by Lynn Cahoon
He stopped at the small kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee then ambled through the hallway toward Brad’s office. Without waiting for an answer to his knock, he entered and sat in one of the leather high back chairs in front of the desk. “What’s up now?”
“Tell him, Jose.” Brad nodded to the man sitting in the other chair.
“We found a bed roll along with some other stuff in the production barn. Somebody’s been sleeping there.” Jose looked uncomfortable, like he was ratting out an old friend.
“Any damage?” Mark took a sip, the dark, bold taste bringing him back to the early morning offer of coffee. He should have said yes. Drinking a cup with Abbie wouldn’t have hurt anything.
“I don’t think you heard Jose. Someone is using our barn as their home.” Brad spoke more slowly like Mark was missing the point.
Mark shook his head. Everything was a big deal to Brad. Everything. “I heard him. I just don’t know what you want me to do about it. Hell, I’m already overseeing all the businesses. Do you want me to be a night watchman, as well?”
Brad’s face flushed. “Of course not, but isn’t there liability involved? Maybe we should call the police?” He reached for the phone.
“And tell them what, a drifter lost his bedroll? You know those people float in and out from the interstate all the time. If you scared him enough to run off without his possessions, he’s probably halfway to Boise by now.” He drained his cup and stood. “Anything else?”
“Just one other thing.” Brad waved his finger, motioning for Mark to sit again.
It wasn’t going to be easy getting out of here. Almost eight and he hadn’t even been to his own office yet. Mark sighed. “Let me get a refill and I’ll be right back.”
He heard Brad dismissing Jose with a to do list that sounded a mile long. Brad micromanaged everything. Probably why Mom had asked Mark to move home and take on the role of general manager rather than ask Brad who’d expected to be heir apparent. This needy act must be Brad’s way of getting back at Mark for being their mom’s choice to run the business.
Brad and Mark had never been close as brothers. Two years younger, Brad had followed Mark at school, never quite as good in any subject or sport. Mark felt bad he’d excelled in so many ways, it had probably made Brad’s journey harder than it had to be. Now, Mom had done the same thing as all those teachers so many years ago. She’d counted on Mark, not Brad.
He passed Jose in the hall and the man silently tipped his straw hat. Jose had on jeans and the mandatory green T-shirt that classified him as one of the field staff. Office staff wore white; serving staff, black; landscaping, green; and management had the same colors but in polo shirts. Classification of the ranks at its finest. Mark knew Brad was listening for any conversation between the foreman and his brother, and would give Jose hell if he heard anything.
“So what now?” Mark sat in the leather wing chair in front of the desk. Brad was reading a well-worn paperback.
Doesn’t anyone but me work around here?
Brad sat the novel down, leaning forward. His eyes gleamed. “So did you fire her?”
“Who?” Mark knew who, but Brad was going to have to spell it out.
“Abigail. I hear she moved a truckload of stuff into the cottage.” Brad twisted the phone cord like it was a kid’s slinky toy.
“People usually do move their stuff into a house where they live.” Mark didn’t want to continue this conversation, but he’d made a mistake in talking to his brother about possibly closing the sanctuary after the first budget review.
“I told you to call her before she left Seattle.” Brad leaned back in his chair. “Now it’s going to be hard to make her leave.”
Mark knew he was right. He should have called and rescinded the job offer the moment his dad’s funeral was over. But the thought of seeing if she was still the same girl he’d known in high school had overcome his logical side.
Damn it, there was still a chance she could pull this off. Please be as smart as you were in chemistry. Don’t make me fire you.
Mark realized Brad was watching him. “She deserves a shot. Dad believed in her.”
“No way she’s going to turn the problems around. You should have given her a big severance and we’d be done with this.” Brad smirked. He wanted the sanctuary to fail. To disappear. Hell, he would have sold the cats to the first circus to offer. Brad had never liked the large felines.
Mark realized Brad thought his plan was the only path. “I don’t want to discuss this. She’s been paid up front for six months. I’m going to give her that time. It doesn’t matter one way or the another, this will be over in a few months.”
“I suppose you took her a basket filled with muffins to welcome her to our family.” Brad rolled his eyes.
“No, I didn’t take her a muffin basket.” Mark paused, maybe he should have. That would have at least broken the ice before he told her to produce or leave. “She might find the funding.”
“Ha, and maybe pigs will fly.” Brad shook his head. “Those mangy cats are draining our savings. If we have an off year, we’ll be filing for bankruptcy and feeding drifters from the highway to the cats.”
Acid burned in Mark’s stomach. Brad wasn’t even giving Abbie the benefit of the doubt. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Wait.” Brad’s voice stopped him from leaving. “One more thing.”
“What now?”
“What kind of drifter reads Gone with the Wind?” Brad pushed the book toward his brother.
Mark didn’t even glance at the book on the desk. “An unemployed English major,” he answered, leaving his brother staring at a dog-eared copy of a southern love story.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright 2016 by Lynn Cahoon
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Published by
Lynn Cahoon
Visit Lynn Cahoon on the Internet:
www.lynncahoon.com
ebook format
Issued 2016
This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. This eBook cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this eBook can be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the publisher.
Letter from the Author
Castle View is set in a fictional town in northern Idaho. I can hear the cats roaring as I walk through the wooded forest. At least as I sit here imagining the scene. Now that I’ve completed the trilogy, I’m excited to share St. Joseph’s with the reading world.
Wild Hearts is the first book dealing with the tiger sanctuary and bringing oldest son, Mark Castle home after his father’s death.
Roadside Attraction – Book 2 is the sister’s book, Maggie Castle’s story. What do you do when true love comes and sits on a stool in her bar?
And of course, little brother, Brad just found his happy ever after here in Project Detour. As I go on to other projects, I feel like I’m leaving home all over again, but there’s a niggle in the back of my head that maybe there’s a few secondary characters who need their own story.
Order Wild Hearts, here.
Order Roadside Attraction now.
When you’re ready for more Idaho contemporary romance, check out these small-town contemporary romances:
The Bull Rider’s Brother
The Bull Rider’s Manager
The Bull Rider’s Keeper
Shawnee Holiday
Marriage Not Included
Playing Doctor
New York Times and USA Today best-selling author, Lynn Cahoon is an Idaho expat. She grew up living the small town life
much like the settings she now writes. Currently, she’s living with her husband and two fur babies in a small historic town on the banks of the Mississippi river where her imagination tends to wander. Guidebook to Murder, Book 1 of the Tourist Trap series won the 2015 Reader’s Crown Award for Mystery Fiction. Find out more at: www.lynncahoon.com
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