Page 86 of Paging Dr. Breakup
Pop glowered.
Mom’s mouth dropped open. “Calvin?” she said.
“Calvin?” Deirdre said pushing away from him, still shivering.
Silence fell all around him.
His head pounded. This town and these people were his home.
Randy said again, “We had a deal.”
Cal glanced down at Deirdre, her wet hair and droplets in her eyelashes making him want to warm her inside and out. This woman was his home. He would do anything to remove the shock and disappointment on her face.
“Is this true?” she asked.
“Sure is,” Randy said.
Maverick took a step forward. “You. Shut it.”
Randy snorted as his two partners closed ranks with him.
Everyone believed Cal had betrayed his parents and the entire town. So be it. “He’s right. We did have a deal.”
No one moved in the crowd.
Randy sneered and lifted his chin.
“How could you do something like this?” Deirdre’s words fell like physical slaps against his face.
She pushed back against him, but he didn’t fully let go. Not yet. He shifted so she stood next to him, his arm draped over her shoulders.
Cal blew out a breath and fought to remain calm and take his time. “It’s true. I met with Randy recently, hoping to understand what it was he wanted and to see if there was a way to work together. Before that, I had come back to Yukon Valley to encourage my parents to move to a bigger town where there were more services for their health. Where it wouldn’t be so difficult for them to keep up with their property. Where they’d be safer than in Yukon Valley.”
“Son,” Pop said. “That’s low.”
Lifting his hands as if he could hold back the waves of disappointment coming from his friends and family, Cal swallowed a hard lump and said, “You’re right, Pop. Doesn’t matter that I only did it because I wanted what’s best for you and Mom. It was a low thing to do.”
Deirdre’s blue eyes pinned him in place. “So, when I saw with you and Randy in the diner? You really were meeting with him and making a deal.”
“Yes, he was,” Randy said.
Right as Cal said, “No.”
Randy pulled his chin back. “It’s all right here.” He held out the envelope.
Cal killed a little more time while he planted his feet shoulder-width apart and put his free hand on his hip. “Here’s my final offer. You and your investors can go to hell. Good luck ruining another town.”
“You said that you didn’t care about this one-horse town,” the guy growled. “Said you might as well make a buck from it.” Randy’s eyes shifted as he stepped back.
With subtle movements, the crowd formed a semi-circle around him. Randy and his friends were going nowhere.
Cal lifted his chin. “That’s what you thought I said. What you wanted to hear.” He sniffed. “As far as I’m aware, Yukon Valley and the land around it are not for sale. At least not by me. This is my family and friends you’re talking about. People I care about. You’re not going to terrorize anyone else.”
Randy and his two friends took threatening steps toward Cal, but the sheer mass of pissed-off people surrounding them checked their movements.
“We had a deal,” Randy said. “We shook on it. You signed a paper.”
“Did we now? Sorry, can’t recall. My head injury caused memory loss.”
