Payton was a good man, and a recent member to the community. Only arriving a few months ago, Payton primarily kept to himself. That was unless he was spotted sitting in the media room of the Pleasure Cave. No one really knew much about the new bank manager, only that he was foreign and didn’t mix business with pleasure. He kept his private life separate from what he portrayed to the town. Carter didn’t give a damn what that man did during the night, only if he agreed to what he and Brice wanted. If Payton Trudeau could do that, then the man was okay in his book.
“We better get going. I don’t want to be late,” Brice stated, looking at his watch before placing a twenty on the table.
“All right,” Carter replied and followed his best friend out of the diner.
The First Bank of Treasure Cove was small, stuffy, and boring. Built during the sixties, the bank had seen better days. There was no automated teller machine, and only one drive thru window. Walking into the bank, Carter and Brice were greeted by Joanna Clarence, a single mom who worked two jobs to feed her growing boys. She was a sweetheart and totally underpaid for what she had to deal with.
“Hi, Carter. Hi, Brice. What can I do for you?” Joanna smiled, greeting them.
“We have an appointment with Mr. Trudeau,” Carter said.
“He’s with a client right now. If you don’t mind waiting a bit, he should be done soon.”
“No problem,” Brice said, taking a seat in the small waiting area. Carter on the other hand, leaned against her desk and smiled. “So, Joanna, how’s the Camry running?”
“Just fine, I wanted to thank you for what you did, Carter. I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t help me. I don’t know how to repay you.”
“It was nothing. I had the spare parts in the shop. It was my pleasure, darling. Besides, that little car will go a long way if you keep up the maintenance. So, don’t forget to come see me when it’s time for an oil change, okay?”
“Oh, I won’t forget, Carter,” she blushed.
“Joanna! Stop flirting and get back to work!” a booming voice bellowed from the office behind her desk. Carter watched as Joanna jumped, lowered her eyes, and then whispered, “Yes, Mr. Trudeau.”
“Is my next appointment here?”
“Yes, Mr. Trudeau.”
“Show them in.”
“Yes, Mr. Trudeau.” Joanna complied, getting to her feet, motioning Carter and Brice to follow her. Carter looked at Brice, who shrugged his shoulders, but neither of them said anything. They didn’t want to get Joanna in trouble or cause her to lose her job.
* * * *
For days, Vanessa had been in a funk. She knew and so did everyone else who crossed her path. Generally a nice person who smiled and said hi to anyone, lately she had been moody and downright hostile with some people. Her mood swings shifted faster than the gears in an F-14! She needed to get control of herself, or she was going to regret saying something she didn’t mean.
Hell, poor River, who had been remodeling her bathroom, had started to avoid her, just going about her day as if Vanessa was invisible. At times, the problem was Van did feel that way. Of course, her personal life was nothing compared to her financial. She had less than three weeks to come up with the balloon payment for her apartment or she was going to homeless. She didn’t relish the idea of moving in with her mother, but then her mom was never home. Nevertheless, she wanted her life to move forward, not backward, and running home to Mom was doing just that.
Vanessa hadn’t lived with her mother since she graduated high school. After that, she enlisted in the United States Marine Corp. For years, she had everything she wanted or needed. Thanks to Uncle Sam, she had a room, clothes, food, and a steady paycheck. She didn’t have to worry about making a mortgage payment or paying electric or water bills. The federal government took care of everything for her, right down to medical, dental, and eye care. The government trained her in a profession she was good at, and when needed, she repaid her debt by defending her country with honor. Through it all, she had no worries, until she woke one morning in Landsthul Regional Medical center in Germany. That day her life changed.
Since then, she lived a half life, wandering around with no direction, when she landed in Treasure Cove. With a new purpose in life, she started over, and things were going great—that was till the money ran out. Broke and in debt, she surveyed everything around her and wondered if she had made a huge mistake. Her store was sucking the life out of her, and she hadn’t even realized it. She needed to come up with a plan soon before the bank decided she wasn’t worth the risk anymore and foreclosed on everything.
The chimes above the front door signaled she had a customer, and Vanessa prayed that whoever it was that they were feeling generous. Making her way around the counter, she stopped when she noticed the Armani three-piece suit, the Prada shoes, and the Kenneth Cole tie, but that was nothing compared to the Cartier gold watch attached to one of the handsomest men she had ever seen. Standing a little over six foot, the muscular blond God was tanned to perfection. His cleanly shaved face was free of marks or blemished, and he smelled of Aramis. Vanessa had never seen the man before and wondered if he was lost.
“Welcome to Treasures-A-Plenty. How may I help you?”
The man turned, giving her his undivided attention, and Vanessa gasped. She knew this man. He was on every tabloid, newspaper, and television channel around the world. The owner and CEO of Summerfield Industries, Tristan Wallace Summerfield was ranked number thirteen on Forbes most wealthiest men in the world, and he held second place in People’s Magazine for most eligible bachelor, and he was standing in her little secondhand shop.
“Good morning. I am looking for Ms. Vanessa Sanchez,” he clearly said with a thick British accent. Gulping, Vanessa wondered what the man wanted with her. She was nothing but a lonely shop owner.
“I am Vanessa,” she muttered.
Mr. Summerfield smiled, extending his hand. “I am Tristan Summerfield.”
Taking his hand, she marveled at his smooth skin and firm handshake. Grinning in return, she said, “I know who you are Mr. Summerfield. However, what I don’t know is why you are here in my shop, looking for me.”
“Please call me Tristan. I was having breakfast with Mr. Trudeau and a few acquaintances, and Mr. Trudeau suggested I come see you.”
“Why?” Vanessa whispered as dread filled her veins.
“I have a proposition for you.”
“And what might that be, Mr. Summerfield?” she asked, curious as to what she may have that he would be interested in. Having one of the world’s richest men in her shop wasn’t an everyday occurrence. Hell, she was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that she was still in his presence. However, when he mentioned a proposition, she wondered what in the hell it could be. She didn’t have a degree in biochemical engineering like many of those who worked for him. How she could help the world’s foremost expert in mineral exploration and excavating, she had no clue, but she was all ears.
“I would like to buy your shop,” he stated with all seriousness.
“Come again?”
* * * *
“I’m sorry, gentlemen, but my hands are tied.”
If that pompous ass said that one more time, Brice was going to yank him across his fancy desk and hurl him out the window. For the last thirty minutes, he said nothing as Carter tried everything he could to persuade the bank manager to allow them to pay off the mortgage to Vanessa’s apartment, but the stubborn man refused, saying that someone had already purchased the note. When Carter asked who it was and if they could talk to that person, Mr. Trudeau clammed up tighter than a virgin at the altar and refused to say any more.
“So, let me get this straight. We want to give the bank money, and you are refusing it?” Brice asked, annoyed with everything. He wanted out of this bank before he started destroying things. Typically quiet and laid back, Brice chose to brush aside many things in life that would anger most. He learned from a very young age tha
t his size and stature wasn’t a blessing but a hindrance. Standing just five inches shy of seven foot, and weighing over two hundred and fifty pounds, he was a bit intimidating to most people. He could remember every scared look, flinch, and scream growing up.
In grammar school, he was picked on, pushed around, and made fun of for his extreme height. Then high school happened, and things started to change, but it didn’t take a genius to realize that he was wanted for his height. Thinking it would help curb the talk, he joined the basketball team, the football team, and played baseball. Excelling at sports was his one consolation. However, no one wanted to hang around with the giant. That was until college, when he met Peter and Carter, his best friends. When he met Peter and Carter, they didn’t care how tall or how big he was, and it was a comfort when everyone else wanted to use him for his height. Being tall wasn’t easy. Girls were intimidated by his height, too afraid to get to know him, teachers flinched or just gave in when he needed them to, and all the others were too scared to care.
Lonely and alone, Brice spent the majority of his life working on his family’s ranch in Texas, where he knew no one cared. His mother, a petite woman, gentle and kind, did her best to make him feel better. Brice loved his mother dearly and missed her most days. His father was a tough man who never shied away for teaching him what a man needed growing up. If it weren’t for his parents, Brice knew he would be lost in a sea of normal people. However, it still hurt to be ignored and pushed away.
Then Diana happened, and he thought just maybe God had intervened and granted him his one wish, but that wasn’t the case. After Diana gave birth to Colby, she told him how she truly felt about him, and to this day, her words still cut deep, for who would ever love a giant?
Closed off from everyone, Brice did his job and helped his friends raise their son, and he was content with that, but lately he wanted more. He wanted a woman to love and who would love him back without shying away from his height. Of course, that was never going to happen if he didn’t muster the courage and do something about it, and he did when he chose to confront Vanessa Sanchez at the grocery store.
He almost ran away when he scared her to death by sneaking up on her, and he rightly deserved the bloody lip she gave him, but when she smiled and apologized. Well that was something he never expected. Then she came to dinner, and that was a revelation in itself. For years, he moaned and complained about his height as if it was handicap, bitching and crying to his parents when people made fun of him, and there sat Vanessa with an amputated leg. Seeing Vanessa sitting in their bathroom, trying to cover her leg as if embarrassed, made all of his past problems pale in comparison. It was that moment when she smiled at them and joked that Brice knew definitely that he was one hundred percent, without a doubt in love with her.
Having dinner with her was one of the best nights of his life, and he couldn’t wait to have more, to make memories with her, happy memories that when he was old and gray he could look back on and say that his life meant something.
Brice wanted the pretty little shop owner, he wanted to make her happy, to take away all of her worries, and he couldn’t do that if the man before him didn’t get off his ass and allow him to do it.
“Fine, then we want to pay off her mortgage to her shop,” he heard Carter say.
“I’m sorry, Mr. James, but as of an hour ago, the building has been bought. The bank sold the note to an investor,” Mr. Trudeau stated.
“Is that the same investor who bought the note to her apartment?” Carter asked.
“Yes. So you see, gentlemen, there is nothing I can do for you.”
Brice couldn’t sit still anymore. He needed to get out of this place and breathe fresh air. Getting to his feet, he said nothing when the bank manager sat back in his chair, wide eyed with fear as if he were waiting to be pummeled. Sighing, Brice walked out of the bank in time to see the woman he loved get in her vehicle and speed away.
Chapter Seven
Vanessa felt like crying, though she would never do so in public. She was better than that and refused to allow anyone to see her shed her tears. Closing up her shop during the day would have made her cringe before, especially at the thought of losing a customer, but when that man walked in and started talking, well, all thoughts of future customers flew out the window. She no longer cared. Not bothering to say good-bye, she grabbed her purse and fled her store as if it were on fire.
Her store. That was funny. She laughed because it was no longer hers. It now belonged to Mr. Tristan Summerfield. Well, as of nine o’clock in the morning it did. Why that man wanted her place, she didn’t know, nor did she care. All she knew was that her shop was no longer hers. Vanessa didn’t stick around to hear the man finish his proposal, and as far as she was concerned, he could go to hell. Her life was over, and he was too busy smiling about it. What a pompous ass!
There was only one place Vanessa wanted to be right now, and she hoped that her uninvited appearance was going to be a problem. But she needed her momma.
Pulling into the Hicks Ranch, she slowed down, coming to a stop. She turned off the engine, stepped out, and jumped out when Caleb Hicks shouted, “Well howdy, stranger!”
Smiling, Vanessa turned. “Hi, Caleb. Sorry for just dropping in on you, but I was wondering if I could visit with Momma for a bit?”
Vanessa loved Caleb. Kind and sweet, he doted on her momma and treated her with respect, a trait that was hard to come by in today’s world when all people cared about was themselves and posting to Twitter and Facebook. However, the Hicks family welcomed her mother into their home and loved her as if she belonged, and according to Vanessa, they were all right in her book.
Smiling, Caleb walked over to her and put his arm around her shoulder. “Van, you know you don’t need an invitation to come see your mom. She is part of this family, and so are you. So, stop standing on ceremony and go see your momma. She’s in her favorite room.”
“The kitchen,” Van whispered.
“Where else would a mom be?” Caleb said, kissing her cheek before heading off into the barn.
Entering the house Vanessa instantly felt all her worries fall away. There was just something about being around her momma that made everything seem better. Even though this wasn’t technically her family’s house, Vanessa could feel her mother’s influence around her, from the smell of lemons that surrounded the furniture, to the flowers that adorned several surfaces, but it was the food cooking in the kitchen that reminded her most of what home felt like. Following the amazing smells, Vanessa entered the kitchen to find her mother laughing as she prepared lunch. Janie Hicks, young and beautiful with a rounded belly, laughed with her mom as she sat at the table folding napkins.
“Well hey there, stranger!” Janie said, smiling up at her. “What brings you all the way out here?”
“I came to see how you were doing, and to talk to momma for a bit. I hope you don’t mind,” Vanessa said, looking at her mother. Maria Sanchez wasn’t a dummy by anyone’s standards, so when her mother smiled at her knowingly, Vanessa said nothing, letting her momma speak for her.
“Ms. Janie, it’s almost time for your chat with Ms. Charlotte. Let me help you to your room.”
“Oh my goodness,” Janie gasped, looking up at the clock on the wall. “I almost forgot.”
Vanessa stayed in the kitchen while her mother helped Janie to her room. When her mother returned, Vanessa watched her finish preparing lunch.
“You realize the longer you sit there quietly, the longer you will have this problem.” Vanessa loved many things about her mother, the way she cooked, cared, and had this innate ability to see through the bullshit and get to the point. There was no beating around the bush with Maria Sanchez.
“I know, Momma,” Vanessa whispered.
“So what is it, a man?” her mother asked.
“Yes.”
“Oh!” Her mom smiled and turned, leaning against the counter. “Have I met this man?”
“No. He isn’t from arou
nd here.”
“What does he want?”
“How do you know he wants something?”
“Honey, men always want something.”
“Well, this man in particular already got what he wanted.”
“Vanessa!” her mom shouted, and then cursed in Spanish.
“Not that, Momma, I swear!” Vanessa rebutted quickly, defusing a ticking time bomb before her mother when on a rampage. Maria Sanchez was a wonderful mother and loved her children fully, but in her mother’s eyes, all of her children were saints and still virginal. Of course, deep down, Vanessa knew that her mother knew the truth, but that it was different when the words were spoken.
“Then what?”
“He bought my shop.”
“How?”
“How does anyone buy anything, Momma? With money…lots and lots of money.”
“But you got the second mortgage. The bank assured you that everything would be fine. How did this happen?”
“The bank sold my note to an investor.”
“Is he going to close the store?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did he say?”
“I didn’t stick around long enough to find out. I left as soon as he told me the good news.”
“Vanessa! How many times have I told you that you cannot run from your problems? You have to face them head-on and fight. I didn’t raise a coward for a daughter. You are a strong woman with a good head on your shoulders. Use it. Now, go back to this man and find out what he wants. If it isn’t what you want, then persuade him otherwise.”
Joyce, Rebecca - Her Dirty Mechanics [The Men of Treasure Cove 12] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 6
