Only His (Fool's Gold #6)(35)

“Then you want what’s best for him,” Jo told her. “That’s not me.”

She walked away, leaving them all staring after her.

Annabelle reached for a chip. “I love this town. It’s better than TV.”

“YOU COULDN’T DRIVE?” Tucker called, pushing off the truck and walking toward the man stepping off the private jet that had just landed at the Fool’s Gold airport.

Nevada hung back, not sure why Tucker had asked her to come with him to pick up his father. Tucker crossed the tarmac and the two men shook hands, then embraced.

They were about the same height, with similar dark hair and easy smiles. Nevada shifted from foot to foot, then moved toward the two of them.

“Mr. Janack,” she said, holding out her hand.

“Elliot, please,” he said. “Good to see you again, Nevada. You keeping my son in line?”

“Doing my best.”

They climbed into Tucker’s large truck. She took the rear seat. Elliot angled toward her.

“I’m glad you’re on the team,” he told her. “Having someone local is a big asset. I remember when we were working in South America and I pissed off one of the local farmers. He cut off my water supply until I apologized and bought designer handbags for his eight daughters.” Elliot chuckled. “I don’t want to make that mistake again.”

“You’ll be pleased to know our town council isn’t that hard to work with.”

“Good to hear.” Elliot faced front again. “Are we on schedule?” he asked his son.

Tucker brought him up to date on the clearing, explained about the permits for water and sewer and told him when they would start the blasting. By the time they arrived at the job site, Elliot knew as much as any of them.

After Tucker parked, Nevada got out of the truck.

She expected to tell Elliot goodbye and go back to work. Instead the older man motioned for her to stay with him.

“Tucker has to make a few calls,” he said as his son walked toward the trailer. “Show me around.”

It sounded a lot more like an order than a request, but she was okay with that. The teams were doing great work and she was proud to show it off.

She pointed to the various clearing sites and explained how they were saving the largest-growth trees.

“People like that,” Elliot said. “It’s good for the environment and not much more work for us. A win. How do you like working with Tucker?”

“He’s a good boss,” she said, not sure what information he wanted. She would bet a lot of money that Elliot didn’t know about her past with Tucker, so the question was probably general rather than specific.

“He’s going to be taking over for me in a year or so.”

“I didn’t know that.”

Elliot smiled at her. “He claims I’m not ready to retire, but I could start cutting back. He calls this project his last test. His chance to prove he has what it takes.”

“That’s a lot on the line,” she murmured. While she’d known Tucker was taking on more and more responsibility, she hadn’t thought of him running the multibillion-dollar company. “He’ll do well.”

“I agree.”

“So, he’ll be located where the headquarters are, right?”

“Yes. Chicago. I’m thinking of spending part of the year in the Caribbean.”

He said something about buying a sailboat, but she wasn’t listening. Tucker was leaving. She’d always known he would—that this job was temporary. But now she understood that this project was simply a stepping-stone to something bigger. Running the family firm. Of course he would want to do that. It wasn’t as if she’d expected him to stay in Fool’s Gold.

Location wasn’t exactly the biggest problem, she admitted to herself. It was Tucker’s attitude about relationships. Being in love didn’t mean being a fool, no matter what he thought. Not that they had a relationship, other than friendship. She knew better than to fall for him again.

One of the guys hurried toward her. “Sorry to interrupt, boss,” he said, nodding at Elliot. “We have a problem.”

She raised her eyebrows, waiting for details.

“Goats,” he told her. “We have goats.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

“THIS IS A FIRST FOR ME,” Tucker admitted, leading two goats down the road. He’d had to deal with wildlife before, but not goats. At least they were friendly enough.

“Poor Heidi,” Nevada said, hanging on to her own two goats. “I think she assumed the fencing was secure. I know she’s going to blame this one on the cows.”

“She has cows, too?”

“Sort of. They’re feral.”

Tucker chuckled. “Feral cows? Is that possible?”

“According to her, it is. They came with the ranch, but they’ve been running wild for years. The old man who used to own the Castle Ranch died a long time ago. I barely remember when he lived there. It was abandoned close to twenty years.”

And he’d been worried that building a hotel and casino in Fool’s Gold would be boring.

“You know those cows,” he said with a chuckle. “They can cause all kinds of trouble. Skipping class, smoking behind the gym.”

She grinned at him. “Is this where I remind you you’re dealing with goats on your job site? Don’t mock the cows. They may come after you.”