I gingerly placed my hand on top of his, brushing against his fingers in what I hoped was a reassuring gesture.
“And that’s what you want my help with?”
He looked at me with pleading eyes. “Last night, Carla … your outburst. You were so passionate, so articulate. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from you. I hung onto your every word. I need you. I need your help. If we can get the investors on board, then it won’t only be my ideas that benefit. The mill will be safe. More than safe. You’ll be thriving.”
I took a few seconds to take in everything he’d said. It was easy to get swept up in someone needing you. Equally intoxicating was the promise of saving the mill. Saving the mill was equal to saving Paulina. Who wouldn’t want that?
“I was drunk when I said all that last night. What makes you think I can speak like that sober?”
“I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that you’re capable of that and so much more.”
I glanced at him. “How many more models do you think you can build before the exhibit?”
“Two. Well, sort-of three,” he replied. “A two-story house and a duplex, one on top of the other. My brothers and I don’t have any other projects over the next three weeks for this purpose. They are designed to be built quickly but last a lifetime.”
“That’s a lot of work.”
“You’re telling me. My brothers don’t even know about the exhibit, but they know the homes are important to me, regardless.”
I frowned. “You haven’t told them? Why not?”
“Because … if I fail—”
“I didn’t have you pegged as the doubting type,” I interrupted.
“I … I told you I suffered from panic attacks when I was in New York. It’s the stress that triggers them. Everyone has a fear. I’ve got several. One is public speaking. Another is failure. This project requires someone to speak to a crowd. I’m destined to fail if that someone is me. No sense in getting their hopes up when the likelihood of failure is high.”
I nodded slowly. I could see where he was going with this. My eyes threatened to well up at the mere thought.
“I can’t do it. I know myself enough to be aware of that.”
“And you think I can?”
He looked at me, his gaze intense and reassuring.
“I know you can.”
Then he looked away and chuckled. “Besides … it’s not like you have much going on at the mill if you don’t have enough orders to keep you afloat.”
“You’re such a dick.”
“Thought I’d try to lighten the mood. Did it work?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Debatable.”
“Will you do it, Carla? Will you help me?”
My mind was made up from the moment Owen had handed me the file containing his hopes and dreams. He’d thrown me a lifeline where I previously had none. More importantly, this lifeline would give me answers before the Frost Corporation’s offer to buy the mill expired. There was nothing to lose by giving my all to helping Owen Cooper.
I grinned. “Tell me everything about your plan. Leave nothing out.”
Chapter Eleven
Owen
It was inevitable after the morning I’d had that I would be late to work, which my brothers immediately grilled me about.
And grilled. And grilled.
“Did you make up with Ruthie?” Eli asked.
“He must have. He was clearly out all night,” Pax added.
Eli walked in front of him to look at my eyes. “Are you hungover?”
“Did you take her back to your place?” Pax asked. “You almost never do that.”
“His cell was off all night,” Eli added. “So, he must have been—”
“Stop with the twenty questions.” I’d completely forgotten about Ruthie, and my attempt at an apology, until now. I smiled maliciously. “You’re all banned from Reilly’s.”
Eli gawked at me. “What the hell? What did you do to Ruthie?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Doesn’t matter. Either way, we’re all banned. Best get used to Huck’s, Pax.”
Paxton glowered. Outside of Huck’s being a dive bar, I never understood why he hated the place so much. I supposed, given that hardly anything bothered him, I shouldn’t have been so gleeful in telling him he could no longer go to Reilly’s and would have to settle for the place he never wanted to drink at.
“I didn’t take Ruthie home with me. She doesn’t want to see my face.” I swung around and started to my office. “If you need me, I’ll be in here.”
“Aw, don’t be like that, Owen,” Pax protested. “You know we were teasing you. We wanted to know what you were doing.”
“Maybe I don’t want you to know because it’s personal.”
“Fine.” Pax followed me. “Either way, you can’t skulk off to your office.”
“Why not?” I stopped by the doorframe.
“We’ve been waiting for you so we can start on your eco-friendly houses.”
For a moment, I wondered how I could have forgotten about that, given that I’d been telling Carla about them only that morning.
I laughed slightly. “You’re right. Can’t believe I forgot. Why didn’t you come by my place instead of the office?”
“You could have been getting busy,” Pax let out, barely audible.
Eli burst into laughter. “For exactly that reason, yes,” Eli said as I scowled. “Either way, better late than never. All we’re doing is setting up the foundations today for builds one and two, right? It probably won’t even take all day, so then you can regale us with last night’s exploits.”
“Eli,” I warned.
He held his hands up in mock surrender. “I get it. No asking. You owe us all coffee for being late.”
Somehow, I always found myself on the buying end with my brothers. “Fine. I can do that.”
I raced down the back steps and entered Alice’s diner. She had a to-go tray ready for me. “Your brothers said you’d be here to pick this up.” She passed the coffees to me. “On the house.”
I kissed Alice’s wrinkled cheek. “You’re the best.”
“You wouldn’t be the first to tell me that.” She spun around and walked toward the kitchen, laughing.
I met Pax at my truck while Eli took the Cooper Construction van, and we headed back to my house at the bizarre hour of eleven in the morning on a Tuesday. I wasn’t going to complain because it would make for the easiest work commute ever over the next three weeks.
When we got to my house, we went to work under the hot Colorado sun. It was hard work, but gratifying. Using my hands to create something always brought clarity and peace to my world.
For now, I didn’t want to tell my brothers about the upcoming exhibit. Or about Carla. I was content to keep everything the way it was, at least for the next few weeks. When things were more stable, more concrete, I would let them know. There was too much at risk to have all eyes on me. I couldn’t survive the pressure.
I remembered Carla telling me that excuses were the lies we told ourselves. I chewed on that awhile, wondering why I gave myself so many excuses to keep this exhibition from my brothers. All I could come up with was that what they didn’t know couldn’t hurt any of us, but the truth was if I failed and they didn’t know about it, then I could pretend it never happened.
Hopefully, it worked out as I planned, or they’d never let me hear the end of it.
I chuckled despite myself. Successfully signing on investors for a dream project in secret was the kind of thing I’d be happy to let them complain about.
“What’s so funny, Owen?” Eli asked, frowning at me.
Cursing inwardly, I shook my head. “Thinking about how good an after-work drink in Reilly’s would be.”
“You’re a dick.”
“Clearly.”
Someone’s cell phone buzzed, and for a moment, I was reminded about Carla. The two of us entangled on the sofa as we desperately tried to ignore her brother’s call.
It was Pax’s phone. He looked at us, confused. “It’s Lucy Rogers.”
“You cut her lawn, don’t you?”
“You’re not supposed to be doing it today, are you?” I asked. “I thought you only did that every couple of Thursdays.”
Pax answered, and after a few seconds, he stared straight at me, a small smile curling his normally expressionless mouth.
“No, that definitely wasn’t me,” he said. “Must have been one of my brothers. I’ll tell him to keep it down next time.” He gave me a you’ve-been-caught look. “Goodbye,” he said and ended the call.
“What the hell was that about?” Eli asked as Pax hung up.
“Seems like our big brother went for a midnight swim last night.”
“What?” Eli spewed his coffee and set the cup on the deck rail. “Owen did? No way.”
I resisted the urge to grimace. I’d completely forgotten how much of a chatterbox Mrs. Rogers was. If she had seen or heard someone who she thought was a Cooper brother, then she would ask Pax.
“Okay, spill,” Eli said, rounding on me. “You weren’t in the creek by yourself …”
“I was,” I lied, wondering how I was going to get out of this one. “I needed to clear my head.”
“And your shower wasn’t enough for you? You had to go out of your way to jump in the creek?”
I could tell neither of them would believe me.
“Okay, okay. I was with someone. But I’m not saying who.”
“Aw, come on,” Pax complained. “That’s not fair.”
“A gentleman never kisses and tells.”
“The term gentleman has never applied to you. It’s not as if we’ll go around spreading gossip about her.” Pax waited for an answer.
“Nothing happened, anyway.”
“So why should it matter if you tell us who it is?”
“Leave it alone, Pax,” I said, getting annoyed.
“What’s gotten into you? You’ve never been this on edge before.”
Eli glanced at me. Worry etched his face. He was the only one who knew how close to the edge I’d been. He nodded his head slightly. No doubt he was delivering a message.
Don’t worry. I have your back.
“Get back to work, you idiot,” I scolded Pax. “This shouldn’t take all day, but at the rate you keep stopping to chatter, we’ll still be at it come sunset.”
Pax pouted like a teenage girl. “Fine. Fine. But I’m not letting this go. I’ll find out who she is, Owen, mark my words.”
“You’re a parasite sometimes.”
“Yes, but a charming one.”
I made a noise of disgust. He would find out who I’d been with, eventually. Once I knew more about what Carla and I could be to each other, then I’d be fine with him knowing. For now, I hoped his search for answers turned up nothing.
When the foundations were finally framed, I collapsed into a chair on the terrace. Pax was doing a beer run while Eli was having a shower.
The peace and quiet was a luxury. I hadn’t realized how much I needed silence and alone time. I stretched out in my seat, closing my eyes and yawned contentedly, as I thought about bed.
That was when Eli joined me.
“Don’t talk to me,” I grumbled without looking. “Let me have some Paxton-free time. How can he be so quiet around others and talk my ear off?”
Eli chuckled as he sat down on the deck, forgoing a chair. “It’s no wonder he once got punched in the face in high school. He always opens his mouth at the most inopportune time.”
I abruptly opened my eyes and stared at my brother. “He did?”
Eli laughed easily. “Yeah. You’d been at college for a couple years already. Pax had pissed someone off and got punched in the face.”
“Pissing people off is Pax’s superpower.”
“I suppose.” My brother moved back and leaned against the rail. “Are you okay?”
The question didn’t come entirely out of left field, all things considered, but the words still took me by surprise.
I nodded. “Stressed is all, and I don’t appreciate the interrogation.”
“You must like this woman.”
“Definitely,” I replied, not bothering to lie. It was true. If I hadn’t already started to care about Carla, I would have happily told my brothers about what went on last night, but suddenly, that notion covered me in a blanket of shame.
While I wasn’t a complete cad to women, I needed to give Ruthie a sincere apology. I had no business going out with her when I wasn’t interested.
I wondered whether I’d ever get close enough to her again to say the words, let alone whether the words that came out would be enough.
Eli stared at me.
“But you’re definitely okay? No more—”
“You know those stopped once I moved back home,” I cut in, desperate to cover up the fact that he still didn’t know about the panic attack I’d had before our father’s funeral a year prior or mini scares I’d experienced since then. “I’m fine. Probably just tired.”
“You would be, given the amount of time you’ve spent developing the plans for these eco-houses. What are you wanting to do once we’ve built them?”
“Let’s get them built first.” I tried to skirt the issue without lying. “Can’t put the cart before the horse. We need to see if they’ll work before doing anything else.”
He said nothing, though he didn’t appear convinced. He knew how meticulous I was about my work and knew my designs would check out completely. They’d be exactly what I’d planned, but he didn’t comment on it, for which I was grateful.
“Thanks for bringing me back to Frazier Falls,” I ended up saying.
“As if I could have left you suffocating in New York. You’d have burned out there within another year or two had I not asked you to come back.”
“It’s scary how true that is.”
We sat in silence until Pax joined us. He seemed to have calmed down somewhat, which meant time in the car was good for him. I nodded in thanks as he passed me a beer.
“Take it you’re not up for another heavy night?” Pax gently chided.
I threw a bottle cap at him. “If you weren’t my brother, I’d fire your ass for annoying me.”
“Good thing I’m your brother.”
I sighed contentedly as I sunk back into my chair.
We might argue and disagree at times, but at the end of the day, my brothers were my best friends. We could get through anything together.
Even me keeping a secret from them.
Chapter Twelve
Carla
I headed home before going to the mill, dreaming of a shower and clean clothes.
What I hadn’t expected was to find Rich waiting for my return.
“Why are you slinking back home as if you’re seventeen and afraid Dad will catch you drunk?” He eyed me suspiciously.
“Why are you waiting for me in the first place? You should be at the mill.”
“Devon’s overseeing the work this morning.”
I moved past him into the living room. I wasn’t in the mood for a conversation. All I wanted was a shower.
“Shouldn’t you use the opportunity to catch up on sleep? Lord knows you could use it.”
“And you, too.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Rich frowned. “You can’t disappear and drink away your problems into the early hours. You’re a grown-ass adult.”
“And? Must I remind you that we’ve drank away our problems on numerous occasions?”
“Together. Not alone. There’s a difference.”
I laughed. “I wasn’t alone. I told you, I was with a friend.”
“You and I both know that’s a lie.”
Rich wasn’t saying that to insult me. Most of my friends from high school had moved away from Frazier Falls, and it wasn’t as if I was the most social person in the world. But his accusations cut deep.
“You act as if I can�
��t make friends,” I bit back. “I’m perfectly capable of sustaining a friendship. Even if you believe that’s a lie, it’s not. I was with a friend.”
Although I had to wonder, did Owen count as one? I considered everything we had told each other the night before and supposed that we were. Nobody dug deep into their financial troubles or their history with panic attacks simply to sleep with someone. Despite the unlikeliness of it all, I had to conclude that we were definitely friends.
A friend I’d like to tumble in the sheets with, but a friend nonetheless. And someone who had the potential to rescue me—rescue us. If the Green House Project picked up investors, then the Stevenson Mill would be saved.
Changing the subject, I asked. “What if I came up with a solution?”
He held up his hand. “There isn’t one, and I don’t want to hear about some bullshit, pie in the sky plan that will delay our negations with the Frost Corporation.”
After hearing his words and seeing the anger in his expression, I realized I couldn’t tell him about any of it. He’d rant and rave and tell me to stop making things harder on myself, saying that I’d only end up hurt. I was grown up enough to know that failing and getting hurt were real possibilities. It was a risk I was willing to take, but not one I would force upon him. He was more than past the end of his rope. If the plan succeeded, then I’d let him know. There was no use in saying anything at this point.
He avoided the subject of a save and went back to the subject of last night. “Who were you hanging out with?” He was trying to put the pieces together. I wasn’t acting like myself, but given the news we’d received yesterday, I reasoned that my unpredictable behavior was understandable.
“It doesn’t matter,” I grumbled as I headed up the stairs.
“Hey, where are you going? We’re still talking,” he yelled after me.
“For a shower, or do I have to run that past you, too?”
God, even in our thirties, we could be so immature. I guess it didn’t matter how old you were; siblings would always be siblings.
There was something innately soothing about that. It was comforting to know our relationship would never change. With everything that was going on right now, I knew, in the end, we’d be okay. While he’d already resigned himself to the inevitable, I hadn’t gotten there yet. If there was breath in my lungs and the slightest chance that I could turn things around, I would. I wanted to stay in Frazier Falls, despite the fact that I might not be able to, and it appeared he wanted to leave. For that reason, I couldn’t tell him about Owen.
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