Chapter 11 #2
Familiar with Celia’s voice after having edited several of her books, Summer found it relatively easy to imitate the author’s voice, keeping with Celia’s style and sentence structure.
By noon, she had the first chapter written.
She took a break, having forgotten to eat breakfast after she got home from her walk, and made herself a sandwich.
She also peeled a banana and opened a container of Greek yogurt to round out the meal.
She worked for two hours after lunch and then took a break, glad she did so when she checked her phone and saw that she’d missed a call from Chance. Summer always silenced her phone when she was writing. Instead of texting, she returned the call.
He answered on the first ring. “Hey, beautiful. You working hard on that novel of yours?”
“Working hard—but not on my stuff.”
“I don’t get it.”
“I’ll explain the next time I see you. When is that?” she asked, hoping he might have time for her this afternoon since she would be with Sawyer this evening.
“I had to come into town to the feed store to pick up a part for some equipment that the hands are repairing. I’m about to finish up. Can I grab a couple of coffees and stop by to see you for a few minutes?”
She knew that would be more convenient for her than driving into town and meeting him at Coffee Hour. “Yes, I’d love to see you. The coffee will just be a bonus.”
Chance chuckled. “What’s your order?”
“I’ll take a skinny French vanilla latte.”
“Skinny, huh? Do you think I would like it?”
“I do.”
“Okay, I’m trusting you. I’ll bring two. See you in a few.”
Although she knew she should try to get in some more writing before Chance arrived, Summer was too excited to see him to concentrate on the chapter she was in the midst of writing.
Instead, she went and brushed her teeth and put on a fresh coat of lipstick, fluffing her hair and also spritzing on some perfume.
While waiting, she scrolled through her emails. A text from Sawyer came in as she did so.
Are we still on for Great Steak tonight?
She texted him back.
Yes. I’ll pick you up in my NEW SUV! 6:45?
His reply was quick.
I see you’re putting some of your settlement money to good use. I could get used to this. A lady picking me up. Buying me dinner. See you later, Cuz.
The doorbell rang, and Summer went to answer it. As she opened the door, butterflies erupted in her stomach at her first glimpse of Chance. He hadn’t shaved today, so he had stubble on his face.
And stubble on Chance Blackstone was sexy as hell.
He stepped to her, brushing a soft kiss against her lips.
“Dang, you look good, Sutherland.”
“I was thinking the same thing about you. Come on in.”
She led him to the great room, and they sat together on the loveseat.
“I cheated,” he told her, and her belly tightened at his words. “I’ve already drunk part of my latte.” He handed her cup to her. “You were right. It’s really good. I better watch it, or I’m gonna get a taste for these frou-frou drinks. The boys will never let me live it down.”
“I think you should buy a coffee machine for the bunkhouse,” she told him. “They might like frou-frou, too. Do you even know what one of those is?”
“I’m not a heathen. I worked in offices which actually had them. You pop in a pod and have a cup of coffee a minute later. I tried them a few times, but I usually went back to the pot of coffee sitting on the hot plate in the break room.”
Chance stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers. “But I guess I could get used to a fancy coffee machine, especially with Tammy leaving. Whoever gets up first always makes us a pot of coffee. We each drink a couple of cups. It would go to waste now if I keep that up.”
“Then we’ll go shopping for one,” she told him.
Summer took a sip of her latte, savoring it, feeling the caffeine rush ripple through her. Chance entwined her fingers with his.
“So, I see your laptop over there. What have you been working on if not your book?”
She took a few minutes to explain to him about her author whose husband was undergoing chemotherapy treatments.
“Celia was one of my favorites to work with, and she knew she couldn’t meet her upcoming deadline. It’s this next Monday. Celia only has three chapters to go, two regular ones, along with a short epilogue, which will wrap up things. She’s already outlined those three chapters.”
Understanding filled his eyes. “You’re the one who’s going to write those three chapters for her, aren’t you?”
Summer nodded. “I feel I owe her, Chance. Celia became a friend over the course of us working together for several years. She’s a wonderful lady and a terrific writer.
She’s on the cusp of breaking through and moving from midlist author to hitting the bestseller list. I know I can’t go back and do this kind of thing for all the other authors I edited, but Celia is one I’m choosing to help because of her situation. ”
“You have a big heart, Summer. That’s one of the things that appeals to me. So, where are you and Sawyer going to eat tonight? I know you told me, but it’s hard to think of other things when I’m looking at you,” he admitted.
“Great Steak,” she told him, secretly pleased at his words. “Have you eaten there before?”
“Once. After West moved back to Hawthorne, we met there for dinner one night. It’s pricey but really good. Make sure you get the truffle mac and cheese. It’s out of this world. And the beer batter bread is pretty terrific. Comes with honey butter.”
“Duly noted,” she said. “I’m sorry I’m tied up with Sawyer tonight, but I really owe him.”
“He helped you with this New York thing. Leaving your job, didn’t he?”
“I can’t violate the NDA I signed, or else I’d tell you everything, Chance.
It’s already hard enough not to talk about it with anyone, but especially you.
Let’s just say that I was put in the hot seat by the lady who ran Liberty House.
She and the in-house counsel were trying to force me out the door.
I called their bluff and asked Sawyer to look over the documents they were pressing me to sign. ”
“What did Sawyer think about them? You don’t have to go into detail,” Chance assured her. “Just give me an overall impression.”
“Some of it was pretty standard industry practice, but he thought with a few of the clauses, they were jerking me around. He countered their offer and emailed it to them. Called me after he did so, and once we talked things over, he asked me to put him on speakerphone. Sawyer’s darn good at what he does, and they capitulated to his demands on my behalf.
But I had to sign the non-disclosure agreement, which is preventing me from giving you any more information. ”
“That’s how you were able to pay in full for that shiny new Rogue,” he surmised.
“Yes,” she admitted. “I had no savings because living in New York is terribly expensive. I didn’t want to be tied down with a car payment and all that interest. I had asked Sawyer about it, and he thought paying for a car would be a good use of my money.
I don’t plan to blow any of the rest of it, though.
I’ll be as frugal as possible. It’s that money which is letting me try my hand at being a full-time novelist. I told Autumn that I’ll give it a year.
If it’s not working out, I’ll keep writing, but I’ll need to get a full-time job to support myself. ”
She saw his brow crease in worry. “Doing what?” he asked.
Summer shrugged. “I’m not going there yet. I don’t want to think about failure when I’m just starting out. This time next year, I’ll assess my financial situation and see what needs to be done. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you in the loop about my decision.”
Chance’s gaze pinned hers. “I’m hoping by this time next year that we may have come to some kind of understanding, Summer,” he said huskily. “I know you’ve said you don’t want to rush things, so we won’t talk about it now. Just keep it on the back burner, will you?”
He squeezed her fingers, and Summer hoped that she had both a career as a full-time writer and a life with this man the next time spring came around.