Everyone who passed Brad had something to say to him. It was downright off-putting. He was slapped on the back, and a few women even hugged him.
“That woman just touched my ass.” Brad shook his head.
“Gussie Neeps. Local fudge maker and yes, she's grabbed mine before now,” Jake said.
They stood and nodded and said good-bye until the only ones left in the church were Ethan, Annabelle, Macy, Newman, Cubby, Katie, Brad, and Jake.
“Our father would have sent those men here, and I'm thinking this is going to get a whole lot worse, now we know it's personal,” Ethan said. “He won't stop until he gets what he wants, and Brad and I think it's motivated by vengeance.”
“You think he'd sink some of his precious millions into a piece of land just to spite his sons?”
Brad looked at the faces before him as Newman spoke. He felt different here. Like an onion that was slowly having pieces of itself peeled back, exposing its hidden center. What he'd done, wanting to hurt that lawyer simply because he'd threatened Macy, that wasn't Brad. None of what he was feeling was.
He liked them, all of them, he realized, looking around him. They were good people, with everyday flaws and issues. But fundamentally good, and he'd never been exposed to this kind of closeness before. He had his friends now, but none of them made him feel like his chest was set on simmer.
“You know what I'm saying, Jake. EG would not have shown interest in this venture unless it was on Howling's doorstep.”
“Sure, I get that,” Newman said. “But here's the thing. If you hadn't been here, my money’s on Nadine Buchanan still wanting to sell off that land, whether it was to your father or someone else. We would still be fighting this with someone at some time.”
“Bitch.”
Brad found a smile at the hiss from Macy. She looked like an angry angel. Her hair was all over the place in a riot of waves, and she wore worn jeans, sneakers, and a pale lavender fitted T-shirt. She looked like a pissed-off teenager.
“Now, slugger, that attitude is what got this mess all bent out of shape, and your knight in shining armor here charging to your defense.”
Brad could feel them looking at him, but he focused on Newman, who was speaking.
“If we have any hope of winning this, we need to be professional from start to finish. No more raging emotions. No more threats. Nothing to get us off side further.”
“I never used to be violent.” Macy looked confused.
“Well here comes your boy, so let's all dial it back a bit,” Ethan said.
Billy was with his Aunt Milly. Brad watched the woman approach with the boy’s hand in hers. Scowl fixed in place, eyes narrowed, she stomped down the hard wooden floors in her black lace-up boots.
“Hey, big boy.”
Annabelle grabbed him and pulled Billy in for a hug.
“I want to research the land.”
“Ah, sure, Ms. Lawrence,” Newman said, looking uneasy.
“If we can find a reason for it not to be developed, that's the angle we should take.”
Everyone nodded, then the woman stomped out.
“Dad said she was a good lawyer. I just can't see it myself,” Jake McBride said. “Can't imagine she'd endear herself to clients.”
There was a chorus of amens to that.
Chapter 13
Macy heard the deep male voice, and knew Brad Gelderman had arrived. Billy had let him into the house, and he was here to go and pick up her son's new puppy. The one she'd decided to let him have after their trip to the Buchanan land.
“Mom, TJ's here.”
“Hey,” she said as he walked into the kitchen, taking up the space and sucking the air out of the environment. He wore the blue shorts today, and a gray T-shirt with the faded word Texas on it and a map of the state. As usual he looked drop-dead gorgeous.
