Authors: Gemma Hart
Chapter
Ten
“Alright, here it is,” Mr. Rilkes said as he pulled out a stack of papers. He laid them facing Kat. With a pen he pointed at the fine print.
“As you can see here, the original property holders have sold to Brothers Construction and also the Carolina Society,” he said, sweeping the pen across the papers to point out the important names.
Carolina Society? Who was that?
Kat shook her head. “I don’t understand how a town can’t even own the land it sits on,” she muttered.
Mr. Rilkes shrugged. “Well that’s beyond either of our comprehension, Miss Ryans. Peytonville has had an interesting history and somehow it’s ended up where it has. All we can do is deal with its present situation.”
Kat carefully read over the paperwork. “‘…purchase of the lands surrounding property in question,’” Kat read aloud. She looked up in surprise. “So the buyers have bought the land around Doughy’s as well?”
Mr. Rilkes nodded in surprise. “Haven’t you noticed all the new construction going on?” he asked. He waved towards the front of the bank where the shiny new ATM machines stood. “Even in here?”
Kat nodded in confusion, wondering what that had to do with Brothers Construction or the Carolina Society.
“Well, that’s all them,” Mr. Rilkes said. “Brothers Construction has bought up nearly the entire town.”
Kat’s brow nearly hit her hairline in shock. “So Hoyt’s, the library, the bank, that’s all them?” she asked, her voice going up an octave or two in surprise.
Mr. Rilkes nodded. But unlike Kat, he didn’t seem particularly displeased by this new development. In fact, he seemed quite happy with Brothers Construction.
“These new buyers seem perfectly content in allowing Peytonville to operate just as it always had,” Mr. Rilkes said. “It really seems like a miracle, to be honest.”
After months of fighting for her town’s survival, Kat was less likely to believe in such miracles. She had a hard time believing a company would buy out a whole town just to be a good Samaritan.
Well, she wasn’t happy and she wouldn’t take it lying down either. The whole town can be wooed by another buyer but she wouldn’t. Just because Brothers Construction weren’t the New York buyers, it didn’t make them anymore trustworthy. No one knew what their plans were for Peytonville, despite what they claimed to say. The company seemed shrouded in mystery.
And it was time to pull the shroud off.
“Mr. Rilkes,” Kat started, her shoulder squared and ready, “do you happen to have the contact information for Brothers Construction? Where are their offices and how can I reach them?”
Mr. Rilkes rifled through his papers until he spotted just what he was looking for. “Ah, well it looks like they’ve set up temporary offices here in town. I guess that makes sense considering all the work they’ll be doing here now,” the banker said, as if speaking to himself. “Here’s the address.”
Kat took the offered slip of paper and tucked it carefully into her purse.
With the information in hand, Kat was about to stand when a thought hit her. She wanted to save Doughy Pop’s and she didn’t want to waste time messing around with red tape and run arounds.
She needed to try and reach the head of Brothers Construction immediately.
“Mr. Rilkes, I don’t know if this is information that’s available,” Kat said, making sure to add a little sweetness to her voice in case the information was available but not open, “but do you happen to know who is running this project at Brothers Construction? Perhaps the name of the project bidder?”
Mr. Rilkes pursed his lips as he thought. “Hmmm,” he said as he tapped the keys of his computer. “I might have that on file. I would think that the project manager would be the one heading the temporary offices here. It would only make sense. Ah! Here it is.”
Mr. Rilkes took out a pen and paper to write down the name.
“It looks like the project bidder was a Mr. Jason Daniels,” he said triumphantly as he handed the written name over.
Kat felt as if she had just been bolted to her seat.
God, it couldn’t be…could it?
She thought about how Jason had suddenly shown up out of the blue into Peytonville. She remembered him at the diner, telling her he had come for work. She had told him how little work was available in Peytonville.
“Oh I don’t know about that. I
think I could manage to find something.”
So he had found work by buying up not only her beloved Doughy Pops, but also her entire town, had he? Just what exactly was he trying to do here? Was he trying to play with her or tease her in some way? That didn’t seem like something Jason would do but then again, two years had passed since they had last seen each other.
People could change.
Since their first meeting, Jason had only become more mysterious and confusing. He had been rough with her that night in Fayetteville, teasing at the diner, and surprisingly perceptive on the road with his truck. But in the end, she still didn’t know what he was thinking or what he wanted.
Well it didn’t matter. Kat was not letting some guy just walk back into her life and stir up this kind of trouble. He could and had played with her heart but damn him if she’d let him play with her family or with Doughy Pops.
Kat shook her head at the proffered piece of paper holding the name that had been seared into the back of her heart for the last two years.
“That’s alright,” she said quietly, rising to her feet. “I can remember the name.”
With address in hand, she was ready to head over and give this soldier a piece of her mind.
Chapter
Eleven
Kat’s knuckles rapped sharply against the door. She looked up and down the street below her.
The address had led her to one of the small brick business buildings on the edge of downtown. It used to be an office for a CPA and a paralegal but they had closed up shop about eight months ago. Now she could see the empty offices were filled with drafting tables and computers.
But nobody was in the office.
Kat had looked around to see if she could find Jason’s truck. Instead, she saw a stairway leading up to the second floor. She remembered that there was a loft upstairs. Mr. Penny, the CPA, had often used it as a second home during tax season when he was too busy and too tired to make the drive back home.
She had marched straight up the stairs, her indignant rage still boiling behind her ears, and had knocked hard and quickly against the door.
There was a shuffling sound from inside.
“Al? Is that you?” a voice called from inside. “Did you get the—”
The door opened and Kat sucked in a deep breath.
A flaming heat seared up her body from her toes to her eyebrows.
Jason stood in the doorway, completely naked except for a towel loosely wrapped around his waist.
With his hair damp and falling in wet strands around his face, Kat could very much tell that he had just stepped out of a very steamy shower. There were still some water droplets hanging onto his chiseled chest. Kat watched one drop drip down the planes of his carved abs.
Kat had always known Jason had a hard physique. She could see it and she had even felt it when his arms had been around her or when she had been pressed against his chest.
But seeing it completely naked and for her full viewing pleasure was a completely different thing!
Kat forced herself to drag her gaze back up towards his face where he looked just as surprised to see her.
“Kat,” he said. “What are you doing here?”
His words helped her snap out of her daze. Forcing herself to keep her gaze at above the neck, she marched herself into his apartment. With a finger pointed against his glistening chest (which she
refused
to look at), she said slowly, “You
bought
Doughy Pop’s?”
Jason’s brow rose in surprise and then fell in resignation. He clearly had expected her to find him out at some point. That annoyed Kat even more. He had known she would find out the truth and yet he
still
had kept it a secret from her?
“No, I didn’t—” he started as he took a few steps back as Kat closed in on him.
“Oh like hell you didn’t!” she exploded. “And not only did you buy up Doughy’s but you bought up the bank, the grocery store, the goddamn library, and from what it sounds like, all of Peytonville!”
She felt herself quake as she imagined all the hard work Uncle Doughy had put into the diner. She imagined all the hours spent by Ernie at his shop and Hoyt at his store. Did this man understand what kind of destruction he was bringing?
She narrowed her eyes and quickly advanced on her target.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Kat demanded, feeling heartache and anger mix within her heart. She pressed forward as Jason took steps back. “Who are
you
to buy up an entire town? Do you know what you’ve done? I was so close to helping this town turn around and you come in here—”
“Kat, hold on. I don’t think you understand what’s happening here,” Jason said, holding his hands out in a neutral calming motion.
But Kat could not be calmed. “
I
don’t understand?” she cried out. “I don’t understand what’s happening to my entire livelihood?” She nearly flew at him. “Who the hell do you—Ahhh!”
In such anger, she had not seen the wet puddle in front of her. As she flew at Jason, the originator of all her current anger and outrage, she slipped, falling face forward.
But instead of smashing her nose against the floor, she felt strong arms immediately grab her, twisting her around so her back was pressed against a damp but incredibly hard and chiseled chest.
Jason had a hard grip on Kat’s wrists, wrapping them around her like she was hugging herself. Kat tried to jerk away but she might as well have been pushing against the brick building itself. Jason wanted her to stay and she was going to stay.
“Let. Go,” Kat gritted through her teeth as she tried to futilely jerk free again.
“No,” Jason said, his breath brushing against her ear. “Not until you hear me out, you clumsy little brat.” He tightened his hold, pressing her closer against him.
“You clearly did not get an accurate picture of the situation here,” Jason started. Kat could feel the rumble of his deep voice vibrating through his chest and against her back.
“Let’s start with some cold hard facts,” he said. “Peytonville was near extinction. The town was falling apart and a good percentage of its businesses had closed or were in the process of closing. Doughy Pop’s and the rest of the town was about to be bought out by some New York developers to make a luxury mountain retreat.”
He gently tugged against her wrists. “You agree so far, correct?” he said.
Kat only responded with a grumbling sigh.
Jason took it as assent and continued, “Now, here’s where you’re getting the story wrong. Brothers Construction
is
on the project as the winning bidder for your town.” Kat made an angry huff but Jason pressed her tighter against him. “But we’re here as merely the contractors.”
Kat twisted her neck up towards Jason. “What does that even mean?”
“It means that the people who will own the majority percentage of your town is the Carolina Society.”
Kat twisted away from his hold and this time Jason let her. But she noticed he kept one hand on her wrist, as if worried she’d dart out before he could tell her the whole story.
“Who
is
the Carolina Society?” she asked.
Jason ran a hand through his damp hair, slicking it away from his face. “Simply put, they’re a loosely governmental organization that helps to keep and preserve the history of the Carolinas. They help with funding for small museums or help maintain certain historical monuments. They also help with keep the Carolinas uniquely their own.”
Kat stared up at him in confusion, still not sure what he was saying.
“The Society heard about Peytonville and wanted to help preserve a Carolina town that was being threatened. They wanted to make sure they preserved the history and culture of this place. So they placed a bid and Brothers Construction has partnered up with them to help do the actual heavy lifting.” Jason stared at her, waiting for his words to sink in. “Do you understand? The Carolina Society stepped in to
save
Peytonville. They want to keep it just the way it is. Brothers is here just to give it a polishing up.”
Kat stared at him. She could hardly believe his words. They were just too good to be true. Could this really mean what she thought it meant?
“How did the Carolina Society hear about us?” she asked slowly. They were a remote town on the edge of the state. She couldn’t imagine that their situation was being broadcast all around North Carolina. How could such an organization have heard about them?
Jason shrugged, this time looking like the one who was a little flustered. “Who knows? It’s their business to find things out like this, isn’t it?”
“And as for that matter, it’s odd that not only did the Carolina Society find out about us but of all construction companies, yours is the one that gets hired,” she said.
Jason quirked an eyebrow. “We’re a very good company,” he said simply.
Kat stared at him. She remembered how suddenly Jason had appeared at her diner. Right around when she had noticed the new construction going on around town. And it had all happened a few weeks after she had suddenly bumped into Jason in Fayetteville.
If anyone really wanted to, it wouldn’t have been too hard to look up the information on Peytonville and its current condition. If someone had done that, and put two and two together, they could’ve taken that story and presented it to a place like the Carolina Society.
“I was close,” Kat whispered. “I had money saved up.”
Jason pulled her by the wrist, bringing her up against his chest. Kat refused to meet his eyes. “You need a good dose of your own medicine, kid,” he said. “Don’t you remember what you said to me the night we first met? ‘It’s brave to ask for help.’”
He tucked a finger under her chin and pulled her reluctant gaze up. “You don’t have to do everything by yourself,” he said gently. She could feel his strong arms around her, his heated chest against her. She was almost dizzy from the rioting emotions warring within her. “Let people help you. Let
me
help you.”
Kat looked up into the richest, deepest green eyes she had ever seen. She had always remembered those eyes. Perhaps the letters, the silence—maybe that was all in the past now. Time had passed. It wouldn’t be fair to hold him to old mistakes when he was trying to change.
Gently, she put a hand against his neck. She saw his muscles jump at her touch. Looking up, she saw those dark green eyes take on a hotter look. She swallowed, feeling her own swelling heat between her legs.
Suddenly, Jason grabbed at her hand, pinning it against him as he swooped down, crushing her lips with his.
She barely had time to gasp in surprise as his tongue swooped in, tasting her, filling her. His stubble felt rough and coarse against her cheeks but she reveled in it. She reveled in his hardness, in his roughness.
How many nights had she dreamed of his kiss? His touch? And after so many months of thinking that they would never become a reality, to feel his lips against hers was like a forbidden fantasy come true.
And with only a towel protecting him, she could quickly feel just how hard he was.
A large hand pressed itself against her ass, pushing her against the quickly hardening cock, showing her just what kind of effect she was having on him.
When another hand found its way to her breast, she gave a little moan.
The moan seemed to snap Jason awake. He broke away from the kiss, breathing hard. His arms were still wrapped around her but his face was turned away.
Kat looked up, confused and still reeling from his kiss. “What’s wrong?” she asked breathlessly, feeling her lips already swell from his bruising but searing kiss.
Jason shook his head before taking in a deep breath. He took his hands away from her and pulled back a little. “I’m sorry,” he said. “That was a mistake.”
Kat felt as if cold water had been splattered on her. A mistake? She could still feel the heat of his touch against her. That had been true, honest passion. How could he call that a mistake?
Jason finally looked at her, his eyes now warm and slightly abashed. No longer was there that expression of dark desire.