Page 9 of Love Bound

"No, it's not. You’re trying to force me out. The moment you signed the contract on The Inn, you came after me. I know how you developers are. You come in and buy everything up. Next, it'll be Weaver's Market and then the ice cream shop—"

I wave her down and shake my head. "You’ve got it all wrong. I'm not buying everything up."

She shifts her weight but keeps her stare leveled right at me. A force to be reckoned with. A small fury is what Allison would have called her. She has no idea what I’m doing and she has no idea why I want to do what I want to do.

It has to be done. And that's what comes out of my mouth. "It has to be done."

She stands up. "No, it doesn't, and if you want to fight, I will fight you. I don't have a lot to fight with, I'll be upfront with you about that, but this is not ethical what you're doing. It's just plain wrong."

I stare at her before I say, "Listen. I'm happy to eat your muffins and drink your coffee, and I'm very grateful you brought these over because I don't think I can cook anything here. I probably would have gone up to that shitty little restaurant at Weaver's."

At that, she presses her lips together in silent defense. She must have waitressed there or something.

"But I am not doing anything unethical and I will pay good money for your clinic. I'll cover moving expenses. So don't preach to me about ethics."

"I wouldn’t have been so nice to you if I knew you were the guy," she says.

"Oh, you mean the guy who owns this place?"

Her eyes go from light blue to dark navy almost, a trick of light until I realize they’re bright with unfallen tears. "You drove up in that shitty truck and I thought you were the contractor."

"I am."

"So you're a developer."

"No. I’m just the construction guy too. I’m doing this myself," I tell her.

Something about the statement makes her smile. "And you're starting now? In late September? Good luck with that."

"It's not so much about the building. It's the land with it. I just want the three acres. "

"Yeah. I got that. Great views."

"The land can’t be sold without the building. You could break the trust and keep the clinic," I say.

"I'm not breaking the trust."

"I'll give you top dollar."

"It's about a pretty view. For me. It’s my land. It's not about the money," she says.

I bet. She has no idea how deep my pockets go. At some point, it will be about the money.

"No. Great views. That land has great views." I say. And though I can't help myself, I have to add, "Don't want to waste it."

"Really? So you're just going to develop the land and put some houses up there? Oh no," she says wagging a finger at me, "Condos. It'll be condos. Can't wait to see how that's going to go over with town council."

I say nothing.

"What you're doing is wrong. Everyone likes me in this town. I grew up here. You do this to me, you will never fit in. You will never be a part of Echo Bay."

"That's fine with me. I don't want to be a part of anything," I say.

Her face starts to get blotchy, red.

I hate sounding the way I do, but she's pushing it. She needs to go. The clinic needs to go—collateral damage—and I need that piece of property.

"Listen," I pause. "I'm sorry this has become contentious. I don't want to fight with you. I really don't want to fight with the town’s people. I just want to turn this back into something beautiful."