I’d go out with friends on Fridays and Saturdays and wanted to be sure they got some time with me. If I’d known they’d be gone so soon, I would have stayed home the rest of the week, too.”
Amanda could tell she was close to tears. “Do you have other family in town?”
Megan shook her head. “They’re in Bozeman, so I see my aunts and uncles now and then. I’ve got cousins scattered around. It’s just not the same.”
“I can imagine. I don’t have a big family, either, and we’re scattered all over the place. That’s one thing I like about Elliott Ridge. I feel like it’s going to be a real community, you know? Before I came here, I lived in a big city. I barely knew my neighbors at all.”
“You like the Ridge that much, huh?”
“I do,” Amanda said honestly. “Did you know they’ve got a library up there?” She laughed at herself. “I’m probably the only one who gets excited about things like that, but I’m cleaning and organizing it. They basically gave it to me.”
Megan looked intrigued. “That’s cool. I like libraries.”
“You do?”
Megan nodded. “What else is up there? I didn’t really get to look around.”
“There’s a mill. Right now there are twenty temporary workers who are staying in three bunkhouses. I haven’t been inside those. They come to eat with the Elliotts in the town hall cafeteria for lunch and dinner. I’m in charge of that, too.” Amanda rolled her eyes.
“How’d that happen?”
“Gage assigned the chore to me. He was trying to scare me off.”
“He’s good at that,” Megan said sourly.
“But you still like him.”
Megan put her cup down with a thump. “How did you guess?”
“I think he likes you, too, if that helps.” She didn’t bother to answer Megan’s question. It had been obvious.
“Sure has a funny way of showing it.”
“Anyway,” Amanda pushed on. “There’s this one area of the Ridge that’s being subdivided. Carter calls it the downslope.”
Megan shook her head. “It’s actually called Lucy’s Corner, because Lucy Greenley lived there in the 1950s. She did laundry for the single men in the community.”
“Really? How do you know that?”
“I looked up all the information I could find after talking to Gage at Cindy Glendale’s wedding. Total waste of time,” she added.
Amanda hurried on. “Carter wants to sell those houses first. We’re all helping to clean them up—and we’re trying to fix up number twenty-three, where I live, so people can see what’s possible if they buy in.”
“And I suppose he’ll sell those for a dollar, too!”
“I don’t think so.”
Megan sighed. “Sorry. I’m not mad at you. None of this is your fault.”
“You’re mad at Gage, aren’t you?” It was the heart of the problem. It seemed best to face it head on.
“Did you see the way he treated me?”
“I did.”
“I thought he liked me,” Megan said. “The morning of Cindy’s wedding, my boss confronted me. She said if I didn’t bring in a new listing by the end of the night, I might as well quit. I was Cindy’s maid of honor. It was supposed to be a special day.”
Amanda swallowed a sip of coffee and made a face. “That’s awful. Your boss really expected you to work at your friend’s wedding?”
Megan nodded. “I did it, too. Asked everyone there if they planned to sell a property soon. Made a complete ass of myself. Blake Warrington hit on me.” She broke off. “You probably don’t know him.”
“I met him a couple of days ago, actually.”
“He’s a piece of work.”
“He is,” Amanda agreed. “I didn’t like him one bit, and I certainly don’t want him to end up with Elliott Ridge. So he hit on you. Then what happened?”
“Gage came to my rescue. Danced with me. Kissed me,” she said defiantly, as if Amanda would deny it.
“Hudson said he saw Gage do that.”
Megan looked surprised but quickly recovered. “He said he’d hire me to sell something—either the individual houses or the whole parcel. He told my boss he was going to come in and sign paperwork, then he never did. He never called me. It’s been weeks. Now my boss is threatening to fire me again.”
Amanda’s heart sank. “No wonder you’re mad. Gage is a fool.”
“I’m the fool, thinking someone like him would be interested in someone like me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Amanda asked. “Why wouldn’t he be interested in you?”
“I’m a boring, small-town girl with a boring, small-town life,” Megan said. “Men go after women like you—mysterious strangers who turn up and set their hearts fluttering.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever set anyone’s heart fluttering.” Amanda took a bite of her half of the muffin and groaned. “This is really good. That’s real butter in it, isn’t it?”
“Probably,” Megan said, taking a bite of hers. “But don’t try to change the subject. I’m pretty sure Carter’s fallen for you. He couldn’t stay close enough to you the whole time I was there.”
“We’ve definitely got chemistry,” Amanda admitted. It felt good to have someone to share that with. “He’s pretty hot.”
“He is.”
“So is Gage.” Not her type with all his brooding, but she didn’t need to say that.
“Gage is definitely hot. But he’s a lost cause,” Megan said.
“Isn’t that the best kind?” Amanda finished her half of the muffin and wished she’d ordered a whole one for herself.
“You really think so?” Megan laughed for the first time. “I don’t usually go looking for lost causes.”
“I don’t think it’s a matter of looking for them,” Amanda joked.
“I should forget the whole thing and walk away,” Megan said.
“I think you should jump on the chance to work with the Elliotts. I think they’re on to something. Besides, it’s way too soon to give up on Gage. Let the man brood awhile. He’ll come around eventually.”
A smile tugged at Megan’s mouth again. “He does seem to be the brooding type, doesn’t he?”
“He’s very gothic,” Amanda agreed. “All smoldering passions and furrowed brows.”
Megan laughed out loud. “Enough. I won’t be able to look at him with a straight face next time I see him. Besides, if he was interested, he would have called by now.”
“Not necessarily. Gage strikes me as the kind of guy who’ll shoot himself in the foot to avoid confronting a problem. Maybe there’s a reason he’s afraid to pursue a relationship with you right now. That doesn’t mean he isn’t interested.”
“Maybe.” Megan didn’t seem convinced. “What really matters is getting a listing or two. My boss is putting the pressure on me.” She seemed to be thinking it over as she took another bite.
“Tell her you’re meeting the Elliotts again in a day or two and you’re close to working out an agreement.”
“Am I close?”
“Definitely.”
“What’s going on out there?” Carter’s father barked into the phone when Carter took his call.
“Hi to you, too, Dad.” His father called about once a week to check in. Every time he did, Carter felt like he hadn’t done nearly enough to satisfy him.
“Well? Give me an update.”
“Things are moving along.” He’d just gotten a message from Amanda that she was at Linda’s Diner with Megan and they were almost done. “No one has quit at the mill in the past twenty-four hours. I ducked out to finish painting the master bedroom of number twenty-three. Pretty soon we’ll start gutting the other houses in the subdivision to get them ready for sale.”
“Did you get the approval yet?”
“Not yet.” Carter had been sure they’d have it by now, but so far it hadn’t come.
“Better make some phone calls. Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. You know that.”
“You sound like Gage.”
His dad was quiet. “Well, worrying runs in the family, I guess.”
“Ready for your surgery next month?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” his father said dryly. “Getting old is for the birds, I’ll tell you that.”
“Hang in there, Pop. We’ll have you out at the Ridge in no time.” Carter thought about what Gage said the other day. “Do you worry it won’t be the same if you moved back here?”
His father hmphed. “I know it won’t be the same. But it’s still the Ridge. That land is in my blood.”
“You won’t miss your friends?”
“That’s why it’s your job to get all the houses filled. So we can make new ones! Make sure you get some people there for your mother. You know the type she likes. The busy ones. Always chattering.”
“You can count on me, Dad. If it’s possible to get this town up and running again, I’ll do it.”
“Hmm.”
Carter wasn’t sure what to make of that noncommittal sound.
“Shouldn’t you be at the mill instead of painting?”
“I’m almost done, and then I’ll walk over to the town hall, actually. Amanda’s on her way back with groceries.” He’d meant to keep quiet about her, but his dad’s reaction had stung, and Carter wanted him to know someone believed in him. Besides, it would give his parents something to talk about other than the surgery he knew was weighing on his dad’s mind.
“Who’s Amanda?” his father asked, right on cue.
“Our first buyer. As soon as the subdivision approval comes through, she’ll own number twenty-three. I’m helping her repair it.”
“She works at the mill?”
“No, Dad. She’s been cleaning up the library. She runs errands for us in town. Cooks lunch and dinner for the whole crowd, too.”
“Sounds like a busy woman.”
“She’s pretty great.”
Another pause. “I see.”
“This one might be serious, Pop.” As soon as he said it, he wished he hadn’t. If things didn’t go his way, his father would have another excuse to ride his ass.
“Well, that’s more like it. About time you boys started to settle down.”
“Settle down?” his mother’s voice trailed over the line. There was a scuffle, and her voice came louder. “Are you going to settle down, Carter?”
“Not yet, Mom. Be patient, okay? I’ve got to run now, but I’ll call you again next week and tell you all about it.”
“You’d better,” his mother said. “Send photos, too. Don’t keep me in suspense!”
He still wasn’t sure whether or not he’d made a mistake telling them about Amanda when she drove up and parked outside the town hall. She was pensive as they unloaded the groceries, so Carter kept his conversation light, updating her on their progress at the mill. He’d let her discover on her own that the master bedroom was done.
“Any luck?” he finally asked her when the groceries were put away and they’d returned to the foyer so she could sort the small pile of mail she’d picked up into the correct boxes. “You know, it’d be faster to just hand that around to folks.”
“Start as you mean to go on, right? I’m following protocol.”
“Elliott Ridge has protocols?”
“It does now. I’ll write down that first rule, put it in a binder and keep adding to it. A few of these are for workers at the mill. Did you hand out keys to them yet?”
“I’ll do that today.”
“As for Megan, I talked to her, if that’s what you mean.”
“Is she willing to help us?”
“She is… but you guys stepped on her toes. I told her you’ll be selling more houses in Lucy’s Corner soon.”
“Lucy’s Corner?” He smiled to hear the name. “We haven’t called it that since I was a kid. Dad always called it the downslope, even back then. I think he thought the name was kind of silly.”
“I like it. It celebrates Elliott Ridge’s history.”
“Lucy’s Corner it is.”
“Anyway, Megan is struggling right now. Did you know Gage promised to hire her in front of her boss and then never did? She’s afraid she’s going to lose her job.”
“Because Gage broke his word?”
“Exactly. She was depending on him. We need to get her some listings, fast.”
“Guess we’d better get those houses cleaned up.”
Amanda handed him a few envelopes. “Here’s your mail.”
“Thanks.” He flipped through them.
“I’d better get lunch going.” She moved toward the cafeteria.
“I’ll help.”
With Carter pitching in, it wasn’t hard to whip together a huge batch of tacos and set up the food buffet-style, so the men could serve themselves as many as they wanted. When she’d taken a seat with the Elliotts, Carter brought up the topic of Megan.
“You should talk to her boss,” he told Gage. “It’s the least you can do.”
“What do I tell her?”
“We’ll have a few dozen houses for sale soon.” He didn’t back down even when Gage scowled at him.
“Fine. I’ll go talk to Lainie Carmichael.”
“Today.”
Gage nodded, finished his meal and left.
“Good job,” Amanda said softly when the meal was over. “I’m sure that will help.”
“I hope so. Wish I could spend all day with you,” he added as they brought their dishes to the kitchen.
“I know. I’ll see you later?”
“I’ll come back a little early. We can go for a swim before dinner and then I’ll help you get the meal on.”
“Your brothers won’t get mad if you keep slipping away like that?”
Carter shrugged. “I’ll make it up to them.”
Amanda spent the afternoon in the library, working swiftly to clean the shelves, sort the books and put them in order. She still had a long way to go when the afternoon waned and Carter found her there, but she was satisfied with her progress.
She checked the time when he appeared at her elbow and stole a kiss as she slid a novel onto one of the shelves. “I’m not sure I have time for a swim. We’ll be cutting it close.”
“Just a quick dip. You’ll feel much better afterward. It’s hot in here.”
“You’re right. Okay,” she conceded. “Meet you down there?”
“Sure thing.”
Ten minutes later, she tossed her towel on the sand and joined him at the edge of the water in the scarlet bikini Storm Hall had convinced her to buy when she went shopping for new clothes. Carter looked her over appreciatively.
“I suppose that water is still ice cold?” she asked.
“That’s half the fun of it. Come on.” Carter charged right into the lake up to his thighs, dove under the water and reappeared with a happy shout. Amanda dipped a toe in tentatively and shuddered.
“It’s freezing!”
“Just jump right in,” he encouraged her, taking a stroke or two, then turning onto his back. “You’ll get used to it. You were fine last time.”
Last time she’d been hot and disheveled after making love in a canoe. She edged in another inch.
“Amanda. Get in the water.”
“I will when I’m ready,” she said primly. She put a foot in deeper and pulled it out. The Pacific Ocean was never exactly warm, but it wasn’t anywhere near this cold.
“We don’t have all day.” He rolled back to his stomach and came toward her, his powerful arms slicing through the water.
“Don’t you dare, Carter. Stay away from me,” she cried when he surged to his feet and splashed her way.
“I can throw you in, if you like. Get it over with.”
“You’d better not!” Afraid he’d make good on his threat, Amanda charged past him and dove into the water, coming up with a scream. “That is freaking cold!”
“Of course it is.” Carter stood with his hands on his hips and laughed at her. “This lake was completely iced over three months ago.”
The sliding glass door at the back of his folks’ place opened with a rumble. Gage stuck his head out. “What the hell is going on out there?”
“Sorry,” Amanda called back when she’d recovered from the shock of his sudden appearance. She hadn’t thought anyone was around. “The water is cold.”
“The water is cold?” Gage repeated, coming all the way out on the deck. “That’s why you’re hollering like a banshee?”
Heat rising in her cheeks, she lifted her chin. “Carter was being annoying.”
To her surprise, Gage laughed at that. “Fair enough. Sometimes he makes me want to scream, too.”
“Hey!” Carter said. “You’re supposed to take my side!”
Gage shrugged.
“Did you talk to Lainie Carmichael?”
“I did. Turned on the Elliott charm. Megan’s got nothing to worry about.”
“Did you see Megan while you were there?” Amanda asked.
Gage shook his head and went back inside.
Amanda was disappointed on Megan’s behalf, but she turned to Carter. “I’m not used to having the calvary come running whenever I’m in distress.”
“That’s what men are for. Didn’t you have a boyfriend in LA?” Carter asked her, wading deeper into the water again.
“Nope.” She didn’t want to talk about old boyfriends.
“Why does your past seem like such a blank slate?” He swam with her as she pushed off and took a stroke or two.
Amanda wondered how best to answer that. “I haven’t done much with my life so far. I’ve played it really safe.”
“You took a chance coming here.”
“You’re right, I did.” She swam a few more strokes. “And I’m becoming passionate about Elliott Ridge.” Passionate about him, too. She supposed he knew that.
“Oh yeah? What parts of it?”
“Number twenty-three, for one thing. I already feel like it’s mine.”
“It is,” he assured her.
“The library. I have a vision for how to make it into a place where people love to spend time.”
“I’m sure you will.”
“The forest, too. I didn’t know I’d like living in the woods, but I do. I like the way it smells here. I like all the birds.”
“I know what you mean. When I came home, I took one deep breath and felt myself relax in a way I hadn’t in over a decade.”
“Being a SEAL must be pretty tough.” She swam parallel to the shore. Carter swam beside her.
“There’s a lot of training. A lot of boredom. Then moments of pure adrenaline. I’m proud of the job I did, though.”
“Your parents must be really proud, too—of all of you.”
“They are. My mom worried about us, of course. And Dad… well, Dad had mixed feelings.”
“Why?” It was easy to talk as they glided along. There was no wind today, and the lake was as smooth as glass. Now she was used to the water, it wasn’t that bad.
“He wasn’t ready for us to leave the Ridge. Wasn’t ready to leave it himself.”
“You miss him.”
“Don’t you miss your father?”
“I miss who he should have been.” Amanda ducked under the surface and swam away, unwilling to talk about that. She struck out in a big loop, ending up back where they’d started. On the beach, she grabbed her towel. They walked to number twenty-three together when they’d dried off.
“Meet you in the kitchen in a few minutes?” he asked.
“See you there.” She hesitated, wishing he would kiss her.
He must have read her mind. Touching her hip, he moved in close and bent down to brush his mouth over hers. His skin was cool against hers. She was shivering even though she was wrapped in her towel. Still, it was hard to pull away.
“See you in a minute,” he reiterated.
Amanda nodded. “See you.”
As she made her way into the house, she wondered why she felt so unsettled. She had every right to be here with Carter. Had every right to fall for him.
Still, when he kissed her, she felt like she was living on borrowed time. Like she needed to get back to something she’d left undone.
Probably because of the precious artwork hidden away in the building by the mine. She still had no idea how to return it without being caught. And at some point she needed to deal with her apartment in LA. Her rent would be deducted from her bank account automatically, so she had time, but she shuddered to think of the food going rotten in her refrigerator. She was afraid to ask anyone to go empty it, even though a work acquaintance had a spare key. What if Buck was watching her place?
Buck.
Sometimes she managed to forget about him for hours at a time, but whenever she remembered, fear flooded her, leaving her feeling sick. Amanda shut the door behind her and fought against an urge to lock it, aware Carter would hear it if she did and probably read her intentions wrong.
She went upstairs, changed out of her wet things, showered and dressed in clean, dry clothes but had to put a hand on the dresser to steady herself as memories of the night she left LA overwhelmed her.
What would have happened if she hadn’t texted her father at the moment she did? If Buck had broken in before she managed to get away?
Would he have hurt her?
Killed her?
Amanda shook the thoughts from her head. Carter was waiting for her to join him at the town hall kitchen. She had to keep moving.
Tomorrow she’d figure out what to do with the painting, she told herself with a sigh. Right now she’d make dinner and enjoy Carter’s company.
“There you are,” Carter said when she made her way to the town hall. Amanda’s heart warmed. He’d been waiting for her, just like he promised. So far, he’d never let her down.
He was the only person in her life who hadn’t.
An hour later she was deep in preparations for dinner. She’d just made the biggest batch of meatloaf imaginable, and potatoes were boiling in an enormous pot on the stove.
“Now that Gage has smoothed the way with Lainie Carmichael, when do you think you can get Megan here to talk shop?” Carter asked.
“When do you want her to come?” Amanda chopped vegetables for a salad.
“As soon as possible. We should show her the homes we’re cleaning up and get her input on how much to do before we advertise them.”
“I’ll call her and see.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
They worked together in a companionable silence after that, busy with their own thoughts.
“I like it here,” Amanda told him when the meatloaf was ready, the potatoes mashed and they could hear Carter’s brothers and the mill workers coming into the cafeteria. “I like having people around to talk to and a whole crowd for meals.”
“Who knew accosting a strange woman at the airport could turn out so well?” he joked. “Maybe I should write a how-to book.”
“I’m not sure I’d go that far.”
“It was a damn good thing I didn’t overthink asking you to come to the Ridge. Where would we be if I’d chickened out?”
Amanda shrugged, her good mood slipping away. She’d be holed up in a motel or vacation rental and probably wouldn’t have slept a wink, terrified of every sound outside at night. Gratitude swept through her that she’d stumbled across such a good man when she needed one.
She couldn’t tell Carter any of that, though. Instead, she slipped mitts on her hands and lifted the meatloaf out of the oven. “Let’s eat,” she said.
“I’m always ready for that.”