He drew back from her warmth. “I’d better leave. I have a ton of paperwork to get through tonight, and when I checked my voice mail, there were no fewer than three messages from Erica demanding I meet with her and Daniel.”
“Demanding?” Sabina’s eyes were on her hands as she fumbled for her linen tote bag on the floor of the car.
“Probably `begging’ is a better term. Erica can get melodramatic at times. I’m never sure if the crisis is major or minor.” He suspected the latter. There had been a determined note in Erica’s voice, as if she had worked herself up to calling him, as if she dreaded the confrontation even as she requested the meeting. “You will come with me next weekend, won’t you?”
“What?” Her voice cracked slightly and she seemed distracted.
“I said you will come to the basketball game with me next weekend, won’t you? We can leave for Cleveland early Saturday morning and come back Sunday. We’ll stay with a college friend and his wife who live up there. You’ll like them.”
“Of course I’ll come. I just wondered if you’ll be able to make the time to get away again so soon?”
“Sabina, if I can’t be with you when I want to, I’ll have to find a new line of work.” He grinned at her. “Maybe you could you do a pop inspection about the middle of the week?”
“I think after the report I just filed, my boss might question my sanity. If everyone operated the way Calico does, I’d be out of a job. Besides, I’m already scheduled.” A tiny frown crossed her forehead.
“Come work for me,” he quipped. “You have experience in the industry. If I had someone I trust to run Calico, I’d never even think of selling. You know everything but the marketing, and I could handle that. In a few more years, Daniel will take over. Then we’d find another job for you.”
* * * *
Daniel hadn’t yet told Chad about his scholarship. Why hadn’t he? Then Sabina recalled that only a week had passed since the basketball team had lost in the state finals. Daniel probably needed the time to recover from disappointment over the loss.
She’d been silent too long; she had to say something. “Are you asking me to join the enemy?”
Chad looked at her steadily. His eyes were unreadable in the glow of the streetlight at the corner. “Am I the enemy, Sabina?”
The question was stupid. She’d known as soon as the words left her lips. With characteristic honesty, she met his gaze directly. “No.” She smiled when the little lines around his mouth relaxed. “Have I been treating you like one?”
He pulled her close once again. “Sabina, this adversary thing. We’re not as far apart as it appears. I’d hoped you would figure that out by now.”
“I’m sorry, Chad. It’s just that I’m a little unsure of myself.” The bite of his fingers on her shoulders made her feel weak, and she leaned into him.
“Friday’s a long ways off,” he murmured.
* * * *
Chad took the driveway to his home much more slowly than his usual breakneck pace, viewing the A-frame with new eyes. He’d built it as a refuge. Less than two years after Zack’s death, his own father had suffered a heart attack which made his retirement imperative. Since his mother’s arthritis benefitted from the Arizona climate, it was unlikely they would return to Ohio, except for brief visits. The responsibilities of the bank, the mining company and the family were all his.
This place away from pleas for his attention and caring was as necessary as breathing. There were times when he couldn’t face another problem, times when he craved peace. This hideaway was enough off the beaten path that people respected his wishes. His telephone was unlisted, and only his relatives and a few trusted employees were aware of the number.
Now he was thinking of bringing a wife into his domain. In a few short weeks, Sabina had become more necessary to him than breathing. Somehow he would overcome her aversion to surface mining. The coal was there under the ground, and someone was going to take it out. Wasn’t it better that the mining be done by people who cared about the land?
He’d left Columbus reluctantly, deciding he would be unwise to rush Sabina’s burgeoning feelings for him.
That evening, in the steaming warmth of his hot tub, Chad nursed his beer and wished Sabina were with. An owl hooted nearby. Small nocturnal creatures made rustling sounds in the nearby woods as they pursued their lives. He wanted to share it all with Sabina. God willing, he would. Soon.
Several hours of paperwork awaited him in his spare bedroom, which he used as an at-home office. He sighed, unwilling to desert his fantasies. The messages on his answering machine echoed through his thoughts. The twins wanted a family conference. He wondered idly what that was all about.
Nothing was as urgent as his dreams of having Sabina where he could see her each day, permanently and irrevocably. She was what he needed, what he’d always need. He glanced at the digital clock on the control panel of the hot tub. It was too late to call her now. She was to leave at five in the morning for her next assignment.
Chad shrugged off his disappointment as he pulled himself from the soothing water. Who she was inspecting, and the results of that visit, were none of his business. There’d been an almost imperceptible tightening of the delicate skin around her mouth when she had referred to her plans.
The phone in his bedroom rang, shattering his peace. The answering machine took over, and Erica’s voice sounded as he wrapped the towel around his hips. “Chad, I know you’re there. Moogie saw your car heading toward your place over an hour ago. we’ve got to see you . . .”
He punched the star button. “I’m here, Erica,” he broke in. “Is something wrong?”
“Oh, good. I hate talking to a piece of tape. Chad, Daniel and I have to talk to you. We can’t wait.”
“I got all six messages. Is this an emergency?”
There was a moment of silence on the other end. “We heard you were bargaining with a buyer for Calico.”
The muscles at the back of his neck tightened. He sighed. “Just fishing, Erica. I want to hear what he has to say.”
“Chad, you can’t!”
“I’d never do anything without discussing it with you and Daniel.” He passed his hand over his face. The euphoria of the past day seemed far in the past. “I just want the figures. This is your decision, and it always will be.”
Apology replaced the panic in her voice. “I’m sorry, Chad. I . . . we shouldn’t have leaped to the wrong conclusion. Anyway, we still have to talk.”
“Okay, okay. But I can’t sit down with you till late Friday. I have to sandwich a week of work around a banking conference in Pittsburgh Tuesday and Wednesday,”
“Chad . . . we don’t want to crowd your space.” Erica sounded suddenly very young and vulnerable.
Compassion warred with the tension freezing the back of his neck. “Erica, I always have time for you and Daniel. I always will.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Thoughts of Chad filled Sabina’s thoughts as she set out in the pre-dawn darkness the following morning. Who would have thought she could become so quickly accustomed to a man in her life? And not just any man. She’d chosen someone engaged in a practice she had always despised — but he made her heart quicken just by entering a room. Never before had her apartment felt empty — until Chad had left his imprint in the atmosphere.
Was he in love with her? He hadn’t answered her own tentative admission, but he hadn’t run in the other direction, either. There had been an aura of . . . She decided he had looked and acted relieved, as if he had crossed a hurdle. Perhaps, in spite of his teasing job offer, he still had reservations about her wholehearted dislike of the mining industry. She had them herself, but she had confidence in his attitudes, and his work reassured her.
Joy bubbled up inside her. Was it superstitious to feel that if she said the words out loud something might spoil her happiness? She announced loudly. “I’m in love with Chad Peters.” A fatuous grin spread across her face as she exited the freeway to a county road. Saying th
e words had been easy. Now she had only to convince Chad.
Sabina wasn’t looking forward to this inspection. Reclamation should be in progress on two separate sites by now, but she had a sinking feeling Wilbur McDonald hadn’t made a single move toward restoring the land. And she knew for a certainty that his provisions for handling runoff at the site he was currently working would be inadequate.
In September, Sabina had outlined what had to be done. In return, she’d received a pat on the shoulder, accompanied by a politely veiled intimation that she’d be better off at home — with her knitting. She had smiled politely before returning to Columbus, knowing full well the man didn’t take her seriously.
A quick mental comparison of the conditions she expected to find at her destination had the inevitable effect of reminding her of the superb reclamation work Chad and Calico Mining accomplished. She still hated the ugly disruption of centuries-old sediment. Yet Chad had made a believable case for use of the land and the minerals beneath.
Was his job offer serious? She knew she could operate the company, and she’d would see him every day, learn to know him the way she yearned to. She remembered the longing in his eyes. Was she taking too much for granted?
Sighing regretfully, she accelerated around a curve. The smell of growing things and damp earth filled her with an unidentified yearning, a sense of something wonderful on the verge of happening.
Sabina pushed aside her daydreams. If she allowed herself to relive the weekend she’d never be able to concentrate on the distasteful task ahead of her. A wry smile tightened her mouth as she reminded herself of her reputation.
Before the day was out, Sabina was grateful she’d prepared herself for the worst.
“I’m sick of you smart alec inspectors coming down here and interfering,” Wilbur McDonald blustered.
Sabina fought to stay calm. “Mr. McDonald, the law spells out everything for you. A man with your experience should find it just as easy to do things the right way as to do them wrong.
“I’m right glad to hear you mention my experience, young lady. The people who wrote those laws haven’t ever tried to dig coal and make a profit. Not with all those fool rules.”
Wilbur McDonald was a burly man with a “dunlap” waistline, his belly extending well over his belt. His skin was weathered, and a CAT hat perched on a shock of white hair long overdue a haircut. He punctuated every other word with a stab of his cigar in Sabina’s direction. She refused to back down.
“You didn’t just hear about these laws yesterday, Mr. McDonald. The act was passed twenty years ago! When I was here before, I spelled out specific infractions. You haven’t corrected one of them!” She paused to steady her voice. “And now you’ve opened a new section without waiting for permits. You knew you’d never get them, didn’t you?”
“I can always get permits. My friends in the state senate are a lot more powerful than you are. All I have to do is say the word and you’ll be out on the street without a job.” He waved the cigar with more emphasis.
In her short career with the state, Sabina had never before recommended closing an operation. Even after she spelled out the probable total in fines, he remained defiant, bragging about important connections who would explain the facts of life to her.
Sabina estimated McDonald’s age at somewhere around seventy. In all probability, he would probably never adjust to regulation of the industry. At the time he went into mining, anything that was easy, quick and profitable was the standard. There were no teeth in what few regulations there were, and influence and bribery had been rampant. She didn’t doubt McDonald’s contacts in the legislature would attempt to find a compromise on his licensing. That wasn’t her problem.
“I don’t care if the governor is your father. I want this equipment out of here today! You’ll receive official notification before the week is out. You’re welcome to file a protest.” The sights she saw in her two day visit frayed Sabina’s emotions. She cried herself to sleep in the plastic surroundings of her room in the only motel available.
The raw, eroded sites stayed in her mind all the way back to Columbus. She’d gathered samples and documented everything necessary to back up her charges. Then she’d taken photographs. The pictures might be superfluous, but they were proof. Her memory needed no refreshing for her to complete the paperwork.
All that carried her through until Thursday was the memory of Chad, of the way his mouth quirked into a crooked smile, of basking in the warmth of his coffee-colored gaze.
She wanted desperately to hear his voice, and as she let herself into her apartment she looked at the clock before running bath water and liberally pouring in scented bath oil. Chad should be either at home or at Clara Kincaid’s by eight. She would soak, defrost some lasagna in deference to the memories it triggered, then talk with him from the cozy comfort of her bed. The prospect nearly dispelled the bleakness of the past week.
The door chime was barely audible above the roar of the water tumbling into the tub. Grumbling, Sabina turned off the taps and pulled the sash of her terry robe snug. The bell sounded again as her belt twisted away from her fingers, and she called, “Keep your shirt on. I’ll be there.”
She opened the door as the chime rang a third time. Surprise flooded her, and she reached out her arms delightedly. “It must be thought transference. I was going to call you as soon as I finished my . . .” The anger in Chad’s eyes and the white line around his lips stopped her in mid-sentence. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m coming in. Your neighbors aren’t going to be interested in what I have to say.”
Stepping back, she closed the door behind him and leaned against it for support. This anger was frightening, far different from his explosion that day at the mine site. Her leg muscles felt inadequate; she wasn’t sure she could stand by herself. “What’s wrong?”
He turned jerkily, without his usual fluid grace. His hands were knotted in the pockets of his jacket and his feet were set squarely, as if he were ready for a fight and was afraid he would lose his resolve.
“I thought you understood there had to be some compromises about mining.” He drew a deep breath and exhaled, his nostrils flaring. “I guess I forgot your reputation as a hard-nose. I couldn’t believe the stories I’d heard were about you.”
Sabina tightened her belt, as if to protect herself from something she didn’t understand, something frightening. “Chad, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Do you know how many men you put out of work when you shut down Wilbur Mcdonald? Seventeen! That’s seventeen families with no money coming in. There aren’t five living wage jobs available in Vinton County, much less seventeen. What are those people to do?”
If Chad had attacked her for any other reason, Sabina would have crumpled; her limited experience with love made her fragile. When he questioned her professional decision, one with no shades of gray, she couldn’t back down.
“That’s not my problem. The man has been thumbing his nose at the rules since long before I came here. His workers all knew it, and they went along with him. His problem is he thinks the rules don’t apply to him because the county is a depressed area.”
“That’s not true,” Chad responded in the dangerous purr he’d used when cursing at Jonas and the workers who’d allowed Sabina to drive the front-end loader.
She felt no more intimidated than she had then. In fact, she lowered her own voice to the same icy level. “That idiot committed every violation on the books. He’s been warned . . . time and time again. After inspecting the two sites he abandoned I cried myself to sleep. Even rats won’t live there!”
“I can’t believe that. Wilbur’s worked that area for years, and I’ve never once seen anything he hasn’t put back within the minimum of the requirements. I’ll grant you he’s no landscape artist, but he follows the rules.”
“You’re wrong. You’re just sticking up for him because you’ve known him forever. He thinks laws are for everyone but him, and he�
��s always done as he pleased. He delights in flaunting his connections. Besides, I’m a woman. What do I know!” Tears gathered behind her eyes. By sheer force of will, she contained them. She watched Chad closely. His expression said he knew he’d gone off half-cocked, but now that he had made his accusations he didn’t know how to back off. Perhaps he was aware his anger had roots in his own frustration with Sabina’s attitude toward mining. Of course he would defend an industry he’d known all his life.
“You neglected to factor in the welfare of the area. You didn’t grow up with these people.”
“I gave him warnings and I gave him plenty of time. What was I supposed to do? Correct the offenses myself?”
“He’d never allow that.” Chad’s voice was pensive, almost as if his thoughts were elsewhere. “Wilbur’s accustomed to taking his own sweet time, but he gets there. Try to put yourself in his shoes. How do you think he felt being shut down by a woman?”
Sabina seized on his last sentence. “Now you’ve come to the real heart of it. If I’d been a man, Wilbur wouldn’t be so upset. Poor Wilbur!”
“I didn’t mean . . .”
Sabina wanted to roll back time. If she could start the day over, maybe this argument wouldn’t be taking place. Nothing made sense, but she had to try, even though she risked losing the happy future she’d glimpsed in his arms. “You probably could have talked him into minimal compliance. Everyone comes to you with their problems . . . except those closest to you. Daniel and Erica are about to give up their fondest dreams. All because you’ve been good to them.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Go home and ask them, and take your chauvinism with you. I intend to give a lot of thought to figuring out why I was so stupid as to fall in love with you. You’re . . .” Words failed her. She wanted him gone. She wanted to cry like a baby.
“Sabina, you’re talking riddles. What do the twins have to do with this?”
Sabina knew she was being overemotional, but she also knew she was right. What Chad considered chivalry was really thinly veiled chauvinism. If he couldn’t accept her for her strengths as well as her weaknesses, there could be no true relationship between them. Could he be made to see how right Erica was for Calico? Even though she was a woman? “I don’t want to talk any more, not now. See for yourself about McDonald, about the twins.”
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