She’d doubted herself for decades. Sometimes all by herself, and sometimes it was Archie’s voice telling her to be realistic or that she wasn’t doing something right. She’d done this right. She hopped down from the back of the truck as Clyde went back inside the club.
A black Mercedes pulled up the drive and parked next to her. It made the poor pickup truck look like it ought to be in a junkyard.
A handsome, well-dressed man exited. He did not look happy. In fact, he gave the aura of never actually being happy.
Hope wouldn’t have paid much attention, except he strode up to her and, by the looks of things, regarded her as if she was doing something wrong.
“What are you doing with this? Who said you could take this?”
“Take it? I just bought it.”
“For what purpose?”
Instead of fighting with this pompous jerk, Hope decided to be nice. Nicer than she felt. She plastered a huge smile on her face and answered. “New restaurant downtown. You’re invited to check it out once we get going.”
“Downtown?” The man shifted his attention away from her and toward the back of the country club.
“Brubaker, you idiot, you’re out here helping the competition! Stone is paying you to dominate, not accommodate.”
“Mr. Mills, I’m sorry. What happened?” Clyde Brubaker was sputtering and obsequious to this man in the suit.
“You, you there, wait once second. You’re not to leave the property with that.”
“Mr. Mills, a much more state-of-the-art set of equipment is on the way. I can assure you I’ve just made a nice profit on the old equipment.”
“That’s not the point. She’s opening downtown. You were at the hearing. You know that is counter to Mr. Stone’s current plan for the region.”
“I guess I didn’t ask that. I see now. I’m sorry.”
That’s when Hope decided she’d had enough. “Mr. Mills, is it? I’m running late. Clyde there has my cash, and we’ve spent the last hour loading this equipment into my truck. So, unless you’re going to unload it, I think we’re all set.”
Mill’s jaw clenched, but it appeared he wasn’t about to try to physically stop her.
Meanwhile, something clicked in her brain. Who were these two men to try to tell her anything? That she couldn’t drive off with the item she’d honestly bargained to get the best price for and then paid cash to purchase.
They were not, as she used to say as a kid, the boss of her.
She got in the driver’s seat as Mills continued to chew out Clyde Brubaker.
Had she snookered him in some way? No, she’d responded to his ad on Craigslist and negotiated in good faith.
But based on what she’d heard from Libby and J.J., she’d just run up against their nemesis.
Stirling Stone was determined to use imminent domain to turn Irish Hills into a rest stop. And Libby had stopped him. But maybe not for good.
It had her a bit worried that maybe everything wasn’t exactly nailed down in Irish Hills. But she also trusted Libby, her old friend, wouldn’t steer her wrong.
Libby
She’d straight up lied. Libby had received an email from the grant committee, and she straight up lied in response.
“We’ll be touring Covert Pier on July 3rdand will be in Irish Hills for the Fourth. Can’t wait to see the progress,” read the email.
“Great, see you then,” Libby responded, with a boldly typed lie.
She’d let the committee think the restaurant was all set, that they’d be ready to enjoy a meal there in less than a month!
This was a big stretch of the truth, based on what she knew of Hope’s progress.
