by Jill Sanders
“The best two months of my life.” He kissed her, then took her hand. “Now comes the fun part.”
By the time they reached the other side of the small creek, they were both soaking wet and covered in fresh mud. Still, they were laughing and enjoying every minute of their journey.
It took them a while to find the markers on both property corners.
“There’s about two acres over on this side of the water.” He looked around as they stood on the side of the hill.
“Is that enough for a home?” she asked.
“Yes, plenty, if we plan it right. You haven’t been up to the McGowan’s homes, have you?” he asked, and she shook her head. “Trey and Dylan’s place hangs out over a creek sort of like this. Of course their land is a little flatter, but I bet something like what they have would work, with a long wide deck, two stories, the main floor on the top, so we could overlook the field.” He turned her shoulders slightly, making her look out over the field and his property. The view was simply breathtaking.
The entire time she’d been there, she’d only enjoyed the view behind the Hard Way. Now, as she looked out through the trees and over the field, she could see the Hard Way’s building in the distance. Then she noticed the high peaks on the other side of the valley behind everything. Snow covered the high mountain peaks, which jutted up into the blue sky while an occasional white puffy cloud floated slowly by. She had never seen anything more beautiful.
“Best view in town,” he said softly, then he turned her back towards him. “I can’t think of a better place to tell you that I love you.”
She tensed, then smiled. “It’s perfect.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “You’re perfect. I love you too.”
He bent his head down and kissed her. “I want you to stay here. With me.” She was about to agree, but then he motioned around them. “Here. Build this home with me. Stay here with me. It’s only been a few months, but I spent a lifetime to get to this moment. To get to you. I guess you can say I did everything the hard way, and I’d gladly do it again, just as long as I could be assured that I’d end up here, with you. Right now. At this moment.”
He surprised her by dropping down into the soft dirt and pulling a small black box out of his pocket.
“It’s the only thing my parents owned that I didn’t pawn. It was my great-grandmother’s, but if you don’t like it…” He opened the box and she looked down and saw the most perfect vintage platinum ring. Two perfectly cut diamonds sat nestled on the top, making it appear as if they were one large diamond. Several diamonds sat on either side and wrapped around the entire band.
With shaky hands, she reached for the box, but just then he pulled it back slightly with a chuckle.
“I think I deserve an answer first,” he joked.
“Yes,” she said quickly. “Yes,” she said again, this time a little louder.
Smiling, he pulled the ring from the box and slid it onto her finger smoothly.
“If it’s a little small or too large…” he started, but she stopped him.
“It fits perfectly.” She pulled him up to stand next to her and kissed him.
Chapter 25
For the next week, Brent had his head in the clouds. He told anyone that he crossed paths with about his and Mel’s engagement. By the end of the first day, he’d told so many people that Jamie had written the message on the chalkboard that he’d hung up by the dartboard. She claimed it was so he could save his voice, and she’d even drawn little hearts and flowers around the engagement notice.
Dylan was so excited for them that she insisted on throwing them a huge engagement party, which they had all agreed to having at the Hard Way to accommodate all the people they wanted to invite.
He’d met with some local contractors and had received bids for the work for the RV park. So far, he’d been impressed at how little really needed to be done. Since some of the foundations were already in place and were pretty much perfect for the first twenty RV spots, the conversion would be simple enough.
They discussed modeling the next fifteen spots after the first ones, spacing them out in the same pattern and direction and making them the same size as the small buildings that used to be there.
They would have to add cable television connections, but the water and electric for those first twenty spots were there and usable.
For the main structure for the pool, laundry room, and bathrooms, they chose a location near the front, so the utilities didn’t have far to travel. The view from the pool and gazebo areas was important to him, so he and Mel took the time to make sure those spots were situated just perfectly.
One of the contractors suggested they had enough land to host about fifty spots, but for now, he figured the thirty-five spots were a perfect start.
The most difficult part would be convincing the city and the mayor to give him a chance and allow him the permits for the park.
To grease the wheels, they had decided to simply call it Haven RV Park and Event Center. He figured by tagging the name of the town onto it, they could boast a boost in tourism as a benefit for allowing them the necessary paperwork.
He and Mel were scheduled to have a few minutes at tonight’s town hall meeting. He’d never attended a town meeting before, and he had to admit that he was pretty nervous.
How had he gone from the town’s screwup to a respectable business owner? Even most of the people who had tried to avoid him when he’d lived there before now walked up to him and chatted as if they were old friends.
Not that he minded, but it was starting to feel like he was in some sort of Twilight Zone episode. Any minute now, the bottom would drop out from under his feet.
Just as long as he didn’t lose anyone he’d grown to care for, he was fine with taking the wild ride.
Mel had locked herself in the office shortly after lunch to prepare for the town meeting. The way he figured it, all he had to do was wear his good clothes and a dress-up shirt.
He wasn’t quite sure what she was doing in there, but every time he passed by, he heard her typing on the computer or printing something out and figured it was best to stay out of her way.
He spent the rest of the day hanging up more string lights, setting up another firepit, and building another corn hole set, since it was one of the most popular games they had. About an hour before the meeting, he headed upstairs to shower and dress.
As he stepped into the hallway, Mel was coming out of the bathroom, fully dressed in a skintight black pencil skirt and a black-and-white striped blouse and had her long dark hair braided and lying over her shoulder.
He’d never seen her look so good. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her and told her just that. She slapped him playfully.
“You smell.” She pushed him away. “You’re going to soil me.” She laughed. “You’d better hurry up and shower. I’m going to finish getting everything ready for the meeting.”
“I thought we were just going to stand up there and talk about what we want to do,” he said with a slight frown.
Her eyes narrowed. “Leave this to me. It’s what I went to school for.”
He shrugged. “If it makes you happy”—he waved his hands—“take it.” Then he kissed her once more before she shoved him towards the bathroom.
“Shower. I laid out your dress clothes and ironed your shirt.” She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t wrinkle it.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He smiled at her as he started to slowly peel his clothes off. He saw her eyes heat as she watched his slow striptease.
After tossing his shirt onto the floor, he reached for his jean buckle. Her tongue darted out and licked her lips, which she’d painted a deep red color. He had smeared the lipstick slightly by kissing her.
Her eyes followed his hands, and he could have sworn he heard her heartbeat from where he was. When his pants dropped to the floor and his desire for her sprang free, she jumped slightly, then turned and rushed down the hallway.
“No time to play
.” She shook her head.
“There is always time to play,” he said softly. He reached for her, only to have her dash out of his reach and rush towards the doorway.
“Shower!” she called back. She stopped at the end of the hallway and glanced over her shoulder. “I’d suggest you use cold water.” Her eyes traveled slowly back down over his body, and she swallowed before quickly turning around and leaving.
“Well, hell.” He stepped in and stood under the cold spray and tried to get the image of her in that outfit out of his mind.
An hour and a half later, he was standing in front of a room full of townspeople, feeling ready to barf. Thankfully, Mel came through for him as she’d said she would.
From the moment they had called on them, he’d felt tongue tied. He was sweating profusely and was positive that if he was forced to talk, he would vomit instead.
“Good evening,” Mel said in a calm voice. She turned towards him and, after running her eyes over him, nudged him back into his seat. “I’ve got this,” she said softly.
For the first few moments, his ears were still buzzing, and he missed the opening lines of her speech, but when he heard the room burst out in laughter, he shook off the nerves and focused on what she was saying.
“Now, if you’ll all agree, times are changing, and Haven needs to upgrade to draw in more tourists. I doubt Mom and Pop are going to come all this way to take their kids to one of our fine strip clubs.” More chuckles.
“Well, they are pretty good strip clubs,” someone called out.
“True.” Mel nodded. “But what about the kids?” She tilted her head slightly. “Haven is surrounded by so much beauty. Beauty that families should get to enjoy.” It was then that he realized she’d handed everyone in the room packets. He reached down and looked at the one she’d set in his lap. She’d even set up a slideshow on the projector. How had she done that without him noticing? He turned slightly to see a few pictures of his land with the mountains surrounding the town. The picture was… breathtaking—the bright green of the fields, the beautiful colors of the trees on the hills, the crisp white snowcaps against the perfect blue sky. “And we can all agree that it’s one of the best views in Montana.”
“In the States,” someone called out.
“Okay, I’ll agree with you on that.” Mel flipped to a picture of the Hard Way. The land behind it filled the screen now. “And I think we can all agree that the Hard Way has recently earned its title as best bar and grill in Haven.” There were several cheers. “So why stop there?” The screen filled with another image of the land behind the main building from overhead. Next to it was a computer drawing of what they had planned. He had seen the image that Mel had created before, but it hadn’t been as detailed as it was now. It clearly showed the thirty-five RV spots, the bigger building housing the bathrooms and laundry facility, and the swimming pool. Then she flipped the button again to show a slide of the two images combined.
“We’re proposing thirty-five private deluxe RV parking spots to begin with, all with thirty- and fifty-amp power, water and sewer hookups, and cable television. Each spot will have their very own picnic table, firepit, and barbeque grill. There will be a community swimming pool and pool house, private bathrooms with family showers, laundry facilities, and a community outdoor dining area.” She flipped to another screen and showed a beautiful gazebo with a young couple dressed in wedding attire. “The grounds will have several choice spots for special events, both local and those for out-of-towners.” She flipped through a few pictures of outdoor parties, and he noticed a few pictures from the back deck of the Hard Way with families such as the McGowans enjoying the space they’d built. Then she showed a picture that she’d taken from the back of the land, overlooking the field, with the Hard Way nestled in front of the mountains. He felt a wave of pride wash over him. This was his. He’d done this. He and Mel. “Haven has so much to offer,” she continued, showing more images of the small town, including the Dancing Moose, the grocery store, the schools, the state park, and a few more small shops in town. “Help us share it with others.” She finished off with the image of the RV park transposed over the current land, but this time a large logo sat at the top that read Haven RV Park and Event Center.
There was a moment of silence, and then everyone burst out clapping and cheering.
Martha Brown, mayor of Haven, hit her gavel on the desk loudly and then held her hands up to quiet everyone down.
“I think we can safely switch to the voting portion of the night, so that we can all approve Brent and Mel’s permit,” she called out.
Brent sat there and watched every single hand raise in the room when the vote was called out. Just before Martha hit the gavel to the table, the door burst open.
“I object.” Everett stormed into the room, closely followed by his two sons.
“You’re too late,” Martha said. She slammed her gavel down. “The motion carries. Haven RV Park and…” She turned to Mel.
“Event Center,” Mel said with a smile as Martha nodded.
“Are approved.” Martha slammed the gavel down again. “Now, we can move on—”
“I object,” Everett yelled out again.
“Mr. Phillips, as I mentioned before, you are too late. The motion has already been voted on and approved by the committee.” Martha waited a beat. “If you wish to file a complaint…”
“Yes, I do,” Everett said.
Martha’s eyebrows arched. “Then you can file a complaint at next month’s meeting.”
“That’s bullshit,” Everett barked out.
Martha’s shoulders straightened. “I’ve tolerated you coming into my office for the past few months to complain about the Hard Way’s goings-on because it’s my job to listen to this town’s constituents, but let me make it perfectly clear. This committee, no, this town has just approved Brent and Mel’s plans for their property.” She narrowed her eyes. “No amount of squabbling over what might have been is going to stop this project from moving forward. Your family sat on that piece of land for over a hundred years and didn’t do squat with it. Your son gambled it away and lost it. Now all of a sudden you decide you want it back and it’s the most important thing in the world to you. Everyone in town knows you have no legal right to that property any longer. So unless you get over it, my office will no longer be hearing any of your complaints.” Martha slammed the gavel down again when the entire town busted out in cheers.
Then Martha nodded to Dale and another officer, Chris, who were standing at the back of the room.
“The Phillipses are done here,” she said clearly.
The two men walked over and started talking to the Phillips men quietly. In less than a minute, Dale grabbed the father’s arm and started pulling him out of the building while the sons yelled and argued with Chris.
When the room quieted down finally, Martha continued.
“We did it,” Mel said quietly as he took her hand.
“You did it,” he corrected and, not caring who saw them, pulled her closer for a kiss.
When the sounds of cheers broke into his thoughts, he pulled back and laughed. The entire room had turned their attention on them.
Once again, Martha banged her gavel down and looked over her reading glasses at them.
“I think it’s safe to say that we are done with you two tonight.” She smiled. “You are excused.”
Brent laughed and then nodded. “Thank you.” He took Mel’s hand and pulled her towards the door.
“Wait, my purse.” Mel laughed and rushed back to grab her things while everyone in the room laughed along.
When they returned to the Hard Way, they were greeted with cheers.
“Obviously, the news has reached everyone in town,” he said sarcastically.
“Congratulations.” Jamie walked over and handed each of them a shot of something, which they held up in salute, along with everyone else in the place.
“To Haven’s very own RV Park and Event Center,” he
called out and then drank after the cheers.
Then he took Mel’s hand and pulled her towards the stairs as the room burst into normal conversation.
They barely made it through their private door upstairs before he fused his mouth to hers. Then he pinned her to the door as his hands roamed over that tight body of hers, enjoying the feeling of the soft fabric she wore and the even softer skin underneath.
Her clothes hit the ground, followed by his. Movement was a blur, their heartbeats matched beat for beat. Their breath mixed as they moved as one. He thought that a little of the desperation would fade when he plunged into her, but instead it intensified.
“More,” he growled, running his mouth down the pale column of her neck. “I want to hear you say it.” He stilled, embedded deep within her.
Her eyes locked with his. “I love you,” she said, gripping his hair as she tried to pull him closer.
“I love you.” He started to move again only to lose himself once more in her.
“I can’t move,” Mel said sometime later. He was still pinning her to the heavy door, his face buried in her hair, which he’d pulled loose from its braid.
The sexy outfit she’d worn was now wrinkling on the floor at their feet, next to his good shirt, his jeans, and his shoes. The fact that he was using the door to stay upright had him smiling.
“Me either,” he admitted.
“So, we’re going to sleep here then?” she asked. He laughed.
“I might be able to move in a moment.” He felt her body brushing against his. “If you keep doing that, I’ll be doing more than moving in a moment,” he said with a groan.
She stilled. “Take me to bed first,” she whispered into his ear.
He didn’t have to be asked a second time. He hoisted her up gently in his arms and carried her down the hallway and into their room, being careful not to trip on the discarded clothes.
Later, he fell asleep once more with Mel wrapped around him. His future was looking so bright that he had to keep reminding himself that life wasn’t a dream.
With all the hell he’d been through in his life, he deserved to be happy like his sister was. Mel deserved happiness too. They’d both lived through hell and had still somehow found one another.
