Falling Deep
Page 25
“Now that Her Highness has arrived, can we eat?” Reed grumbled.
“Don’t tease your sister,” Mrs. Hopewell admonished. “Louise?”
A tiny woman carrying a tray of dishes bustled into the room.
Sam gazed around the table as he ate, trying to take mental notes so that he would be able to describe it all perfectly to Ever in his next letter.
“So, Sam,” Mrs. Hopewell began. “Greg has told me how lucky Leon feels to have stumbled upon you earlier this spring. We’re glad you’re with us. How long do you plan on staying in Nelson Island? Do we get to keep you past August?”
Sam took a bite of a crab cake, chewing slowly to savor the delicious flavor. He thought of the best way to answer her question so as to discourage any further wonderings.
“I’m not sure, ma’am. I’d like to stay on at least until the end of summer. My plans depend on, uh, a friend back home and a special situation. So after summer ends I’ll have to play things by ear. I’m grateful to y’all for having me, though. I really needed the work.”
“Dude, you’ve gotta drop the ‘ma’am’ thing. I can’t take it much longer.” Reed leaned forward, lacing his fingers together above his plate.
Sam shook his head. “Can’t help it, man. It’s called manners. You ever try them?”
“Oh, low blow, Sam! Low blow. You don’t need to impress them, dude. They clearly already love you.”
Mr. Hopewell cleared his throat. “Stop it, Reed. Sam, don’t listen to him. We really do appreciate your hard work. We want you to know that you can think of yourself as part of the family while you’re here.”
“Yeah, right, Daddy.” Aston rolled her eyes skyward again. “One of the family who works in the fields, right?”
“Actually,” Mr. Hopewell began, “Leon has seen some management potential in Sam. He told me about the improvements you’ve made to the efficiency of the ranch. But you realize raising horses is only one arm of Hopewell Enterprises. Most of the capital comes from our energy division. And finding efficiencies is our biggest goal there. Leon mentioned that you were employed in automotive repair previously?”
Sam nodded. “I worked on a lot of cars at the garage back home. None ran on alternative fuels, but I know something about it. I rebuilt the engine on my Harley myself.”
“Well, if you’re interested, I thought you might help out my assistant. She’s got her hands full with a brand-new baby at home, and Leon found a few more people to do day-to-day labor at the ranch. I thought this could give you the opportunity to learn more of the business end of things. You remind me of a young me. I didn’t grow up with the kind of advantages my children”—he shot pointed glances at Aston and Reed—“enjoy. I had to work my way through college, and I started Hopewell Enterprises from the ground up. You’re a hard worker and I think all you need is a break and the right hand guiding you.”
“I don’t know what to say, sir—”
“Of course, I’ll increase your hourly wage as befits the new position,” Mr. Hopewell added.
“Mr. Hopewell, that’s beyond generous. I don’t even know what to say.”
Sam had been so busy worrying about how he could help Ever for as long as he could remember, that he’d never thought much about what came next for him. His 3.5 GPA in high school had gone untapped because, even though he was scouted by some D III schools for football, he hadn’t ever been able to think about leaving her and going to college. Her father would have never let her go.
“Just think about what you want for your future, son. That’s all I’m asking. And I can help put you on the path to get there.”
Sam nodded slowly. “Thank you, sir. I will.”
Louise brought out the main course, Cornish hens laden with dried fruit and tiny pearl onions and potatoes. Sam inhaled every bite, dimly aware of Aston’s crystal blue eyes burning into him from across the table.
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Contents
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Epilogue
About the Author
An Excerpt from WANTING FOREVER
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Also in the Nelson Island Series
Newsletters
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Di
ana Gardin
Excerpt from Wanting Forever copyright © 2014 by Diana Gardin
Cover design by Elizabeth Turner. Cover image from Shutterstock. Cover copyright © 2015 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First ebook edition: April 2015
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ISBN 978-1-4555-6097-4
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