‡‡
“Just how far is this place?” Amanda asked thirty minutes into their drive from the airport.
“We’re almost there.” Carter noticed her knuckles were white on his truck’s steering wheel, and the anticipation he’d felt since meeting her turned into concern. “You said you were looking for a place out of town,” he reminded her, hoping she wouldn’t chicken out before they reached Elliott Ridge. He was already bracing himself for a showdown the next time he was alone with his brothers. He’d silently invoked an old rule from their childhood days, when they’d devised a secret code sign language, and he was more grateful than he could say that it still worked.
He’d pursed the fingers of his right hand together, then spread them wide. The signal meant, “Shut up and go along with what I’m saying—no questions asked.” According to their old code of conduct, his brothers had no choice but to back up his story.
That didn’t mean they’d be happy about it, though.
Carter had only invoked the rule twice before—both times to avoid punishment when he’d snuck out at night as a teenager to meet girls and hadn’t made it back before sunrise. He wasn’t so proud of that now, but the rule sure had come in handy today at the airport. Frankly, he was amazed they’d gone along with it considering Gage had shot down the house-for-a-dollar idea the first time Lincoln raised it. They must think he was out of his mind.
Maybe he was. Paying for the house and its renovation had eaten up a large share of his savings—and he was going to give it away to a woman he’d just met?
He knew what Gage would say the next time they were alone. If he was willing to sell “his” house, he should have done so for a profit. They were desperate for cash to make their monthly loan payments.
He hadn’t known what else to do to make Amanda give Elliott Ridge a chance, though. He couldn’t simply let her walk away—out of his life. Not when his gut told him she was the one. He wasn’t the kind of simple-headed romantic who fell for every woman who gave him the time of day, either. In fact, he’d never had any kind of premonition before. What he’d felt at the airport when Amanda crossed the tarmac was something new and different. He had to know if it was real.
“The drive is worth it, believe me. You’re going to love Elliott Ridge,” he told Amanda firmly. She had to, or he didn’t know what he’d do. So far, very little was going right in this enterprise, and he needed his luck to change. No way was he going to let Blake Warrington buy his family’s property out from under him.
According to his father, Warrington had been disappointed when his initial bid to buy the place had been thwarted, but he’d resolved to be patient. “When those boys of yours discover it’s harder than it looks to settle a community, they’ll come running to me for the cash,” he’d told Carter’s father, which made Carter more determined to succeed.
The road began climbing, and soon the ranches they’d been passing were replaced by scrub forest and small hamlets of houses.
“You don’t belong to some kind of cult, do you?” Amanda kept her eyes on the highway, but she was driving more slowly, as if regretting coming at all.
“Definitely not.”
“How can one family own a whole town?”
“The Ridge has been in our family for generations,” Carter explained. “We used to be kind of rich, I guess.” A long time ago now. “One of my ancestors found silver here in the late 1800s. He opened the mine. Brought in workers. Built housing for them and collected the rent. Elliott Ridge was a company town. Near as we can make out, the workers didn’t profit much. Between paying rent for their houses and buying their food from the company store, a lot of their earnings went right back into my ancestors’ pockets. The place eventually hit hard times, though, and the mine petered out.”
She glanced his way. “But your family held on to the place?”
“My great-great-grandfather looked around, saw trees everywhere and started a forestry and lumber operation. As the years passed, the workers still rented their houses and could buy food from the store if they wanted to, but Chance Creek was growing by then. People could drive into town to do their shopping. There was more fun to be had in off-hours. Earnings went up, but rents climbed more slowly. Elliott Ridge boomed. Unfortunately, when the price of lumber tanked in the early 2000s, the bottom fell out of the business. My dad had to lay people off, and those people left the area. Pretty soon the town had cleared out.”
“What makes you think you can bring it back to life?” Amanda asked.
He’d been over this so many times with his brothers he could recite his explanation in his sleep. He bit back a smile as Amanda pressed down on the accelerator again, caught up in his story. “People don’t need to live where they work anymore. Not all of them, anyway. Remote workers are looking for places that offer amenities but are cheaper than expensive cities. No one can afford housing in San Francisco, but out here…” He waved a hand at the forest around them. “Homes are cheap. Even housing prices in Chance Creek have gone up these past few years,” he added, “but Elliott Ridge is a bargain.”
She nodded slowly. “Hard to beat a house for a buck. But… If you previously rented these homes, are they zoned for individual sale?”
He had an answer for that, too. “Not all of them,” he admitted, pleased she was showing so much interest. “But Elliott Ridge is made up of multiple lots, all owned jointly by my family. A number of years back, Dad started the process of subdividing one section of the town. I got the process moving again when I got home. Approval should come through any day now.”
“So I really will own a house,” she said.
“Once we get that approval—and once you’ve signed the paperwork, you will. Turn there.” He pointed to a road that branched off the country highway, and she took the turn onto the winding road that led to the Ridge. “This is Elliott Way,” he told her, relieved they’d made it this far. “My ancestors liked to put their name on everything they could.”
She nodded again. They were silent until they rounded a final bend in the road and the community spread out before them. It resembled a Western ghost town more closely than Carter wished, but this was home. He was confident he could persuade Amanda to stay now that he’d gotten her here.
“It must be gloomy in the wintertime.” She peered up at the ridge above them. “Does the sun stay behind that most of the day?”
“It’s not as bad as you think,” Carter lied, captivated by the way her hair swung forward in a shimmering wave as she bent over the steering wheel. The truth was, the Ridge cast deep shadows in the winter months. “Besides, wait until you see the lake. Prettiest thing around.” It was the sunniest location, too. “This is the Circle,” he said as they drew up to where the road looped around a central field. “Stop here for a minute. That’s my parents’ place. Number one. It was the first house built at Elliott Ridge.” The white clapboard house was old-fashioned, with a deck that wrapped all the way around it. The back of the house faced the lake. A black flag with green and silver stripes hung from a pole by the front door.
Amanda pointed to it. “I’ve never seen a flag like that.”
“It’s the Elliott Ridge flag. The black is for the Ridge, the green is for the forest and the silver is for the… well… silver.” He chuckled. “At the top of the Circle is the town hall. Those other large buildings used to be a general store and a hotel with a bar on the first floor. There’s the town chapel.” Peeking out from behind the other buildings, it was a small structure with a steeple. It had been sparsely used in his childhood, but it could be spiffed up again if it was wanted. “We used to have a minister living on site, but he passed away in the 80s. After that, we had visiting ones now and then.” He pointed to the left. “Go three-quarters of the way around the Circle and turn onto Center Street.” Amanda followed his directions. “Turn left onto Second Street. That’s the one.” He pointed to the house he’d begun to renovate—number twenty-three.
As she parked the car in front of it, a simmer of unease settled in his stomach. What if she hated it? What if she drove straight back to town? Gage would take that as a clear sign they were doomed to fail.
It was do or die time, Carter decided as Amanda surveyed the house. If he wanted her to stay—and he definitely did—he needed to use all his powers of persuasion to try to show her what the Ridge—and the house—could become. He’d have to find another house to live in for now, but his mind was already swarming with images of the two of them sharing this one. Watching the game on the couch in front of a wide-screen TV, prepping dinner for friends in the kitchen, heading up to bed together—
Don’t get ahead of yourself. He was spinning a story about a future Amanda might never want. He needed to wait and watch the new arrival before he allowed himself to act on his attraction, no matter what thoughts he’d had at the airport. As long as he could get her to stay, there’d be plenty of time to get to know her and see if she was really the woman he wanted for his wife.
“Who’s that?”
Amanda pointed to a man walking down the street toward them. Dennis Crutchfield was seventy-two, with a heavy paunch, a halo of thinning white hair and a perpetual frown. He’d seemed old when Carter was a child, and he never seemed to change. Still wearing the same work-worn pants and torn flannel shirt over an undershirt that once must have been white but now was an indeterminate yellowish-tan, he was as much a part of the place as the evergreens that marched up the slope to the rocky summit of the Ridge.
“That’s Dennis. Don’t mind his appearance. He’s a sweetheart,” Carter told her. He got out of the car. Amanda followed suit more slowly. He wondered what she thought of the place. Wished she could see it through his eyes.
It was cooler up here than it had been in town. Quiet, too. They were far from the road and miles away from any other habitations.
“Who the heck have you got there?” Dennis boomed at them as he came striding up in his hitching, painful-looking way.
Carter stiffened. Hell, this wasn’t the impression he wanted to give Amanda. He strode forward to head the man off.
“Dennis, let me introduce you to Elliott Ridge’s newest inhabitant.” He spoke loudly to divert Amanda’s attention from Dennis’s stormy attitude. “This is Amanda Stakewell. Amanda, Dennis Crutchfield, caretaker of the town and all-around handyman.”
Dennis scowled and looked Amanda up and down. “Newest inhabitant? Since when?”
“Since about an hour ago.”
“Thought you boys were selling the Ridge.”
Amanda’s eyebrows shot up. Carter knew he had to do damage control—fast.
“You know darn well we’re not. We’re selling the houses, one at a time, starting with the downslope subdivision. Remember how Dad put the process in motion? It will get approved any day now, so we’re starting to bring in buyers.” When Dennis’s frown deepened, Carter added, “Come on, we’re bringing the Ridge back to life. Aren’t you happy about that?”
“What’s a girl like you want with living out here? You in trouble?” Dennis asked Amanda, ignoring Carter.
Her eyes widened. “N-no.”
“Not very convincing. You’ll have to work on that.”
“Dennis!” Carter couldn’t believe this. “You can’t talk to Amanda that way. She’s new here, and she deserves respect.”
Dennis wasn’t cowed at all. He shook his head. “Knew this was coming. Felt it in my bones. It’s another Calamity Year.”
This was a disaster. Carter turned to Amanda. “Don’t listen to him. Living alone all this time has turned his mind. Pull it together,” he told Dennis.
“I’m not losing my mind. Might not be as fast on my feet as I once was, but I’m not senile.” Dennis turned to Amanda. “There was another time like this one, in the 1920s. My father told me all about it. Heard about it from his father. The mine petered out. The town emptied. Old Cade Elliott came up with a new scheme. Started bringing people back. And then the women came.”
“Dennis,” Carter warned.
“What women?” Amanda asked.
“Troubled women. Women running from something. Drifting in from all sides of the country, one after another. There was hell to pay.” He looked to Carter. “Take one of them, you’ll get them all. Mark my words.”
Amanda crossed her arms, holding her shoulders high and tight. Dennis was ruining everything, and Carter wasn’t going to stand for it. Too much was at stake.
“You’re talking nonsense. Amanda was bored with her job, so she’s taking time to see what she really wants to do with her life. She’s interested in what we’re planning here, and she’s pledged to help us grow this town. Isn’t that right, Amanda?”
Dennis cocked his head and held Amanda in his steady gaze. Amanda looked back at him. Carter bit back a curse. How had the caretaker taken control of the situation?
Amanda nodded finally. “That’s right.” She held her hand out to Dennis. “Nice to meet you. I look forward to getting to know Elliott Ridge and helping any way I can.”
Dennis turned to Carter. “You’ve still got a chance,” he said. “You can stop this right now.”
A surge of anger rushed through Carter. He was working his ass off to bring this town back to life. He wanted Amanda to be part of that.
He wanted Amanda, period.
You don’t know her, his conscience reminded him. Maybe Dennis was right; maybe this was a big mistake. Why was he rushing to install her here—daydreaming about making her his wife?
Because he was attracted to her?
Because he was sick of being single?
Because he was desperate to rebuild the community he’d never wanted to leave in the first place?
Or all of the above?
It didn’t matter, Carter decided. He trusted his gut, and his gut told him to do anything it took to keep Amanda here. It told him she was special. Necessary, even.
He stepped closer to her. “I’ve offered Amanda a home, and I mean to stick to my word. I don’t care about your stories. The past is the past.”
“The past is never the past, but it’s your funeral. Have it your way.” Dennis reached out his hand and grasped Amanda’s. Shook it long and hard. “Welcome to Elliott Ridge, Amanda. What’s done is done. Don’t blame me for the consequences.”
And he walked away.
“Cheerful guy.” Amanda hoped her voice wasn’t betraying the state of her mind. How on earth did that old codger—there was no other word for him—know she was running from trouble? And what did he mean there’d be hell to pay?
“I hope he didn’t scare you off.” For the first time Carter seemed to have lost his confidence. He stared after Dennis, tracking his progress down the road. “He’s got a house up the Ridge. He was born there. I really didn’t think he’d lost any of his mental faculties while we were gone, but I’ve never heard him talk like that before. Usually you can’t get two words out of him.”
“Maybe he was surprised to see me.” Amanda supposed any other woman might be hightailing it out of here by now, but Dennis didn’t scare her. She didn’t think he was losing his faculties, either. He struck her as a man who’d been alone too long—and gotten used to it. In school, when she was a cashier working swing shifts, she’d dealt with plenty of people young and old who were so starved for attention they made up drama however they could.
People did strange things when they got that lonely.
Like inviting their father back into their life, ignoring the potential consequences until it was too late, she thought ruefully.
Carter was watching her again, searching her face as if worried she might run. She met his gaze frankly, wanting to reassure him she wouldn’t. Carter intrigued her, and so did this empty little town. She got the feeling the rows of houses were leaning toward her, willing her to stay and help bring other people to fill them. Now that she’d made the drive out from Chance Creek, she understood what Carter had told her earlier. Elliott Ridge was remote. Men might come for mill jobs, but they wouldn’t see it as a place to settle down unless enough women settled here, too. Getting women here could be a problem.
Could she help Carter solve it?
“Let me show you the house,” Carter said. “You can leave your luggage in the car until you see if it will suit you.”
“Sure.” She could put up with a character like Dennis if it meant she could hide away from the world for a while. With housing taken care of, her savings would easily feed and clothe her for months—if not longer. By then, she’d know if she wanted to stay or not.
Even if her attraction to Carter faded away, or wasn’t reciprocated, she might find someone else here to share her life with. She could learn about the lumber industry. Explore a brand-new state. Maybe she’d start a whole new career—or go back to school. There had to be a university in Billings, which wasn’t too far away. Besides, there were online classes these days.
She could do damn well anything she wanted—at least until her money ran out.
She caught Carter watching her. “What?” she asked him.
“You look—happy.”
“I am happy.” She realized it was true. Buck would never think to look for her here. She had no dull job to go to tomorrow. She could wake up and be whoever she wanted to be. “I like it here. So far. This place is special, isn’t it?” she asked him. “More so than just your average little country town.” Was it her imagination, or had the rows of houses practically swelled with pride?
A silly thought, but one she found hard to shake off. She wanted Elliott Ridge to like her as much as she liked it.
“The Ridge is more than the sum of its parts,” Carter agreed. “When people live here, it’s—I don’t know. A community in the best sense of the word.”
“We’ll make it that way again,” she assured him. “All the place needs is a little hard work, right?”
“That’s right.”
She slung her purse over her shoulder and followed Carter up the little path to the porch. Five steps brought her level to the door, where she waited for Carter to open it and usher her inside. As he did so, his hand lightly touched the small of her back.
Amanda liked that courteous touch. Her heart lifted as she stepped into an entryway connecting to a hall that divided the house in two. A central staircase led to the second floor. To her right was a living room that spanned most of the house. To her left sat a dining room separated from the kitchen with a doorway.
“I plan to knock out the wall between the dining room and kitchen. Open it all up,” Carter said. “There’s a powder room in back.” He pointed down the hall. “Upstairs are the bedrooms.” He led the way.
Amanda followed him, expecting small dark rooms, and was pleased to find that wasn’t the case. Two of the bedrooms had a Jack-and-Jill bathroom between them. The master bedroom was quite airy and held the only furniture she’d seen in the house—a bed and dresser. Its ceiling followed the roofline, and several windows looked out over the community.
“I started renovating in the master bathroom,” Carter told her, “so it’s the only thing that’s done so far.” He let her pass him to look inside, where she saw gleaming tiles, a standalone tub and separate shower, and a modern double-vanity topped by an enormous mirror with brand-new light fixtures overhead.
Her respect for Carter increased. He’d done a professional-looking job.
“It’s like something out of a magazine.”
Carter beamed at her. “Exactly what I was going for. You like it?”
“I love it!” It would be like having a home spa if she lived here.
“By the time we’re done, your whole house will be up to this standard.” He moved back into the bedroom.
Despite herself, Amanda warmed to that “we” as she followed him. Carter meant for them to be a team. When her father showed up again in her life, she’d hoped he’d feel that way about her, but of course that hadn’t happened.
Thinking of her dad—and of Buck—brought her back to her senses, and her good mood evaporated. She might have found a safe haven, but that didn’t mean she could let down her defenses.
She’d be alone in this house tonight, with no one around but six strange men, counting Dennis.
And twenty others in the bunkhouses, wherever those might be.
Amanda shivered.
“Cold?” Carter frowned. Amanda knew why. It was a perfectly nice May afternoon.
She shook her head. “Guess someone walked over my grave. It’ll take a lot of work to finish this house,” she added to deflect him. She was only saying what she thought he would expect to hear, though. The truth was, she couldn’t wait to get started. The house suited her way more than her apartment had.
“But once you sign the contract and hand over that dollar, you don’t just get the house, you get me, too.” His mischievous smile lit a spark inside her that quickly fanned into a flame.
Amanda bit back a smile of her own, entranced by his easy masculinity, even as she told herself not to get carried away. Carter simply meant he would take charge of the renovations. Didn’t he?
“I guess that will help, as far as renovations are concerned.”
His gaze searched hers. “But you’re still worried about something.”
“We’re standing in a ghost town in the middle of nowhere. I don’t know anyone here.”
He leaned against the massive old dresser that stood against one wall. “I wish I could set your mind at ease.” He thought a minute. “Maybe I could call around. See if I can find a woman to come stay with you for your first few days here. I bet some of my old high school friends are still in town.”
A feeling spiked through her she couldn’t name. “That’s all right,” she hurried to say, picturing one of Carter’s old flames cozying up to him, all in the name of making her feel comfortable.
She didn’t like that image at all.
“Are you sure?”
She didn’t know how to answer that without giving her thoughts away. His concern seemed real, and the purely sexual interest she’d felt a moment ago shifted into something else. Something far more potent.
More proprietary.
“What?” he asked a little defensively when she continued to study him.
“Just trying to figure you out,” she admitted. “What are your intentions, Carter Elliott?”
She was unprepared for his reaction. “Hell,” he said and straightened. “I….” He cut off and looked away a long moment. Turned his brown-eyed gaze back to hers. “I guess my intention is to get you to stay. I’ve taken a shine to you, Amanda Stakewell.”
His confession stole the breath from her lungs until Amanda reminded herself this was a man trying to resurrect a ghost town. He needed her to stay. He didn’t mean anything else. He certainly didn’t mean he wanted—her.
Or did he?
“Okay.” She wasn’t sure what she was agreeing to. Giving Elliott Ridge a try?
Giving him a try?
“I mean… I can’t turn down a house for a dollar, right?” she scrambled to add when the moment got too much for her. She couldn’t tell what she was reading into the situation and what was real.
Carter nodded slowly. “Staying is the only sensible thing to do,” he agreed.
Another wave of desire swept through her. What would it be like if this man decided he wanted more than just to use her as a beacon to draw other women to his town?
How would it feel to be in his arms?
In his bed?
When he started toward her, Amanda drew in a breath and held it, but he moved past her toward the closet. “I’ve been sleeping here while I worked on the place. Let me grab my things, then I’ll fetch your suitcase and leave you to get settled in. I can bring you a set of sheets and towels from my parents’ place to tide you over for now.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.” She watched him fetch a bag from the closet and sweep his things into it. He moved around the room efficiently, and in less than a minute or two, all traces of him were gone.
“Be right back.” He clattered down the stairs. A few moments later he reappeared with her things. “Why don’t you come to the town hall when you’ve settled in? We’ve been eating together there to save time. Someone should have supper on by now. It’s the big building at the top of the Circle,” he reminded her. “I’ll bring the sheets and towels so you can have them after dinner.”
“I’ll be there soon,” Amanda promised him.
He hesitated, leaning against the doorframe, his biceps straining his shirtsleeves. “You sure Dennis didn’t scare you off?”
“Of course not.” She was still nervous, but she was determined to give this place a try.
“Good. Anyone who does is going to have to answer to me.”
He wasn’t joking, Amanda realized. For a moment she saw the man Carter could be when he was ready to be protective.
When he’d retreated downstairs and shut the front door behind him, Amanda set her suitcase near the dresser, her gym bag on the bed and looked around, glad to be alone for a few minutes to get her bearings. Carter had done a number on her, turning her head until she felt like a schoolgirl. She paced the room until her heartrate slowed, then focused on the task at hand. Luckily, she didn’t have much to unpack. Just one very important item she needed to hide.
The master bedroom was still in mid-repair, which meant Carter would be in and out of it until it was done, a thought that left her a little too giddy for her peace of mind. She trailed into the bathroom, the last place she’d usually consider hiding an important piece of art. The painting remained rolled up, protected by a towel and sealed in several plastic bags. Airport security hadn’t batted an eye when she’d put her gym bag on the conveyor belt through their scanners. Amanda considered the large double vanity. It was as good a place as any, she supposed. She opened one of the cabinet doors and placed the bag at the back before shutting it.
Tonight, when she was truly alone, she’d go online and figure out where to take the painting. Surely after it was out of her hands, Buck would lose interest in her.
Coming out of the bathroom, she surveyed her new home. Maybe she could stay long-term here at Elliott Ridge. Make a new life here.
See if the sizzle between her and Carter could start a fire.
That was getting ahead of herself, though. One thing at a time.
Amanda took a moment to splash cold water on her face and freshen up. She gave herself a once-over in the mirror, then went downstairs and out the door. She retraced her way to the Circle and followed it to the cluster of larger buildings Carter had pointed out before.
When she stepped through the front door of the town hall, she found herself in a large foyer. To her left and right were double doors. In front of her ran a counter. Behind it was a rectangle of metal post-office boxes, enough for every house in the community, and a large bulletin board that must once have held notices of interest for the people who lived here.
She could hear muffled voices. Was Carter arguing with his brothers somewhere in the building? She stepped over to the double doors to her right and peered in to see a cafeteria. Tables were scattered around it. At the far end a large pass-through opening gave her a glimpse into an industrial kitchen. The men seemed to be gathered in there.
Amanda wondered what the problem was. Had Dennis been repeating his suspicions about her? There was no way he could know she was running from trouble. It had been a good guess, that was all. She was a woman alone, with little luggage, who’d agreed to buy a house without ever having looked at it. It didn’t take a genius to realize something wasn’t right.
She needed to get her story straight, or Carter or his brothers might start doing some digging online. There’d been nothing about the art theft in the news yet as far as she’d seen, but someone at the Warden Gallery might spot the forgery at any moment. Her father was good at what he did, but no one was good enough to fool the experts forever.
Amanda squared her shoulders and pushed open the doors. She crossed the cafeteria to the kitchen. Inside, the men were arrayed around the room, preparing the meal. Gage was heating soup on the stove. Lincoln and Carter were chopping vegetables for a salad. Hudson was pulling plates out of a cabinet. Nate was reaching for something in the refrigerator.
Lincoln nudged Carter as soon as he caught sight of her, and Carter came to greet her. “Find everything you need in the house?” He gestured to a bag on a nearby counter. “There’s your bedding.”
“Thanks. Everything is perfect.” At least, the master bathroom was. She hoped the rest would improve with time. “Is there a problem I should know about? I heard you arguing.”
Carter exchanged a look with his brothers. “Not at all. It’s just… like I said, we haven’t been home that long, and Nate has only just gotten here. I guess none of us expected we’d make a sale so soon. We aren’t completely prepared for it.”
Lincoln and Hudson looked guilty. Nate’s expression was neutral. Gage was somewhere between irritated and angry.
Ah. He must be the problem, Amanda thought. He’d been grumpy at the airport, too.
“Do you want me to leave?” she asked the men bluntly. Gage stopped stirring the soup. The others quickly shook their heads. Just as she thought. Too well bred to be rude straight to her face.
“There’s one issue,” Lincoln spoke up. “Carter might have given you the wrong impression about where we’re at with the subdividing process. We expect approval any day now, but we haven’t gotten it yet, so there’s always the chance it will be turned down. When and if it goes through, we’ll need a contract drawn up before we can sell you a house officially. We need to consult our real estate agent and a lawyer. It could take a while.”
“We need to consult Mom and Dad,” Gage put in.
“Mom and Dad will be fine with it,” Carter said. “They want us to do whatever it takes to settle the Ridge again.”
Amanda spoke up to prevent the argument from starting all over again. “Carter told me the subdivision process wasn’t nailed down yet.” But he’d made it sound like practically a done deal. She needed to be certain about where she stood. “Are you saying you might not sell me a house for a dollar, after all?” Might as well sort it out right now. She was already so invested in the idea of living here, it was going to hurt if they withdrew the offer, but that was better than not finding out until she’d lived here for several weeks.
“We’re definitely selling you a house for a dollar,” Carter said. “Right?” he asked his brothers.
Once again she had the feeling a conversation was happening right in front of her, even though none of the men said a word. Carter’s fingers spasmed as if a sudden pain had lanced through them. Gage brought his hands together in front of his body, one fist driving into the other palm.
All the men straightened.
Amanda went on alert. “What was that?” she demanded.
Five pairs of eyes turned toward her. She copied Gage’s gesture, driving her own fist into her open palm. “What’s going on here that I’m not catching?” She could swear she caught looks of alarm pass between them, but no one moved. Carter was the one who recovered first.
“What’s going on is I want you to stay, and I want to sell you that house for a dollar. I believe in this place, and I believe in what we can build here as a family and community. I never wanted to leave Elliott Ridge in the first place. Now that I’m back, I’m going to stay no matter what.” He wasn’t looking at her anymore. He was looking at Gage. “I want a chance to try to recapture what I lost. I know it won’t be easy. I know we’ve got a steep climb ahead of us to make this work, but I deserve the chance to try.”
She looked from him to his brother. “You don’t want Carter to try?” she asked Gage. All the joy she’d felt at the prospect of fixing up number twenty-three—and spending time with Carter—was slipping away.
“I don’t want anyone to get their hopes up. It’s easy to get attached to an idea, then disappointed when it doesn’t pan out.” Gage spoke quietly. To Amanda’s surprise, she heard pain in his voice. What had made a man like him so cautious? Was it being forced to leave here once before?
“You don’t think Carter can succeed?” she asked him. “Because it seems to me if anyone can bring a town back to life, he’s the man to do it.”
“What makes you say that?”
She thought she’d surprised Gage. What’s more, he seemed genuinely curious to hear her answer.
“Have you seen the master bathroom in number twenty-three? It’s beautiful. If Carter can take a plain old house and make it shine, he can take this empty community and transform it, too. Don’t you think?”
Gage surveyed her. “You’re willing to risk more than a year of your life to find out if you’re right? We’ve got a loan coming due next June. If we can’t pay it off, we’ll all have to leave. You understand that, right?”
She hadn’t known that.
“I was going to explain everything,” Carter said to Gage defensively. “There was no use going into all the details until Amanda decided if she even liked the place or not.”
“Whatever time and money you put into the Ridge could all be gone next year,” Gage continued as if he hadn’t heard him. “You could lose everything. We already did once.”
His warning only stiffened her resolve. She’d lost everything before—twice. And yet she’d survived. “All I’m risking is my time. I’m willing to wager that. Besides, I… could use something to believe in.”
Gage let out an impatient breath. “Don’t believe in Elliott Ridge. It’ll break your heart.”
She expected the others to balk at his dramatic speech, but none of them said a word. Instead, they watched the two of them, as if their confrontation would determine the outcome of their attempt to bring the town to life.
Once again, she felt the yearning of the place to be given a chance.
She was supposed to be here. Somehow she knew that. It was as if Elliott Ridge needed her as much as she needed it.
Carter and his brothers needed her, too.
She remembered how she’d felt when her father left the first time. Her once-happy life had been reduced to memories in an instant. Often she’d wished she could go back. Carter and his brothers had a chance to do so. To reclaim their former happiness—their family legacy.
Amanda faced Gage. “My heart’s already broken,” she told him honestly. “But look. I’m still standing. My hands work. My brain works. I’m not ready to give up hope that something in my life can turn out right.”
“Nothing turns out right.”
“Really?” She held Gage’s gaze. “You’re what—thirty-two? Thirty-three? And you’re ready to give up on everything? What are you going to do with the rest of your life? Sit around and whine?”
He blinked. One or two of his brothers chuckled.
“Look,” she went on. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe we’ll fail. Maybe I’ll be out a dollar and a year of my life. Who cares? I’ll have met some new people. Learned some new skills, most likely. I’m willing to give it a try. Aren’t you?”
“Yeah, Gage. What do you say?” Nate asked.
“She’s got a point, doesn’t she?” Lincoln asked.
When Gage didn’t answer, Amanda felt her bravado slipping away. She was the wrong person to fight for this cause. After all, an hour and a half ago she’d never heard of Elliott Ridge.
Now she’d seen it, though. She’d met Carter. She’d been offered a beautiful house and its wonderful master bathroom.
She wanted to see what would happen next.
“Sounds like you’ve made up your mind,” Gage said finally.
“That’s right.”
“And you want to help?”
“Of course I do.” Amanda braced herself, though. His tone had shifted. Now it was faintly mocking, which told her he was going to test her determination. He’d probably assign her some stupid task she’d hate, just to prove she couldn’t go the distance.
Well, she’d show him she wasn’t easy to shake.
“We need someone to shop, cook and clean up from meals. Not just for us but for our workers, too. They’re sick of having to fend for themselves.”
“But—” Carter stepped forward. He’d been watching their exchange warily, eager to find a way to end it, Amanda thought.
“But nothing. Everyone needs to do their share. Amanda’s share is three meals a day, including the shopping and cleaning up.” Gage folded his arms over his chest, daring her to refuse.
“I can do that,” Amanda snapped before anyone else could intercede on her behalf. Typical man, assigning her the girly work. “Anything else?”
Gage stared at her.
“You could grab the mail when you’re in town. We’ve got a post-office box down there. Mom used to pick it up when she went shopping,” Lincoln said.
“I can do that, too. What else?” She turned to Hudson, since he hadn’t said anything yet.
Hudson smiled wolfishly. “Well, now that you mention it, I wouldn’t mind—”
“Watch it!” Carter warned him.
“I wouldn’t mind if you would run some other errands in town now and then. If we need anything,” Hudson finished. He sent an innocent look Carter’s way. “What did you think I was going to say?”
Carter shook his head. “You’re impossible. And the rest of you are taking advantage of Amanda.”
“How’s this?” Amanda spoke up. She needed to assert herself so they didn’t think they could ride roughshod over her, but she also needed to thwart Gage’s attempt to scare her off. “I’ll take care of the shopping, the mail, some errands, and I’ll cook lunch and dinner. The rest of you take care of breakfast, and we’ll all take turns cleaning up. Deal?”
“Deal,” Lincoln said.
“Deal,” Hudson said.
“Deal,” Nate said. She had the feeling he was enjoying all this, even though he’d kept his peace until now.
“I still don’t think you should have to do any of those chores,” Carter said.
Amanda waited for Gage’s response. In the end he heaved a sigh. “Fine. Have it your way. We’ve already agreed to waste a year of our lives here. You can waste a year, too. But when the time is up and this all turns out to be a disaster, you realize we’re going to sell the rest of the property to someone else, right? Blake Warrington is building a golf resort on the other side of the Ridge. He wants this side, too. If you buy that dollar house, you’ll end up tucked away in a corner of his empire, watching rich people live like kings.”
“In that case, Blake Warrington will probably want my property as well. I’ll sell it to him for two dollars and double my investment.”
Gage threw up his hands. “Whatever. It’s your funeral.”
Amanda bit back a laugh at his frustration. “I don’t think a little hard work is going to kill me.”
“You won’t last a month,” Gage said as he returned his attention to the stove. “Food’s ready,” he announced. He turned off a burner and used mitts to lift the big pot of soup and carry it out of the room to the table.
“You’ll last a month, won’t you?” Carter asked when he was gone. “You don’t have to do all that stuff, you know.”
“I’ll last a month,” she assured him. “And I’m happy to help.”