“You have more than lived up to my expectations. You’ve surpassed them.”
When the elevator door pinged open, neither of us noticed the superb view given to us by virtue of being on the top floor with a lavish balcony, nor the champagne sitting on ice, nor the enormous hot tub in the corner of the room.
No. All we noticed was the bed and each other.
Everything else could wait.
Chapter Twenty
Carla
Another day at the mill. Another day that my brother wasn’t speaking to me. And another day closer to my impending doom or my fabulous fortune. Owen’s exhibit was two days away.
Terrified didn’t cut it. I’d never been a nervous speaker before, but then again, I’d never had so much riding on my words. Both of our fates rested on my shoulders, but it wasn’t only us in the crossfire.
There were Eli and Paxton to consider. There was also Rich, and the people in the mill who had become family. This went as deep as the population of Frazier Falls. If the Frost Corporation took the mill, they’d rule the entire town.
I wished for nothing more than my escalating thoughts to be an exaggeration, to be the equivalent of a superficial the-end-is-here type of announcement, but it wasn’t. It was the unfortunate, heartbreaking reality of my current situation.
Suddenly, I became acutely and painfully aware of how a typically strong person could be subjected to the crippling panic attacks that had driven Owen away from a job he had loved in New York.
Our beautiful date out of Frazier Falls suddenly seemed like a distant memory even though it had happened days ago. Funny how impending doom changed a person’s perception of time as if the universe itself wished to see you crumble and fall.
Concentration was a necessity, but my mind had wandered over to my date with Owen, and I couldn’t think of anything else. The drive to the restaurant, the food, the penthouse suite …
When we’d come up for air and looked around our room, there had been champagne and chocolate to be shared, a hot tub to be used, and a balcony where we could watch the dark Colorado sky light up with a billion twinkling stars. When the sun had come through in the morning, it was bliss. Twenty-four hours of pure heaven.
Reality hit me like a brick to the head. In two days, the fate of the mill would be final. Three days after that, I’d have to swallow my pride and accept Frost’s offer, or miraculously and happily decline it. I wished for the latter but prepared for the former.
“Quality is in the details,” I murmured, reciting my upcoming speech out loud to help me memorize it. “My name is Carla Stevenson, and this is my associate, Owen Cooper.”
How bizarre was it to refer to Owen as my associate? I supposed from the beginning he had been. Knowing that the two of us had always seen each other as equals and had acted accordingly was why it had been so easy to let him into my life. So easy to tell him my dreams and share my secrets.
Owen had nothing but deep respect for me. He asked for and expected little, and yet, he desperately needed me. It was a heady cocktail, and one of the major reasons I’d fallen for him so hard and fast.
What he said outside the hotel—that I’d never need to ask him to do anything because he hoped to have done it already. That was … wow.
I had teased Owen for using that adjective earlier in the evening, but when it came down to it, it was the only word that described how impressed I was with him. All I had ever heard about him before was that he was a charming man but a player—he was in it for the night but would be gone by morning. He didn’t commit. He was closed off.
That was not the man I knew. The man he allowed me to see was vulnerable, and cautious with his words because he was acutely aware of how important they were, and simultaneously how bad he could be with them. He knew what his flaws were, but he knew his strengths, too. He was passionate and driven and—
“Holy shit … I’m in love with him,” I realized aloud, not sure if it was to my delight or my horror. Possibly both. Probably both.
I wasn’t sixteen. This wasn’t puppy love. How could I fall for someone so quickly? We’d known each other three weeks, and here I was head over heels in love with him.
Upon reflection, it didn’t feel juvenile, or rushed, or wrong. This was right. Like I had waited my whole life to meet him. From the moment I’d chosen to let him in, we’d fallen into step with each other as easily as if we’d known one another our whole lives. It was something I’d never found in a person outside of my family.
I coughed to clear my throat. “Quality is in the details. My name is Carla Stevenson, and—”
“Miss Stevenson?”
Oh, no. Dread filled my soul.
I didn’t want to turn around. I didn’t have to because I recognized Mr. Smith’s voice.
I spun my chair to face him, hoping my expression didn’t give away my internal feelings of irritation.
“What can I do for you?” I fidgeted with the papers on my desk, telling myself it was because they were messy, but the reality was my hands ached to fist up and slug the pompous asshole in the face. Instead, I smiled and said, “I’m afraid you’ve caught me in the middle of something.”
He gave me a smarmy, saccharine smile that I hated with every fiber of my being. “Carla, you can call me Eric.” He moved inside and shut the door. “You’ve been avoiding my calls.”
I stood up, feeling uncomfortable and inconvenienced with the unannounced visit. “I needed time to think things over with no distractions.” In truth, I’d been plenty distracted by Owen.
He glanced around my office. “Is your brother around? He hasn’t been answering my calls, either.”
Oh. That was news. Part of me was delighted Rich hadn’t spoken to him behind my back. Part of me was ashamed I’d ever doubted him. I’d call him later and leave him a message. It was high time he knew what was going on. It was too late in the game for him to stop me from going to the exhibit and giving things one last shot. I’d roll the dice and see where they fell.
“He’s unavailable.” I watched the man in front of me as he walked closer, smoothing his slicked-back blond hair as he did.
“That’s a shame.”
“He’ll be back on Monday to finalize the deal. I’d suggest holding off on whatever it is you’re here to say until then, Mr. Smith.” I refused to call him Eric. There was a familiarity with using his first name that would make our exchanges seem friendly when they weren’t.
His eyes flashed, catching the meaning of my words. “I’m sure it’ll suffice to talk to you alone. You own fifty percent of the mill, don't you? A strong woman, such as yourself, must have some influence.”
“I do, fifty percent influence—which means nothing can be decided without my brother’s vote.”
He sat down in my chair. My chair. I turned to face him. “What are you doing?”
“I’d rather say the question is, ‘What are you doing,’ Miss Stevenson?”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean.”
“You and I both know your brother wants to sell the mill. He knows when to quit. You, on the other hand, don’t know what’s good for you.”
His tone caused a chill to race up my spine. My back stiffened as my hackles rose. “The mill isn’t a lost cause.” I hated that he thought he knew what was best for me, my brother, and our employees.
“I thought you were an intelligent woman,” he jeered.
“If you came here to insult me, you can get out.” I pointed to the door, but he didn’t move. He frowned at me, but the frown turned into something else. Something I didn’t like.
“What are you doing here, besides running a failing business?” he asked. “You graduated from a good college, traveled the world, had more than a handful of job offers—”
“You researched me?” I interrupted, feeling strangely violated.
He gave me a level stare. “Surely, you realize it’s company policy to run a check on people we’re acquiring assets from?”
&n
bsp; It was an annoyingly valid reason, and yet, my skin crawled with the wrongness of it.
“I think you should leave,” I said firmly, walking past him to open the door.
He grabbed my wrist and yanked me back.
“I don’t think so,” he muttered. He was strong—much stronger than I had expected. I couldn’t throw him off as he got up from my chair and closed the gap between us. “I didn’t waste my time coming out here to go back empty-handed. No deal means no paycheck for me, and I can’t let this one go.” He squeezed my wrist more tightly.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“This should have been a done deal. Signed over and paid for weeks ago. Instead, you’ve had me jumping through hoops, ignoring all of my calls so you can—what? Hope and pray that your precious family business will be okay? Come Monday, you’ll have no choice but to sign the mill over to the Frost Corporation. You’re out of options.”
“I have other options.” My heart raced, knowing that my only hope was a Hail Mary pass. A play that had only a slim chance of working. But didn’t I have to try?
Frazier Falls economy was built on logging, the timber mill, and the woods that surrounded them. What little bit of tourism they got would end if the forest was gone. Hell, even the falls the town was named after would disappear if the land was leveled. Water would be redirected for the cattle and no longer cascade down the mountainside.
“Leave me alone,” I yelled while trying to twist out of his grip, but he used his free hand to turn my jaw around to look at him.
“I’m not leaving until I get what I came for. Call your brother, and let’s be done with this.”
He had me good and trapped. The door was closed. The saws in the mill whirred and groaned, no doubt able to drown out my voice if I screamed.
These were the moments I rejoiced in growing up a tomboy. I’d had my share of playground skirmishes and learned early on the trigger points that could send a man to his knees.
On instinct, my knee rose to his groin. I didn’t have enough momentum to cause damage. Not enough to cause much discomfort, but it gave him pause and provided me with time and space to maneuver to the side.
He smirked. “Is that the best you’ve got? I half expected better from you.” He stalked toward me, moving with the determination of a cougar getting ready to attack its prey.
When I thought there was nothing I could do to escape, a knock distracted us, followed by the door opening.
I prayed for Owen, Rich, even Paxton. Instead, it was Devon.
“Miss Stevenson, are you—is there a problem?” He was a soft-spoken man who had worked at the mill since my father opened it. To my knowledge, Devon hadn’t laid a hand on a soul, but he was big and burly and surely capable of inflicting major damage if motivated properly. Such as right now.
Mr. Smith stepped back as if I were a venomous snake ready to strike. He smoothed out his shirt and fixed his tie while he moved away. “No harm, no foul.” He glanced at me one final time as he all but ran for the door. “I look forward to all of this being over on Monday.” He was gone before I had a second to process the situation. Devon rushed to my side and helped me into a chair.
“Carla, are you okay? Did he—he didn’t, did he?”
My mind was numb, and my body shaking. I couldn’t process what had occurred. Devon was asking if Mr. Smith had sexually assaulted me. A shiver raced down my spine because he could have done so easily. “No, he didn’t. That’s not what he was after.”
Devon shook his head. “You know I’ll always look out for you kids, though that’s difficult to do when your brother is missing in action.”
“I’m sorry. It’s a crazy time right now.”
“You don’t have to be sorry about anything. Do you want me to call your brother?” He looked toward the door. “Is there a reason to call the police?”
I shook my head. “No. I’ll deal with this myself.” I didn’t want to bring more trouble to an already troubling situation. While I could press charges for assault, since he’d grabbed me, nothing had occurred that I wouldn’t recover from. He was using classic intimidation techniques. Mr. Smith had been watching too much television. I was surprised he didn’t stand at the door and yell, “Say hello to my little friend.”
Devon shook his head and frowned. “You know, you don’t have to do everything on your own.”
I looked at him miserably. It was time to come clean. “The mill is out of money, Devon. That’s on me and Rich, so it’s on us to deal with it. We’re trying to figure it all out.”
He smiled warmly. “I know. We all know. It was obvious things were dire when the larger orders we used to get were no longer coming in.”
I burst into tears. “Why didn’t any of you say anything?”
“And ruin your efforts at keeping everyone positive? Never.”
“But your … your jobs.”
“There will be other jobs.”
“But, you should be looking out for your families.”
He walked up and pulled me in for a hug. “Don’t you know by now that we’re all family? We wouldn’t abandon you, and we know you and your brother would never leave us with nothing. That’s the only reason you’d accept that offer, right?”
I nodded.
“Something tells me you have other ideas.” He leaned on my desk and crossed his arms over his thick chest. “Christian said you were working on a plan.”
“An idiotic idea that you’ll all razz me for believing in,” I admitted, choking on a humorless laugh.
He put a gentle hand on my shoulder. “If you believe in it, then we will too. You know we’re behind you. The mill would have gone bankrupt long ago if it wasn’t for you and your brother.”
I thought about the lean months, where we had done some creative financing to make sure everyone was okay. “That was all Rich. I can’t take the credit for that.”
“You don’t understand your worth, do you?” He laughed incredulously. “Your dad and brother were about to sell the place. It was only when you announced that you’d be helping out that they gave it another go. There’s a long history of Stevensons in this town. Rich would never have tried to save the mill if not for you.”
I didn’t know whether to feel good or bad about that. If I hadn’t come back, could he have chased his dreams? “He … he never told me.”
“He wouldn’t. Heaven forbid his little sister knew how important she was to him.”
Rich had stayed for me. I looked at Devon through wet, blurry eyes. “Thank you. For everything.”
Devon tucked his hands in his pockets and looked to the door. “Do you want a ride home? A drink? A hug?”
I laughed and shook my head. “No, I’m okay.”
“A hot chocolate, then?”
“I’d absolutely kill for one of those.”
“Coming right up.” He pushed off the desk and made his way out the door, leaving me to fix the mess of mascara running down my face.
Now, more than ever, I was determined to do Owen’s vision justice. I had the blessing of everyone from the mill. My brother would always have my back, even when it seemed like he wouldn’t. I called him and told him I wasn’t giving up on him, and I wasn’t giving up on the mill. I’d fight for both until my last breath.
There was my pride to protect and a desperate desire to get the ultimate revenge on the Frost Corporation and Mr. Smith for pushing their agenda.
“Quality is in the details,” I said as I wiped away the last of my tears. “My name is Carla Stevenson.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Owen
I walked into Reilly’s ready to beg. I knew it would only be a matter of time before John Reilly relented and allowed my brothers and me back into his bar. We were paying customers, and in a town of under five thousand residents, he relied on our patronage. In this case, only a matter of time meant exactly twenty-two days and a sincere apology. Only forty-eight hours remained before the exhibit.
Above the bar
was a quote on the chalkboard that set the tone for the evening. If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.
Ruthie’s glare told me I was the mosquito in her life. She naturally hated me being in Reilly’s. From behind the bar, she tossed dirty looks my way each time our eyes met.
Pax was over the moon he could return. He was happy watching the train wreck that was Ruthie and me. Eli was ecstatic to be able to come back to watch the bar’s permanent residents, passing judgment on their lives and imagining what went on in their day.
Eli nodded toward a guy at the bar. “I bet he got dumped. Look, you can tell because that slump of his shoulders is identical to how you were when Rhonda Wright said no to you, Pax.”
Pax tossed a wadded-up napkin at him. “You’re killing me, Eli.”
“Probably deserves it.” Eli continued. “He gambles away most of his money in Indian Springs. Not reliable boyfriend material.”
“You’re horrible,” I said.
“Geez, Owen, I haven’t had the chance to do this for weeks because of you. Give me a break.”
I couldn’t find it in me to chastise my brother. I had plenty of other things to think about. And yet, my mind kept returning to one specific person.
Carla.
Carla.
Carla.
Our overnight date had been everything I’d hoped it would be and so much more. It wasn’t about what had been said between us but more about what had been left unsaid. She hadn’t shied away when I’d accidentally gotten serious about my feelings for her. She’d embraced it. If anything, she’d been happy because of it. That had to be a good sign, right?
I had no choice but to admit it. I was crazy about the woman. As improbable as that might have seemed, considering the time frame in which we’d been getting to know each other, and how relationship adverse I’d been in the past, it was true. I was truly, madly, deeply in love with her, and that terrified me.
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