7. Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
Koa
I was so very wrong about Eleanor Dawson. From the moment the woman walked into the conference room, I felt like a little boy in big, big trouble. She sat across from me, face stern as a schoolteacher’s, and opened a folder.
“Orphaned at ten, adopted by her aunt and uncle, she graduated valedictorian and paid her way through college working as a waitress. Met and married a man who immediately disappeared after she got pregnant. He’s in jail, so now she runs her own bakery while ensuring her son gets a valuable education at the best Christian school Savannah has to offer.
She just received notice that the building where her bakery resides will be shut down and razed in just thirty days.
There are no other local options within her price range, and her apartment rent just increased over twelve hundred dollars a year, not to mention the school tuition increases coming this fall.
Your theatrics in her bakery tanked her daily sales for the past two days. ”
She closes the folder and laces her fingers in front of her. Expectant, she stares at me.
“Uh…you mean—”
“Yes, I mean Evalina Renn. Actions have consequences, Koa Keaton, and your actions are costing her two days’ worth of revenue at an already failing bakery.”
“I went to apologize yesterday, and she didn’t want to listen. The woman threw donuts at me.” I cringe remembering how hard it was to get donut out of my hair.
Eleanor sighs. “Koa, I get it. I realize that being in the public eye is difficult, and I know you are innocent of any wrongdoing where your father is concerned. The public doesn’t, not yet, but it’s my job to make sure you present an image worth trusting.
” She leans back in her chair and bites her lip.
I have every reason to fully understand why her brother threatened me within an inch of my life yesterday.
Eleanor Dawson is gorgeous, the sort of beautiful that makes a man know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that she has been hit on more times this morning than she can count.
And she’s fed up enough with it to turn that frustration into pure grit that will slap my face so hard my head will spin if I step even a centimeter over the line she’s about to draw for me.
“I’m going to need you to go back to Sparkly’s—”
I lean forward, aghast. “You must be kidding. She’ll probably throw the cash register at me next! Or every chair in the building.”
Eleanor leans close, meeting me at the middle of the table with her nose a fraction of an inch from mine.
“I could not be more serious. You’ll go there today with flowers, a heartfelt apology, take whatever she wants to throw at you—chairs, donuts, insults, I don’t care—and you’ll do it with a smile and a thank you. Am I clear?”
“Listen, I’ll do it, but I don’t think she wants to see my face in her place again. Are you sure it’s not best to let it go?”
Please let it go.
“Easier, yes, but it’s not the right thing. You’ll go back after this meeting, then meet me at your lawyer’s office for a brief about the status of this whole debacle, then your little league coach wants to discuss some parental concerns with you. I’ll go with you to that as well.”
I rub my hands over my face and let out a slow groan. “Perfect.”
I’d hoped the vultures wouldn’t descend upon a little league team like they have everything else.
I have a feeling I know what the parents want to know—will I distance myself from the team to avoid further scrutiny—and the answer is, obviously, yes.
But it’s going to suck. Watching them grow as baseball players, earning that boost of confidence that comes from learning to do something, is something I’ll miss.
Who knows how long I’ll have to step back.
“Good. Now, I suggest the flower shop down the street. I also suggest something in blue. Judging by her clothing choices, I’d say it’s her favorite color.” Eleanor stands and gathers her things.
“How do you know all of this?”
“It’s my job to know everything.” She levels her gaze with mine. “And I mean everything. Don’t think for one second you can get away with anything under my consultation.”
Finding blue flowers was harder than I had anticipated, much like everything else lately.
Somehow, I managed to snag a pale-blue violet—which, admittedly, baffled me beyond explanation—in a ceramic pot.
I waited until it seemed the afternoon rush had died down, leaving the bakery empty before I took a chance and entered the drama zone.
“Oh, no. No, not today. I’m not cleaning donuts from grout again, I’m too old for it.” The older employee shakes her head and shoos me toward the door.
“But I brought flowers?”
Annie, according to her name tag, pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose and takes the flowers. “Thank you. That was sweet of you. No one has brought me flowers in years. You may stay.”
I close my mouth since nothing comes out of it and stare at the counter where Annie lovingly places the pot on the counter near the register. “Lina, you have a visitor!”
Evalina leans through the swinging door and catches a glimpse of me. “No, I don’t.” She disappears back in the kitchen, leaving me alone with Annie.
Perhaps if I buy something and leave without getting into an argument with her, she’ll realize I came to legitimately apologize this time. “Can I get a black coffee?”
“Depends. Are you going to throw it at me?” Annie presses her hands on the counter and arches her brow.
She doesn’t give me a chance to respond before she adds, “You know, Lina’s doing her best. I know the past two days haven’t been the greatest show of her temperament, but she’s a very sweet woman going through a hard time. ”
“Which is why I brought her flowers. That you stole, by the way.”
Annie pushes off the counter and pours a cup of coffee, slides it my way, and grins. “I’ll make sure she knows. Have a good day, Mr. Keaton.”
I drop a few bills on the counter to more than cover the coffee and tip, nod, and accept my fate. She’s not going to encourage Evalina to talk to me, and I’m not going to force my way into the kitchen. Perhaps this is as good as it’s going to get. Eleanor Dawson will have to take this for the win.
After a less than productive visit to Sparkly’s, I head over to the lawyer’s.
Katie is spending her morning working with advocacy groups who intervene on an animal’s behalf when they are confiscated.
They ensure the animals are well cared for and not destroyed.
The very idea that they would kill a horse for no reason other than it may or may not have been purchased with dirty money baffles me more than blue violets.
I am not, however, confused by her refusal to accept a guard.
No matter how much Spencer tried to convince her it was a good idea, especially for the times we’re on the road, she declined.
Katie doesn’t like to be told what to do, especially when she puts her mind to something.
That something is pretending nothing in life matters more than her horse, and honestly, besides Spencer and me, that might be true.
When I pull into the lot, Eleanor is already there flipping through that folder of hers. Who knows what she’s got on my lawyer, but I suppose if there’s dirt to be known about him, it’s better for me to know it now rather than later.
“Hello again,” I say, and lock Lottie’s car.
Man, I can’t wait until I get my things back.
Working hard for something, refusing every penny my father offered so I could call my success my own—thanks to God, of course—only to have it yanked away because my father made poor choices, cuts deeper than I can explain.
I shake my head. There’s no proof of his guilt yet, at least nothing that has been presented to me, that says my father did anything wrong.
My patience is thin, and I’m leaping to conclusions about my own family.
I need sleep and a fresh perspective, two things that are difficult to get when people won’t leave you alone in search of a good story.
“Good afternoon, Koa.”
Eleanor waits for me to open the door for her before entering Peterson’s office. His receptionist nods and leads us directly to the conference room. Once seated, Peterson opens a folder of his own. It seems like my whole life is bundled up in a bunch of folders handed out to everyone but me.
“There’s not much of an update, I’m afraid, but it does seem we will have a judge who is sympathetic to your concerns and Katie’s. At the very least, she has approved the advocacy group’s petition to have Preakness under their care for the duration of the investigation.”
Relief floods my body so fast I’m nearly faint with it. If nothing else, I’ll be happy that my sister’s horse is safe and sound.
“What happens if they conclude the investigation and find I did nothing wrong? Do I have any restitution for this misery?”
“Unfortunately, no, since there is just cause to assume family money exchanged hands. However, your willingness to cooperate will go a long way toward ending it much faster. Until then, I can ensure you have adequate funding for your mortgage and other necessary bills.”
“That won’t be necessary, Mr. Peterson. My brother has decided to cover expenses for Koa and Katie Keaton for as long as this situation drags on.” She looks at me with a small nod. “We’ll call it a contract renewal benefit, assuming a renewal is what you wish at the end of the season?”
Oh, man. With everything going on, I’d completely forgotten my contract negotiation is set to begin next week. I’m quiet for too long, so Eleanor slides a new contract toward me.
“However, should you choose not to resign, my brother still wishes to help you until you’re established somewhere else.”
The new contract sum is circled in red, and it’s a substantial increase. I’ve certainly upped my game in the past two years, but this is more than unexpected. “I never wanted to play anywhere else. It was never a question.”