Chapter 22 - Savannah
Savannah
“Is it possible to have a heart attack at twenty-nine?” I asked Levi, gripping my chest in a weak attempt to keep my heart from jumping out of it. I was pacing the conference room they put us in, my heels clicking against the tile floor.
He scratched the back of his head. “I mean…technically speaking, yes.”
I glowered at him. “You’re not helping.”
He grimaced. “I’m not one to lie or sugarcoat things, sorry.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, sighing. “Do I at least look okay?”
My feet were already killing me, but I knew I had to wear these shoes today.
Delilah and I nearly cried when I pulled the box of Louboutins I bought after my first big win at Kessler, Trammel, and Maddox out of my stuff that Stewart sent last week.
And what was even more shocking than him having my apartment packed up for me was that he never filed charges against Weston for punching him.
My guess was that he found out who Wes was and didn’t want to bother with it.
But these shoes were symbolic of success, and that’s what I was willing, demanding, to happen today. I wouldn’t accept anything less. I couldn’t. Too much was riding on today. Too many people important to me were counting on me to succeed.
Levi grinned. “You look like you’re going into battle.”
Perfect. Just the message I wanted to convey with the bright red pantsuit. I’d asked the girls on FaceTime last night if it was too much. Delilah said she’d put Nair in my shampoo if I didn’t wear it, and Wes ended the call before I could finish and fucked me in nothing but these heels.
So, safe to say, everyone loved it.
A clerk peeked her head in the door. “It’s time.”
My stomach turned as the door swung shut.
I looked up at Levi with wide eyes, and before I could utter a word, he had his hands on my shoulders, hazel green eyes boring into mine.
“You can do this. You’ve been working on this, preparing for this, for the last two months.
This last week, you’ve done nothing but exist in this case, in this code,” he said, gesturing to the Agricultural-Residential codebook I was basing my whole argument on on the table beside us.
I swallowed roughly, nodding. “Let’s do this.”
I stopped short when I walked into the back of the courtroom.
It was packed. Overflowing. The whole town was here.
Here in support of Golden Circle. In support of me: the girl who ran off, who forced her accent away and pretended she wasn’t from here because she was ashamed of this place.
How incredibly wrong was I for ever thinking down on this town, these people.
People who wished me luck, waved, and smiled as I walked down the center aisle to begin the most meaningful hearing of my career.
My chest tightened with pride to be from a place that rallied around one another, that held some of my favorite memories, and molded me into the person I am today.
Our group was in the front row and spilling into the second, with Wes at the end of the first pew. “You look hot,” he whispered in my ear, making me blush. He kissed my cheek. “I love you, Sav. I believe in you.”
Knowing that felt like strapping on another piece of armor, and a weight lifted from my shoulders, hearing those eight words. “Love you, baby.”
Levi sat beside him while I walked through the swinging door to the defendant’s table, where Claire and Beau were sitting, and set my things down. I turned towards the plaintiff’s side, finding Sterling and Preston Hollis talking with Roger Vance, their lawyer.
He was a year ahead of me at Stanford and was okay. Good even. Got some job at a firm in Houston right after school that his father probably bought for him.
But I knew I was better.
Roger did a double-take and mumbled something to Sterling and Preston.
The pair of Hollises looked over at me before approaching.
“Miss Hayes,” Sterling crooned in his signature cream suit.
“Now, don’t you think all this is a little silly?
I think you oughta go talk to your big sister and change her mind.
” My hands balled into fists at his condescending tone, talking to me like I was a little girl who took marching orders from Claire.
“I won’t be doing that. You believing you have a case is what I find silly about all of this.”
Sterling took a step towards me, a weak intimidation tactic. There was heat at my back, but I could tell by the cologne it wasn’t Wes. “Do we have a problem here?” Levi asked his grandfather from behind me, his voice deathly quiet. Nearly a growl.
“Oh, look,” Preston grinned at his brother before it fell dramatically. “The traitor.”
“Sorry, I have a moral compass, Preston. Not everyone is sadistic enough to be okay with animal cruelty like you and Grandfather.” Just thinking about the cattle they poisoned turned my stomach.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he lied through his smile. He grabbed Sterling’s elbow. “Come on, they aren’t worth the energy.”
I looked up at Levi once they were gone. “Thanks. I’m sure that wasn’t easy.”
He shrugged. “It was either Weston or me, and we all know he likes to talk with his fists.” I chuckled while he went back to his seat.
“Savannah, long time no see.” I turned to find Roger approaching with a smug grin. He was all trust fund baby bravado in his Armani suit as he extended his hand.
“Hopefully, I never have to see your sellout face again after this,” I said through my smile, shaking his hand.
His grip on me tightened, nearing the point of pain. His smile went from arrogant to sinister. “Oh, I wouldn’t count on that.”
I ripped my hand out of his as the judge entered the courtroom. I felt a flicker of relief seeing it was an older woman. But that didn’t necessarily mean that Sterling hadn’t bought her off. “Guess we’re about to find out.”
“Counselor Hayes,” Judge Lancaster began after explaining the reason we were all here, “you may begin.”
I took a steadying breath and stood, stepping out from behind my table towards the bench.
“Your Honor, I’m here today on behalf of Golden Circle Ranch, a newly combined business between Circle M Ranch and Golden Bridle.
My clients and I are requesting approval under AG-R zoning for expansion efforts, including livestock rearing, equine training and breeding, and a veterans’ outreach program offering equine-assisted therapy. ”
I turned to the zoning board and spotted William Beckham, one of Sterling’s good friends, and the one who had the most sway on the board.
“These plans adhere to Section 4.2.5 of the AG-R District Code, which permits single-family dwellings, cultivation of crops, livestock management, and horse keeping, as well as ‘structures incidental to agricultural use’. Our outreach center is one of these structures.”
Roger stood with a smug smile, doing up the buttons on his suit. “And yet, Miss Hayes, you’re requesting commercial licenses and expanding public services. Doesn’t that suggest intent beyond private agricultural use?”
I wanted to roll my eyes, but didn’t. I turned to Judge Lancaster.
“It doesn’t, Your Honor,” I replied. “Under Subsection B, educational and therapeutic programs conducted as support services to livestock or equine operations are allowed. The equine therapy program isn’t a commercial facility; it’s an extension of our training and breeding efforts and utilizes the same land and horses. ”
Roger scoffed, looking at me and the board like I was insane. “So we’re to believe hosting veterans on-site for therapy falls within livestock usage? Sounds like a stretch to me.” Some of the board members laughed quietly.
I wrenched my jaw. “Yes, when those therapy sessions involve structured equine interaction, per the guidelines of agricultural therapeutic use cases already recognized in neighboring counties.”
He shook his head at his table, smiling to himself like he’d already won. “And what about the arena facilities? The training spaces? Don’t they reek of commercial exploitation? How will that impact the area? The town of Wild Creek?”
Was he serious? Or just stupid?
“You don’t care about our town, and neither does that Colonel Sanders lookin’ fool, Hollis!” someone yelled from the back of the courtroom, earning a few cheers and yells in agreement. I bit back a laugh when I realized the voice sounded like Louise.
Judge Lancaster swung her gavel. “Order in the court.”
“The arenas are incidental structures, Your Honor,” I said when the chaos died down, going back to my table to pull copies of the code.
I gave a copy to dumb as nails Roger and Judge Lancaster.
“They’re permitted under 3.6.2: ‘barns, silos, stables, or other structures directly related to equine or agricultural function.’ They aren’t event venues.
They’re for training, breeding, and therapy. ”
The judge nodded slowly, scanning the page. I glanced to the right, where the zoning board members sat. One whispered to another. A few were looking to Beckham, and he shook his head subtly.
Panic flared in my chest. It wasn’t enough. Even with all the facts, it wasn’t enough to convince them.
I went back to my seat, flipping through my binder, Roger’s sneering chuckle just loud enough for me to hear. There was a tap on my leg. I looked down and found a pale yellow sticky note. It was Levi.
I glanced at the judge and Roger, both of them distracted, so I snatched the note up. Unfolding the paper, I scanned it quickly: “County Ordinance 8.13.1 - Zoning Adjustments for Veteran Rehabilitation. 2011 amendment.”
My breath caught. I flipped through the codebook, finding the amendment, and skimmed it to jog my memory. This was it. This was how I would win this. I knew it in my bones, especially when I saw who signed off on it.
“Your Honor,” I said, stepping forward, my heart pounding.
“I’d like to submit a supplemental argument based on County Ordinance 8.
13.1, which allows for zoning in AG-R districts when the use involves registered non-profits offering rehabilitation services for veterans.
Golden Circle’s outreach program has filed for 501(c) nonprofit status and already has a letter of intent from licensed equine therapist, Delilah Chase. ”
Roger’s face paled, and he straightened. “Your Honor, that amendment doesn’t override the land use issue, which is—”
“It enhances permitted use,” I said, grabbing the printouts Levi had somehow gotten into my binder; he was magic or something.
I gave the judge her copy and sauntered over to Rodger, not letting his copy go when he tried to take it.
“And it was signed into law by your client’s own good friend on the zoning board, William Beckham.
” I wanted to sign off that little tidbit of information with my middle finger in his face, but knew that’d get me thrown out.
Roger looked like he was about to explode, yanking the paper out of my hand. As I walked back to my table, Weston shot me a wink that ebbed some of the adrenaline making my insides shake.
I faced the judge, practically vibrating with the taste of victory on my tongue. “Given the facts, I hope you can see, Your Honor, that Golden Circle’s expansion does not exceed the permitted scope of AG-R use as the plaintiff claims.”
Judge Lancaster sat back, her hands clasped on her desk.
“Thank you, Miss Hayes. I believe I’ve heard enough.
We’ll reconvene in ten minutes after I’ve met with the zoning board in my chambers.
” She slammed her gavel, and I nearly fell back into the table with relief that it was out of my hands now.
The next ten minutes were torture.
“Give me yarn, angel,” Weston whispered, stroking my arms.
I shook my head. “You don’t want this yarn. It’s legal jargon yarn.”
“Oh yeah, I don’t want that,” he chuckled, making me smile. He grabbed my hand and tapped it against his left bicep, where his tattoo of me was. I frowned at him, and he shrugged, grinning. “It’s good luck. Always worked for me, maybe it’ll work now, too.”
God, I absolutely adored him.
“You did all that you could, Sav, and that’s what matters. Okay?”
I glanced across the room. Sterling was red-faced, scolding Roger like he had gotten caught stealing cookies before dinner. It made me feel slightly better. “Yeah. Now we just have to wait,” I murmured.
When Judge Lancaster returned, I nearly puked on the floor.
She sat down, scanning the silent courtroom once. “In review of the proposed expansions, submitted materials, and zoning code—including the recent veteran rehabilitation amendment—I find that Golden Circle’s plans fall within the parameters of the Agricultural-Residential code.”
My breath caught. I gripped my chair, feeling like I was going to pass out.
“Motion to deny the expansion is hereby overruled. Golden Circle may proceed.”
The courtroom erupted. I collapsed into my chair, hands over my face, unable to stop the tears. Wes crushed me in a hug before anyone else could, pulling me to my feet and spinning me around as everyone cheered. Beau clapped my back, grinning so hard I thought his face might split.
“Oh my God, Savvy,” Claire cried as she pulled me into a hug so tight I could hardly breathe. “Mama and Dad would be so proud of you.”
Later that night, under the twinkle lights strung up at the McLeod house, I looked around at my family.
Emmett was grilling steaks. Colt and Brittany were playing corn hole with Levi and Tess.
Henry chased Luke through the grass. Beau and Claire were making s’mores with Anna and Joseph, who had baby Hattie on his lap.
Weston’s arms wrapped around my waist from behind. “You saved it, angel,” he whispered against my neck. “You saved the whole damn thing. I’m in awe of you.”
“I can’t believe it,” I replied, my eyes burning with gratitude for this place, these people.
He pulled back, his eyes meeting mine. “You don’t regret staying?”
I shook my head. “This is where I’m meant to be. Here with everyone. With you.”
He kissed me slow and soft. “Let’s stay up and watch the sun rise like old times.” I nodded, loving that idea, and kissed him again.
And for the first time in years, I didn’t feel like I was running.
I was right where I belonged. Wild Creek. Home.