The Elliotts Come Home Chapter 6
“Why did I bother rescuing you from that ass if you were just going to cozy right up to him again?”
Megan nearly dropped the glass of champagne she’d just picked up when Gage spoke up right behind her.
“I haven’t been cozying up to anyone,” she asserted, getting a tighter grip on the fragile glass and taking a long sip of the bubbly liquid. “I’ve been inside talking to Cindy.”
“Before that, you were talking to Warrington.”
“He was apologizing.” Megan had no idea why she was explaining this to Gage. She didn’t owe him an explanation of her actions.
“What else did he say?”
If he was going to be nosy, she might as well be pushy, Megan decided. Even if she’d vowed to stop doing business at her friend’s wedding. “Blake is interested in purchasing Elliott Ridge. He might let me represent him.” She’d much rather represent the Elliotts, though.
Gage scowled. “The truth is, I don’t want to sell anything to that guy.”
“That’s good to hear since we’re not selling Elliott Ridge to anyone.” Carter appeared at Gage’s shoulder. “How many times do I have to say that?” He turned to two more men who had come up behind him. The twins—Hudson and Lincoln, if Megan was remembering right. “Tell him,” Carter demanded. “Tell Gage we’re not selling our home.”
“I want to stay,” Lincoln said. “I don’t see what your problem is, Gage.”
“Yeah, Gage,” Hudson said. “Why are you in such a hurry to get rid of the place?”
“You can leave as soon as the year is up, you know,” Carter added. “It’s not a life sentence.”
“I’m trying to save you from yourselves,” Gage said. “You know what happened last time.”
“Yes, we do,” Carter said. “And we won’t make the same mistakes. You’ll see.”
“Are you saying Dad made mistakes?”
“Are you saying he didn’t?” Carter challenged him. “He wasn’t infallible. We won’t let the whole place depend on the price of lumber this time, for a start.”
“People work remotely these days,” Lincoln said. “Why can’t they do that from Elliott Ridge? We’ll diversify the income base.”
“It’s never going to work,” Gage said. “You’re going to get Mom and Dad’s hopes up that they can come home and then you’ll disappoint them—again.”
“Or maybe we’ll succeed,” Carter said. “We aren’t kids anymore. You can’t boss us all around.”
“Oh, yeah? Watch me.”