She set down the tray and sack on the dining room table, then got out a couple of plates. “Blueberry muffins. Fresh baked this morning, Riva said.”
Harlan set down his phone and walked over to the table. “Great.” They both sat and began eating. “What do you have planned for today?”
“I’m not sure.” She drank coffee before she added, “You got a text while you were in the shower.”
“Okay.” He took a sip of coffee.
“I was getting the apartment key when it dinged.”
A little puzzled, he said again, “Okay.”
“I wasn’t snooping.”
He began to get an inkling of where she was going. “I didn’t think you were.”
“Why did you get a text from my father?”
Damn. “Saw that, did you?” He hadn’t planned on telling her, or at least, not until later.
“Yes. What is signed and why is your lawyer involved?”
“Your father and I are doing some business together.”
“That’s what it looked like, but I find that hard to believe. You and my father in business together?” She shook her head. “No. No way in hell. You hate each other.”
“You don’t have to like someone to do business with them.”
“What business could you possibly have with him?”
“It’s a land deal. We’ve bought some land for development out by the airport, on the Pedernales. Most likely we’ll put up condos.”
She stared at him. “You can’t be talking about Serenity Valley. He and a couple of other men are planning on putting a spa there. Besides, the idea of you going into partnership with my father is, at best, ludicrous.”
“Nevertheless, we are. The other investors had to drop out and he needed someone else to put up the money. It sounded like a good deal, and I agreed, on the condition we put up individual townhouses that will be more suited to the landscape.”
“And he agreed, just like that.”
“He didn’t have a lot of choice. He needed the money and I had it.”
She picked up her coffee cup and drank from it. “He’s in trouble, isn’t he? Something about this deal got him into trouble. I knew it sounded chancy but he wouldn’t listen to me. Not that he ever does.”
“He’s not in trouble. Now.”
“You bailed him out. Why in the world would you bail him out after what he’s done to us? And why in hell would he come to you for help?”
Harlan sighed. “He didn’t come to me. I heard about it and offered to invest. He didn’t have any other offers, so he took me up on it.”
“Fifty-fifty?”
“Seventy-thirty. I’m the seventy.”
“This makes absolutely no sense. Does this mean you and he have made up your differences?”
“Not exactly. I suspect he still doesn’t like me.” Hell, Taylor still hated him. Probably always would. Especially now that Taylor owed him.
“Why? Why would you help him out?”
“It wasn’t that big a deal. It’s going to be a good investment, now that we’re not putting up some monstrosity spa that’s so expensive hardly anyone could afford it. Besides, I didn’t do it for him, I did it for you.” She looked at him in confusion. “He’s your father, Savannah. No matter what, you love him. You’re going to forgive him eventually.” He shrugged. “You wouldn’t be happy if he went bankrupt.”
