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The Elliotts Come Home Chapter 3
“You know, some people might thank me for what I just did there,” Gage said when they’d been swaying together for several minutes.
Megan’s head was swimming from the sequence of events that had led her to be in his arms.
“Nothing is going the way I planned,” she told him. “All I wanted was to enjoy my friend’s wedding. I didn’t want to spend it harassing her guests until I shook a new real estate listing out of one of them. I didn’t ask for some stranger to try to put a move on me, either. This is a nightmare.”
“I’m not trying anything,” Gage said.
“Not you.” When Megan realized Gage was laughing at her, she relaxed a little.
“That’s better.” Gage spun her between two other couples. “Why are you hitting everyone up for listings, anyway? I heard two ladies trying to figure out how to get to the drinks table without coming too close to you. You’ve put the fear of God into everyone.”
Megan bowed her head. This day just got worse and worse. “My boss told me to consider another line of work if I couldn’t get a listing today, given that half the people in town are here.”
“Not quite half.” He maneuvered her past another couple. He was light on his feet for such a big man, Megan thought.
“Still.” She shook her head. “Am I really so awful at my job she needs to give up on me?”
“According to the bride, you’re a fantastic real estate agent.” He twirled her around. “She said you care about your clients and do your best to find them homes that really suit them.”
“Did Cindy send you over here?” She wouldn’t put it past her friend.
“We both noticed you looked a little… uncomfortable.”
“What else did she say about me?”
“She might have mentioned that you’re single. Twice.” Gage’s smile made her breathless, but Megan wanted to groan.
“She was trying to be a good friend,” Gage said. “Don’t you think?”
“Emphasis on trying.” Megan figured they’d talked enough about her. “Did you really grow up on Elliott Ridge?”
“I did,” he affirmed. Other couples swirled by in the waltz, and Megan thought people weren’t looking at them so much anymore.
“I think it’s sad it’s been abandoned for so long. I guess that’s going to change now that you and your brothers are home.”
“Don’t be too sure,” he said darkly, then caught her looking at him and smiled again. This time his smile was distant, though and Megan wasn’t convinced by it. “My brothers think like you do,” he added. “Carter even drummed up a contract for the lumber mill. Thinks he can bring enough men in to get it up and running again, so he can pay off the debt Dad ran up when he expanded the operation back in the early 2000s.”
“The early 2000s? Seems like a bad time to be expanding a mill.” She’d been just a girl back then, but she’d heard the stories. Lots of mills went under back then, including the one at Elliott Ridge, if she wasn’t mistaken.
“Dad had a contract he thought would get them past the hard times if he could upgrade the mill to meet its specifications. He got the money, did the work and then the contract fell through.”
“That’s awful.”
Gage nodded, a faraway look in his eyes. Megan wondered if he was remembering those days. It must have been a rough time for his family.
“Nothing went right for us after that,” he said.
“Sounds like you’re going to turn things around though, now,” she said, trying to think on the bright side.
“It’s just one contract. My dad’s given us a year to bring the town back to life, otherwise he’s going to sell it to the guy you were dancing with just now. Seems to me he might as well sell it to him today. If you know you’re doomed to fail, isn’t it more honorable to just bow out at the start?”
Megan nodded. She supposed he had a point. She loved her job when she had listings and clients, but sometimes she wondered if maybe Chance Creek didn’t need another real estate agent. Lainie Carmichael certainly thought she was doomed to fail.
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I should give up,” she said.
Gage looked down at her sharply. “I wasn’t talking about you.”
Maybe not, Megan thought, but he easily could have been.