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By the time Liza got back to the penthouse, she found a note from her mother.
Gone shopping for Rusty’s arrival. See you at dinner. Mom.
Relieved she didn’t have to face her mother in this emotional state, Liz crumpled up the note, took a sleeping pill, and put herself to bed.
***
Cameron worked in his office all morning answering email. As CEO and the head of PCG Inc., it was his job to stay on top of the owners’ interests and to ensure their anonymity. The need to be wary all started when locals began offering their homemade goods for sale in Jubilee. It was a shock to everyone when the trade took off like fireworks, and when outsiders began flocking to the town wanting to buy property and get in on the opportunities, the landowners knew their only recourse was to band together and incorporate the joint land at the foot of the mountain.
John Cauley and Marcus Glass had been on the board for years as the representatives from their families, and Cameron’s mother, Georgia Pope, was the representative from the Pope family. But his mother’s sudden passing required another member of the Popes to sit on the board, and Cameron, newly home from Iraq, was voted in as their representative and then voted CEO by the board, giving him the job of liaison between PCG Inc. and their lawyer in Frankfort.
Cameron took the role seriously. It was important to everyone on the mountain that turning Jubilee into a tourist attraction did not destroy their way of life or the natural beauty of the surrounding area.
The hoteliers who’d come into the area years earlier thinking to buy up land from local hillbillies and make a killing had a rude awakening when they learned the land was already owned by a corporation. They didn’t know the corporation consisted of the people they looked down on. All they knew was land was not for sale, and if they wanted to build a hotel, they would pay a goodly sum of money for a one-hundred-year lease on a set number of acres. No more. No less. And they would pay the corporation a monthly percentage of their earnings. Like rent. If they ever decided to sell the business, then the new owners would have to renegotiate their own terms.
Ray Caldwell ranted against the restrictions, but the company lawyer based in Frankfort was firm. If Caldwell didn’t like the deal, he was free to build his hotel elsewhere. Just not in Jubilee. Ray knew there was big money to be made in a place like this, and he finally agreed.
Marshall Devon had his own come-to-Jesus moment when he was confronted with the same deal. Take it or leave it. But Marshall was a gambler, and he took it. The ensuing years had proved extremely profitable for all concerned, and the people on Pope Mountain appreciated the irony of being the anonymous landlords.
The individual businesses down in Jubilee were also housed in real estate owned by PCG Inc. And even though a majority of the businesses were owned and run by people from the mountains, they willingly paid “rent” and got their money back and then some through annual dividends. It was the best-kept secret in town.
***
Cameron finished the business end of his day just after lunch, then loaded Ghost up into his Jeep and drove to town so Sam Carson could check the dog’s paw and change the bandages. He was hoping the wait at the vet clinic wouldn’t take long. When he pulled into the parking lot, there were only two other cars. He breathed a sigh of relief.
Ghost sat up and looked out the windshield and then back at Cameron and whined.
Cameron chuckled. “Yes, Sam is going to mess with your paw, but I’ll be right there with you, buddy. Okay?”
Then he grabbed Ghost’s leash and clipped it to his collar before opening the door. Cameron was still restricting Ghost’s running and jumping, so he lifted the dog out and then walked him into the building and up to the front counter.
The receptionist looked up and smiled. “Afternoon, Cameron.”
“Afternoon, Amber. Ghost is here for an after-surgery exam and to get his bandages changed.”
“Have a seat. Doc Carson will be with you shortly.”
Cameron sat, and then Ghost sat down between Cameron’s knees, his ears up, his focus entirely on the girl behind the counter.
Cameron leaned over and patted Ghost’s head. “She’s one of the good ones, pal. At ease.”
Ghost went from sitting to lying down, but he wasn’t comfortable in this place and did what came natural—guarding the human he loved most.
After Sam checked out the injured paw and Leslie put on a new bandage, Cameron headed downtown to Granny Annie’s Bakery. He left Ghost in the Jeep and was on his way inside when he met Patricia Caldwell coming out carrying a large box.
Their gazes met, but before she could decide if she disapproved of the big man’s unshaven appearance, Cameron stopped and backed up. “Ma’am, let me get that door for you,” he said and held the door as she passed.
Patricia smiled. “Why, thank you.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Cameron said, and went inside.
He caught a glimpse of his own reflection in the glass display cases and frowned. No wonder she’d given him a disapproving look. He looked like an outlaw. Scratches or not, it was time to get rid of the whiskers. But first things first. He headed to the display case to get cookies for Lili.
Annie Cauley was his mother’s youngest sister and the owner and head baker of the bakery. When she saw Cameron moving toward the cookie case, she wiped her hands and headed that way.
“Afternoon, Cam.”
Cameron smiled. “Hey, Auntie. I need some cookies for my best girl. Maybe some of those pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies. Make it a dozen so there’s enough to go around.”
