Page 56 of Grit
Abby’s face took on an innocent expression. “Please and thank you?”
Melissa narrowed her eyes. “Kid.”
She heaved a great sigh. “‘No, thank you, Grandma. My mom says I have to wait until I’m thirteen.’”
“That’s right.”
“Even though I really,reallywant one.”
“You got a horse. You can wait on the phone.” Melissa jumped out of the pickup and grabbed the crate of vegetables from the back seat. “You get in the car. I’ve gotta talk to Grandpa.”
“Okay!”
She walked over to a smiling Greg Rhodes, who was wearing a perfectly pressed golf shirt with his hair swept back into a silver wave.
He grinned and bent down to Abby. “Hello, princess.”
Melissa hated when Greg called Abby princess, but she bit her tongue.
“Hey, Grandpa!” Abby gave him a quick hug and jumped in the passenger seat of the Range Rover. “Mom wants to talk to you.”
“Great.” Greg kept his smile in place when he turned to Melissa. “How things going at the ranch?”
“Good.” She handed him the crate of veggies. “Mom packed some stuff for Bev. The tomatoes are amazing.”
“Fantastic.” Greg took the crate and gave Melissa a one-armed hug. “So, what’s up?”
She put her hands in her pockets and assumed the “casual rancher talking shop” pose she’d perfected by watching her grandfather. It always put old men at ease. “You hear anything about this Allen Ranch project over in Paso?”
Greg frowned. “An Allen ranch in Paso?”
“No, over by me. I was wondering if you’d heard about it?”
Greg kept frowning, but something about his expression put Melissa’s instincts on alert. “Can’t say… Ah, you know, I think I’ve heard the name, but not much else.”
“Huh.”
“What’s up?”
“Developer looking to put a few thousand houses on the old Allen ranch next to mine. Like a… fancy retirement-community kind of thing.”
“Huh.” Greg nodded. “Well, I can see why the town would be interested in that. Big boost to the local economy, right?”
“It’s not real popular so far. Folks don’t seem too keen on developing open land like that.”
“That so?” Greg stuck his hands in his pockets, mirroring her stance. “What are you and your mom thinking? That ranch is right next to yours. It’d up your property value by a lot.”
Melissa shrugged. “More neighbors equals more problems, you know? Isn’t that why you and Bev built out in the hills?”
“We do like our privacy.” A crack appeared in the facade, and Greg’s smile twisted a little.
Melissa kept going. “So you haven’t heard of it?”
He shrugged. “Nothing specific.”
Liar. She knew it down to her toes. “That’s interesting.” She started to turn and saw Greg’s shoulders relax. “You know—”
His shoulders tensed.
