look. “What do you think? But if Karen’s company succeeds, Riverbend is gone.”
“And we’ll be surrounded by housing developments and shopping malls and golf courses, right?”
“Yes,” Carter said tightly.
Grant looked as unhappy as Carter felt. “What the hell can we do about it? We could buy up all the land ourselves—do we have that kind of money?”
“Not that kind,” Carter said. “And it’s more complicated than that. The developers are wooing the town council with all the money they’ll bring in when new people move here. The council will try to get current buildings condemned or writs served on owners to either fix up their property or pay so much in fines they’re forced to sell.”
“They can’t do that,” Grant said indignantly. “Can they?”
“’Fraid they can.” Carter didn’t like government or politics, having had to deal with the law enforcement part of it so much. But he’d learned that officials could be more corrupt than the nastiest drug dealer, all while they went to church on Sunday and helped out at the school.
“Well, we can’t just sit around and wait for the bulldozers,” Grant growled. “Some of the people around here have nowhere to go. Hell, we have nowhere else to go.”
“I’ve been thinking about this,” Carter said. “I’m betting we can stop them by keeping Karen Marvin happy.”
Grant opened his mouth to argue, then closed it. Carter watched thoughts go through his brother’s head, churning them as he rearranged his ideas. “Okay,” Grant said. “What does that mean?”
“Karen isn’t the only person in her development company,” Carter answered. “Her ex-husband, for one, is the CEO, but she has a lot of pull, a lot of influence with the board of directors, from what I’ve found out. If we show her the real Riverbend, get her to know the people here, and get her to like the town, she might not want to ruin it.”
Grant looked skeptical. “This is your great idea?”
“It worked in the neighborhoods when I was a kid. If someone moved in and tried to take over, we got him to like it there, to protect the place instead of just gut it.” Carter paused. “It didn’t always work, but mostly, it did. People like places where they feel welcome, at home, respected. Even gang lords.”
“If you say so.” Grant frowned at him, blue eyes troubled, angry.
“Karen can be won to our side and help us,” Carter went on. “Or she could walk away and not care. I prefer to keep her happy. Was she mad at you for not sleeping with her?”
Grant shook his head. “Didn’t seem like it. But I’m going to tell you this right now, Carter.” He leaned on his fists on the desk. “I’m not going to make myself a man-whore to save Riverbend. Someone else can throw themselves on that grenade.”
“I didn’t think you would.”
“Then what do you want me to do?” Grant unclenched his fists and dropped into a leather chair on the other side of the desk.
“Just make sure Karen’s pleased with us. Wine her, dine her, take her to the bar. Find her a cowboy to hit the sack with, if that’s what she’s into. Butter her up.”
“Meanwhile, the whole town wants to lynch me for consorting with the enemy.”
“She won’t be the enemy if we do this the right way.”
Grant let out another growl. “Sure. Then you can take all the knives out of my back, but I might already be dead. Why can’t you wine and dine her?”
“Because I know fuck-all about wine and food,” Carter said. “You know the spots to go. So does Christina. Ask her to help you.”
“Wait, wait, wait a minute. You want me …” Grant pointed at his chest…“to ask my ex-girlfriend—the woman I want more than anything to get back into my life—to help me woo a shark of a woman, so we can save our hometown?”
“You got it.”
Grant shot him an irritated look. “You make it sound so easy.”
“It is easy. You’re good at this, Grant.”
“Yeah, but why me? Why not Tyler? Or Ross? Ross can be her cowboy-cop fantasy. Women like that.”
“Because Karen likes you. She told me so.”
Grant shook his head. “What she wants is another notch in her bedpost.”
Carter sat back again. “You’re chased by women all the time. It’s never bothered you before. Usually you lap it up.”
“Not the same thing at all. And if I’m going to have another chance with Christina, I don’t want other women anywhere near me. I’ll become a monk