Page 7 of Wood Riddance
Obviously, that ship had sailed. But I couldn’t help how drawn to her I was or how often I hoped I’d bump into her, at the gym as well as anywhere else in our little town.
Chapter2
Adele
Blood still boiling, I waited for the door to close. Thankfully, Henri had finally sent Finn down to wait at reception. I closed my eyes and breathed in for four and out for four before facing down my eldest brother.
“What the fuck are you thinking?”
We were building this businesstogether. Yes, Henri was CEO, but we were a team. Henri, Paz, and me. The pillars of this company. Remy helped when we needed him to, but these days, he was mostly focused on his athletic career and endorsements.
But the three of us? We consulted each other. We commiserated when things were bad. And most of all, we led with respect. For one another and for our employees.
So this?
This was too much, too soon.
“Why him?”
Henri might have been surly, but he kept his tone even. “Because he owns a plane.”
I squeezed my hands into fists and gritted my teeth. “Hebert Timber owns the plane.”
“Nope.” Henri shook his head. “It’s in his name. His daddy bought it for him.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Didn’t buy it outright, though. Only made the down payment. Now his son is stuck making them.” Henri took a step closer, still far too casual about all of this. “He’ll consult for us, help with planning prep and research. And he’ll fly when we need him to. In return, he won’t lose his plane.”
That set me back a bit. As much as I knew about our machinery, bush planes were a completely different animal. I did, however, know that they cost as much as a house, if not more, and that they were a bitch to maintain. That was a pretty big debt to be saddled with.
I stared at my brother, squeezing my fists and releasing, over and over, desperate to punch something. The rage was pooling inside me, scalding every organ it touched, and no number of breathing exercises would relieve the emotions consuming me. I felt overwhelmed and powerless and scared.
“I know you’ve had a really… a really hard time.” Henri’s voice was tentative, low. “And I know this has probably thrown you for a loop, but it’ll benefit our business. He’s a qualified pilot who is trained in drone surveying. Skills like that don’t exist anywhere else around Lovewell. Hell, we’d be hard pressed to find someone with training as extensive as his in the whole state of Maine.”
My eye twitched and fury still burned in my chest. Dammit, why did Henri have to be so rational? Sometimes I missed the grumpy bear who used to tear through this place in a huff. Alice and the kids had softened him, and while I was thrilled that he’d found so much happiness with them, the old Henri would have kicked Finn’s ass into the goddamn forest.
He took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. “We’re expanding; we’re growing. We’ve got all this new land to plan and survey. The forestry consultants will be here in a few weeks. We need photos and maps and a plan before then. And the fastest way to get where we need to be is by air. You know that.”
Though I was loath to admit it, that was true. The terrain up here was unforgiving and treacherous at times. It was little more than limited roads, wild weather, and over twelve hundred square miles of wilderness. A properly outfitted bush plane could be a huge asset to us.
Especially since we’d purchased another one hundred square miles of land from the Heberts and expanded our territory. We were looking at more crews and more roads to maintain. Not to mention building camps, workshops, and other necessary infrastructure to support the expansion. These were good problems to have, especially after the way we’d struggled after Dad died.
It made sense to have a pilot at our disposal. And if he could legitimately do survey work with his drones, then having him on our payroll would save us a ton of time and money in the long run. But this decision didn’t sit right in my stomach.
I hated Finn. And honestly, he’d be a damn distraction. The guy couldn’t blend in to save his life. He was like seven feet tall and looked like an extra from one of those hot Viking shows on Netflix. His shoulders could barely fit through a standard-size doorway.
He’d be in my space, in my way. And the thought made my skin crawl.
“We owe him,” Henri said, raising one brow in challenge.
And there it was. The reason I wouldn’t punch Finn Hebert on sight, despite his last name.
Because when shit had hit the fan and my family had been in danger, he’d jumped right in to help. Even though it meant defying his father.
I had some respect for the man. I couldn’t deny that. But that didn’t mean I wanted to spend time with him.
“But Dad…” I said weakly. I was grasping at straws and spinning out. My eight-year-old niece, Goldie, would probably be a better negotiator than I was right now.
