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That’s right. I remembered his name now. Burt Russell. He kept to himself mostly, but I’d seen him at The Stag Pub a few times.
Burt snorted. “That might be a first. You all moved right on to these new proposals, like Beaver Hole Park is a done deal and we should all be happy.”
Wes had been answering a lot of questions, so I took this one. “We’ve got a few finishing touches to do, but yeah, we are pretty much done. It’s gone very smoothly, and I think everyone is going to love the improvements there. We’ve taken care to plant natural Nebraska plantlife that will thrive, provide shade, and beautify—”
“But what about the water drainage issue?” he interrupted.
I blinked. The what?
“I’m not sure I know what you mean,” Wes said.
“When we have a big rain like last weekend, there’s water that runs downhill into the adjacent yards. The empty lot was mostly a buffer, but now that’s gone, so it’s even worse! We thought this would be taken care of with the park improvements, but my backyard was a bog and my basement got wet. If I have damages, I’m holding you all liable!”
I glanced at Wes, but he seemed lost for words. He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I, uh, don’t think…”
“Damn right, you don’t think! Clearly!”
The local reporter withInside Granville, Linc Tate, started scribbling madly in his notebook as Tucker stepped forward.
“Okay, let’s tone it down and keep it polite.”
Burt huffed, continuing to glare. “I want a solution, that’s all. I have complained about this, and I’ve gotten nowhere. I had to bring it up in public so that I could be heard. This park project should have addressed this problem from the start. It’s a huge oversight that they’ve just ignored a longtime problem.”
Oh, shit.This was bad. This was really bad. Water runoff must be a result of the downward slope from the park to the adjacent properties since it was built onto a hill. But this was the first I was hearing of it. If we’d known in the beginning, we could have moved dirt, perhaps created a culvert for drainage. But now? When our budget and time was nearly all used up? When we’d already done all the landscaping and would run the risk of ruining it by bringing in any heavy equipment?
When Dad is watching…and expects us to have this all in hand.
Burt turned toward our dad, as if he’d just heard my thoughts. “What do you think, Nathan? This business hasyourname on it. Youmusthave some answers!”
“Fuck,” Wes whispered so quietly I thought I was the only one who could hear him. When I looked over, he was swallowing hard, eyes bleak.
He was the one I relied on to win people over, to smile and soothe. But he was clearly freaking out.
Dad looked calm, but I could see the disappointment in his gaze. No doubt Wes could too. “It is my company and my name, yes, and we’ll get you some answers,” he said. “I’ve been out of town and my sons have been running this project, so—”
“You don’t know anything either then,” Burt said dismissively.
Dad’s smile tilted into more of a grimace. “If mistakes were made, they’ll be corrected. You have my word on that.”
“It’ll be a priority to look into your claims,” I added.
Burt’s attention snapped back to me. “Claims? They’re not claims! It’s the truth!”
Tucker raised his hand. “This forum isn’t the place to solve the park problem. You’ve aired your concern, and we’ll follow up. Are there any other questions?”
Park problem.Shit.
Dad’s ultimatum came rushing back to me. Everything had gone so smoothly up to now that I’d almost entirely dismissed it as a concern.
But it was easy to see he was unhappy, and rightfully so. We’d obviously missed something.
But if Wes lost everything because of one oversight, I’d never forgive myself.
All our hard work these past weeks, all our plans to tell Dad the truth about our relationship from a position of strength, withered on the vine.
* * *
WES
