What Might Have Been: Daniels Brother #4 (Daniels Brothers) (2 page)

“If you need anything before tomorrow, you can reach me on my cell.”

Standing, Trent tucked the cards in his pocket. “If I can get a look at everything tomorrow, I should be able to have some figures for you by the end of the week.”

“I look forward to it.” Maxwell extended his hand again to Trent.

After a brief goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Baxter, Trent left the office and made his way back down the elevator. His head was spinning. Not only had they not lost the Baxter account, but it looked as if they were gaining another big client.

Trent strolled past the security guard in the lobby and out into the parking lot. He climbed into his truck, shut the door, and reached for his cell.

Two rings later, Trinity picked up. “How’d it go?”

Trent tilted his head back against the seat and chuckled. “You’re not going to believe it.” 

***

Abigail Hoffman took a seat on the stone bench outside the Collinses’ corporate office. She glanced up at the sky and frowned. It was going to be hot and humid once the sun worked its way higher in the sky. Just her luck she’d be spending the day driving around town showing the new landscaper all the Collinses’ properties. Abby prayed his vehicle had air conditioning.

Max had returned from his meeting the day before and gleefully informed her of how she’d be spending her day today. She was glad he’d solved one of the hundreds of issues they’d inherited upon his return to Cincinnati, Ohio. Instead of spending time with his ailing father, Max was stuck trying to fix the months of bad decision-making his father’s assistant, Emily, had made.

Emily had no experience running a business and it showed. She’d cut spending in an effort to save the company money, but she hadn’t understood that sometimes you have to spend money in order to make it. Now it was up to Max, and Abby, to get things back on track. If they didn’t, Collins and Baxter Property Management wasn’t going to last much longer.

She glanced at her watch. It was already five minutes after nine and there was no sign of the landscaper.

Her phone buzzed and she dug in her purse to check the message. It was from Max, of course.

Didn’t scare him off, did you? - Max

She rolled her eyes.
No. He hasn’t shown up yet. - Abby

He didn’t reply immediately.
Don’t worry. He’ll be there. Aunt Lillian says he’s the best landscaper in town. - Max

High praise coming from your aunt. - Abby

I know. Call me tonight? - Max

Sure. - Abby

Sighing, she put her phone back in her purse. When Max told her about his dad and asked for her help, Abby couldn’t say no. Max was her best friend and he’d been there for her more times than she could count over the years.

That didn’t mean she was feeling all warm and fuzzy about being back in her hometown. There were too many memories here. Too many chances of running into someone she knew.

Abby checked her watch again. Ten minutes after nine. Maybe Aunt Lillian had been wrong about this guy of hers.

“Excuse me?”

She looked up at the large figure looming over her. The sun was behind him and she was having trouble seeing his face. “Hi.”

“Hi.” He sounded amused. “Would you happen to be Abigail?”

Right then he moved a little to the right, blocking the sun, and she got a good look at his face. Abby blinked. She had to be seeing things. It couldn’t be—

“Are you all right?” His amusement had turned to concern when she didn’t respond.

Abby stood and attempted to hide her unease. She didn’t need to be at any more of a disadvantage than she already was. “Yes. I’m fine.”

A second later, she saw recognition cross his face. “Abby? Is that you?”

“Hi, Trent.”

“Wow. I can’t believe it. When I was told I’d be meeting Abigail, I had no idea it would be you.”

“Yep. It’s me.” She knew what was coming and the last thing she wanted to do was take a trip down memory lane. “And I’m guessing you’re the landscaper.”

“Landscape architect, actually. But my company does everything from design to implementation and maintenance.”

She was impressed, despite everything else that was going through her head at that moment. “Sounds like a lot of work.”

“It is. But I love it.”

Standing there, Abby realized how easy it would be to slip into the effortless friendship they’d had before. A part of her longed for that, but she had to remember why that wasn’t a good idea—why she needed to keep her distance. “Word on the street is that you’re the best.”

Trent lifted a single eyebrow and one side of his mouth tilted up. “By the street you mean Mrs. Baxter.”

She couldn’t help the bubble of laughter that escaped. “Max’s aunt thinks highly of you and she doesn’t dole out praise lightly.”

Abby knew that much from personal experience. The first time she’d met Lillian and her husband, Frank, she’d been peppered with questions from the woman. Even though Max had explained that he and Abby were merely friends, Lillian was convinced there had to be more to it. She wanted to make sure her nephew wasn’t having the wool pulled over his eyes.

“You must be talking about another Mrs. Baxter. She’s always been quite pleasant to me.” He was teasing her and it brought back a lot of memories . . . memories she really wanted to keep buried.

“Lucky you.” Abby smiled and picked up the paperwork on all the properties she’d brought with her, trying to ignore the churning in the pit of her stomach. “We have a lot of ground to cover today. Are you ready to get started?”

He motioned toward the parking lot. “Ready when you are.”

They made their way down the walkway to where he’d parked his vehicle—a silver pickup truck. It looked new, but when Abby climbed inside she noticed a few signs of wear on the interior. There were also several notebooks and a stack of papers on the seat between them.

Trent put the key into the ignition, started the engine, and put the vehicle in gear. “Where to first?”

Abby flipped open the folder in her lap. The first property on the list was another office building. It was as good a place to start as any. “Gavin’s Ridge. We’ll start there.”

“Gavin’s Ridge it is.”

He backed out and maneuvered his way through the parking lot and onto the main road. Abby told herself to stay calm. It would be okay. This was Trent. Her childhood friend.

While that was true, a lot had changed since they’d sat on the steps outside his home and played
I spy
.

She chanced a glance at him before looking away.

Pressing her lips together, she ordered herself to breathe. It would be okay. She’d do her job, he’d do his, and then they’d go their separate ways.

Yeah. Who was she trying to kid? There was no way Trent would leave it at that. Not with their history.

Chapter 2

Abby.

Trent was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that she was standing only a few feet away from him. Seeing her again had been a shock to his system. It had been more than ten years, but she hadn’t changed all that much. Her hair was shorter and she had a few more curves than he remembered, but other than that, she looked the same. That is if you discounted the designer suit she was wearing. The Abby he knew preferred jeans and T-shirts.

“What do you think?” she asked.

He cleared his throat and put thoughts of the past out of his mind. There would be time for that later. “It needs a lot of work. I don’t know who was in charge of the landscaping before, but this is in worse shape than I expected. Some of this over here has seeded already. It’ll need to be removed and new sod put down. The mulch needs to be replaced. And I’m concerned about those trees over there. I’ll have my arborist look at them to be sure, but I think they’re going to have to come down.”

In his head, he was going over the numbers. How long would it take to do what needed to be done based on the number of guys he could spare? As much as he wanted to make this work, he couldn’t sacrifice the needs of his other clients.

Abby walked over to one of the bushes. It was out of control and would need to be cut back considerably. She plucked a leaf off and ran it between her thumb and forefinger. It made him recall sitting in the backyard with her years ago. She used to pick a blade of grass from the lawn and wind it around her finger over and over again.

“Max was devastated when he saw it.” She looked around the property with sadness in her eyes. “His dad never would have let this happen if he’d been well.”

Hearing her talk so casually of her boss made him wonder what kind of relationship they had. Was it purely professional? He knew he shouldn’t care either way, but this was Abby. Even after all the years they’d been apart, he still felt that pull to her. “How long have you worked for
Max
?”

She glanced over at him then quickly averted her eyes. “About five years.”

He nodded and went back to inspecting the plants. There were so many things he wanted to ask her, like why hadn’t she come back after college, or at least stayed in contact? Trent thought he understood on some level, but it still hurt. They’d been friends. Whatever had happened between her and his brother shouldn’t have affected the friendship she and Trent had.

They were both quiet while Trent made his way around the lawn. He made some notes and sketched a rough layout of the property. It would help him later when he was putting together his proposal.

When he was finished, he and Abby headed back to his truck. They drove to the next property on her list. This one was an apartment complex.

He grabbed his notebook and stepped out of the truck. The first thing he noticed was an overgrown garden trellis. It framed the door leading to the office. He imagined it had once been a thing of beauty. At the moment, it was out of control. Trent couldn’t imagine anyone would be eager to pass under something that looked as if it wanted to swallow a person whole. He was beginning to understand what Maxwell Collins had meant when he said it was costing them business.

After introducing themselves to the office manager, Trent and Abby strolled through the complex of roughly twenty townhouses. It was more of the same—plants that hadn’t been trimmed in months, if not years, and mulch that needed to be replaced. The grass looked as if it had been mowed regularly, at least, but there were quite a few bald spots that would need to be addressed.

Abby followed beside him. If he asked a question, she would answer. Otherwise, she remained silent.

It gave him a lot of time to think of more questions. What had led her to working for Maxwell Collins. When she’d left for college, she’d had plans to become an interior designer. What happened there?

When he was satisfied he had everything documented, they went back to his truck and moved on to the next property. Abby had kept a respectful distance from him all morning. If she’d been a stranger he wouldn’t have thought much of it, but she wasn’t. They’d been best friends, damn it. She could barely look him in the eye.

They finished up at their fourth property around noon. He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main highway without asking Abby for the address of their next destination. She didn’t say anything. Trent wasn’t sure if that was because she trusted him or because she’d already guessed he was headed for food.

He drove for about five miles until he saw one of his favorite food trucks. There was already a line.

After finding a place to park on a side street not far away, he turned off the engine, and unbuckled his seat belt.

Abby glanced over at him then at the clock on the dashboard. “I guess we should probably get something to eat.”

“Yep. I’m starving.” He palmed his keys, opened his door, and winked at her. “Wouldn’t want you to wither away, now would we?”

It took a few moments for her to exit the truck and join him on the sidewalk. She held her hand against her forehead like she was trying to shield her eyes from the sun. It created a shadow over her face, but he still noticed the red on her cheeks. He’d made her blush.

Once they had their food, Trent guided her over to one of the picnic tables beneath a pair of trees. It was a decent day even if it was a little on the humid side, but in the shade there was a nice breeze.

Abby sat across from him and started eating her tacos. She scanned their surroundings, looking everywhere but at him.

Trent devoured three of his tacos before he decided he had to say something. “Last time I saw you, you were headed off to college to become an interior designer.”

He let that hang in the air to see if she took the bait.

She sipped her lemonade and shrugged. “Things change. People change.”

“True. But I thought you were pretty perfect before.” He took another bite of his taco and waited.

Abby grinned. “You haven’t changed.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Definitely a compliment.” She was quiet for a long moment. “It’s good to see you again, Trent.”

He was tempted to put all his questions on the table, but something told him if he did that she would shut down on him. “Do you know how long you’re going to be in town?”

Abby released a deep breath and met his gaze. “I don’t know. Max has to get his dad’s company back to where it should be before anything can be decided. Plus, there’s his father’s health to consider.”

“And you’ll be here as long as Max is.” It still felt odd calling him Max, but that’s what Abby called him so Trent was going with it.

It wasn’t really a question, but she nodded anyway.

Trent finished his lunch and gathered his trash into a pile. “So for a while, then.”

“Most likely. Max needs someone here with him that he knows will get things done.”

“Which is where you come in.” Trent wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

“Max is handling as much as he can from here and his partners back in New York are taking care of anything that has to be done in person.”

“What does Max do exactly? Back in New York, I mean.” Trent knew he was a lawyer, but that was about it. Did the guy defend lowlife criminals, or something more mundane?