From the moment Vance Steiner and his Argent Group business card had arrived in town I had been one giant knot of anxiety. Being with Rory, and letting everything go in the moment and letting everything Argent represented for both of us wash away, was cathartic in a way. Something we both needed.
I held Rory while she cried, I held her once she stopped. The two of us stood under the water, only moving when the water was too cold for us to handle.
Stepping out, I wrapped a towel around my waist, while I dried her off. Then I wrapped a towel around her while I dried myself. Digging through my dresser drawer, I found a T-shirt forher and sweatpants for me. “Do you want me to plug in the hair dryer? I don’t think you should sleep with wet hair.”
“As long as you can handle the raggedy Anne doll look in the morning, I don’t care. I want to go to bed. And I want you to be there with me.”
CHAPTER 18
Rory
The Win
Two weeks.Fourteen days of obsessively checking my phone. Nothing. There was no mention of the kidnapping or anything else that had happened in Cypress Cliffs. No talk about the fake water survey, or the kidnapping of the newcomer in town. I had yet to check my phone since I woke up, but I would soon.
I reached for Rafe’s T-shirt and headed for the bathroom. There was something I needed to do before I was ready to go downstairs. Getting everything ready, I took care of business and then brushed my teeth and washed my face while I waited. I even flossed to kill more time while I waited for the results.
I leaned my ass against the counter and stared at the stick. As soon as it confirmed what I already knew, I left it on the counter and headed back into the room.
The voices downstairs indicated how late I was. Allie and Calvin were already there. It was the third Sunday since the Crush and the third time the four of us were meeting for Sunday morning breakfast. Allie would get the bread from Mr.Henderson. Rafe got the eggs from the chickens once he finished the morning chores.
I slipped into a pair of sweat pants and a thick sweater before I made my way downstairs.
Rafe stood at the stove, shirtless with an apron, while Calvin cut the fruit, and Allie picked at the blueberries Calvin kept aside for her.
“No one woke me.”
I pouted at Rafe but Allie was the one to answer me. “Because we all know better than to wake you on a weekend morning.”
“Rude.” But true. “What do I need to do?”
Rafe pointed the spatula at my usual chair. “Sit your sexy ass down.” He walked to the coffee machine and poured me a cup before adding creamer and pushing both the mug and the sugar in my direction. “Calvin has news.”
I tried not to make it obvious I was not drinking it.
“Oh.” My heart skipped a beat as I imagined what he had to tell us. I had news as well, but wondered for a moment if I should share it with Rafe alone before the rest of the world. “Has it got to do with my brother?”
“Somewhat, yes.” Calvin cut the last of the fruit and sat across from me at the table. “Rumor has it Vance Steiner is out of a job. The Crush did what it was supposed to. With Rafe’s abundance of water, it forced another survey, and the investors who hadn’t already pulled out, did so when the study came back saying there was no viable aquifer.”
“And,” Rafe said as he flipped pancakes. “The land went up for sale late yesterday. And as soon as the alert popped up on your phone, I called Joel Pederson.” He smiled over at me. “And when Calvin and I came in from town this morning we saw the realtor pulling out the “For Sale” sign. Which means.”
Allie hopped up and down on the spot. “The land has been sold.”
The four of us whooped and cheered, and the noise echoed around the kitchen.
I scanned the kitchen for my phone and Allie handed it to me. “It was on the charger.”
I checked through all the alerts. I couldn’t stop my brother from taking over small town America, but I could keep an eye on him. While it was unlikely The Argent Group would be back in Cypress Cliffs anytime soon, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. And I wanted to be prepared when it did happen.
“Anything else? I mean if Vance is what you thought, then getting him away from my brother is a good thing. Right.” I remembered Calvin’s words the night they rescued me. And the last thing I wanted was for my brother to corrupt a man because he was weak.
“Right. But I’ll let Allie tell you the other news.” He could barely contain the smile spreading across his handsome face.
Allie buzzed with excitement. “So uhm, I took a test yesterday. And I’m pregnant.”
I jumped out of my seat and ran over to hug her. “Congratulations, sweetie. I am so excited for you.” I stepped away from her and hugged Calvin. “You’re going to make such great parents.”
“I came off the pill the week before the wedding and here we are three weeks later.”
