And just like that, the brothers scattered to the four winds as if revelation day was upon them.
Three days later River sat in a white sterile room waiting for the boom to be lowered. She was nervous, upset, concerned, but mainly she was pissed off. How could she have been so stupid? After realizing what she had forgotten to do, she and her men ravaged her apartment looking for her birth control pills and found nothing. Not even an inkling they had ever been there. Since then, the tension in her apartment became unbearable.
She still couldn’t believe how stupid she was. She didn’t need this drama in her life. She had enough to contend with already, thanks to the library not going as planned. And she wasn’t even going to think about her relationship with the Sanchez brothers. Yet she had to give credit where credit was due. They were being troopers about the whole thing, even going as far as to treat her as if she was pregnant. But Goddess help her, she prayed she wasn’t. She wasn’t ready to be a mom, not by a long shot. Hell, she barely knew her men, even though she was learning a lot more about them lately. It was all just a shock, and eventually she knew that shock was going to wear off, and if she was, then reality was going to rear its ugly head.
When she told the brothers that she had made an appointment with Doc Jenkins, she did so to inform them, not expecting them to drop everything and go with her. When she tried to tell them that she was a big girl and handle the appointment by herself, well, before she could blink, all three of them were sitting in their truck waiting on her.
Stubborn men.
A soft knock at the door had her jerking her head up, as in walked the man of the hour, Andrew Jenkins, the town doctor of Treasure Cove. Doc Jenkins was a kind man. Happy and content, he was liked by many, including all of those who lived in Celestial. Hell, she couldn’t remember a time when she scrapped her knees, or broke a bone, that Doc Jenkins wasn’t there to help fix her. Still handsome as ever, she never got tired of looking at his salt-and-pepper hair and rugged good looks. And it just so happened he was the husband to one of her dearest friends, Macie.
“Hey, River, you want to tell me why I have three very large men pacing in my waiting room?”
“Sorry, doc, they’re here because I need a pregnancy test,” she said, not beating around the bush.
“You know you could have saved my nurse the grief and just got a home test over at the Buy-n-Go, right?”
“I know, but those three men out there insisted on a real doctor and a real test.”
“Didn’t you tell them that I’ll have you pee in a cup and stick that same test in it to get the same results, only that I’m going to charge you more for the inconvenience?”
“Yep,” River sighed.
“Maybe I’ll bill them instead.” Andrew laughed and handed her a cup. “Here ya go. Just leave it on the counter when you’re done. I’ll come back in five minutes and then you’ll know, okay?”
Taking the cup from him, River jumped off the table and headed for the bathroom. “Thanks, Doc.”
Chapter Twelve
“Where are you going?” Vanessa heard as she laced up her tennis shoes. She still couldn’t believe it but she was about to go out on her first morning run since her accident. It was still unbelievable. For the last three days, she had been in Colorado with Carter’s family. Well, mainly his father at his office, being fitted with the latest artificial limbs on the market. It was a dream come true, one that she could have never afforded. But thanks to the generosity, love, and support of Carter and his father, she was ready to go running.
She had tested out the new running limb while at James Technologies. The place was amazing. The leading company in artificial limbs for amputees, she realized that, what those men and women did, they were the true heroes. Because of them, people like her could once again have the mobility and freedom they once had before their accidents. Vanessa learned that not only did Mr. James provide artificial limbs for the military, but he also fully funded and supported a foundation called Laci’s Love. The foundation, named after his daughter, Carters younger sister Lacey, who lost her arm in a four-wheeling accident at the age of eight, fitted children with new arms and legs, totally free of charge.
Smiling, she looked up at Colby and said, “I am going for a run.”
“But your leg doesn’t work.”
“It does now. Your Grandpa James gave me a new leg that’s going to let me run like the wind again.”
“Does it hurt?” Colby asked.
“Does what hurt?”
“Your missing leg.”
“Sometimes.”
“How can it hurt if it’s not there?”
“It’s called phantom limb syndrome. Sometimes I can feel my leg as if it were still there. There have been times when I would wake up in the middle of the night and not remember losing my leg, so I would go to stand. It wasn’t until I fell to the floor that I remembered my leg was gone.”
“How did you lose your leg?”
“I was in a war and the bad guys…”
“Beat you up?”
“Yeah, you can kind of say that. They beat me up bad,” Vanessa admitted, then said, “I don’t remember much about that day, just waking up in a hospital.”
“That’s called time warping. I was watching a cartoon yesterday and an alien got hurt then time warped to the future so he could get help. He’s fine now and back to surfing the galaxy.”
Vanessa tried to hide her smile but couldn’t. She loved talking with Colby. He was such a bright and very inquisitive child. He genuinely cared when he asked about her, and she admired that trait in him. He was so much like his fathers it was sometimes surreal.
“Did Grandpa James just give you one leg? You know he has a whole room of terminator parts. He can build a cyborg quickly if the zombies ever attack.”
“Yeah, he can. Your grandpa gave me this leg for running and another to help me walk better.”
“I like that leg,” Colby said, pointing to the one she wore now. “It looks like a boomerang. Is it fast?”
“Very fast.”
“Can I see?”
“I’m going for a run. Would you like to go with me?”
“Can I ride my bike?”
As soon as she said the word “sure,” Colby was off running, whooping and hollering through the house. “Don’t forget to tell your dads, and your helmet!”
* * * *
River pulled onto the worksite and felt that something was off. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but looking at the construction of the foundation to the walls already going up, she knew something was wrong. Her laborers were all going about their business doing what they were supposed to be doing. She saw Lake walking around the trailer through one of the windows, and even Delta was about making sure the supplies were delivered.
Getting out of her truck, she stopped and looked at the new building. She couldn’t pinpoint what it was she was seeing, and chalked it up to belated stress from the last three days. She was happy with the news Doc gave her, and when she told her men, they seemed relieved, too. After they walked her to her truck, all three of them gave her a kiss good-bye and told her they would see her later at her place.
They had told her the other day that though they appreciated the job offer, they thought it would be best if they worked somewhere else. When Julio informed her that Gabriel Sexton had given him and Miguel a job over at the Pleasure Cave, she was happy for them. As for Victor, he was still out looking, but she knew he would find something eventually.
So, with them gone, that still left her a man short, and gave Delta the opportunity to grill a new worker, if she could find someone who didn’t know her. She loved her sister, she really did, but if Delta didn’t calm down and think before she spoke, River was afraid her sister was going to get herself into a position she wasn’t going to be able to talk herself out of.
As for Lake, River never really had to worry about her. Her little sister was too damn sweet and kind to do anything, besides, she was ha
ppiest sitting behind her computer. All River would have to worry about was a massive black out, where Lake was concerned.
“Hey, boss lady?”
“Hey, Samuel, what up?”
“The north side of the building isn’t measuring correctly. We’re short by two feet.”
“That can’t be. I measured and cut that side myself.”
“Just the messenger, boss lady. What do you want me to do?”
“Nothing, I’ll take care of it,” she said, slamming her truck door closed. She didn’t need this shit right now. She was already behind schedule as it was and if she had to redo the whole north side of the library, that would put her even further behind. Gathering up her tool belt and anything else she might need, she headed over to survey the damage.
River spent the better half of the next few hours premeasuring and coming up with a plan that would safely fix the missing feet to the wall. She didn’t like the idea of replacing the whole thing, but if she couldn’t figure out why the measurements were off, she was going to have, too. Taking a break, she headed over to the company’s trailer and went to talk with her sister. If anyone was good at figuring out problems, it was Lake.
“Hey, sis, how’s it going?” Lake said as she walked into the trailer. River grumbled and grabbed herself a cold bottle of water out of the mini fridge and sat down. “That good, huh?”
“The north face is off by two feet,” River admitted.
“How is that possible?”
“No clue. I measured that side myself. It was fine a week ago, but not anymore.”
“Could you lift the wall and add new supports?”
“We could, but that’s going to cause a bigger delay.”
“How much time would it take to just rebuild it?”
“A week.”
“Are you sure it’s off?”
“Samuel noticed something was wrong when he went to start cutting the plywood, so he premeasured and that’s when he found the problem. He told me when I arrived, and I went and measured. He was right. The whole north side of the library is off by two feet.”
“I’ve been hearing talk around town that Mr. Summerfield has already started drilling. I was driving past the Celestial Winery and noticed several odd machines out near Chardonnay’s place. Then I was passing the Connor Ranch and they had two of the same machines just outside their lands. Lilly McDaniels called me and she is fit to be tied. Apparently they have machines out near their property, too.”
“I thought he wasn’t going to start drilling until his big building was up?”
“I guess he decided to go ahead. I did some research on his company. He specializes in natural gas and minerals. His company swoops in and buys up land then depletes the area of its natural resources. To make matters worse, what he is doing is legal. If he continues to drill and put up more machines, this area is going to change. The last place he was at was somewhere in Russia. He bought the town and the surrounding lands and started drilling. Within five years, the land was destroyed. Nothing would grow there. He doesn’t give mother nature time to catch up.”
“Have you told Apollo this?” River asked.
“I called and sent him an e-mail with all of my information. He said he would look into it, but so far Mr. Summerfield hasn’t stepped foot in Celestial.”
“Maybe you should send that information to Matthew Jenkins. The town of Treasure Cove is protected with their charter.”
“Not anymore. The charter is null in void. The town got together and dissolved it, giving the lands back to the ranchers. So their land is safe. It’s the town of Treasure Cove that isn’t.”
“This town isn’t going to let someone come in and just buy it. They’ve been through so much already. They won’t stand for it. Besides, none of this has any bearing on the library. I’ve got to fix the north side. So get your mind working, sis, and give me an idea.”
“That’s what I’ve been doing.” Lake sighed in frustration. “When someone depletes an area of its natural gases and minerals, it leaves a void in the ecosystem. You’ve seen those big sinkholes popping up all around the world, right? Well, in some of those cases the ecosystem has been disturbed. It’s like strip mining, if you remove everything out of a mine, eventually the mine will die. Over time the instability of it would collapse on itself.”
“But that would take years, decades, even.”
“Not if it was done in such a way that who was mining didn’t replenishes the ecosystem. Look, there are right ways to do things and wrong. It’s the same with building this library. You can’t just start with the bricks and windows, you have to have a solid foundation first and build from the inside out. The same works for drilling and mining. If Mr. Summerfield isn’t replenishing what he removes, or goes too fast and cut corners, then he is creating a disaster waiting to happen. Back in the early fifties Treasure Cove closed its mining company because they had depleted most of its resources. Back then, no one knew about the ecosystem and what the effects of mining would do to an area. Now we do. Did you know that in the last fifty years, that scientist have been going down into the Treasure Cove mine and have found that it’s starting to flourish again? But it took fifty years just for that little bit to happen. It’s still not ready to be reopened, and won’t be for at least another fifty years. I guess what I am saying is that if Mr. Summerfield isn’t careful, he could cause a major disaster in this area and not know it.”
“Okay, wow.” River smiled. “Uh, thanks for the science lesson, sis. Not sure how it’s going to help me fix the north side, though.”
“We need a geologist to come out and test the land. If it’s unstable, then the library will have to be moved.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Hey, you asked,” Lake replied nonchalantly.
“Well, this is just fucking great. I don’t know any geologists, let alone how much they cost, or how to go about getting them out here,” River ranted as she walked out of the trailer into the hot noonday sun.
* * * *
Vanessa had never felt more free in her life. She didn’t even mind the fire burning in her chest as she ran past the wide open fields, seeing cattle graze and going about their day as if it were nothing seeing a woman with an artificial leg running past them. It was a hot day, but she didn’t care. She was running again. Her life was full of joy and merriment. Even Colby, who was behind her, pedaling as fast as his little legs could, seemed to be having fun.
She wasn’t sure about taking him along with her at first, but relented when she saw how excited he was. This was their first time alone together and if she was going to marry his fathers, she needed to know if she could be around the young boy. So far, everything was great. Colby was attentive and listened to everything she said. He didn’t talk much as she ran, just the occasional question here and there, but mainly he asked how her leg was doing. Vanessa appreciated his concern. She, too, was worried, knowing that the ground wasn’t the most even thing, but so far, her new leg was working like a charm.
“Van, look!” Colby shouted, pointing ahead. Vanessa smiled. “Wow, we ran all the way to town.”
“You ran, I just rode my bike. This is the farthest I’ve ever gone. Daddy Peter won’t let me go past the driveway.”
“Well, you’re young, Colby. You need an adult with you if you want to go further.”
“Can I go with you next time you run? I can ride my bike and keep up. I won’t get tired.”
“I know, but do you really want to get up at five in the morning to ride your bike?”
Colby thought about that for a minute, and said, “I guess not. The sun won’t be up then.”
“We can go on the weekends, though, if you have a good week at school.”
“Really?”
“Yep, I don’t mind, as long as your dads are okay with it.”
“They will be.” Colby smiled, pedaling faster.
“How about we stop in over at Macie’s Diner and get us something to drink before
we head back?” Vanessa asked as they ran closer to the town.
“I can get a milkshake!”
“Sure, right after you drink a glass of water.”
“Oh, man,” Colby sighed, and Vanessa chuckled.
Chapter Thirteen
The Sanchez brothers stood against the wall in the large conference room at the Pleasure Cave as they listened to Matthew Jenkins and Alexander Ellis try to explain the dilemma before them. All of the descendants of the founding families of Treasure Cove were in attendance, even some who weren’t, like Vanessa’s men, Peter, Carter, and Brice along with Micah O’Brian and Daniel Meyer. All were concerned with the latest information regarding Tristan Summerfield, but none knew the severity of what he was planning.
“This is bullshit,” Travis Quinn exclaimed. “I say we just run the fucker out of town.”
“I agree. The sooner that son of a bitch is gone, the better,” Steven Connor added.
“Look, gentlemen, we need to tread carefully here,” Gabriel Sexton advised diplomatically. “We can’t stop him from buying the land, but maybe there is something we can do about his drilling. I don’t know about you, but I for one happen to love our little community. If this Mr. Summerfield brings his company here, then our little town is going to have a lot of new faces.”
“Boosting the economy of Treasure Cove isn’t a bad idea, but we’re talking about roughnecks and drillers, men who are paid quite nicely for their services. Some of these men are bound to be prior military and I, for one, won’t deny a fellow soldier the right to work,” Micah added.
“We’re not denying anyone anything, Micah,” Matthew said. “We’re are concerned that what Mr. Summerfield is doing isn’t legal.”
“You know this asshole, Alex, what is your take on all of this?” Jeff Hicks asked.
“Tristan Wallace Summerfield is a real character,” Alex began. “He grew up in New York and attended Oxford with me and Gabriel. He is driven, determined, and a force to be reckoned with if anyone gets in his way. He can be a formidable enemy or the best friend you’d ever have. I’ve tried talking to him, but he’s determined. Once Tristan’s made up his mind, there is nothing that will stop him.”
Her Dirty Doms [The Men of Treasure Cove 13] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 12