Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Amber
T he boxes of candles and table runners blur together as I rush around, organizing Bree’s final wedding details. The scent of lavender and white rose petals fills the air as I arrange the decorations in her living room, hoping this will distract me long enough to keep the nerves at bay. Every time my mind goes back to the conversation I overheard, my stomach knots up. I know I need to tell Derek what I heard, but every time I try, the words get caught in my throat.
“Amber, where are those silver napkin rings?” Bree calls from the kitchen, her voice laced with worry.
“In the top box, left corner,” I reply, snapping back to the present. I cross the room, setting down a vase of wildflowers that’ll be her centerpiece. Bree’s overwhelmed look softens for a moment as she watches me fuss over the tiny details.
“You’re a lifesaver, you know that?” she says, squeezing my arm. “I’d be lost without you.”
I force a smile, masking my worries. “Well, what are besties for?”
I keep working, helping her with everything from the seating chart to the place cards. The distraction helps, but every so often, I catch myself glancing at my phone, waiting for that perfect moment to talk to Derek. But every time I think about it, a flood of fears drowns out the courage I’ve gathered.
How can I tell him I overheard Nora saying Sharon had been planning to sell out his ranch to a development company? And that they wanted to still go through with it.
“Hey, earth to Amber.” Bree waves her hand in front of my face, laughing softly. “You’ve been acting a little weird lately. Everything okay?”
“Oh yeah,” I answer quickly, smoothing the crease in the tablecloth. “Just…a lot on my mind. You know, everything.”
“Uh-huh,” she says, unconvinced. She drops her tone to a teasing whisper, “Or is it more about Derek?”
My cheeks warm, and I shake my head, laughing to deflect. “You caught me. It’s mostly about him.”
“Tell me more.”
“I haven’t told him about what I overheard yet. Mostly, I haven’t because I’m scared that I misheard and would start a war over hearsay, you know? Plus…the way he acted after the fire toward me, I’m just worried he doesn’t want me to get involved in anything with the farm. You know a sort of ‘mind your place’ mentality.”
“First of all, there’s no ‘mind your place’ mentality in a healthy relationship. If he’s not up to hear you, then he’s not the man for you.”
“But…”
She puts her hand up in the air to stop me. “No, there isn’t a but. It’s not like you’re trying to tell him how to grow apples better or how to fix the old John Deere. You think you overheard the Livesays talking about taking the farm out from under him? That’s a big deal. Not only that, but what happens if it’s true, and they evict them or whatever, and you do nothing to stop it? You can’t live with that guilt.”
“Maybe none of it’s true. Teddy would be the first to know about a development corporation.”
“No, shoot! I can’t believe I forgot to tell you this. Hold on!” She turns and pokes her head around the corner. “Hey, Charlie!”
Her fiancé walks out from the back room, his eyes wide as he takes in the state of his living room.
“This is insanity.” He chuckles.
“It’ll be gone before you know it,” I tease.
“Hey, Charlie, tell Amber about the development company that tried to get your parents to sell to them.”
“Bree, you know they were under contract not to talk about it.”
“Amber is family, and it’s necessary. The Livesays are trying to sell the orchard out from under Derek’s nose.”
Charlie shakes his head as he looks over at me. “My parents were approached a few years ago by a company wanting to buy up all the properties on that road, including Derek’s ranch.” He pauses, watching my reaction.
“What?” My voice comes out in a harsh whisper.
He nods. “It was a development company with this whole ‘luxury resort’ pitch. They even showed my folks these mock-ups with Derek’s place smack in the middle. They turned it down, of course. They told my parents that Sharon was selling, but my parents didn’t believe it, thought it was a sales tactic. When Sharon passed, the talks faded, and my parents were told not to speak about it unless everyone on the block agreed to sell. Bree said that you overheard Nora talking about them accepting the deal.”
“Yeah, I did. Do you know the name of the company?” I ask, my heart pounding.
Charlie leans in, whispering, “Yeah, it was something like Oakmont Holdings.”
I nod, mind racing. “Thanks, Charlie. I’ll have Teddy look into them.”
“Go,” Bree sighs. “Charlie can help me with the rest.”
“Did you tell Amber?” Charlie asks Bree with a wide grin.
“I thought we agreed to wait,” she replies with a glance at me.
“She knew before me? Seriously?” He laughs. “I should have known.”
“Who do you think talked me down from the ledge?” she pouts.
“Congratulations, Daddy Charlie.” I giggle as I hug him and Bree tightly. “I cannot wait to spoil this baby rotten!”
I’m rushing out the door before they can even respond. Teddy will know about this resort group and maybe I can get the answers I need about it.
Ten minutes later, I’m knocking on my brother’s door.
“Hey, sis,” he greets, looking surprised to see me.
“Hey, I need a favor,” I say, my voice a bit rushed.
He gestures for me to come inside. He walks over to his couch and sits down, motioning for me to follow. He raises an eyebrow, closing his laptop on the coffee table and turning to give me his full attention.
“Shoot. What do you need?”
I take a deep breath, trying to keep my tone steady. “Do you know anything about a company called Oakmont Holdings?”
He leans back on the couch, frowning. “Oakmont Holdings…sounds familiar. Give me a sec.” He turns back to his computer, typing away. I watch the screen flicker, feeling my pulse quicken.
“That’s who I thought it was,” he says, with a shake of his head. “These guys are snake oil salesmen. They roll in, promise big, and deliver little. Lots of lawsuits and shady dealings. They’re known for charming property owners into selling and then using the land for things other than what was originally promised. Not just that, they promise the landowners a LOT of money, but it ends up being a small amount paid out and then the contract they sign actually has small print stating that the rest of the money will only be paid out to them in royalties from the resort or whatever they claim to be building. Not good news. Why?”
“I overheard Nora say they were going to sell the orchard to them.”
“Shit,” he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “If the Livesays have Oakmont on board, they won’t play fair. These guys at Oakmont will use every dirty trick in the book. It’s just business to them, and they don’t care about the people they hurt along the way.”
I feel the knot in my stomach tighten. I’ve got to tell Derek. But the fear still lingers—what if he gets angry and pushes me away again?
I inhale slowly, rolling the thought around in my head.
Am I really scared Derek will react that way because of how he acted when we first met or am I thinking he will because Tommy used to get angry anytime I told him anything he didn’t want to hear?
“I overheard Nora say that Sharon was originally going to sell, and they were just finishing what she wanted.”
“There’s no way,” Teddy says quickly. “Derek wouldn’t have done it.”
“What if she was doing it behind his back?”
Teddy watches me with a critical eye. “Wait, when did you hear this? Why did you say something to me before Derek?”
“I heard it at the dance and then…I wanted to research a little more. I didn’t want him to think I was gossiping or something.”
“Look, you’re doing this because you care about him, right? He deserves to know. It’s better than him finding out later and wondering why you kept it from him.”
I let out a small groan and nod.
“You’re right. When you put it that way, it changes things. If he is mad at first, at least, I’m protecting him in a way.”
“He won’t get mad. He’ll understand and appreciate it. Why would you think he’d be mad?”
I glance down quickly and shake my head. “My last boyfriend…he got mad at me for a lot of stuff. I guess that fear is still lingering. Especially because in the beginning, Derek was kind of rude to me when he was having a bad day.”
“He won’t be mad at you. I promise. Just talk to him.”
I nod, taking a deep breath, trying to gather my courage. “You’re right. I just…it’s hard. But I’ll tell him.”
I’ve said the words out loud, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to pull the trigger. I know that it’s a ridiculous fear to have, but it’s there, nonetheless.
The truth is, I’m so terrified that he’s going to think I’m lying and break up with me. He’s never given me reason to believe that, but I can’t shake the fear.
Tommy threatened me with it a few times, and…now I’m just terrified to speak up for fear of Derek being the same.
As I leave Teddy’s house, I think more about why I’m so scared of losing Derek.
It’s because I’ve fallen in love with him. And if I lose Derek, I lose the kids, as well. My family adores him, will they choose me over him?
I blow out a breath as I hear the words in my head. I know they’re true, too. I’ve never felt like this with anyone before. It’s so special with Derek, but…sometimes it seems too good to be true, and I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Derek was married to Sharon, for goodness' sake. Is what I’m seeing even the real him? A few more months down the road, will the mask fall off, and I will see exactly why the two of them fell in love and got married?
I let out a groan as I pull into my driveway. I walk into the house and plop onto my couch. My phone rings, and I see Derek is calling. I let it ring, staring at it until it stops.
I need to figure out what my next move is, and I can’t do that while having a conversation with him. I need to decide how to approach all of this.