by Jill Sanders
He walked over and wrapped his arm around her. “My folks’ place has a beautiful view, but somehow from up this high it’s just…” She felt him shrug his shoulders behind her as his other arm wrapped around her. Now her back was to his chest, and he rested his chin on the top of her head. “It’s perfect,” he finished with a sigh.
He was right. There, standing with his arms wrapped around her, everything did feel perfect.
She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to hold onto the daydream that he’d built up in her mind as he’d talked.
“Come on. We can take the cleared path to the other lots.” He motioned to the left. “You can take pictures of the view and the lots for your parents.”
When he dropped his arms from her, she swayed a little and held in a shiver as a cool breeze washed over her. Wrapping her arms around herself, she followed him towards the other lots and decided the last one they walked by was the one for her parents. It was at the base of the hill so that her parents would be able to walk out their back door and head down a small grassy hill to get to the beach.
Conner stood by as she took more than a dozen pictures of the view and the land. They walked back towards where the road would be, and she realized that there were fewer trees on this lot.
They spent a few hours there, looking at the house plans and then walking the land. By the time they headed back to his truck, a light mist had covered the area and it was beginning to rain again.
Since they’d left his truck up near his lot, they climbed the low sloped hill to where he’d parked. Just then a truck turned the corner and flew down the muddy roadway, heading directly towards them. Its bright headlights blinded them momentarily.
Immediately, Conner pulled her further off the roadway and when large clumps of dirt started to hit them, Conner cursed and tried to shield her with his body. She cried out as a clump of dirt or maybe a large rock hit her in the calf, causing pain to explode and her legs to buckle beneath her.
Chapter Fourteen
“You didn’t see who it was?” Jacob asked for the second time.
“No.” Conner ran his hands through his wet hair and cursed under his breath as Rose helped roll up Kara’s jeans to look at the large red mark on her calf.
“If it was one of my guys, I’ll find out. I won’t tolerate this kind of recklessness on my job site,” Jacob said sternly.
When she’d cried out and buckled in his arms, he’d been so concerned about her that he hadn’t looked at the truck. Instead, he’d raced up the hill towards his truck with Kara in his arms.
“I should have looked at the truck, but when it was heading towards us, it had its high beams on and, well, I didn’t have time to do anything except make sure we weren’t in its direct path,” he admitted. “How is she?” he asked Rose.
“I’m fine,” Kara answered. “As I said many times before.” She touched his arms. “Really, it was just dirt.”
“By the look of this, dirt with a few rocks in it,” Rose added, looking down at Kara’s red skin.
“Okay, yeah, there had to be a few rocks,” Kara admitted with a hiss when Rose ran her fingers over the back of her calf.
Kara was trying to twist and get a better look at the back of her leg. She winced when she noticed her marred skin.
“I should take you to see my uncle.” He reached to pick her up, but she stopped him.
“Conner, it was dirt and rocks. I’ve had worse. I can still walk. Nothing is broken. I’m not bleeding.”
“I’d put some ice on it and keep it elevated for the rest of the day,” Rose suggested. “It is pretty swollen.”
“Good idea,” Kara said, then she glanced at him.
He swallowed his concern, knowing it wasn’t doing her or him any good.
“I’ll take you home,” he said, feeling a little defeated that their day had been cut short. He moved to pick her up again, only to have her nudge him aside and stand on her own.
“I can walk,” she assured him with a smile as she tugged her jean leg back into place.
He held onto her as she limped towards the door.
“Thanks,” Kara said to Rose. “Oh, hold lot seven for my parents. I’ll see if they can come down next weekend to look at it themselves.”
“Will do,” Rose said with a smile. “I look forward to meeting them. Take care of your leg. We’ll see you around.”
“Thanks,” Kara said again.
The moment they were outside, he lifted her into his arms and carried her the rest of the way to his truck.
“I could have walked,” Kara said.
“I like carrying you,” he answered as he set her down in the truck.
“Who do you think that was?” she asked as they started making their way down the hill. “A worker?”
“No,” he answered after a moment. He had an idea of who it was but didn’t want to involve her in his family’s messy business.
“There’s a rumor going around town about a developer that’s giving your family problems,” she said when they were driving slowly through town. “Do you think it could be him?”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “Thomas Carson wanted the land. My uncle purchased all the land we were just on from an old friend of the family. Carson was rumored to be doing some…”—he shook his head as he remembered what everyone had gone through last year—“sinister activities to draw the land values down in the area so he could purchase the land cheap. My uncle purchased it all for market value and is looking at getting all the other land Mr. Carson wanted to get his hands on. He was going to develop a large resort.”
He parked in front of her cottage. “I can’t imagine a resort in Pride,” she said with a shake of her head.
“Yeah, it would have ruined the town,” he agreed.
She was quiet for a while as they waited for the rain to let up before they rushed into the cottage.
“What does this Thomas Carson look like?” she asked a moment later.
He shrugged. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him. Why?”
She sighed. “I… there was a man who stopped by last week in an awfully expensive suit. He claimed to be a lawyer, but…”
He turned towards her, suddenly flooded with concern. “What did he do?”
“Nothing, just… He said he represented a client who wanted to purchase our land,” she said in a faint voice.
He thought about it. “My cousin knows what he looks like. I can call her and ask?”
“No, I’m sure it was nothing. I told the lawyer we weren’t interested, and he left.” She smiled over at him.
“If he comes around again, let me know.” He felt a slight tightness in his chest.
She scanned his face and then nodded slowly. “I know I said I’d make you dinner, but…”
“I was thinking of ordering something for us from the Oar,” he broke in, and relief flooded her face.
“That would be great. I didn’t get a chance to head to the store and, well, I could use a nap,” she added with a chuckle.
He smiled. “Go in, put some ice on your leg, and get some rest. I’m going to go run some errands. Then I’ll pick us up dinner and see you back here at…”
“Six,” she supplied.
He nodded. “Call in your order at the restaurant and then text me and I’ll pick it up.”
“Sounds wonderful,” she said with a sigh. “I’m going to go in and show Robin the pictures of the land and show her the brochures for the houses. I’m sure she’s going to agree that our folks should buy the place.”
“I’ll see you later,” he promised, then leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips before she could climb out of the truck. He watched her limp towards the door and waited until she was inside before he backed up and headed towards his uncle’s place.
He pulled into the small parking area at his uncle Todd’s home. He dashed through the rain and let himself into the massive home.
Todd and Megan had always run a bed and breakfast out of their home. T
here were several cottages that they rented out between the main house and the beach. The front door was rarely locked and there was always a delicious meal and friendship waiting inside.
He found Todd and Megan in the kitchen, sitting at the table with his two-year-old twin nephew and niece, Ethan and Ellie.
The twins were both happily making a mess with their sandwiches and soup. His aunt and uncle appeared as if they were enjoying the entire fiasco instead of worried about the destruction of their kitchen by their oldest grandchildren.
Todd and Megan Jordan had been as steady in his childhood as his own parents had. There had been times when the lines of parenthood had blurred. It was as if he’d had three sets of parents between them, his aunt Lacey and Uncle Aaron, and his own parents. All of his cousins had felt the same and had even thought of themselves as siblings instead of cousins.
“Hey.” His uncle chuckled upon seeing him. “We were just having some lunch. Grab a bowl of soup and help yourself to some grilled cheese sandwiches.”
“Uncle Conner.” Ellie clapped her chubby hands and held them for him.
He walked over and easily picked her up and sat down with her in his lap. She immediately began eating again and even reached up to give him a soggy piece of sandwich, which he ate.
Her long blonde hair was tied in two ponytails, which were coming out of their clips. Her brother Ethan was too busy eating to worry about the new visitor.
“What’s on your mind?” Megan asked as she helped Ethan scoop up a spoonful of tomato soup.
“Thomas Carson,” he said. His uncle jerked and stiffened.
“Is he bothering you?” Todd Jordan asked quickly.
“No, not me directly. I think he—” He stopped talking when Ellie shoved another soggy piece of bread in his mouth. He smiled at her and made sounds of pleasure, showing her that he was enjoying the food she was sharing with him. “I think he’s paid Kara and her sister a visit. She mentioned some lawyer stopped by and informed her that his client wanted to put an offer on their land.”
“And you think it’s Carson?” Todd asked.
“It would stand to reason. Do you know anyone else interested in purchasing land around Pride who would send a lawyer in a suit?” he asked.
Todd sighed. “No. I’ll see if Aiden can sniff around town and keep an eye out for someone who matches the description.”
“While you’re at it, you might want to have him keep an eye out for a blue four-by-four Ford truck. One with a bunch of mud on it.”
Todd’s eyebrows shot up. “Why?”
He glanced down at his niece and sighed. “The driver just bombarded Kara and I with mud pellets. She has a large welt on her leg to show for it.”
“Oh no,” Megan gasped. “Is she okay?”
“Yeah, she’s at home resting. We were up at the land looking at the lots,” he supplied.
“Todd texted me and told me that you’ve picked a lot out for yourself?” Megan asked.
He nodded. “Kara was looking for one for her parents who will be moving down from Portland soon.”
“Alice and Eric are finally going to be moving here?” Megan asked with a smile.
Conner frowned. “You know Kara’s folks?”
Megan laughed. “Of course. They’ve been coming her longer than any of our other guests. We’ve known the Jenkins family forever. Alice and Eric spent a few nights here one Christmas and got snowed in when you were just a baby. Then, after they married and had the girls, they started coming back each summer.”
Conner shook his head and shifted Ellie on his lap. He should have known. Kara had told him she’d spent most of her summers here at his aunt’s place. He just hadn’t expected his aunt to remember every guest that had stayed in the cabins.
“Right.” He nodded. “Yeah, she’s trying to convince them to purchase a place in Hidden Cove.”
“Oh, they’re going to love it. I’m going to have to call Alice later tonight.” Megan picked up Ethan, who was almost falling asleep in his soup bowl.
“I think these two need a bath and then a nap before Mom and Dad come pick them up in a few hours.” She shifted Ethan to her hip and then gracefully leaning over to pick up Ellie and place her on her other hip. “There are fresh sandwiches and warm soup. Stay for lunch,” Megan said before leaving the room with a baby on each hip.
He watched his aunt go, holding the two babies as if she’d done it a million times.
“She’s good at that,” he said unconsciously.
Todd chuckled. “There for a few years, we had so many kids running around this place, it was hard to remember which ones were our own.”
Conner chuckled. “I was just thinking how wonderful it was growing up with three moms and dads.” He sighed and reached for a fresh un-soggy sandwich as his uncle stood up and walked over to the fridge.
“Beer?” he asked over his shoulder.
“Yeah,” he said after taking a bite of the sandwich. “I’ve got a few hours to kill before heading back over to Kara’s for dinner. I was going to start moving some of my things over to the apartment.”
His uncle popped the top on two beers and handed him one as his eyebrows shot up.
“Apartment?” Todd asked.
“Yeah, I convinced Patty to let me rent the place above the store,” he answered with a slight shrug.
“Needing more privacy?” Todd joked.
“It’s sort of hard to date when you are still living under your parents’ roof.” He sipped the beer.
“So, there is more to you helping Kara out?” Todd asked.
Conner thought about it. He’d never kept anything from his family before and wasn’t going to start now. Not with something this important.
“Yeah,” he said, and took a sip of the beer. “Yeah, there is.”
Chapter Fifteen
Kara slept like the dead. The ice pack she’d placed on her calf had at some point slipped off her leg and landed on her bed, soaking the sheets. When she woke, almost two hours after Conner had dropped her off at the cottage, she was refreshed but sore. She tested her leg out and figured a hot shower might loosen the muscles in her calf.
Already there was a massive bruise and several small red marks where rocks must have hit her skin through her jeans. Her entire calf was double its usual size.
By the time she was dressed in gray leggings and a large cream-colored sweater with her hair curled and lying over her shoulders, she felt back to normal and almost sent Conner a text to let him know that she’d cook tonight. But then she remembered that Robin had told her that she needed to go into Edgeview for some supplies, so Kara would need to walk to the store to get groceries. One glance out the window confirmed that the rain hadn’t let up since Conner had dropped her off.
Instead, she decided to spend her time baking. Since she had the supplies to make cookies, she got to work mixing the dough as she flipped on the television and listened to an old black-and-white movie. She danced to one of the songs playing on the set.
Her sister walked in just as she was taking the first batch of cookies out of the oven.
“Wow, those smell good,” Robin said, reaching for one. “How’s the leg?” she asked before taking a bite of the hot cookie. She’d texted her sister what had happened before lying down.
“Fine,” Kara answered, then grabbed a cookie for herself. “A little sore, but nothing too bad.” She wiggled her leg and tested it out. “Sore but in working order.”
Robin chuckled. “We can call in our order to the Oar. After driving to pick up all the new chair and table covers, I’m starving. It took all my will not to hit the drive-through while I was in Edgeview.”
“I have the menu pulled up on my iPad.” She motioned to where she’d set her iPad earlier and turned to put another batch of cookies in the oven.
“Who is this?” Robin asked holding up her iPad. An image of Thomas Carson filled the screen.
“That’s the man who stopped by last week and claimed he was a
lawyer.” Kara shut the oven and walked over to look at the image over her sister’s shoulder. “He’s the guy the Jordans are having issues with.”
“The land shark?” Robin asked. Kara nodded.
“He stopped by here?” Her sister turned to her.
“Yeah, the night of the Johnson’s anniversary party. I was heading over here to grab a new roll of double-sided tape and bumped into him on the pathway. He claimed he was a lawyer and had a client interested in making an offer for our place.”
“He’s not a lawyer?” Robin asked.
“No, he’s a developer for C&C Investment. It says here he’s preparing to start a large multi-million-dollar project along the Oregon coast that will draw thousands of investors.”
“Sounds like one of those condo time-share scams,” Robin said, looking over the website Kara had pulled up earlier.
“Yeah, except they are looking to bring in large investors, claiming the area is the next ‘it’ zone.” Kara turned away and checked on the cookies. “I’ll call in dinner. Conner should be ready to pick up the food soon.”
“Sure.” Her sister changed gears and looked over the menu for the restaurant and gave her order to her. “So, you and Conner?” she said as she scanned the list.
Kara couldn’t stop the smile. “Yeah, it was very unexpected.”
“But good, right?” Robin asked her as she looked over the iPad.
Kara felt her face heat and her smile double. “Yes, very.”
Her sister sighed and went back to looking at the screen. “He has a brother, right?”
Kara chuckled. “Yes, but something tells me that Jacob is…” She thought about how the man had acted around Rose and chuckled. “Entangled.”
Robin’s eyebrows shot up and then she shrugged. “Probably just as well. I’m more into the intellectual type anyway.”
Kara thought back to all of her sister’s boyfriends and realized that she’d always dated the nerd types. Jacob Jordan was anything but nerdy. He was full brawn mountain man wrapped in a flannel package. As she washed dishes, she thought about Conner and smiled to herself when she realized that Conner was a sexy mixture of mountain man and nerd.
