Opening Her Heart

by Deb Kastner

  Her palms were moist, and her breath was coming in rapid bursts. She worked in the office behind the scenes for a reason, and the thought of getting up and speaking to the entire town was making her feel sick to her stomach.

  “We’re here today to address the issue of Marston Enterprises building an upscale resort here within Whispering Pines’ boundaries,” Paul announced. “Because this is such a large and complex issue, I’m going to dispense with the usual formalities and jump right into it.”

  Paul looked down the line of Marston lawyers until his gaze landed on Jake. “Jake, since you’ve been around the past couple of months and most of us have met you or at least are familiar with you, why don’t you present for Marston?”

  Jake tunneled his fingers through his dark hair and glanced at Avery, who was staring straight back at him, her face heating when their gazes met.

  Breathe, she reminded herself.

  After an extended moment, he turned his attention to the mayor and council at the front of the room.

  “Well, sir,” he said, his Texas drawl especially pronounced, “generally, I’d be happy to take the lead.”

  Of course he would. Unlike Avery, Jake was a bona fide people person who resonated with crowds. He loved to speak. It didn’t matter if it was one person or a thousand. He would easily crush her with his charming smile and slick words, cutting through any arguments she might offer like a sharp ax.

  Avery cringed as she realized her Goliath wasn’t all the lawyers behind the table trying to look all professional and intimidating.

  It was Jake.

  And he was completely in his element here.

  * * *

  Jake felt completely out of his element, and he couldn’t imagine why.

  Actually, he could, and her name was Avery Winslow.

  Usually, he thrived on speaking in public. This is what he did for a living—met and won over members of the small towns and then, at the town council meetings, he would close the deal for Marston.

  Bam!

  But when he glanced across the aisle and his gaze met Avery’s, the bam was a sucker punch right to his stomach, especially when he saw Lottie run to Avery and give her a big hug and kiss. His daughter could not possibly know that to Avery, her daddy was the big, bad wolf personified.

  Avery had changed his life in so many ways. And it wasn’t just that he didn’t want to hurt her—although he would if Marston won the right to build. It didn’t take much to imagine her expression when they razed her precious cabin.

  Sad?

  Yes. She’d be brokenhearted over not being able to remodel the Meyers’ cabin into her perfect bed-and-breakfast.

  But more than that, she’d be good and angry. And that was something he was fairly certain he’d never be able to overcome. No amount of explaining would change whose side he was on.

  “I’d like to defer to Miss Winslow,” Jake said, gesturing toward Avery.

  “What?” asked one of the senior partners of the law firm that represented Marston. “What are you playing at here, Jake?”

  He shrugged. “I’m not.”

  Actually, he very much was.

  But he was going to give Avery a chance to speak first. If she didn’t go now, she would see Marston’s presentation, and it would likely overwhelm her. Jake didn’t want that. It was only fair to give her a fighting chance.

  “I—uh—Okay,” Avery said as she stood. Jake could tell Avery was nervous and that he’d caught her off guard. But the town needed to hear all she’d done on their behalf, and that meant letting her go first.

  He gave her an encouraging smile, which resulted in having her glare back at him, not that he could blame her.

  “Okay.” He was impressed at how quickly she pulled herself together. “We all know how important the issue we’re addressing here tonight is. It affects nearly everyone who lives in Whispering Pines in one way or another. And I’ll admit up front that for many, Marston Enterprises building a high-level resort here would benefit their businesses and personal lives substantially. The grocery store. Johnson’s Sporting Goods. Other businesses could adapt to welcome the rich and famous. Like Aspen and other places where Marston has opened resorts, new businesses would likely come rolling in which might, theoretically at least, be good for our economy as a whole. The resort will open up new jobs. And I’m sure everyone has considered how exciting it would be to get to see some of your favorite actors or singers face-to-face. It’s tempting to put a lot of emphasis on that.”

  Wait, what?

  Jake’s gaze flew to Avery, positive he couldn’t possibly have heard her right. But she met his gaze with her own determined look and lifted her chin, turning back toward the council and taking a big breath before continuing.

  None of this made sense. Why was she here, if not to fight Marston tooth and nail and give it everything she had to make sure the resort never happened?

  “However...”

  Ah, here it was.

  It was all Jake could do not to lean back in his chair, cross his arms and grin from ear to ear. Everyone was about to get a huge dose of Avery’s heart, something even the lawyers for Marston wouldn’t be expecting.

  “Whispering Pines,” she continued, “is so much more than numbers on paper or a computer spreadsheet. It is neighbors gathering together on the community green for a Fourth of July picnic and fireworks. It is elementary schoolchildren growing up, going to college and returning to teach the next generation. It is walking into a store and every employee knowing you by name.”

  Yes!

  Jake wanted to fist-pump. She was rocking it—making it personal—and it was personal, for everyone in this room who didn’t work for Marston.

  “Celebrities and superstars may choose to walk down the main streets of town and check out what Whispering Pines is all about—but they won’t see what we see. They won’t feel what we feel. Not only will fancy new shops move in but so will all the people looking to find employment at the resort. We will lose everything that makes our little town unique. The tiny, old-fashioned shops. Neighbors and friends who know and love each other. Worshipping at our small community church every Sunday and fellowshipping afterward. I’m not saying a megachurch is wrong or bad. But I don’t think it represents who we are as a town, do you?”

  Jake watched the various council members as their expressions changed. This was hitting home, right in their hearts. But they weren’t just moved by what Avery had said—they were concerned about what they hadn’t yet heard—Marston’s side of the issue.

  “Is that everything, Miss Winslow?” the mayor asked.

  “Not quite,” she answered, flipping open her file folder. “I also have some information to present on various endangered plant and animal species that you’ll find in and around the area where Marston Enterprises wishes to build. I believe these should be taken into serious consideration.”

  Jake nearly burst with pride as she presented her line items, different plants and animals that made the area around Whispering Pines their home, including some she’d seen and documented directly on the Meyers’ property.

  “I’d especially like to point out the number of Rocky Mountain columbines growing on the Meyers’ property and elsewhere around the area. Do you think those flying in from other parts of the United States and the world will know—or even care—that the columbine is our state flower and is therefore protected under law? We here in Whispering Pines know it’s illegal to pick one of these rare and delicate flowers on public land, which includes the hiking areas Marston Enterprises has built into their plans. But I suspect Marston hasn’t given a single thought to the columbine’s meaning.”

  She paused and took another breath. “Gold for Colorado’s mining history. Blue for the sky. And the white represents snow.”

  It was a good argument. A great one, actually.

  But
it wouldn’t be enough.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Avery felt as if she’d been talking forever, and yet she wondered if she’d said enough. She suspected not even close. She’d brought out every belief and contention she had, both provable data and the personal thoughts and emotions that she’d encountered as she’d ridden this enormous tidal wave that was Marston Enterprises.

  She knew her maelstrom of emotions would hit her eventually, but for the moment she was holding up better than she’d thought she would. She’d managed to make a fairly professional presentation, brief though it was.

  It didn’t help that at least one of the Marston lawyers was smirking at her, which in her opinion was quite unprofessional. The man couldn’t possibly be aware he just motivated her to fight harder, but Jake clearly did. He glanced from the smirking lawyer to Avery, winked slyly and shook his head.

  The guy isn’t worth your consideration, Jake’s eyes seemed to say.

  Not that it mattered. Avery was finished. She had nothing left to say. She’d presented everything she had, thrown every stone she had in her proverbial pouch. And those representing Marston didn’t even look as if what she’d said had made the slightest bit of difference.

  She realized with a stab of disappointment that it probably hadn’t. But all she could do was her best, and that she’d done. With all her heart and then some.

  “I want to thank each member of the council and you, Mayor Dillinger, for taking the time to hear my concerns.”

  And then she sat down. Her arguments were finished.

  She was a bundle of snapping nerves as it was, but those electrical impulses accelerated when Mr. Smirky Lawyer popped up with a remote control in his hand and turned on his PowerPoint display.

  Why wasn’t Jake making this presentation?

  And why hadn’t she thought of using a PowerPoint presentation?

  Avery had just assumed Jake would be the one to close the deal, since he’d been working so hard to make alliances here in town. Friends, he called them, but Avery couldn’t quite let herself believe that, despite how close she’d become to Jake and his family.

  Not with what he was about to do to them now.

  Instantly, the screen they’d placed up front, carefully angled in the corner so both the townspeople and, far more important, the mayor and the council members could see their slides, starting with their brand logo, a royal blue background with gold calligraphy letters M and E swirling in and through each other.

  “First,” said the gray-suited lawyer in a surprisingly high tone of voice, sounding nothing like Jake’s warm baritone with his Texas accent, “I would like to thank Miss...uh...”

  “Winslow,” Jake supplied in a droll tone, crossing his arms over his chest. “Miss Avery Winslow.”

  “Right. Yes. Miss Winslow. Thank you for bringing up your concerns to the town council and to us. I believe we can lay those fears to rest in the next twenty minutes and help the Whispering Pines community understand just how good a Marston Enterprises resort will be for your sleepy little town.”

  Avery raised her eyebrows. Did the lawyer not even realize that he was slamming the beautiful little town in which they all lived—and, consequently, the people who chose to live here? It was one thing not to remember her name—although Avery suspected he had done that on purpose. But to call their town sleepy? He couldn’t possibly realize what a compliment that was to the people here.

  “My name is Victor Layton,” the lawyer continued. “You can call me Vic. And I’m proud to represent the premier in resort companies. I’m sure after you see all we can offer you, you’ll be happy to welcome us into this community.”

  Avery bit her lip to keep from saying what was on her mind—that there was nothing they could say or do to change what she thought about Marston. If Jake couldn’t do it, this fast-talking Vic wouldn’t be able to, either.

  Then again, he might be able to persuade others in the community, especially the town council. And that was what it was all about now, wasn’t it?

  “Before I start my slideshow,” Vic continued, “I would like to assure Miss Winslow and the general council that the Rocky Mountain columbines—” he stopped and smirked right at Avery “—will be in good hands with Marston. Now that you’ve made that particular issue so clear to us,” Vic said and met Avery’s gaze and narrowed his eyes, “we will be certain to do our research on the issue and deal with it properly.”

  Vic glanced back at the other lawyers at the table, one of whom was entirely focused on his laptop, no doubt looking for ways to get around the pesky issue of how to deal with the state flower.

  “You can assure us that your guests won’t pick the flowers?” Avery asked, her eyebrows raised, then realized she was out of order and clamped her jaw closed and crossed her arms.

  Vic didn’t have to answer her question as he had the floor, but he looked straight at Avery and nodded once. “Nothing a few well-placed signs can’t fix.”

  Avery desperately wanted to argue, but she’d already made her case, and it was quickly going down like a sinking ship.

  “Please allow me to start my video presentation here, and then I’ll take any questions the mayor and council might have afterward. I’m also happy to open the floor to our many guests tonight,” he said, making a sweeping gesture toward the gathered townspeople. “So please, feel free to address any issues you come across this evening.”

  Avery continued to clench her jaw as Vic started a professionally created PowerPoint presentation, which not only showed graphs and charts full of information about how the town would benefit from the resort but slide after slide of happy faces, people from other towns where Marston Enterprises had built, sound bites from supposed business owners who had profited from the resorts.

  Avery wanted to slink under the table. It hadn’t even occurred to her to make a visual presentation. Why hadn’t she thought of that? Of course Marston was going to come in with guns blazing. And there she was with her one dinky little file folder.

  She’d not only let herself down, but she’d let down the townspeople gathered behind her, those who had begged her to fight for them.

  Her words meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. Not when she was up against happy faces and cheerful sound bites.

  She carefully watched the expressions on the faces of the council. She didn’t believe they’d been taken in by the fancy presentation alone, but all those charts and graphs? All that crunched data Marston was waving around as if it were the answer to everything? All the sound bites of business owners who thought Marston was the best thing that had ever happened to them?

  They’d have to take all that into consideration. They’d have to set aside their feelings and emotions and judge what was best for the town.

  The only question was, What was that?

  Even Avery wasn’t sure she knew.

  * * *

  Jake couldn’t keep his eyes off Avery’s face, his heart aching as her expression grew dimmer and dimmer. He forced himself to release his tight jaw as he tucked his clenched fists under his biceps so no one would see. He’d known all this was coming, Marston and their stupid sound bites.

  He was usually the one who delivered the final blow.

  Tonight he’d blatantly refused to be that man.

  That was part of the reason Vic was tripping over himself as he spoke. He wasn’t used to having to do the dirty work. He wasn’t the voice of Marston.

  Though Jake wasn’t the one who’d created the PowerPoint, he’d seen this presentation dozens of times before—the happy faces, the cheery sound bites of people who were just so glad a Marston resort had moved into their towns and changed everything.

  But he knew the truth.

  He’d seen the truth.

  And it was in his pocket.

  He’d talked to many of these people face-to-face and had hea
rd how their businesses had been damaged when new shops with much more money behind them pushed them into bankruptcy and shuttered their doors. He’d watched rude celebrities acting however they wished, creating all kinds of havoc with the small-town atmosphere.

  The entire PowerPoint presentation took a total of twenty minutes. When it was finished, Vic glanced at Jake.

  “Do you want to take it from here, buddy?” he asked under his breath.

  Jake raised his eyebrows and then grinned. “Actually, yes.”

  Avery gaped, clearly stunned, as Jake took the lead and moved into the center of the aisle. He smiled at her in encouragement, but not surprisingly, she didn’t return the gesture.

  Why would she?

  She believed he was about to slam-dunk her.

  The room was pin-drop quiet as everyone waited for him to speak.

  Rather than addressing the council, however, he turned to the townspeople crowding the room and spoke directly to them.

  “I’m happy to say I believe I’ve met most everyone here in the room tonight. It’s been my very great privilege to have spent the last few weeks in Whispering Pines with my family. During this time, I have spent time at church, gone ice-skating and in general gotten the pulse of the town. I understand what bringing a Marston resort here would mean.”

  Avery scoffed under her breath, her brows lowering as she glared at him.

  “Because of this, if you would permit me a few more minutes, I’d like to present an additional PowerPoint tonight.”

  “What?” Vic barked. “What do you think you are you doing, Cutter?”

  He met Vic’s gaze square on while simultaneously removing a thumb drive from his slacks pocket. “I’m telling these people the truth.”

  Vic scrambled for the laptop that he’d used to present the PowerPoint on, but Jake reached it first and shoved the thumb drive into the USB. Vic reached for it, but Jake grabbed his wrist and pushed him away.

  “Back off, Vic, if you know what’s good for you.”