“Or I was thinking I could buy it.”
“I'll go halves with you.” He wasn't entirely sure why he'd offered to help in the land purchase, but now he had it felt right. He had the money, so why not. Anything to stop that bastard getting his hands on it.
“It's not pizza, Brad.”
“How much do you think?”
“Not rightly sure, but Newman is digging into it right now.”
“What are you worth?”
“Twelve million. You?” Ethan shot Brad a look.
“I beat you by two million.”
“No shit?”
“I've been investing, like I said. I'm good at it.”
“Well all right, go you, but the Buchanan land wouldn't be an investment offering a great return, Brad.”
“I wouldn't mind owning a chunk like that though. I could head on in there anytime I liked, and maybe even build a cabin there somewhere.”
“A holiday place,” Ethan mused. “Could be nice. It would be equally nice to piss EG off.”
“Hell yes.”
Ethan laughed. “It's a lot of money for no return,” he said again.
“It is, but I can take that hit, and you can too, depending on what that bitch Nadine Buchanan wants for it.”
Ethan nodded. “Okay, let's find out. We'll see if we can stop them with the conservation angle first, but we'll need to start inquiries. I'll have to get a broker involved, because I don't want Nadine Buchanan to know it's us.”
“Ethan, I don't want the townspeople to know.”
“No, I said that to Annabelle. If this goes ahead, only you, me, and her will know that we've bought it.”
“Deal.”
“Still can't believe Macy slapped her.”
Ethan’s smile matched Brad’s.
“That Buchanan woman had it coming, and you people need to stop thinking she's weak and protecting her. Macy is strong and capable.” Brad knew he shouldn't have said the words, as the silence settled around them. Ethan broke it first.
“What's the deal between you and Macy?”
“Deal?” Brad played for time.
“I'm not an idiot, and neither are most of the people who live here. You and her have a connection, and your behavior at the meeting reinforced that.”
Brad kept his eyes on the lake.
“We're friends.”
“Someone told me they saw her on the back of your bike the night of the wedding.”
“Not much gets by in this town.”
