The Elliotts Come Home Chapter 7
“Boys! Settle down,” a woman’s voice trilled and Megan swallowed a groan. It was bad enough Gage and his brothers were arguing. Now Lainie was heading their way, a gleam in her eye which told Megan she was going to make the most of this opportunity to poke her nose where it didn’t belong.
Gage swung around and scowled when he caught sight of Lainie behind him. She was a little worse for wear, her polka-dotted dress rumpled and most of her lipstick worn off.
“This is a wedding,” Lainie reminded them. “A time to celebrate together. Not a time to sort out petty differences.”
“Ma’am, pardon me,” Gage said, “But this is none of your affair.”
“If it happens in Chance Creek County, I make it my affair,” Lainie said. “The Glendales don’t want anything spoiling their lovely party, which means it’s time for you to put aside your differences and get along. What’s the problem, anyway? You boys have just come home again, haven’t you? Are you here to put your family’s property up for sale?” She looked at Megan and tsked. “I bet you’re the source of all the trouble. Nothing like an amateur to mess up a real estate deal. Well, I’m here, now,” she said confidently. “I’ll help you boys sort things out.”
“There’s nothing to sort out,” Carter said. “We’re not selling Elliott Ridge. We’re staying.”
“Oh, you don’t want to do that,” Lainie said. “You want to sell that lovely property now while prices are high. Strike while the iron is hot, young man. It would be a mistake to miss this opportunity.” She tapped her chin with her forefinger. “You might do best to raze the whole place—give developers a clean slate, so to speak. No one wants to live in poky little houses like the ones at Elliott Ridge. Four bedrooms and four baths; that’s the minimum these days.”
Gage’s eyes widened. “Elliott Ridge isn’t a suburb.”
“It will be, just as soon as you lot clear out of it and get the property in the hands of someone who knows what he’s doing,” Lainie said tartly. “Your family has been derelict in its duty to the community and to that prime piece of land. You’ll want a ring of summer houses around the lake, of course. People will come in from Billings during the summer to stay there.”
All four of the Elliott brothers looked like thunder.
“And then you’ll need to expand the rest of the community. Just take down the trees and you’ll be as good as gold! You could get 400 houses in there.”
“Take down the trees?” Hudson sputtered. “You’d destabilize the whole slope.”
Lainie waved that concern away. “Fine, leave the trees. You’ve still got the land the mill is sitting on. Dismantle that and there’ll be plenty of space.”
“The mill is the financial engine of Elliott Ridge,” Lincoln pointed out. “It’s not going anywhere.”
“Lainie, I think the Elliotts have a plan of their own,” Megan said, but Lainie cut her off.
“Are you still here? I thought I made it clear that I’m the one who’s going to represent the Elliotts.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I want to see you first thing tomorrow, Megan Lawrence. We’ll have another talk about your future at Carmichael Realty.” She turned to Gage. “Meanwhile, I’ll draw up the paperwork and bring it to you tomorrow afternoon. We’ll get all our plans in place to strip the property and get it for sale.”
“That’s not—”
“No way we’re—”
“You can’t—”
All of Gage’s brothers began to protest at once. Gage made a sudden, sharp gesture with his hands. His brothers went silent, their mouths snapping shut.
Surprised, Megan’s own words died in her throat.
Gage drew himself up and looked Lainie in the eye. “Megan is our realtor. We’ll sign paperwork with her tomorrow. She’ll represent us or no one will—if and when we decide to sell.”
Megan drew in a breath, anticipating Lainie’s angry response, but Lainie shrank a little and stepped back. “O-okay,” she said. “If that’s what you think is best.” She shot Megan a look that could have stripped paint off steel, but Gage moved in front of her.
“It’s what I think is best.” The finality in his voice was clear. Lainie hesitated. Gave a little nod, then turned on her heel and walked away.
“What was that?” Carter demanded when she was gone, looking from his brother to Megan, as if suspecting depths to their relationship he hadn’t known before.
“That was me warding off trouble. I don’t want that woman anywhere near our property.”
“You were joking about me representing you,” Megan said. She was beginning to feel like she was on a roller coaster ride.
“I don’t joke,” Gage said.
“He doesn’t,” Hudson put in bitterly. “He’s incapable of it.”
“You’re our real estate agent now,” Gage said, ignoring him. “If and when we need one.”
“We’ll need one,” Carter said. “To sell those poky little boxes no one wants to live in just as soon as our mill is a going concern.”
“Those boxes are going to make great homes for a lot of people,” Lincoln said. “That woman has no imagination.”
“Or maybe you have too much,” Gage said. “You haven’t even gotten permission yet to subdivide any of it.”
“We will—soon,” Carter said confidently.
“I’d like to see them,” Megan said. “The houses,” she clarified.
Carter clapped Gage on the back. “Set it up,” he said. “Nate is coming home in a few weeks. We’ll invite you out to look the place over. Then you can start finding us buyers for all our homes.”
“All hundred and twenty of them—eventually,” Lincoln added. “Think you’re up for the job?”
“Definitely,” Megan said.
Gage made another gesture and Carter laughed. “Yeah, yeah, we’ll buzz off. Talk to you later, Megan.”
“Bye.” She watched them leave. “How do you do that? Make them do what you want without speaking?”
“We made our own personal sign language when we were kids. Comes in handy once in a while.” She must have looked surprised because he laughed. “Gave us an advantage over the other kids. And grown-ups,” he added.
“You’re the oldest, so the others are used to taking orders from you,” she guessed.
“I doubt that will work much longer. Seems like I’ve got a mutiny on my hands.”
Megan considered that. “Would it be so bad?” she asked him. “To stay?”
Gage looked her over, then took her glass of champagne from her fingers and set it back down on the table. He took her hands and tugged her gently closer. Moving slowly enough she could have stopped him at any moment, he bent down and brushed a kiss over her mouth.
Pulling back, he surveyed her. “Maybe not.”