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Henry watched Everleigh address each man in the room. You'd never know she was the only woman in the room, and she sure didn't seem diminished by it. He'd remember to tell her that tonight. Her job didn’t give her independence. The way she handles people gives her the independence she has. She's confident in herself. She's strong and smart and amazing. His opinion. But he was right.
Everleigh glanced his way then grinned. "As to the water. Henry took me to the other side of the mountain last night and showed me the field along Mr. Geoffrey Kurtz's farm. It appears the town water department could expand to that side of the mountain and build a water tower at the edge of Mr. Kurtz's farm. The water would be easier to bring up the mountain on that side due to less rock. The town currently has plans to expand sewer and water over there next summer anyway, so this would simply expand that plan. Water could be underway by February of this coming year. The project is slated to take four months. The construction of the water tower would only add another month to that timeline. Mr. Zahn, can you agree this is in the best interest of the town and the BRR to bring peace?"
Mr. Zahn shifted in his chair. His eyes glanced in Gerard's direction, and it was pretty hard in the face of what the situation was to say no. He nodded his head. "Yes. I do agree and I have the authority to enter into that agreement."
"Gerard, do you agree to this timeline?"
"I do agree."
"Mayor, how do you feel about this?"
"I fully agree."
Everleigh then typed in her laptop and addressed the electricity and the timeline. Next up was getting the townspeople to employ the citizens of Hickory Hills. That's when Henry stood.
"I'm finalizing and taking possession this afternoon of the DeWitt farm. I'll need some strong hands to help me get the barn and fields in condition as soon as possible. I'll happily hire any Hickory Hills residents who want to work with me on my farm."
All heads turned in his direction and Jasiah nodded and smiled. "I'll find you the workers Mr. Delany."
He nodded toward Jasiah, but when he sat down, he smiled at Everleigh. She swallowed and nodded in his direction and his heart swelled. She was proud of him. He was fucking proud of her.
They waded through the treaty and the changes that needed to be made. They addressed the roads and how they'd need to be improved and widened so equipment could be brought up. Security was addressed.
Within three hours, an agreement was reached.
Everleigh smiled at each of them. "Thank you all for agreeing to terms in such a way as to move these negotiations forward quickly and smoothly. My last question for you Gerard and Jasiah is, what will you do when you find Craig?"
Jasiah responded. "We wanted to ask about that. If this agreement is official, can Dad make a complaint such that Craig can be arrested?"
Everleigh turned to the mayor. "I think that's your department. What do you think of that?"
The mayor stood. "Let me call the sheriff and check some of the laws. I'm not sure if the treaty would supersede any agreement. Technically, it happened before an agreement was reached, but after negotiations had begun. May I get back to you on this?"
"Absolutely." Everleigh addressed Gerard. "When you find him, he'll be angry. What will you do to keep him in line and not poison the well afterwards?"
"If the sheriff can't arrest him for this and put him in jail, we're building a jail of our own up there and we'll lock him up. A crime is a crime and between the beating of me and Ms. Lawrence before me and the damage he created last night, he's proven to be a danger to all. "
36
After shaking hands with them, she let out a heavy sigh as Henry escorted her to his truck. He opened the passenger door for her but before she could step in, he hugged her close and kissed her lips in that way he did. She loved it. "Congratulations Ev. You did an enormous job in a few short days, and you did it beautifully."
"Thank you. Craig helped though. He'd hate knowing that, but he did."
Henry chuckled and she enjoyed the sound. "You're right, he'd hate it. I hope we get the chance to tell him that."
She buckled herself in and they headed toward the HOG. "I thought we were headed to the horses."
"Well, today I thought we should dress for it. And I want to see what my mom found out and, I have to get the keys for the house. My parents did that for me today."
She laughed. "It's so exciting. All of it."
His laugh filled the truck and she closed her eyes and committed it to memory. It was the best sound.
"Uh-oh. You're about to meet them all."
"Who?"
He pointed to a couple of big trucks in the parking area of the HOG. Her car sat there, tires renewed, and people stood outside chatting with each other. Hawk and Roxanne were there also.
