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“Still don’t,” Tina says.

I shoot her a warning look.

I take a deep breath and face the crowd again.

“These businesses aren’t numbers on a spreadsheet,” I go on, projecting my voice into the very back. “They’re people’s lives. They’re memories. They’re families. They’re what makes this place ours. They’re what makes the Greene Mountains so special.”

A murmur of agreement rolls through the room.

“And now three outsiders show up with a pile of money and start making offers to everyone like the Greene Mountains are some kind of billionaire buffet they happened to stumble across.”

Someone in the back says, “Damn right.”

“They’re trying to own us,” I say. “They already bought Jack Jameson’s. They bought the bowling alley. They bought the old movie theater. They tried to buy Warm Loaf. They made an offer on Greene Mountain Stables.”

I lean closer to the microphone.

“And this morning, Dane Keaton tried to buy Greene Mountain Bungee.”

Tina’s hand shoots up. “I have a question.”

“Is it about donuts?”

She slowly lowers it.

“We can’t let them get away with this,” I say.

“What do you want us to do?” Tyler from the Greene Mountain Stables asks. “Chase them out with torches and pitchforks?”

I’d chase them out all by myself if it wasn’t against the law.

“I want everyone to ignore them,” I say. “Shun them completely. They shouldn’t feel welcome anywhere in this town.”

People start looking at each other with unease. Everyone in the Greene Mountains is too nice. They’re too welcoming. I’m not sure if I can get them on board for a good old fashioned town-wide snubbing.

“This is how it starts,” I say. “One business. Then another. Then another. And before you know it, every place you grew up with belongs to somebody who doesn’t understand it, doesn’t love it, and doesn’t care what happens to it as long as the numbers keep going up.”

That gets the room quiet again.

“I don’t want to wake up one day and find out the Greene Mountains have been bought out from under us. Prices will go up and then we won’t be able to raise our kids here. We’ll be forced to leave, one at a time.”

Tina raises her hand again.

I close my eyes.

“What?”

She’s about to talk when the door slams open.

My eyes dart up and narrow when I see Dane walking in.

His brother and sister are on either side of him, a step behind.

The room is full of people, but his heated green eyes are locked on me as he walks up the aisle like he owns the place.

I hate him.

I hate how he acts like he belongs here.