Love, Chocolate, and Beer (Cactus Creek #1)(71)

She winced at the reminder. Damn, damn, damn. She’d really screwed this up.

“I’m really not the monster here,” he said, his voice gentling in response to her defeated silence. “Like I said, it’s business. Right now, Luke’s building is a hot commodity that, frankly, will do the whole town some good. Even if I didn’t sell, and instead leased the space out to that last winery, in addition to the three businesses I mentioned, we could help two more— Kim’s adult novelty shop, and Jilly’s world music school. Kim, who grew up here like us, and Jilly, who needs the steady income to help pay for the nursing care her mother needs.” He took a deep breath and let it out. “So yes, I do think Luke would be an innocent victim here but if given a chance to sacrifice one to save five, I’ll take it.”

“Noah, please,” pleaded Dani quietly. “You can’t do this to Luke. He loves it here. There has to be another way. By what you’ve explained, you care deeply about all your tenants. So why can’t you help Luke out just a little here?”

“I have been helping him out. I’ve been sending a lot of corporate referrals his way. Not to mention the extremely reasonable loan I gave him that few others would even entertain.”

Dani did a double take. “I didn’t know you gave him a loan.” His new equipment.

“That’s odd.” Surprise tinted his tone. “The whole reason why Luke called me for the loan was because you blabbed about my helping Lia out a few years back.”

For some mysterious reason, Dani felt hurt Luke hadn’t told her that he’d gone to Noah for a loan. A double standard considering this exact conversation she was in with Noah now, but still. Hearing something this big secondhand just made her frustration…erupt. “So let me get this straight. You give the guy a loan that would bury him in debt if he didn’t come through and then you pull his shop out from under him? Our whole town is just one big Monopoly game to you isn’t it? Don’t pretend like you’re the town’s goddamn fairy godfather. You’re just doing this to make more twenties to wipe your ass with!”

She gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth, instantly feeling worse than pond scum. “Oh my god, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Noah. I didn’t mean any of that, I swear.” Dani knew Noah had worked damn hard for everything he had. And he was always fair. Nothing she had just accused him of could be further from the truth. “I don’t even know why I said it.”

“You’ve changed,” he said quietly, simply. A touch sympathetically.

An awkward moment stretched out over the phone line. She didn’t have a reply.

He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like ‘the real Dobson curse’ under his breath before producing a deep sigh. “The best I can do is offer a compromise. The wineries who want to buy aren’t necessarily putting forth multi-million-dollar deals so, if Luke can match the doubled monthly lease the third winery is willing to pay, I’ll keep him on instead.”

She didn’t see how that would be possible, not if Luke was already having finance issues. Regardless, it was something.

“And Dani,” added Noah quietly, “I was already planning on giving him a one-year deferred payment extension on his loan. I’m not without a heart.”

“Noah, I swear I didn’t mean what I said earlier. Lia’s absolutely right about you. You’re one of the good ones. I’m really sorry if I hurt your feelings.”

He simply grunted in response. “I’ll call Luke tomorrow and present the situation. Do you want me to explain to him how you and I reached this compromise?

Dani felt a cold sweat break out over her skin at the thought of Luke hearing Noah mention her part in any of this. Really, this was all her fault…

“No, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t bring me up at all when you talk to him.”



*



QUINN STUDIED Rylan warily, listening to his seemingly innocent question with supreme skepticism. After that great family Valentine weekend he’d planned, Quinn had absolutely no idea what was going on in their relationship. If they even had one. She’d yet to even see second base with the man, and lately, he’d been keeping them both firmly planted in the dugout.

Today, however, the man was a walking suggestive comment.

She still couldn’t believe this steamy-eyed man sitting before her was the same knight in shining armor who’d shown up at her home last night armed with dinner for five. Yesterday afternoon, her sister Jodi had called to explain she needed to stay late at work exactly five minutes before Jodi’s usual sitter had dropped Quinn’s twin nieces off on her doorstep.

The girls had called out, “Hi, Aunty Quinn,” and gave her two sets of cherubic smiles Quinn knew better than to trust. While she loved her nieces to pieces, they were two more crazy preschoolers to watch and make dinner for, and she was out of groceries she couldn’t go out and get because she only had one booster seat in her car. So, Quinn had immediately called Luke for back-up. When he hadn’t answered, shortly after the kids had decided to let the dog in and ride him like a horse, Quinn called Rylan.

She’d been desperate for help—that’s all she’d ever admit to on the matter.

A half hour later, Rylan swooped in and placed groceries on the counter along with a kiss on her lips in a honey-I’m-home way before she even got out a hello. Then, unjustly, it took him only a second to round up the kids and get them to sit still for a Candy Land battle while she cooked dinner. They ate together at the table, talking all the while about playground politics and current preschool events. Afterward, he played Wii with the girls while she gave Cooper a bath, and then he read them all a story until her sister came to pick the girls up.