Turn Over:A Secret Baby Sports Romance(59)

"A group out of Galveston. They preserve the seaside dunes."

"Great. Find out everything you can about them. Send it to me in an hour." I felt out of breath.

"Yes, sir. We're on it."

"Good. I'll look for your email."

I jogged up the stairs. I debated whether to stop by the office and chat  with Eden, but I already knew how that would go. She would try to  convince me to call Sydney. Urge me to try to work things out. Eden  didn't understand a two-day relationship didn't need fixing. Walking  away was the best thing I could have done.

I chugged the rest of the water in my water bottle then turned to the coffee pot to fill a mug, and walked onto the balcony.

The beach was starting to come alive with tourists. Striped umbrellas.  Plastic buckets filling with sand to build castles. I leaned over the  railing, studying the people on vacation.

I sipped my coffee. My body starting to cool under the shade of the balcony, and the breeze whipping off the ocean.

I heard a knock on the door and left my mug on the balcony. I opened the door. Grey stood in front of me.

"What's going on, man?" I made way for him to enter the condo.

"Saw you run up from the beach."

"Yeah, good run. Have to do it before it's too hot."

"I hear you. I've been running the past few nights. It's the only way I can get it in."

He walked inside.

"Want some coffee?" I offered.

"That's all right. I'm good."

He followed me onto the balcony, where I picked up the mug again. "How's Eden?"

"She's working in the office."

A family set up for a day on the beach in front of us. Grey looked on the horizon.

"A bunch of us are getting together tonight for a bonfire. Think you want to stop by?" Grey asked.

"I haven't been to one of those in a while. Is the usual group going to be there?"

He nodded. "Yep. Pick, Marin, Connor, Eden, and me. I'm not sure who else is in town this weekend."

"All right. I'll stop by."

"And don't let Eden give you a hard time about that girl. She's just trying to help."

"I know. She wants everyone to be happy."

Grey smiled. "Yeah, she is on a mission. Sorry things didn't work out for you."

"Who said they didn't work out?"

He shrugged. "True. I guess we all have different goals."

"I had a good time. I'm not looking for anything serious. I've been pretty open about that."

"You don't have to explain it to me. If I hadn't met Eden, I'd be doing the same thing. I wasn't interested in anything else."

I thought about it. I wasn't sure we were the same kind of men when it  came to women. Grey was certainly more domesticated than I was. Before  Eden he had lived with a girlfriend. That had never happened to me. I  made sure of it.

"Hey, man I'm not trying to rush you, but I've got to head out soon. I  have a big day lined up. I've got to run over to the site."

Grey stepped back inside, and I closed the sliding door. "See you tonight?"

"Yeah, I'll be there. I'll bring a case or two."

"Sounds good."

He left and I realized how normal that exchange had been. It was  possible we were actually becoming friends. I jumped in the shower.



I adjusted my collar and the sleeves on my jacket. A crowd had already  gathered near the picnic tables. I stayed close to the road, out of  sight. The sun beat down on the crowd. I noticed Commissioner Rodriguez  moving to the front of the group.

Next to her were two men and two women. Their T-shirts were decorated  with pictures of sea dunes. I assumed they were from the activist group.  This should be interesting. I folded my arms and waited for the press  conference to start.

The microphone squeaked and the onlookers pressed their hands to their ears. It was already a rocky start.

Janet smiled. "I'd like to welcome everyone today. I have a few people I  should introduce. If you're not familiar with the Custodians of the  Dunes, a few of their representatives have joined us today. Cecilia,  Bailey, Hamp, and Doug."         

     



 

"You all know this piece of land we're standing on has been purchased.  And some of you are probably thinking this is a good thing for our  island. You're thinking about the jobs it will bring in. But what I want  you to think about is what the development of Beach Combers Cove will  do to the beach. Do you know how many species of animals live in the  dunes that border this tract?"

This is the part of the speech that always irritated me. Janet started  throwing out statistics about animal endangerment, beach erosion, and  tossed in the number of accidents that occurred on construction sites.  That one was unnecessary, but I knew what she was doing. She needed to  build citizen unity. The message was clear. The development was  dangerous and unsafe for everyone.

I hung my head and started back for the car. I didn't need to hear the  words from the Custodians of the Dunes to know what the pushback was  going to be. They were going to fight the development.

It wasn't the first battle I would face against environmentalists.

I heard the ding on my phone and pulled it from my pocket to check the  email. From the corner of my eye I saw her. Her hair was pulled back in a  ponytail. She was late to the press conference. She didn't see me. She  rushed to the group, her bag slung over her shoulder, her reporter's pad  clutched in one hand.

The skirt she was wearing showed off her tan legs and the taunt muscles  in her calves. I scowled. Not for me. I had my taste. It wasn't going to  happen again.

I hesitated. I wanted to walk over. But why? I had cut her loose. It was  best this way. Within a few seconds she was buried in the crowd. I  started the engine and slowly drove away from the trailer park. I tried  to forget I was leaving Sydney behind. I turned up the radio as I picked  up speed. Yes, this was best.



The condo was cool the way I liked it. I typed out an email. I needed  the preliminary numbers on a warehouse in Fort Worth. I would fly out in  a few days. I wanted the information before I was back in Dallas.

Early on, people told me I grew my business too fast. They said Lachlan  Corporation wouldn't be able to sustain the rate of growth I pushed on  it. But it didn't stop me. I kept the pace I wanted. Followed my  instincts. Ignored the warnings.

If the next purchase went through I would be closing in on my thirtieth  acquisition. It felt good to know I didn't let the concerns stop me. I  kept going regardless of the resistance.

My phone buzzed next to the laptop. It was Mark.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Have you seen the article in the News & Record?"

I closed my email. "No. Which one?"

"It came out about fifteen minutes ago. It's an in-depth feature on one  of the residents in Beach Combers Cove. A mother and little girl who  will be displaced when the demolition begins."

I typed in the website. "Who wrote it?"

"Same reporter who released your exclusive. Sydney Paige."

I breathed into the phone, gripping it tightly. "I'll find it."

It appeared on the front page. I scanned the headline. The picture was  of a young woman looking on while her daughter played in an inflatable  pool. The dunes were behind them.

I knew what it would say before I started reading it. Shawna Douglas, a  young mother barely making ends meet working at the Pancake House, was  scrambling to find a place she could afford for her five year old  daughter, Lindy. I shook my head. This was going to hurt. Not only did  the article make it sound like they were going to be homeless, but also  that the millionaire mogul who had bought the land hadn't made any  conditions for the residents to move.

I ran my hands through my hair. Damn it. This wasn't the first time people had to move because of rental property I purchased.

I grabbed my keys from the counter and jogged down the stairs. I wanted  to ride with the top down. I started at the end of the island closest to  the Palm, searching the side streets. I turned around in every  cul-de-sacs and drove to the next grid of roads. After an hour, I  started to think my plan wasn't going to work, but then I saw a gravel  road half-covered in vines and brown grass. I slowed the car and turned  onto the path. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't perfect. It would work.         

     



 

I dialed the Dallas office.

"Mark, I need our broker to purchase a piece of land today."

"Today, sir?" I hated how he always repeated what I said.

"Yes, today. Can the team handle it?"

"Of course. What's the listing number?"

I groaned. "It doesn't have a listing number. I'll shoot you the  address. Make an offer, get it done today. Also, start the permit  application to have the land zoned for water and electricity. It needs  to be completed in two weeks."

I stepped out of the car. It was basically a wasteland. I estimated how  many trailers I thought could fit. "And make that for ten trailer  hookups. Got it?"

"Yes, sir." He hesitated.

"What is it, Mark?"

"Why are we buying this land, sir? Did I miss a report or an email?"