He turned and walked away without another word, and that felt worse. I waved at the others as they filed out of the coffee shop after him.
I waited until I was alone before I sank back down into my seat and stared at the table.
I’d gone over it a hundred times. I’d voted the way I believed was right. It wasn’t about anything else. Not Trevor. Not my investment. And definitely not Preston. Or whatever had happened between us.
It was about the town and what I truly thought was best for Trickle Creek and the future.
But I couldn’t shake the way Preston looked at me with such hurt and betrayal in his eyes, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe I’d gotten it wrong.
Or worse, maybe in the process of doing the right thing, I’d lost something I wasn’t ready to let go of yet.
Chapter Twenty
Preston
“He’s getting so big!” Delaney ignored me completely, crouching down to greet the puppy who ran ahead of me into Brody’s house and family dinner.
“Is that dog in the house?” my big brother yelled from somewhere inside.
“He can’t stay outside, Uncle Brody.” Quinn jumped to the puppy’s defense. “He’s way too cute. Besides, he’s part of the family.”
“Yeah,” I called out. “What she said.”
I winked at my niece and offered her my first real smile all day.
Since before the meeting.
I was still fuming from the outcome of the vote. I’d almost canceled on family dinner altogether because I wasn’t in the mood to be around anyone, and given my instant annoyance upon walking into my brother’s house, that might have been the better choice.
“Hey, brother.” Ethan slapped me on the shoulder as hewalked into the living room and handed me a beer. “How did it go today?”
“What happened today?” Reid asked as he walked in the door.
“It was the committee vote,” Ethan answered for me. “How did it go?”
I shook my head and hoped it was enough to keep him from pushing the issue.
“That good, huh?” Ethan laughed, but I didn’t think there was anything funny about the way Jess had looked me in the eye and voted against me.
“So it’s a go?” Grayson joined us. “Honestly, I think it’s a good idea.”
“You what?” I could feel my blood pressure rising.
“Why not?” Grayson shrugged. “This town needs some more affordable housing. I know you’re not happy with the location, but to be fair, there aren’t a lot of?—”
“Of course I’m not happy with the location.” I jumped to my feet. “Do you have any idea how much it’s going to impact the trail systems? Never mind the wildlife corridor that runs through there.”
“Where else would you have it go?” he asked.
“Nowhere,” Reid answered for me. “We don’t need more out-of-towners moving in.”
I knew I could count on Reid to take my side. He probably hated the changes that were taking place in our town more than I did. Although his wife was one of thoseout-of-townershe railed against, and his stance had softened somewhat since she’d come into his life.
“Exactly,” I agreed with him. “We don’t need any more?—”
“What about all of the locals who need a place to live that isn’t over a million dollars?” Ethan argued. “You know that’s exactly how this town is going to go. The tourism has been amazing for Trickle Creek, obviously. But with it comes awhole host of other issues. One of them is affordable housing. Especially for people who are working service jobs. I’ve seen this with my employees at the brewery already. It’s hard to find something reasonable.”
“He has a point,” Brody agreed from across the room. “It’s kind of?—”
