Expecting His Secret Heir(8)

Jacob pulled her into his arms. "Well, how long is that gonna last? Forget the barbecue. Let's go home."

"Nope, sorry," she said, laughing as she swatted his chest.

Jacob buried his face in KC's neck. "Doomed" was all Zach heard before  mumbling and giggling took over. He glanced away, grinning at the two  lovebirds' antics. In the sea of chaos under the tent, Sadie stood oddly  still. The look on her face, even from this distance, had a hint of  sadness and longing before she blinked and it was gone. Actually, all  emotion was gone, as if she were afraid for Zach to see too closely  inside.

Funny, he felt the same way.

Finally Jacob and KC separated, walking to the food tent hand in hand.  Zach fell in step beside them. They talked about the next step in their  plan as they joined the dwindling line for food. Sadie certainly had  stepped up the efficiency of the process, and now the parking lot was  filled with hungry workers eating their fill.

"I'm so glad we could do this," KC said, surveying the scene.

Jacob kissed the top of her head. "Me, too. Whatever it takes to keep Black Hills alive, that's what we're gonna do."

They reached the steam table set up under the tent and chose their meal.  Zach deposited the box in the serving area before taking his food tray.  Sadie was at the other end in a cute apron with a pig on it, pouring  drinks.

"Wow," KC said as she reached Sadie's table. "This was incredible. Thank you so much."

Sadie shrugged away the thanks. "It was no problem."

"No problem? I didn't think so." KC laughed. "Of course, I'm used to a  well-ordered kitchen. Being outdoors and not knowing where everything is  throws me off."

"Organization is key," Sadie said with a wink.

Jacob reached out to shake Sadie's hand. "Well, we are extremely grateful for your organizational skills."

Sadie shifted as if their praise made her uncomfortable. "I'm glad I could help," she said, handing him a large iced tea.

"Would you be free tomorrow to help some more?" Jacob asked.

Sadie blinked. "I'm sure I can," she said. "I'll be out here tomorrow to take more pictures anyway."

"Did you get any good shots today?" KC asked.

"Sure did."

Jacob looked over at Zach in a way that made him distinctly uneasy. He kept looking. Zach could see the wheels turning.

"Tomorrow," Jacob finally said, "we have a truck coming in with lots of  supplies for the workers. Decent boots, heavy overalls, protective  gloves and such."

Oh, no. Jacob, please don't do this to me.

Jacob didn't even glance in his direction. But his jaw twitched as if he were aware of Zach's dread...and amused by it.                       
       
           



       

"We need some help getting everything organized and out to the  employees. I don't want them working cleanup without good-quality gear."

Zach looked at Sadie in enough time to see her eyes widen. "Isn't that  costing a lot for a company that's not bringing in any money at the  moment?"

Jacob nodded. "But we want them safe. Those that opted to stay on  through the temporary closing and rebuilding are being paid wages to  help with cleanup and reconstruction.

"We wanted to keep the work local, as much as possible," Jacob said, his  tone firm. "We've got some donations, but everything else is at  Blackstone expense. Ultimately, this is about the good of the town. The  people who live here deserve to be able to stay."

KC chimed in. "Not be run from their homes by a crazy person."

"That's commendable," Sadie said.

"Not really," Jacob responded, giving her a puzzled look.

"Trust me." She met his look without wavering. "I've known some  businessmen who couldn't care less about anything but their bottom line.  They'd bring in the cheapest labor and not care who lost their  livelihoods. Y'all are doing good here."

Zach could see Sadie mulling all this over, her brain working in  overdrive even though she didn't ask any more questions. She simply  picked at the puzzle, trying to unravel the complicated strands.

The fact that he could discern this made him uneasy. He didn't want to  read Sadie's mind. Didn't want to feel her curiosity, her disbelief that  the Blackstones were good people who cared about their workers. What  had happened in her life to lead her to question that?

No, he didn't want to know.

"Sadie, if your organizing skills make this as easy as serving lunch,  we'll be in business in no time. Zach will be here when the truck  arrives in the morning around nine. He can make sure whatever you need  is carried out."

Sure I will. Don't ask me what I want.

Then Zach wondered if his thoughts were showing on his face, because his sister was watching him-very closely.

Sadie, on the other hand, looked pretty pleased with herself.  Considering how he'd treated her since she came back to town, he had to  wonder why.

As his sister and Jacob moved on, Sadie smiled over at him. "Looks like it's you and me together-again."

Was that a statement...or a threat?





Five

"It's the truth, I tell ya."

Sadie couldn't help but grin at the man before her. Wearing the  traditional farmer uniform of overalls, plaid shirt, ball cap and messy  white hair, he was a perfect candidate for sitting on a bench in the  town square. So were the other two grandfatherly types with him. But he  was the talker.

"I think you're pulling my leg," Sadie insisted, knowing it would spur him on.

"No, I would never," he said with a sincere shake of his head. "But I  betcha they're all in on it. The other cotton industries are pressuring  the state to shut us down, because they want the business we've always  had here. That's why all of this is happening."

She knew old men were prime candidates to become conspiracy theorists.  They had too much time to sit around and think and talk and spin events  into the way they wanted to see them. So she asked, "But Blackstone  Mills has been here since the town started, hasn't it?"

"And still putting out quality product," one of the other men, Earl, said. "That's why they have to put us out of business."

Well, as much as she'd like to brush them off, the fact that a bomb had  exploded here couldn't be denied. That was deliberate malice, so someone  definitely had it in for Blackstone Mills. And the police weren't  talking yet.

"I still don't understand why anyone would want to put you out of  business," she said, hoping to get more gossip. "Wouldn't someone local  have to be in on this? Have access to the plant?"

"Oh, they were," Mr. Farmer breathed.

"The other textile companies found someone local to do their dirty work, we're pretty sure," Earl said.

Farmer interrupted, "We heard about all kinds of things. Can't keep  stuff like that secret. Equipment failure and missing shipments. But it  was the cotton that was the kicker."

Now they were getting somewhere. Sadie forgot about the lines of men  behind her, getting loaded up by fellow workers with their safety gear  after she'd streamlined the process for them. Zach had introduced her to  the lead volunteer then disappeared, which she was grateful for now,  because she was pretty sure these old-timers wouldn't be speaking to her  with him around.                       
       
           



       

Especially about the damaged cotton crop her landlady had mentioned.

"What about the cotton?" she asked, pretending ignorance.

"Oh, that Zachary Gatlin boy did it," Earl said, "though the police said he was innocent."

"We aren't so sure," Farmer said. "He's in thick with those Blackstones,  so..." He shrugged. "Why they'd want to damage their own business would  be a mystery, but then again, there's a lot about all this that is."

Sadie nodded.

"But he sprayed the cotton, that's all we know. Either somebody loaded the poison in or he did it himself."

"Now he's heading up recovery efforts, so who knows."

"But poison the cotton, it did. Took a while, but they managed to get  cotton in from elsewhere. Thank goodness, or the mill would have gone  under by Christmas, for sure."

It was the same story she'd heard from her landlady. Something didn't  add up, though. "Maybe somebody was trying to frame him?" she mused.

"Frame who?"

The voice from behind her had her stiffening. There was nothing like  being caught red-handed talking about someone by the person in question.  The men's wide eyes clued her in to their awareness of Zach's presence.  Too bad she hadn't been watching them while she was overthinking.

Quickly, she twisted around. "Zach, there you are. I was wondering what happened to you."