SWNOVELS Chance: Chapter 17
Rory wasquiet on the ride back to the farm, which was unlike her, but a lot had happened in a short amount of time. After he’d convinced her they needed to call the police, they’d gone back downstairs to find Diego’s friends had arrived and had the situation in hand. Theo had already written a sign and put it on the front door saying that the Dawg would be closed tonight. He’d also posted to their Facebook page.
Chance told Theo what he’d found. The other man’s eyes grew wide, and then his expression hardened. “Fucking assholes,” he’d muttered.
The police arrived soon after. Chance and Rory took them upstairs to show them the pipe and the door while Theo stayed to help move things in the kitchen downstairs. The officers—Kendrick and Bass—examined the scene, took notes, and asked questions. Then they returned downstairs to ask Theo a few questions. Once they had their report, they advised Theo and Rory to call if anything further happened.
After the police were gone, Rory had wanted to pitch in and help move things around so the guys could suction up the water, but Theo took her by the shoulders and told her he needed her to go back to the farm. She hadn’t wanted to do it, but he explained that he’d picked out his plants and they were supposed to be delivered within the hour.
Somebody needed to be there to make sure nothing happened to them once they were dropped off. Any other time and the plants could have been left beneath the tree until they were put in the ground the next day.
There really wasn’t anything to guarantee someone wouldn’t come during the night and destroy the new plants, but Chance intended to make it a lot less appealing for them to do so. The new equipment wouldn’t arrive until next week, but he swung by the local hardware store and picked up motion sensor lights to install this afternoon. Rory already had them on the chicken coop, but that was to protect the chickens by scaring predators.
More were needed. Wasn’t foolproof, but it was something. Whoever’d had the foresight to shoot down the camera could do the same for lights, but the more obstacles Chance put up for them, the more risk of being seen.
He wanted answers and he wanted them fast, but he’d been a special operator long enough to know that sometimes things happened slowly. You just had to be prepared so you could catch your target and put an end to the battle.
Seth had done some research into D&B Properties last night. What he had so far was nothing special. They were a property development company based in Texas. Owners were Ronald Davis, Sr. and Darryl Benson. Benson was at the home office in Houston while Davis was in Alabama, working on the deal that would bring a multi-million dollar mixed use development to the outskirts of Sutton’s Creek. It was a big deal, requiring a huge amount of cash, but Davis and Benson seemed to have the investors.
Didn’t make sense they’d resort to sabotage to get their way when there was so much developable property within close proximity to Huntsville. Sutton’s Creek was the prime location because of the river. Giving up on the sites they’d scouted to start over probably wasn’t ideal, but surely it wasn’t worth risking jail time by breaking and entering and causing deliberate damage. Then again, people had been known to commit crimes for lesser reasons. There was a lot of money at stake in a development of this size. Who else had reason to want to force Rory and Theo to sell?
The Turtons and the Coombses notwithstanding.
“What do you think about throwing something on the grill for dinner?” Chance asked as the ride stretched silently on.
Rory stared out the window. Thinking about what, he didn’t know. She swiveled to look at him and his gut twisted at how beautiful she was. What was it about this one particular woman—a woman who’d made it plain she didn’t like him—that had him tied up in knots inside?
He’d never been the forever type. Never really believed it was a thing, no matter how often people tried to pretend it was. His parents had been married for fifteen years and then one day his mother lost her shit.
Chance’s life had changed drastically that day. He’d gone from a normal teenage boy to an angry, sad, withdrawn foster kid in the space of a heartbeat.
His dad’s heartbeat.
Christ.
“That sounds nice. What did you have in mind?”
Chance blinked. Was Rory being cooperative without arguing first? “I bought steaks when I went shopping. You’ve got potatoes, and I saw cucumbers and tomatoes, too. We could roast the potatoes and throw the cukes and tomatoes together with some red onion, vinegar, and sugar.”
She folded her arms beneath her breasts. He really liked the way it made everything squeeze together for his enjoyment. “Do you even cook or is that the menu you’d like me to fix?”
“I cook, Rory. Which you should know because I fixed stuff for you when you got out of the hospital.”
One corner of her mouth quirked. Was that a grin? “Sandwiches. Soup from a can. Grilled cheese. Not quite the same thing.”
“Okay, so you got me there. I can grill a steak, though. I know how to roast potatoes in an oven, and I’ve got a recipe saved on my phone for cukes and tomatoes. I’m not Theo, but you won’t starve and you won’t gag either.”
“You won’t gag. Now that’s high praise if I ever heard it. I may need to order shirts to sell at the Dawg.”
“Very funny. What were you thinking about so intently anyway?”
“I think you can guess. I’m pissed off that someone would do these things to us. It makes me want to dig in even harder, but then I have to think about the fact I’m pregnant and I can’t risk the baby’s life because I’m mad.”
“You aren’t thinking about selling, are you?”
She shook her head. “Hell, no. I’m not selling. I just… I have to be smart about what I say and do. That’s all.”
“I’m glad to hear you say it. And I agree it’s time to be smart.”
The glare she flashed him told him he was journeying into the danger zone. He didn’t know why, but he knew he needed to get out quick.
“Hey, you wanna invite Blaze and Emma over to join us?”
Nothing like derailing the train of thought before it got too far from the station.
“That’d be nice. Do we have enough?”
We.He liked the sound of that. “We do. I bought two packs of three.”
“I feel like I owe your friends for their hard work today. I was gonna comp them dinner at the Dawg tonight, but maybe we could grab a few more steaks and have them all over?”
“You really want to do that?”
“Well, yeah. Invite them all. I’m used to standing behind the bar and talking to people all night, plus waiting tables when I’m needed, so the thought of a quiet Saturday night is kind of weird. And since Diego and the guys at George’s Restoration insist they don’t need help with the cleanup, what else is there to do?”
He could think of some things, but none of them were going to be anything she wanted to participate in. The fact she was being nice and not prickly was a big leap forward, though, so why not do what she wanted? He’d said it was his mission to make her happy, and he meant it.
“You aren’t too tired for all that company?”
“I’m tired, but I’m not going to be doing the cooking. Well, maybe a side dish. But I haven’t had people over for dinner in years and I kind of like the idea of there being laughter and fellowship at the farm again. Granny used to love a party. Her and Gramps would throw big cookouts and it seemed like the whole town would come over and bring food. I’d kind of like a happy memory for today instead of sadness and anger.”
He heard the wistfulness in her voice. “Okay, honey, we’ll swing by the store and pick up more steaks and any other ingredients we need.”
“I’m buying.”
“You aren’t. I’ve got the steaks because it was my idea. You can buy whatever you want for sides.”
“I feel like I should explain that comping dinner at the Dawg meant the cost was on me and Theo, so I should buy the rest of the steaks. But I also feel like you won’t agree.”
“Got it in one, kitten. You inviting your brother?”
“Kitten?”
“Cute, but feisty and unpredictable.”
Rory laughed. “Okay, whatever. I’d like to ask Theo to come, but I guess that depends on you. He will absolutely tell you how to cook the steak. He might even take over. If you don’t want that, then I won’t ask him.”
He was touched she considered his feelings. It was laughable that he’d be upset, but she didn’t know that.
“Babe, invite your brother. If he wants to cook the whole meal, I’ll be his sous chef. And if he doesn’t, then I’ll do what I said I was gonna do. It’s about everybody getting together and having a good time, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s what we’re gonna do.”