by Heidi Hormel
“Gertie,” Jessie said. “You stop that noise and kicking your uncle, or we won’t go pick out a new lead rope for Molly. They have sparkly ones here.”
“Darkles,” Gertie said on a breath of love and joy. Danny knew that he’d lost her. He put her on the ground.
Lavonda said to Jessie, “What’s that diva pony of yours up to? Is she teaching Gertie to ride, too? Or is she too busy starring on YouTube?” Lavonda turned to Jolene and said, “That pony is more famous than one of those viral video cats.”
“Her last video did well,” Jessie said of her childhood pony with diva tendencies.
“T’ome,” Gertie said, tugging on her mother’s hand. “Darkles.”
“I better go help,” Lavonda said as she hurried off.
“Not very subtle,” Danny said to Jolene.
“My sister’s about the same. Don’t worry. I’m just here for the rental property and to buy salve that Lavonda told me about. She said she uses it on her donkey and it heals up anything.”
He and Jolene strolled around the market. She was a good companion on a crappy day. See. He was an adult no matter what his sisters imagined. He was already making plans for the next stage of his life. It wouldn’t include Jolene no matter what scheme his sisters had hatched. The woman had her own plan, which politely but firmly did not include a bull-riding cowboy.
“Thanks for telling me about the town. It sounds like the kind of place that might be open to what I want to do,” Jolene said as the stands at the market started to close up.
“It’s a good town. It’ll be changing, though, so it’s time for me to move on.”
“I can understand. Good luck with SAC. I hope to be around for that. Sounds like a good time.”
“It will be. We’re just out to have fun. We even have an amateur event planned.”
“Maybe I’ll see you then,” she said, waving as she walked away.
His sisters had said goodbye an hour ago, carrying a pink sequined lead rope for Molly along with a silver-and-pink halter. He was glad they’d already left because he needed to be on his own. He got stopped at least a half a dozen times as he tried to leave the market. He wouldn’t miss this, would he? When he was out on the road and riding. It was a lot to feel responsible for an entire town. That had never been his intention. Plus, they didn’t need him anymore. Right? They’d chosen Van Camp over him. He tried to convince himself he hadn’t been hurt by that because it was all business.
He ignored the next three greetings. They didn’t want his vision for a better Angel Crossing, fine. Good to remember that. He should be out of here not long after SAC.
“Hey, Mayor,” Bobby Ames yelled out from his booth with stuffed and mounted animals in dioramas. “We need your signature on the agreement with VCW.”
“No” shot out of his mouth before he could shut up.
“Don’t be a sore loser.”
“I’m not a loser. Angel Crossing is,” Danny said close enough to Bobby to see the hairs in the stuffed animals. Danny wasn’t sure where the words were coming from. “I resign as mayor because I can’t agree to a project that will destroy the heart of this town.”
“Don’t you mean that will break your heart?” Bobby asked.
“Shut it or I’ll...shove one of these damned football-playing squirrels where the sun don’t shine.”
His words echoed around the suddenly quiet market.
“That doesn’t sound very mayoral,” said Clover’s daddy, who’d popped up like a gopher from a hole just behind him. He should be back in New York counting his money, not still hanging around the town he ruined. “But what can anyone expect from a bull rider whose brains have been rattled loose?”
The anger that Danny hadn’t known he’d been holding back all day exploded. He turned to Heyer and grabbed him by the collar. “A bull rider who treats Clover with respect and love, unlike her own damned father.”
Shit. He dropped his hands and stared at them. What had he just said? He couldn’t mean it, could he? That he loved Clover.
Chapter Fourteen
Clover looked around Dead Man’s Cottage and sighed. She needed to pack. Her work here was done. She was going back to New York and her new office. How had the place gotten so full of her stuff when she was just renting? There had been trips to the farmers’ market, where she’d picked up scarves and table runners from the weavers. Then she’d found out about a tag sale. Thanks so much, Pepper. That had added an old-fashioned sewing table, a kitschy lamp and a beautiful pot of Native American origin—although no one was exactly sure from which tribe or what decade. The closet in her bedroom, which had started out with a reasonable number of outfits, had exploded. Her mother had sent care packages of clothing.
Looking at it wouldn’t get it packed or thrown away. She would have to jettison a lot of what she’d gathered here...including Danny and all of the memories they’d made. Wow. That was sappy. Maybe she needed to start a greeting-card company.
She was being too hard on herself. Every woman was allowed to revisit an old lover. Not that they’d been much to write home about when they’d been teens. Danny had certainly learned a lot since then, which didn’t exactly make Clover feel any better about the situation.
Stop obsessing, she told herself. She was an MBA graduate of Wharton. She knew how to get things done. Yeah, hire someone. That made her laugh because that was one of her mama’s sayings, much sassier and more understandable than Danny’s mother’s.
She might like to hire someone for the grunt work of packing, but she’d still have to decide what to keep and what to pitch. That was the real work. Maybe she should call Pepper and ask her to come over. Then she could give her the clothing and household items that others in Angel Crossing could use. The woman had an encyclopedic knowledge of everyone in town and what they might or might not be lacking. They could make it a girls’ night. Did she have any wine and snacks to make it really fun?
Her phone rang. It was probably Pepper. No such luck. It was Mama.
“I understand that Van Camp owns Angel Crossing now,” her mama said.
“Hello to you, too.”
“This is a business call, darlin’. No time for hello.”
“You don’t care about Daddy’s business, unless it means he can’t make the next separation payment. I still don’t know how you managed that.”
“I care about you, and this plan... Well, I just don’t think this is what you signed on for.”
“I came up with the current plan,” Clover said, frustrated that her mama was still trying to convince her to leave VCW.
“I don’t think what your daddy is putting his money behind is your plan.”
“Of course it’s mine. Daddy sent me to Angel Crossing to fix Knox’s mistake. Mama, just tell me what you’re dying to say.” Clover was so tired of the sniping her parents still indulged in after years of separation.
“You’ve spent too much time in New York. You know that I like to work up to saying things that aren’t going to be heard well by others.”
What the— “Mama,” Clover said, hoping that her level of frustration was clear in those two syllables.
“If you insist, darlin’. Your father is building Rico Pueblo’s gated section on a historic site that will be destroyed.” Clover tried to interrupt. “He’s working fast so the state doesn’t find out. He’s also lining up the same legislators and the lawyers to oust every one of the current residents. Then he’ll build housing outside of town for a VCW workforce. A modern-day company town.”
“I made sure the historic site was worked into the plan, and there’s no way we can just kick people out of their houses.” But she hadn’t seen what her father had presented at that executive meeting, now that she thought about it. What had he shown them then? He’d been slick about telling her his paperwork was e
lsewhere. Damn.
“Darlin’, I don’t like to be the one to tell you this, but Knox called me.”
“He’s the reason I came out here.” That and the promise of being CFO.
“Not exactly. He told your daddy no. That’s when Heyer called you.”
Her heart hurt. Why did she let herself think she was his first choice? Why? She wasn’t a little girl anymore. “Daddy lied to me from the beginning, didn’t he? I’ve got to stop him.”
“I don’t think even you can do that.”
“We’ll see,” Clover said, tears in her eyes. She hung up before she started to cry. She wanted to be a CFO. Her response to a crisis was not tears. It was a new strategy.
Danny had been right, or something like right. Her reason for coming to Angel Crossing might have been all about business, but she didn’t want to be in the business of running people out of their houses and destroying their community and its history.
Wait. Maybe her mother had misunderstood or was even using Clover as another means of getting back at her sort-of ex-husband. Clover would call Knox, or at least email him.
She’d been so sure she could do it herself and was getting what she wanted from her father, not just the title but also his respect. Now she couldn’t understand why’d she ever wanted that from him.
Still, he was her daddy. First talk with Knox and find out if Mama had the right end of the bull.
* * *
“MAMA SAID YOU’D call me,” Knox said when he answered his phone.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Clover decided she should be just as mad at Knox as at her father—if it was all true.
“I assumed you knew. You were the one telling Daddy how you’d fix anything I’d done to ruin the project.”
“He told me it was a revitalization of the town. I created Rico Pueblo to provide VCW and the residents with a good deal. Everyone would have come out ahead.”
“I find it hard to believe he didn’t show you any of this. He was so proud. He was going to show Mama how her down-home folks really were willing to sell their history for the right price.”
“Are you telling me this is still all about them and their marriage? This is getting beyond old, and now it could ruin the lives of a whole lot of people. We’ve got to stop them.” Clover was ashamed for the first time in her life. Not that she’d never been embarrassed by her fast-talking, tailored-suit-wearing daddy. He’d never fit into Texas, where Clover had always felt most comfortable.
“This is your fight now. I already fought him and I’m done. I’m happy enough in Hong Kong, and I’ll be back in New York in a year or so. I’ve got plans for my life, too, Clover.”
She and her little brother had never been close—too much time spent apart with her in Texas and him in New York. She shouldn’t have expected him to defy their father for a second time. After all, she was the big sister. Before she could tell him it was all right, he went on. “You can always run back to Mama and Cowgirl’s Blues. I’ve got VCW and that’s it. That’s the way it’s always been.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t want to make things harder for you. I’ll solve this myself. I’m not going to let Daddy change Angel Crossing. Rico Pueblo is dead.”
“I wish you luck, and remember that the board still has to approve anything of this magnitude.” Knox hung up. She guessed that was as much help as he was going to give. He was right. She could always crawl back to Mama and beg for a job. Where would Knox go? He’d worked only for VCW. He’d only ever had their father, who’d made sure his heir apparent had a Knickerbocker upbringing with private schools, nannies and a seat on the Van Camp board.
Hold on. Knox had a seat on the board. And Clover knew a number of the other longtime members. She couldn’t imagine that they’d be thrilled with what her father had schemed to make happen.
She’d call Lavonda, who’d been in PR. Clover’d bet she could spin this so that Heyer would look bad enough the board would make him pull out of the deal. Since this was about Angel Crossing—Danny’s town—Lavonda would help, right?
* * *
VISITING LAVONDA HAD been a bust. She said that she wouldn’t help Clover unless Danny said it was okay. She blamed Clover, more or less, for the mess the town was about to be in. She couldn’t really blame the other woman for her attitude.
What next? Should Clover approach Danny? Did she want to? He’d called her names and treated her like dirt. Time, as they say, to put on her big-girl panties—which made her think thong, which made her think hot nights, which made her think seeing Danny again was a really, really bad idea.
She didn’t usually walk away from a challenge and this was more than a challenge. This was her saving the town that her father’s plan—the one that she’d opened the door for—would destroy. Danny had been right. Wouldn’t he love hearing those words from her? Yes, he would, but she didn’t need to say them in front of the whole of Angel Crossing. She needed to find him alone. She knew how to do that. He might not be a creature of habit, but Maggie May was.
Clover waited quietly at the end of the lot behind the diner where Danny let the dog out in the evening. This was the last trip for the night. It had taken Clover that long to work up her courage, outline what she would say and gird her loins against the pull of Danny. She tried to smile at the last picture. It was up there with her big-girl thong.
Maggie May ran right up to her. Danny hung back, his face devoid of emotion. Fortunately, the dusk-to-dawn light and the full moon made the lot bright enough for Clover to read his face. She leaned down and rubbed the dog’s head. “How did she take her last baby moving on?”
“Fine. She’ll be ready to adopt as soon as I can find the time and money to have her spayed.”
“Let me know how much and I can take care of that.”
“Of course you can. I keep forgetting you just finished buying up the town.”
“I just want to help.”
“We don’t need your kind of help.” He turned away from her, leading Maggie May away with a signal from his hand. The dog looked over her shoulder, definitely letting Clover know that she didn’t approve of Danny’s rudeness.
“I have a plan.” Clover started after him.
“Where have I heard that before?”
She didn’t let his back or his cold tone stop her. “You were right.” She held her breath but he didn’t turn around and open his arms to her. But she hadn’t expected him to. Not really. “Did you hear me?”
“I heard you.”
“Aren’t you going to say something else?”
“What is there to say?” He turned and Maggie May sat, her soft eyes looking at Clover with doggy pity as she leaned against Danny’s leg. “You think admitting you were wrong makes it all better? This isn’t about us or anything we did.” His chest heaved once, twice, before he went on. “This isn’t about winning or losing. This is about a town filled with good people who’ve been trying to survive. You and your father are going to finally break this place. The mine closing a decade ago didn’t do what you and your millions in revitalization will do. How is this fixable? I didn’t fight for Angel Crossing to prove I was right or even to make money. I did it because this place matters. These people matter.”
“I know. That’s why I—”
“I’m not going through this argument again. This is old ground. Come on, Maggie May.” He started back to his apartment. The dog trotted at his booted heels, looking over her shoulder like she wanted Clover to follow.
“Danny,” Clover said, not caring that her voice cracked with desperation. “I’ve got to make this right and I can. I care about Angel Crossing, too.” She paused, trying to find the words that would change his mind. “I spoke with my brother, Knox, and we can fix this. He stepped away because of what Daddy wanted to do. He’s with me... Danny, I know you don’t believe me and I
understand why, but believe this—I don’t care if my father fires me. I’m going to make sure that Angel Crossing and its history is protected.”
“Whatever,” Danny said as he continued up the stairs.
“Why won’t you listen to me? Don’t you see? I’m doing this for you.” Wait. What? Why had she just said that? Her chest tightened in surprise and fear.
“That’s low even for you,” Danny said, half turning to her. “Saying that you care about me, using what we—”
“That’s not why I said that. I mean, I do care about you.” She couldn’t breathe because she didn’t just care about him. She loved him. Her feet wouldn’t move and her mouth wouldn’t open.
“Yeah. That’s what I thought you’d say. Go, Clover. Go back to New York. That’s where you belong.”
She watched him climb the last few steps. She wanted to shout to him to stop. She couldn’t because she didn’t understand what her heart had just relayed to her brain. She couldn’t really be in love with Danny Leigh. That had been teenage beauty queen Clover Anastasia. Grown-up Ms. Van Camp, MBA, had much different tastes and plans.
Her feet finally moved. She found her car and drove back to Dead Man’s Cottage. She’d told Danny she’d make things right and he still didn’t believe her. How could he when she didn’t believe what she’d just admitted to herself, that she loved him. She plopped down in the sagging armchair. She needed to examine all of this. Did she really love Danny? Was she imagining her feelings because she’d been deprived of his very fine body? No, that was stupid. Even as a shallow teen, she wouldn’t have been able to convince herself that sex and love were the same thing. Making love with Danny had been, could be again... Oh. My. God. She’d loved him. Always. That was why they’d lost their virginity to each other more than a decade ago. They’d been in love.
Okay. Say she really did love Danny. What difference did it make? He hated her for good reason. She’d helped her father implement a plan that would ruin the town Danny loved.
