Chapter 10
ANSEL
“Clear!” Corbin hollers, as the rest of us step back to watch a twisted, half-dead pine fall exactly where he planned it to.
"Thousands of perfect spots for a tree to grow, and that poor sucker had to pick a sandy patch," Braden says, shaking his head.
"It could be worse," Dash chuckles. "It could have chosen to grow at Uncle Lloyd's end, with the chemical damage or whatever it is."
It's never been clear why Lloyd's portion of the property has mostly weak, stunted trees, and relatively infertile soil.
We often joke that our uncle's bitterness because our grandfather hugely preferred his eldest son Parker, our dad, to Lloyd, has tainted the soil.
In all seriousness, there are rumors that a few farmers on nearby lands had used toxic fertilizer or pesticides years ago.
While the others start clearing the branches, I quickly check my phone. It's been two days since the best night of my life, and Lynn and I have been texting even more. This morning I asked her if she'd like to go out to dinner tonight, and she just responded two minutes ago.
Lynn: Actually, what if I made you dinner at my place? It's pretty small, and I'm not the best cook in the world, but I have a couple of dishes that are pretty solid.
I love the thought of her cooking for me. It's such a wholesome thing to do that I'm frankly disappointed I didn't offer first. Yet anytime Lynn takes the initiative, I'm going to support her all the way.
Me: That sounds amazing. What can I bring, and what time should I be there?
Lynn: How about around seven, and just bring your appetite?
Me: Can't wait.
Me: But I should warn you – you're gorgeous, and I'm going to kiss that pretty little face as soon as I get there.
Lynn: You're a huge flirt.
Chuckling to myself, I walk away from the fallen tree, looking around until I find a patch of wildflowers. Kneeling down, I take a series of photos, then sit on a rock.
"Is his highness going to give us a royal hand?" Dash calls out.
"As soon as I find the perfect gift for my super special date tonight, yes."
Braden grins. "So when do we get to actually meet this girl?"
"You've probably met her hundreds of times at Acorns already."
"Not the same thing and you know it. I mean have her over for a family dinner or something."
"She's pretty quiet," I explain. "I'm going to let her get really comfortable with me before I subject her to you maniacs."
Corbin shakes his head. "I bet she's imaginary."
Scowling, I hold up my fists. He waves a hand at me as if swatting away a baby mosquito.
Our brotherly play fighting stopped being even the slightest bit real after Corbin had his last growth spurt. Although he's never been truly rough with us, you just don't threaten someone who's built like a tank, even if you're joking.
I turn back to my phone, searching until I find what I'm looking for. Luckily, I'll be able to pick it up on the way to Lynn's apartment.
A few hours of work and a quick shower later, I arrive at her door with my hands behind my back.
"Okay, what are you up to?" she asks as she leads me inside.
I hold up a frame with three small photos of wildflowers, each with a different one featured in the shot.
Lynn's hands flutter to her mouth. "Oh my… You didn't."
Setting the photo on her kitchen counter, I slip my arms around her, pulling her in for a kiss. "I did. I wanted to bring you flowers that you liked, and would last forever."
She seems rattled, so I place a hand on her stomach. "Are the squirrels causing problems? Because I will have a stern word with them, if necessary."
Smiling, she shakes her head and waves me to the dining room table which is already set beautifully. Her apartment is small and cozy, all earth tones and bookshelves, with a huge array of plants lining most of the front window.
"The squirrels are fine. I think I'm nervous about giving you some strange news, though," she says.
"I'm totally open-minded. Hit me."
She busies herself with filling two small bowls with salad. "My sister Kayla works at City Hall. The other day I noticed she'd received a huge gift basket. Apparently your uncle Lloyd has been going pretty far out of his way to…umm…ingratiate himself with everyone there."
It takes some effort to stop my back teeth from grinding together. "Thank you for telling me."
"Ugh. I knew you'd get angry."
"Well, of course. Lloyd is a…" I wink as she sets the salad in front of me. "A whole string of terrible things that I'm not going to say out loud in front of a pretty girl, especially not when she's being so kind as to make me dinner in her home."
I glide my hand into the back of her hair, pulling her close for a slow, breathy kiss. "If I ever get seriously angry, I will definitely keep that from you. And it will never be because of you. Okay?"
"Okay. Thank you."
She sits down and we begin to eat. I realize compared to our first date, she's calming down much faster. I hope things are even easier on her in a few months.
We chat all about our days, as I revel in the wholesomeness of it all.
She tells me about some of the seniors who come into Acorns every week for an informal coffee group.
I tell her about removing the sad warped pine trees that ended up in the worst soil, that will be perfect for that live edge wood furniture that's so trendy right now.
We talk about the new businesses that are opening in downtown Oakton – a new hair salon, and a natural foods store.
Every time she asks a question about my family, I feel the need to change the subject as soon as possible.
It's not that I don't want her to meet them all, I just know she'll be overwhelmed.
I know she can probably handle more than I think, but I think we should have more time and trust built up before I test that theory out.
Once we finish the truly delicious spaghetti with homemade rosemary turkey balls, I help her clean up. "I didn't expect you to be so handy in the kitchen," she says, as I easily stash the colander away on the top shelf.
"I'm handy for all kinds of things." Sitting down on the kitchen chair, I pull her onto my lap. "I'm going to scoop you up in a minute to take it to the couch for a very serious make out session, but I can't wait that long. I need a sneak preview right now."
Just as our mouths begin to mold together, her hands circling my shoulders, there's a knock at the door. Lynn stiffens in my arms. "What's wrong?" I whisper. "Do you want me to get it?"
"No. It'll be my sister." Lynn stands up, shaking out her shoulders, then goes to unlock and open the door.
A blonde girl marches in carrying a laptop, dropping it with a clunk on the kitchen table. "Here, you're good with computers, you figure it out," she says to Lynn. Then her eyes lock on mine. Her head tilts to the side for a second as she blinks in astonishment.
I'm not surprised that she recognizes me. Everyone in Oakton knows me and my family. If they've lived here for any amount of time, they probably even know which brother is which.
Dash is the cute and boyish one. Braden is the handsome and charming one. Corbin is the quiet giant. And I'm…
"You're that rich tech genius! "
Lynn glances at me and mouths, "I'm so sorry." She turns to her sister. "Kayla, this is Ansel. We're in the middle of dinner, if you don't mind."
Her voice is much softer. Is she afraid of her sister? My poor sweet baby looks so uncomfortable that it breaks my heart.
Kayla looks at Lynn and laughs in her face. "Like on a date? Sure. Whatever."
I've never once thought of harming a woman, but the way she treats Lynn as if she has no feelings at all makes me want to hurl Kayla headfirst out the front window.
She turns the laptop to me. "It's been crashing for half an hour, and says it wants to update something, but it won't update all the way or whatever. Can you fix it? I like clothes shopping online before bed, but the pictures are always too small on my phone. Thanks."
She flounces out, as I turn to Lynn, blinking in surprise.
"Yeah. Anyhow. So that's my sister."
I've practiced keeping anger out of my eyes in business meetings, thank goodness. "Well, I certainly know who inherited the looks, charm, and grace in your family," I say with a grin. "Spoiler alert, it's you. Seriously, I do know what the problem probably is with her laptop."
With just a few minutes of what we in technical circles call "dorking around", I get it to update and restart properly. All the while, Lynn sits close, observing. I smile when I see her writing. "You're taking notes so that if this happens to you, you know how to fix it, aren't you?"
"You know it."
I lean in to kiss her temple. "You're very smart. One of the many things I like about you."
The screen brightens as the laptop comes back online, and Kayla's browser restores all of her open tabs. Dozens of them. We both stare in disbelief. "It's a wonder this thing runs at all," I say.
As tab after tab pops open in front of us, something catches my eye. When everything stops, I turn to Lynn. "Did you see what I saw?"
"Yes." She reaches over to click on a tab headed "New Oak Road, Oakley Lands."
My jaw drops as I read as fast as I can. A group of "concerned citizens" are demanding that a subdivision is built. From the last names, I recognize at least a third of them as friends of Uncle Lloyd's.
A second tab next to it explains how certain local property guidelines are being changed, and a third discusses how some town property divisions are being resurveyed and reallocated.
Specifically, ours.
I begin scrolling, but Lynn stops my hand. She's right. It's confidential town business on her sister's laptop. We shouldn't be spying.
Yet she's still reading. "Go back." She points to some dates. "Look. The past three years they've done this on the same date. This year they're bumping it up several months. Why do you think that is?"
Of course my brilliant sweetheart picks up on the patterns.
"Because Lloyd is trying to push it through before his four nephews find out. In a town this small, people talk."
Lynn sighs heavily. "Especially people like Kayla, who shoot their mouths off about their work all the time."
I need these files. If I don't stop Lloyd now, it's going to be too late. According to this, we only have a couple of weeks. But risking Kayla's job might upset Lynn.
"Baby," I say gently, "We should not have seen any of this. If anyone finds out that I did see it, your sister could get in trouble. She clearly doesn't know anything about confidentiality."
I receive a flat stare. "Considering that she read my diary out loud to her friends when she was in eighth grade, I would say no – she doesn't understand a thing about confidentiality."
Leaning over to nuzzle her ear, I whisper, "I have to tell my brothers about this immediately. I won't tell them how I know. Just that we have to go to City Hall tomorrow and try to get all of this for ourselves. Somehow."
"There's new security going in," she says sadly. "People have to make appointments just to get in the building. It makes Kayla feel like she's some sort of important government official, and she loves it."
I stare at the wall for a moment, thinking.
Lynn looks so sad already. "Dash's new girlfriend Bridget overheard some men talking about Lloyd creating a subdivision.
We thought they meant over the next few years, not immediately.
She was walking through an alley and overheard them or something.
Ended up recording them. At least that's a bit of proof. "
"Bridget really is wonderful," she says softly. She seems suddenly moody, and I can't figure out why.
Maybe I've caused enough stress for one night. Maybe I need to keep tension like this away from her.
"I'm really sorry to eat and run, but my brothers and I need to get started on planning whatever we're going to do about this. Will you forgive me?"
Lynn nods, and I'm glad she makes the first move to wrap her arms around me for a seductive kiss. Although our fire is still burning brightly, I feel a tiny shadow between us.
I was already concerned about family functions. How is our relationship going to work if I'm worried about her the entire time?
"I'll text you tomorrow, gorgeous. Thank you for a wonderful dinner."
Just as I'm leaving, I turn back. "I can tell that there's some tension between you and your sister. I don't ever want to hurt you, or tear you two apart. So I promise I won't get her in trouble. All right?"
There's a strange pause before she murmurs, "Thank you."
She locks the door behind me fairly quickly, making me wonder if Kayla has a habit of barging in. She certainly doesn't have any respect for Lynn's space, and always seems to be borrowing her car.
But family is family. They usually come first, even when they quite frankly don't deserve to.
Jumping into the truck, I send a group text for us all to gather at Mom's immediately. We're going to have to band together and take Lloyd down.
Somehow, without hurting Lynn's sister.
I wish that Acorns was open this late so I could get some of their incredible coffee. It's going to be a long night.