what brings you into the city today?” He gestures to the leather chair, and I sit across from him.
“Just had some things to do and thought I’d check on progress.”
He opens a file, takes his time to read through it, and finally says, “I can’t say the news is good.”
Shit.
I rub my damp palms on my pants. “Still can’t find the owner?” I could always ask around town, but I don’t want to raise suspicion. Rumors start pretty fast in small towns where the folks are already suspicious and worried about their jobs.
“Worse. The owner filed papers with the Lunenburg Heritage Society. If it goes through, you won’t be able to touch the property.”
I sit up a little straighter. “How do we keep that from happening?”
“Not easily. I know a guy who knows a guy at the Society. I’m trying to dig up information on the owner and to put a stop to this. Right now, our hands are tied. The committee meets the first Sunday of every month, and we should find out more then.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. If we can’t break ground within the next couple of weeks, the project will stall until spring. While I’d like to go to the meeting personally, I don’t want to raise any flags with my presence. We’ve been hush-hush on our expansion plans for a reason partly because we don’t want the town up in arms, and because if we can’t secure the land, we can’t move forward.
“We need to find the owner and throw more money at him.” I pick up a notepad and pen from his desk and scribble a price on it. I slide it across the table, and Oliver’s brow rises. “Everyone has a price.”
“I’ll do what I can. We should have more information after the meeting in December,” Oliver says. He stands and checks his watch. “I don’t mean to rush you, but I have an appointment.”
I stand, shake his hand, and head outside. My phone rings and I pull it from my pocket, expecting it to be Kira, but I curse under my breath when caller ID informs me it’s my oldest brother. I shove the phone back into my pocket and jump into my truck. I head to the downtown core, and when I finally get a text from Kira, I make my way to the campus.
I park, climb from the cab, and lean against the passenger side as I wait for her. Crossing my legs at my ankles, I scan the crowd, and my heart beats that much faster when I find her coming my way. Waving, she hurries to me, a huge smile on her face. Her happy mood is the polar opposite of mine, but the second she reaches me, throws her arms around me in a hug, and says, “I had such a great time. Khloe is amazing. She’s going to visit us tomorrow,” a lot of the frustration melts away.
Which isn’t good. Not good at all. Holding Kira in my arms shouldn’t make all my problems disappear into the ether. But goddammit if that isn’t exactly what it does.
Chapter Fifteen
Kira
Outside in the driveway, gravel crunches beneath tires, and I glance out the window to see that it’s Khloe pulling up. I hurry to the back door to open it for her and tug my sweater around my waist. My smile falls as she darts toward me like the devil himself is chasing her.
“What’s wrong?” I ask when I see the worry on her face.
She glances over her shoulder. “I think there’s a cow following me. She doesn’t seem very happy.”
I laugh at that and usher her in. “That’s just Bridgette. She’s in love with Nate,” I say, matter-of-fact, and a part of me can’t believe how this all seems so normal now. “She doesn’t like it when strange females come around.” I was lucky enough that she took to me and didn’t chase me away.
Khloe tugs her hat off and shakes out her gorgeous red hair. “Ah, am I in the Twilight Zone or something because nothing you said makes sense to me.”
“I thought so at