“It’s just not that much property. We’re going to be fighting boundaries. Well, unless we get people to sell to us.”
“Why don’t we strong-arm them? That’s what the Carreras would do,” Andi suggested.
“You really go to the worse-case scenario,” he said, his voice a tsk-tsk. “What’s wrong with making an offer? They can refuse it. But let’s face it: We’ve got property on the east side of the lodge. Let’s make use of it, and then we can ask people to sell on the west side, and if they do, great, and if they don’t, we’re still expanding.”
“We’ve barely got going. Let’s not change our plans yet.”
“We do have to make some adjustments,” he admitted. “Financially speaking. The two wings have tapped out our loan.”
“Then we should have waited.” She was becoming annoyed and slightly alarmed. Carter loved to forget that she and Emma had voting rights. “Didn’t we just get out of financial trouble?”
“We’re not going back into financial trouble. I have a plan. I told you.”
“Well, let’s hear it.”
“Soon.”
After that, silence fell between them. Carter never failed to get under her skin. He was just too sure of himself, and she wasn’t convinced he made good choices.
“I got a call from Scott Quade,” he said after a time.
Andi’s brows lifted in surprise. Now he deigned to tell her? It would have been nice to be informed. “What did he say?”
“He wants money. Same as always. He’s angling for a settlement. Said he’d get his sister to abort and we could—”
“Hell no. She’s six months! At least I think. There’s no abortion.”
“I know what you just went through, Andi. I know how you feel.”
“You don’t have a clue!”
“But don’t let your personal feelings—”
“No, Carter. End of subject. Mimi wants Greg’s baby. She won’t go for it, and it’s way too late anyway.”
Andi’s clipped tone brought Carter’s lips into a thin line. “I’m just telling you what he said. It’s all part of a goddamn scam, if you ask me. Quade’s behind the whole thing and Mimi’s a pawn. I don’t know what their game is yet, but I’ll find out eventually.”
“No abortion,” she stated tautly.
He waved a hand at her, annoyed. They both heard tires crunch on the rough gravel and Andi moved closer to him to look out the doorway to the approaching vehicle. A black Cadillac Escalade was pulling up beside Andi’s Tuscan. “That’s not Emma,” she said.
Carter slid her his cat-and-cream smile. “No.”
Andi watched one good-looking, dark-haired man climb from the cab, while another got out of the passenger side at the same moment. Two identical bookends. “Oh ... God ... shit.” The Carrera brothers in the flesh. She turned toward Carter in numb shock. “What are they doing here?” she squeaked out, only to see the sheepish look on his face. “What have you done?”
“I just invited them to have a talk with us. Emma should be here. Goddamn her. This is important.”
“You son of a bitch.”
Carter flushed a dark red. “Careful with the name-calling, Andi.”
“Emma will never go for this and neither will I.” She scrambled inside her purse with one hand, damn near hyperventilating. Her fingers closed on her cell phone and she yanked it out.
“Who’re you calling?” he demanded.
“Luke Denton. It looks like I need protection.”
*
Luke swept up his cell phone from where he’d left it in his cup holder, risking a ticket when he saw it was Andi. He was driving to his office and a meeting with Dallas. His brother had asked him to do some work for him, which was kind of a surprise. Dallas was a defense attorney, but to date he hadn’t seemed to believe his younger brother was really going to stay being a private investigator. He’d nudged Luke to write after he’d quit the department, but he hadn’t hired him as a PI until Luke had flat out told him the writing gig was a no-go.
“Hey, there,” he greeted her warmly.
“I’m at the lodge with Carter,” she clipped out. “The Carrera brothers just drove up. Carter invited them to a meeting.”
Luke went cold. “I’ll be right there.”
“Good. I see Emma’s just driving up.” Then, “Hurry,” and she was gone.
Luke made an illegal U-turn and headed toward Schultz Lake and the Wrens’ lodge. He brought up Dallas’s number on his cell and put it on speaker so he wouldn’t have to hold the phone to his ear.
“I’m on my way,” Dallas answered, but Luke cut him off.
“Change of plans. Gonna have to reschedule.”
“I’m halfway to your office.”
“This is important, Dal.”
“Okay,” he said, clearly mystified. “Call me.”
“Will do.”
*