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No. He would only push back. He’d deny it. We promised to be different.

“And the town does too.” I smiled. “We’ve got this. You don’t have to worry.”

He didn’t seem so sure.

And neither was I.

44

GABRIEL

Dad Company (But Sometimes Good Advice)

Ryan Kim: Never underestimate a full papa bear moment. Don’t mess with my kid.

Comments:

G Singh: Yeah . . . I kind of get it. Does it ever go beyond your kids, though?

Dean Briggs: It does for me.

Robert Colt: I’ll do a lot for someone I care about.

The new town hall was far nicer than the crumbling remains of the old one. It, like the rest of Strawberry Springs, had come a long way with just a little bit of help. I stared at it, now knowing that some of the town didn’t trust the money that was coming in.

It didn’t matter if they didn’t trust it.

I wasn’t sure if it was the way Jade had hinted that she was removing unknown accounts from the Facebook group or if it was the way the town was shifting against the STM grant, but I felt desperate.

And I did stupid things when I was desperate.

Normally, I would throw my money around in private, making sure that both she and the town got whatever they wanted. I’d already reached out to the developer, only to get the message that the land was not for sale.

I didn’t do things in person, but this time I would.

Mayor Toby was in town today—a miracle, considering he didn’t give a shit about this area. He’d been in power for far too long and had let things go to ruin while he lived in Nashville. Technically, he was supposed to live in the town, but he never had and could get away with it since he was the only one willing to do the job.

He kept the power, took the payment, and left Strawberry Springs to rot.

I hated Toby with every fiber of my being, but his lackadaisical approach to running the town benefited me in a way. It seemed like he knew Strawberry Springs could be something, and now that it was, he wanted to cash in on that.

I met him in the hallway.

“Oh, hi. It’s you.” He’d seen me before. He was mayor when I was a kid. By the way he stared, I could tell he recognized me. But he couldn’t place a name. I highly doubted he could place a single person in this town.

“It’s me. I’m Gabriel Sinclair.”

“I think I’ve heard the name. My daughter plays your video game.”

“I have a lot of fans. And a lot of interest in this town. Are you in charge of the rezoning of Hugh’s land?”

“This again?” Toby rolled his eyes. “The town is making a big ol’ fuss about nothing.”

I was tempted to tell him that this was not nothing. This was the place that they lived. But I knew that wouldn’t help anything.

“They want things to stay the same. They want that land to stay as it is. And I’m here to offer you a different solution.”

“Really?”