Page 21 of A Veteran's Desire

“Every one of you, go home and find your deed. Bring it to me and I’ll go through them for free. I’ll go back through the old records at the courthouse too, what we have left of them.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“There was a fire in 1916. A good portion of the county records burned.” Mark takes his glasses off and polishes them on his shirtfront. “Any land bought before that year may not have a deed filed at the courthouse at all. For those parcels, the only proof of what was sold, and what wasn’t, is whatever the families kept.”

The hall has gone quiet.

“Then how does the company know what they’ve bought?” Lexi asks.

“They don’t. Not exactly.” He settles the glasses back on his nose. “Ashton Holdings bought the mineral rights under a large tract, and they’re working from the same burned records I am. Somewhere in this town there are deeds sitting in shoeboxes and bureau drawers that say precisely which land is severedand which isn’t. Until somebody reads them, nobody knows for certain.” He pauses. “Them included.”

A man named Marcus comes to the front. He works for Bedrock Security, and he offers to look into Ashton Holdings itself. He and Jace move to a corner and fall into an intense discussion.

The meeting breaks up, and my gaze searches out Grant. Our eyes catch for a moment before he looks away. It hurts more than it should. He’s been polite but distant over the past few days, and I deserve an explanation.

He moves from his position at the wall to fall in with us as we leave. I try to catch his eye again, but he moves in front to help Pops through the door and I’m left trailing behind. For the past two days, we’ve barely spoken. He hasn’t been avoiding me exactly. He was there at the cafe at four a.m., but something has changed, as if what we did in the pantry doesn’t mean anything.

We haven’t spoken about it, but I’m tired of waiting around for him to speak. As we approach Rachel’s car, I hang back.

Pops has gotten to talking to Joel and Axel and suggests we go for a drink with them at The Landing.

Rachel runs a hand over her eyes. “I need a drink after this.”

I turn to Grant. I’d rather speak with him and clear the air.

“You go with Pops; I’ll get a ride with Grant.”

Before Grant can protest, I go to the passenger side of his car. He unlocks it, and I climb in. It’s time to talk.

11

HANNAH

We drive in silence to the farm. When we pull up the driveway, a light is on in the farmhouse, coming from Abby’s room. The boys will be asleep by now, and Rachel and Pops will be at least half an hour behind us.

But I don’t want to go there yet. There’s a dirt road that leads into the orchard, and I ask Grant to follow it. He drives slowly past the beehives until we reach the shadows of the trees.

He cuts the engine and we sit in darkness, the trees looming above us.

“Let’s walk.”

It’s a warm evening, and I get out of the car and walk further into the orchard. Grant follows me through the gate and into the line of trees.

I’ve always found it peaceful in the orchards, and tonight, I need some calm. Branches rustle in the breeze and insects chirp to each other. The branches cast long shadows on the ground, and the scent of ripe cherries is pungent in the evening air.

It’s cooler in here, and I only have a sweater on. Before I even realize I’m cold, Grant shrugs his coat off and places it around my shoulders.

It’s the closest he’s been to me since I came undone on his palm, and a different kind of shiver ripples down my body. I know what it feels like to have his hands on me, and I want that again. But for some reason, he doesn’t seem to.

I long to ask him about it, but this is the most intimate we’ve been since then, and I don’t want him to pull away. Instead I keep to safer ground.

“What did you make of the meeting?”

He still has his hand on my back, and I lean against it as we walk between the ancient trees.

“When people get the scent of money, it can be hard to let go. Whoever runs that company doesn’t care about the little people. They’re going to do whatever it takes to get this land, get whatever’s in the ground that they want, and get rich.”

His words make me shiver, and he misinterprets it.