Page 35 of Entwined Hearts
“What?” I snapped. What the hell was he doingtextingher?
“It’s probably just more B.S. to slow us down,” she said absentmindedly, typing on her phone quickly. I hated that she was too focused on what he was saying to even look at me.
She set her phone down on the counter and went back to her laptop, her fingers flying over her keyboard. My jealousy faded as I watched her work, noticing the small crease between her brows, the way I could practically see the gears in her mind churning at breakneck speed.
“What does that even mean? A zoning violation?” Tess asked. “We’ve owned that land for generations. How is it a problem now?”
“The two pieces of land themselves aren’t the problem. It’s the fact that we’re joining them together. There are laws that limit the number of purposes the land can be used for. Cattle, horses, the veteran outreach, it’s a lot to cram into one piece of land, no matter how big.”
“What will happen if Sterling gets away with it this time?” Claire asked, coming to her sister’s side. “More delays?”
“He’s trying to force a zoning board hearing. Sterling probably has that whole board eating out of his hand, so it wouldtake months for them to pretend to review the case, only for them to ultimately throw it out and stop the merger altogether.”
Claire massaged her temples. “Jesus. I don’t understand why they keep throwing all this shit at us.”
“They want the land,” Beau said.
“I know that, but we’ve told them no, shot down the ridiculous woodpecker thing, and got the restraining order and started the investigation over the cattle. You’d think they’d take a hint that we aren’t interested in selling.”
“Well, they’re entitled assholes. What’d you expect? For them to roll over?” Delilah said with a scoff. “They got told no when they asked, so now, they’re just going to take instead.”
“I can’t believe Levi is related to these jerks,” Tess said from the couch, holding herself.
I could believe it. I didn’t trust him further than Tess could throw him.
“They’re not getting their fucking hands on this land,” Savannah said through gritted teeth at her laptop. “Not if I have anything to do with it.”
Her eyes darted all over the screen, keyboard clicking wildly as she typed. “I’m going to file an appeal. I just need to do some research on the zoning rules first, see the specific codes for our land. I’m sure something isn’t right with everything else they’ve thrown at us.”
There was a fierceness to her now, a confidence she never had growing up. She had always been opinionated and a rule follower, which was annoying as fuck when we were kids and later became endearing. But it was never backed up with the self-assuredness she had now.
It was fascinating to watch her, to see the woman she had become in the years we were apart.
“You’re amazing,” I said.
She froze, her eyes darting from the screen to mine, and then around at everyone else. I should’ve pretended that I hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but I had. I wanted her to know exactly what I thought of her, and I didn’t care who was around to hear it.
If what Delilah said was true, then I wasn’t going to hold back. Not anymore.
Her cheeks flushed a light pink. “Thanks,” she said softly, a hint of that shy girl I loved coming through.
God, fucking help me, I had missed the way she blushed and felt euphoric knowing I could still pull that reaction out of her.
12
Savannah
Since Louise banned work at the diner, I was forced to go across the street to the hipstery cafe with overpriced coffees to work on this appeal.
I’d been here since they opened at six, my body jittery from the two double-shot espressos I’d had in the last three hours. But Preston and Sterling were ramping up, their lawsuits going from ridiculous to holding some validity, so I had to be on my A-game and ready for anything they threw at me.
But every time I shut my eyes, I saw Weston giving me a soft smile while he told me I was amazing. I didn’t know I needed to hear something like that until he’d said it last night.
I hadn’t even been doing anything special, just coming up with a plan for the appeal I’d been researching all morning. But he had looked at me like I was walking on the moon or something equally impressive.
It had made me realize Stewart never looked at me like that. Not even remotely close. Everything I did was lackluster to him.
The bell over the door to the cafe rang, and Delilah came to the table I was sitting at and draped herself across the chair. Shewas in the same clothes she had on last night at Beau’s, her hair in a messy bun on top of her head, with oversized sunglasses.
