The Business Plan

by Lorhainne Eckhart

  He wondered whether Brad understood. Maybe he did, as his expression softened as he stared out at his family and Candy and Emily, who were chatting together. His wife was still brushing Candy’s hair. Emily loved her. They were sisters.

  “What did you do with the cougar?” Neil poured himself another coffee with what was left and decided to make another pot.

  “She’s hanging in the shed. Going to skin her, turn her into a rug, maybe stick her in our room to remind Emily of the years she took off me.” He took another sip, and Neil wondered for a second whether he was serious.

  “A little harsh, don’t you think?” He had never seen Brad this upset before.

  “Maybe, just give me some time. Emily isn’t as horse smart as Candy, and look what happened out there. I go into a sweat every time I see that cat because I know it could have killed one of them,” Brad said.

  Neil had feared the same thing, but every time he started to think of what could have happened, he forced his thoughts somewhere else. He took in the gray that was coming in heavier at the sides of Brad’s head. Maybe a few more had popped up the night before. “You know it’ll be damn near impossible to keep Candy off a horse and Emily from going with her,” Neil said.

  Brad didn’t say anything for the longest time. “I know, which is why I’m getting rid of that paint and finding her a gentler mount she can handle. I’ll spend more time riding with her until I know she’s steadier, more confident. She’s too green. She didn’t grow up with horses like we did.” There was such love there. Brad didn’t even try to hide how much Emily meant to him. “So I wanted to give you this. I know we never got to the money thing when we were talking last night.” Brad pulled out a folded check from his pocket and held it between his fingers to Neil, and he could see Candy watching. She had to know what Brad was doing. “I planned to give it to you then.”

  Neil opened the check, looking at the amount, and he was a little stunned. It should have made him happy. It was fifty thousand dollars and would tide them over for a while, but the way he was being handed money left him with an uneasy feeling. He handed the check back to Brad. “You know what? I can’t take this. As much as I need this and could use it, I can’t take money from you this way.”

  Brad raised his hand and backed away. He refused to take it back, giving Neil his “Don’t be an idiot” look.

  “I had a lot of time to think last night,” Neil said, “and one of the things I realized had to do with my business plan.”

  Brad was looking confused, and Neil looked over to Candy and Emily, who were sitting there quietly.

  He cleared his throat to get Emily and Candy’s attention. “What I’m proposing is turning the Cancun resort into a Friessen family business.”

  As Neil looked around the room, the kids looked up at him, and the shock on Emily’s and Candy’s faces gave way to surprise.

  Brad seemed to consider something before nodding. “Okay, show us the plan.”

  Chapter 20

  “Candy, I have an idea about some of the changes.” Neil was holding papers, reading something as he walked into the bedroom, where she was sitting in the easy chair, her feet up on the ottoman, reading a book. He appeared to be confused or thinking about something as he stared at her from the middle of the room.

  “Yes?” she said, giving him all her attention.

  He was looking around the room and then over to the door. He tossed the outline of his business plan on the bed. It was ten pages stapled together, and there appeared to be notes in the margins in pen. What was he up to now? He gestured in the air and said, “I’ll be right back.”

  Then he was gone, and Candy was looking at the door, wondering what big ideas he’d come up with.

  “Neil, what are you doing?” Candy started to get up and reached for his plan on the bed, but to her, this stuff made no sense. She wasn’t a business major, and Candy, unlike Neil, had gone to school down in Mexico. Her classes had leaned toward the basics: reading, writing, and math. She hadn’t gone to college or university, and she didn’t have a degree. Candy had learned about surviving, getting by and working with her two hands.

  Neil clapped his hands and rubbed them together when he strode back in, this time with a baby monitor attached to his pocket. “Okay, where was I?” he said as he took the monitor so they could hear Michael and set it on the dresser before reaching for the papers Candy was holding. She was trying to make sense of his notes.

  “Ah, yes, there it is.” Neil flipped a page, and she looked over his arm, curious as to what he was up to. “I want to run something by you,” he said, flipping over another page and showing her a list of names. She noted Andy’s, Brad’s, and Jed’s, and below that hers, Emily’s, Diana’s, and Laura’s.

  “What are you up to now?” She couldn’t help being curious and excited about something that included all of them.

  “You know how I mentioned downstairs earlier when Brad and Emily came by about the Friessen family resort? I outlined a rough plan to Brad where I mentioned having him, Andy, and Jed partner with me. I would sell them shares, and we’d become equal shareholders, because you know I have no intention of taking handouts from my brother.”

  She rubbed his shoulder, because she understood his thinking, understood where he was coming from. “I like the idea, Neil. I already told you that.” She did like the idea of having his brothers and Andy together in business to watch his back, and she sensed it would maybe help to keep everyone grounded while providing the influx of cash Neil needed to run the operation. It would also add some legitimacy to their arrangement. More than that, there was something about this idea of having all the Friessen men as part of this, as if they would close ranks and eliminate Candy’s fear of returning to Cancun. She couldn’t explain it or put it into words that made sense.

  “The only problem I’m having with this idea is the possibility of butting heads. We all need a vote, but there needs to be someone running it, leading the board, keeping it so that our resort stays in the family.”

  She was nodding because she understood what he was saying, but she still didn’t quite get why hers and the other women’s names were there. “I think everyone would agree you should oversee it. After all, this is where you shine. I’m confused as to why you have my name there, and Emily’s, Diana’s, and Laura’s? You know I don’t understand business. Diana I can see, with her being a lawyer, but Laura’s never even finished high school, and Emily has always just been a mom. How is it you think we can add something?”

  Neil rested his hands on her shoulders. “Sit down. Come on, I want to talk to you about this.”

  Candy allowed Neil to arrange her and sit her down in the chair while he sat on the ottoman, reaching for her legs and resting them over his. “You know the ranch, Brad and Emily’s, used to belong to Dad and his father before that. The way Granddad willed it, it would go to the eldest son.”

  Candy was nodding, as she vaguely understood but didn’t really get it.

  “It’s kind of an old Irish way of thinking, and it’s always bothered me, kind of, even though none of us said anything. It just was that way. I know we’ve never really sat down to figure out another way, but things are changing. Dad and I moved on and bought that huge ranch down on the Yucatan Peninsula together, and Brad was deeded the ranch, but it’s never going to go to a woman, a wife. Trevor is Brad’s eldest son, his only son.”

  “Trevor has autism. How can anything like that go to him?” She couldn’t help herself from wondering aloud. Neil was shaking his head, and she could tell he was wondering, too.

  “I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure it’s something my brother has had to think about. I don’t think it was something my grandfather would’ve ever considered aside from his need to pass it along to a son.”

  “Can’t say I like it, as it’s very chauvinistic,” Candy said, and Neil laughed.

  “Oh, I think Mom would agree with you there, but that’s the thing. The more I thought about this resort
, which is mine, I realized the land was yours, and then there’s our wives, who look to us to support them and look after them.” Neil was shaking his head. “I love you, Candy, and I’ll look after you, but we’re successful because of you just as much as me. I think Andy, Brad, and Jed will agree—they just may need some convincing. Whatever decisions we make should be as a family, and it helps to have our very own legal mind in Diana.”

  Candy was surprised at Neil for coming up with this. “You think it would work?” she asked.

  “I think it would bring us closer together, reunite the family, and…” He looked over at Candy, rubbing her leg. “I’d like to be able to split our time between here and having some fun in the sun.”

  “You mean we’d still keep this house.”

  Neil smiled. “Yes.”

  “And what about Cancun and the estate, the resort? Would we not go back there?”

  Neil was still smiling. “Yes, we would, but…” His expression softened. “We’d spend part of the year in Cancun and part of the year here. I want you to feel comfortable, Candy. When you opened up to me last night, telling me about that dream you had, I ached thinking of how sad that must have made you feel. All I can say is I love you so much, and I wouldn’t trade our life together for anything. You excite me, you inspire me, and I don’t want to do any of this without you by my side. You’re irreplaceable. You’re Michael and Cat’s mother, the one who keeps us together as a family. So what do you say?”

  She was stunned. She realized that coming to her and including her was something Neil never would have dreamed of doing when she married him. This man who was her lover, her husband, and her best friend was doing something for the family that would bring them closer together than she could have ever imagined. “Well, I think you should call your brothers and Andy and tell them about this new plan, because I think this is a great idea, Neil.”

  He leaned forward, sliding his hands over her legs and leaning over her as he kissed her. Pulling back, he breathed deeply. “I already did,” he said, smiling brightly.

  “And what if I’d said no, then what would you have done?” she teased.

  This time he appeared worried. “Would you have considered saying no?”

  It was infuriating at times how well he could read her. “No, I wouldn’t have.” She sighed, and this time when he leaned over her, looking down on her, touching his nose to hers, his lips to hers, he studied her for a minute so deeply.

  “With you by my side to keep my head on straight…” He paused for a second as if memorizing everything about her. “You ground me, Candy. You’re my voice of reason, and it’s because of you that I can do this.” Then he kissed her again so tenderly.

  Chapter 21

  There were cars and trucks and other vehicles parked out front of Brad’s. The kids were playing outside when Neil pulled in and parked, Cat and Michael in back. He could see the front door opening and Emily waving.

  “It looks like everyone’s here. Are you ready?” Candy asked, looking happier and far more relaxed than she had in a long time.

  He pushed his door open. “Let’s go,” he said, then watched as his wife lifted out Cat, who raced to her cousins, and then Michael. She swung his diaper bag over her shoulder and carried their dark-haired boy.

  It had been a week since Candy had been thrown, a week of putting together plans and ideas and talking with Jed, Brad, and Andy. At the same time, Neil had opened up his heart and told them he couldn’t do this without them. He’d worried that they would turn him down, but after a few discussions, talks, emails, and phone calls, Jed, Brad, and Andy had decided to join together with Neil in his resort. They all agreed this resort would be theirs, would belong to the family. It would be security for their wives and children. It would be their place, where they would always come together.

  “Neil.”

  He turned around, surprised to see his mom with her short gray hair. She was dressed so neat and tidy in blues and greens. “Mom, didn’t know you were coming,” Neil said, and he didn’t miss the look Candy cast him from the porch, where she was talking with Diana, who waved and smiled. He leaned down and hugged his mom, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

  She reached up and patted his face. “I see you’ve returned to the handsome, brilliant, clean-cut Neil you’d stashed somewhere for more than a year.”

  “He was always there,” he teased.

  “Brad called, told your father and me of your plans for you boys. It made us proud that you’re including your brothers and Andy and your wives.”

  “Well, I kind of got myself in a financial mess, Mom, and I had no one else to blame but myself.” He lifted out his computer from the back of the SUV and closed the glass. What Brad, Jed, and Andy had put in for their shares had given Neil the cash he needed, and telling the father–son buying duo that they’d missed their chance had been a relief.

  “So does this mean you, Candy, and the kids are coming back to Cancun?” Becky said.

  He took in his mom, seeing her flaws and at the same time seeing his mother for the woman she was: a kind, generous, good, loving person who supported her daughter-in-laws and loved her boys and her grandkids. He realized that whatever had happened in her past was just that, her past. It wasn’t her future, and it may have shaped her into being who she was today, a role model. He couldn’t imagine any better for his children.

  “As much as I’d like to, I can’t do that to Candy,” he said, looking over at his wife, who was smiling and laughing at something Diana had said and was then pulled into the house by Laura, who seemed happier than he’d ever seen her, too. “No, you see, it just took me a while to figure out how to have this resort and give Candy her happily ever after, too. Her family’s here. Even though you and Dad are in Cancun and she’ll admit she misses the water, sun, warm weather, and her beach, she’s happier here than I’ve ever seen her.”

  Maybe his mom understood, as her expression for him was something he’d never seen before. “You, your brothers, even that fine nephew of mine are such upstanding men. You make me proud, Neil, doing this for your family, your wife. Putting everything aside to create something truly spectacular that brings people together instead of tearing them apart, that’s what makes a man truly amazing. You make me proud, Neil.”

  He didn’t know what to say. He was humbled.

  She slid her hand to his arm. “Let’s go on in so you can get started on explaining to everyone what they’ve just gotten themselves into.”

  Neil laughed as he walked with his mom into the house, giving Diana, Jed, Andy, and Laura a hug and the kids a toss. Neil couldn’t remember a time that he’d been happier or more excited than he was now. He listened to the chatter as he set up his PowerPoint presentation and took a look at the women gathered around, watching him, sitting together as one on the sofa. Jed, Brad, and Andy were standing behind them, and his dad was sitting with his mom on the loveseat. The women were chatting again when Neil said, “Okay, I want to welcome everyone to the first ever board meeting of the Friessen family resort.” He clicked the mouse, bringing up a picture of his house in Hoquiam with a sign that said, “Welcome to the head office of Villa Friessen.”

  When he looked over at the shocked expressions on everyone’s faces, it was Candy and her sweet smile that reached out to him. She pushed herself off the sofa and threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you,” she said as she pressed into him, and she kissed him deeply in front of his family, his parents. Everyone was clapping.

  THE END

  This edition includes a free bonus short story that goes along with The Business Plan. Click here to download your free copy: http://www.lorhainneeckhart.com/books/1305/

  What is coming next for The Friessen family. The Decision (Brad & Emily) which will be available March 30, 2016. Pre-orders are available now.

  From the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author of The Forgotten Child comes THE DECISION, the next book in The Friessens, a big family romance series fans worldw
ide have fallen in love with.

  Brad and Emily return in the most emotional romance yet; when faced with a decision no parent should have to make.

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