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KATIE WALKED THROUGH the house, pausing in each room, trying to imagine the laughter that used to echo through the halls, the tears shed. She could feel the warmth, the welcome, but there was also an undeniable sense of grief.
They lived here. They loved here. And Katie believed even more strongly now that their lives had somehow reached out through time to touch hers.
“Hold on a minute,” Katie yelled, in response to someone pounding on the front door. When she got there, as usual, she had to put both hands on the knob and give it a hard yank to get it open.
“You should probably get that fixed,” Will said casually, standing with his hands in his pockets.
Katie blinked and tilted her head. “Did you come all the way over here to tell me my door needs fixing?”
“No. I came over here to show you this.” He stepped aside and pointed to a banged-up four-wheeler, covered with dirt and grass. One mud flap was missing, and the fender was bent.
“Whose is it?”
“Mine. Wanna go for a ride?”
Katie didn’t answer right away. She walked off the porch for a closer look and found Zeke panting contentedly beside the new toy. “It’s pretty dirty.”
“Okay. Never mind. I forgot you’re not a country girl.”
Katie gritted her teeth. “I was simply stating a fact. I didn’t say I don’t want to go for a ride.”
She threw her leg over the seat and scooted back, leaving room for Will to sit in front of her.
“No. You drive.” Will gently nudged her forward. “Country girl.”
Katie’s heart gave a slight kick. His words were light-hearted and teasing, but his expression almost knocked her over. Was it acknowledgement? Camaraderie? Respect?
“Don’t worry. It’s easy. Scoot up and I’ll show you.”
Katie wrapped her fingers around the handles as she felt Will settle in behind her.
“Turn the key,” he instructed. “And squeeze this. It’s the brake.” He leaned forward, sending a surge of emotion through Katie. Did he do that on purpose?
“This is the throttle.” He put his hand over hers, and turned, sending them forward. “Got it?”
Katie bobbed her head in cautious affirmation and began to accelerate, while Zeke loped alongside. She drove slowly at first, but once she began to get the hang of it, started going faster.
Will told her where to turn, and they began climbing up a winding trail that seemed to go on for miles. When they broke out of the trees on the crest of the hill, Katie let out a soft, “Wow,” under her breath. Miles and miles of gently rolling hills and green farmland greeted her, with only the distant outline of a farmhouse or two to mar the picturesque scene.
She turned toward Will to share a smile, but his attention was stuck intently on something she hadn’t noticed. His blue eyes turned stormy as he studied a throng of activity below, and his jaw tightened noticeably.
“What’s going on there?” Katie inclined her head toward the sight of dozens of large trucks being assembled a few miles away.
“I’m not sure.” Will gave the scene one more disgusted glance before turning away. “But you can bet I’m going to find out. Let’s go. I’ll drive back.”
The ride back to the house was much faster than the leisurely one to reach the peak. The rocks and limbs Katie had tried to avoid were driven over at top speed. Katie kept her jaw tightly closed to keep from biting her tongue, and had both arms wrapped around Will’s waist to keep from being thrown off. How Zeke managed to keep up, she didn’t know.
“You can take this back to the house.” Will pulled up beside his truck and turned off the ATV. “I’ll pick it up later.”
Before Katie had time to answer, he strode away, his stiff, angry movements speaking volumes. “Get in, Zeke.” The door to his truck wasn’t even closed before the engine turned over and he put it in drive.
“Wait!” Katie ran up to the truck. “I want to go along.”
It seemed he was going to refuse, but then he relented. “Hop in.”
By his expression, Katie could tell that not even a second of delay would be tolerated. She jumped in, slammed the door, and was instantly thrown back in the seat as Will jammed his foot on the gas. With both hands on the wheel, he glared straight ahead, tight-lipped and silent.
“Do you know where we’re going?”
“I think so.” Again the muscles around his jaw went tight and his solemn eyes sparked with something that appeared to be anger.
Katie turned to the window and twisted in the seat, trying to find the clearing on the hill where they’d ridden the four-wheeler. Even though she’d seen the property boundaries on a plot map, she couldn’t relate them to the actual layout of the land.
As if reading her mind, Will pointed. “Your property borders the big creek on the other side, and this road here, more or less. There’s a lane up ahead marking the boundary to the west.”
Katie studied the landscape with a sense of awe. She’d not only bought a house, but the land surrounding it. For some reason the idea of owning all those rocks and trees made her giddy. One hundred ten acres of them, to be exact. No wonder her friends in New York thought she’d gone crazy.
As they rounded another curve, the distinct hum and rumble of machinery reached their ears, right before a large excavation site in the distance came into view. Will hit the brakes and turned down an unmarked dirt road, and then into a field alongside a shiny new king cab pickup truck. The logo painted on the side said The Jenkins Group.
Will hammered the steering wheel with his hand, as if he recognized the name.
At the same time, a large-framed, slightly pudgy man glanced over his shoulder, and a wide smile suffused his face. His walk, as he made his way toward them, was a mixture of arrogance and confidence. “Hey, man. I heard you were back in town. You lookin’ for a job? I got plenty.”
His words were friendly enough, but Katie detected a definite tone of condescension. A hand was extended, but Will ignored it as he exited the truck. “What’s going on here?”
“Site preparation.” The man pulled his shoulders back a little as Will’s tall frame dwarfed him by about three inches.
“Site preparation for what?” Will slid his sunglasses over his ball cap as his burning eyes swept the scene.
“Didn’t you hear?” The man’s gaze darted over toward Katie as she too exited the truck. “Seems there’s a lot of interest in our little town these days. I got some folks out of DC interested in buying housing lots right here.” He swept his hand toward the beautiful farmland.
“I thought this thing was voted down years ago.” Will sounded confused. “It’s in the middle of nowhere and zoned agricultural. This is prime farmland.”
“Well, it is and isn’t.” Another grin shot across the man’s face as he turned toward Katie. “You must be the one who bought the old Lacewood place.”
When Katie gave a slight nod, he turned back to Will.
“See, my daddy bought this land years ago, but they wouldn’t let me build on it because none of the land it borders has any residences. They said it was an island, and they couldn’t count the Lacey property as residential because it wasn’t inhabited. They used that against me. But thanks to Miss...” He titled his head questioningly and studied Katie.
“McCain,” she finished for him.
“Katie, this is Ritchey Jenkins,” Will interrupted.
The man balled up his fists and took a step toward Will, his face red with rage. “Don’t you ever call me Ritchey again, Durham! It’s Richard.”
“Sorry, man.” Will held up both hands, palms out in unconvincing innocence. “It’s what you used to go by.”
“Anyway,” Richard said, as a sly—borderline sinister—smile twisted his mouth, “now that Miss McCain bought the house and is living there, my land ain’t an island no more. I went back and demanded they approve it. The way it’s written, and the way it had been approved before, means they had no choice.”
Neither Will nor Katie had time to question the truth of the statement or the logic of its reasoning before Richard continued. “I got the green light at the planning meeting last night to start preliminary work for Phase 1—the first fifty-five houses.”
His cockiness and overstated arrogance made Katie wish she were a man. She’d never wanted to punch someone before, but she had an overwhelming urge to wipe the leering smirk off his face.
“I didn’t want to waste any time. Final approval will come next week.”
“Fifty-five houses?” The tone of Will’s voice was incredulous. “On perfectly good farmland?”
“Well, farming’s a lot of work.” Richard rubbed his chin. “By selling off lots, I can make three times in one year what I’d make in ten farming.”
“But what about the charm and character of New Hope?” Katie asked.
Richard regarded her with thinly veiled irritation—and maybe a little confusion. “That ain’t my concern. I own the land, and I can do with it what I want.” He turned and pointed to the field across the main road. “I’m going to buy that parcel for Phase Two once the money starts coming in. Put some stores and fast-food restaurants in. I got to give the people somewhere to shop and eat. Makes the houses worth more when you add convenience to the mix.”
He began a new conversation then, as if the previous one had been satisfactorily covered, while both Will and Katie stood silent in wide-eyed shock.
“Will and I went to school together. Didn’t we, Will?”
Will looked out over the farmland where large bulldozers sank their teeth into the grass and raked it clear. “I don’t think this is right.”
Anger flashed as Richard’s hands turned to fists by his side. “Don’t get the idea you can come back here and tell me what to do! I got my own business. I got money.” He pointed toward his shiny truck and the logo stenciled on the sides and back. “All you got is a war record and a bum leg. I hear you’re living at the Riverside Hotel, for chrissakes.”
“No, he’s not.” Katie only wanted to come to his defense, but when she saw Richard’s eyes grow a shade brighter at the news, she instantly regretted it.
“I see,” he said, with a mocking grin as his gaze slid from Will to Katie.
Katie placed a hand on Will’s arm to restrain him from doing what he appeared ready, eager—and able—to do. Never had she seen a man radiate such energy or rage. He quivered with the urge to deliver some blows, and didn’t seem the least concerned about absorbing a few. He went so far as to take a step forward, but when Katie increased the pressure of her cautionary hand on his arm, he reconsidered.
“Let’s go, Will.”
“If you need a job, you give me a ring, you hear?” Billy pointed toward his truck. “There’s my number. Write it down.” He gave a loud, humorless laugh and turned to give instructions to a man wearing a construction hat.
Will walked to the truck and slammed his door shut. His eyes, when they briefly rested on Katie’s, were guarded and hostile and bleak.
“I’m sorry.” Katie knew it wasn’t lost on Will—and wouldn’t be lost on anyone in the town—that if she hadn’t moved into Lacewood, the development wouldn’t have been given a green light.
The thought was confirmed when Will didn’t bother to say, “don’t worry, it’s not your fault.” Instead, he silently put the truck into reverse, turned around, and pulled out onto the road. The slant of his jaw and his silence told Katie to keep her opinions to herself. This was his hometown, the place where he’d been raised. And this development would change it all.
She turned her face to the window and tried to figure out what she could do. Perhaps she should hire a lawyer. Or would that make matters worse? Maybe Richard Jenkins had his supporters. Maybe there were people in New Hope who wanted change...and growth...and sprawl.
Katie pressed her lids closed as she thought about that possibility. No. How could anyone want to see new development, more traffic, and tacky strip malls? One residential development would lead to commercial growth, which would lead to more development. Before long, this quiet country road would be crammed with traffic signals and clogged with miles of congestion.
By targeting people from DC, Richard would be selling homes at a price the local population wouldn’t be able to afford. The new homeowners would consider themselves more sophisticated than the country folk who’d lived here for generations, and would eventually change laws to coincide with their own beliefs and traditions—essentially destroying everything they’d loved about New Hope to begin with. In a decade these “country” houses would be surrounded with the same sprawl and uncontrolled growth the homeowners had abandoned.
Along with pollution. Crime. Corruption.
Progress. Katie shivered to think of it.
“I’m sorry,” Katie said again, even though she knew there was nothing she could do.
Just when she was beginning to feel as if she might actually fit in, a big “you’re not welcome” sign was slammed down in her path.
Yes. This was going to change everything. She glanced over at the silent man beside her.
In fact, it already had.