Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

M onday morning, Sophie found herself in the middle of her pretty room with the golf course design calling from the desk and her sketchbook beckoning from her bed. She had work to do, but she wanted to draw the scene of Colton chasing a steer. She had spent half the night capturing Jake wrestling Buttercup to the ground. It was her best work.

The shrill of an antique pink phone saved her from having to make a decision, and she jumped across the bed to answer it. She stretched out on her belly before saying hello.

A soft country ballad wafted through the line. “Hi there, Sophie, I hope I’m not phoning too early.”

“Hi, Loni, no, I’m just getting to work.” Well, she’d been thinking about getting to work, anyway.

“Oh, good. That’s why I wanted to call you. I’d like to hire you. Well, I mean, that we would like to hire you. The tribal council, that is,” Loni said.

Sophie sat up. “Hire me? For what?”

“We finally have enough funds to build a garden in memory of a good friend of mine. We want it near the base of headquarters, close to Spades Mountain, you know, the one with all the hiking and horse trails?” Loni asked.

Sophie had no idea. “What do you need from me?”

“We need you to design it. You have a landscape design degree, right?”

A garden? Sophie’s breath caught. “Well, yes. But I specialize in golf courses.” Though it would be interesting to design a garden—and probably be good for her résumé. Just in case.

“But your public hearing isn’t for another week and your designs are all finished, aren’t they?” Loni asked.

Sophie’s heartbeat quickened as her mind spun with creative ideas. “Yes.”

“Then this might be fun. Plus, you’d be working with the council, so you’d have time to sell everyone on the golf course.” Loni’s voice turned even more chipper.

“You dangle quite the carrot, Loni,” Sophie said, laughing.

“Yeah, it’s a gift. We’d pay you for the garden design.”

The project sounded interesting, and branching out to another type of design appealed to the artist inside Sophie. “I don’t know…”

“Tell you what. The council is meeting for lunch today. Why don’t I schedule the first fifteen minutes for you to present your golf course design, and then you can stay and listen to our plans. Plus, Mrs. Shiller has bridge today, so you’d be eating all alone. What fun is that?” Loni asked.

What a kind invitation. “All right.” Plus, Sophie needed to take every opportunity to convince people her designs worked. “I’ll be there. Tribal Headquarters at eleven?”

“Yes. See you then.” Loni ended the call. Probably before Sophie could change her mind.

A couple of hours after the phone call with Loni, Sophie drove the hill toward headquarters, her new boots working the pedals of the Jeep. She told herself that she’d taken extra care with her makeup to prepare for a business meeting and not because Jake may be at headquarters.

Then she told herself to stop lying—it wasn’t healthy.

Loni met her at the door and took one of the large, mounted designs to help carry inside. They headed into the familiar conference room and placed the designs on easels. Loni then introduced Sophie to three men, appearing to range in age from sixty to ninety, named Earl, Jacob, and Freddie, along with two silver-haired women, June and Phyllis, whom she’d already met at the picnic.

“The chief may pop in, and Jake should be here sometime.” Loni gestured for Sophie to grab a plate and sandwich from the table.

Sophie did so and sat beside Freddie, whose smile took up his entire face. “Jake is on the council?” she asked.

“No. But we act much like a Board of Directors, and every board needs a lawyer.” Loni sat on Sophie’s other side and selected a turkey sandwich.

Freddie pushed his plate away. His long jowls swung as he spoke, and his deep brown eyes surveyed a platter of cookies with interest. He carefully selected one. “I hear the sheriff won the pot again this year.”

“Quinn has a knack for that kind of thing.” Loni protested, her eyes gleaming. “Those boys are not in cahoots.”

“Humph,” Freddie replied around the cookie.

Sophie dropped her napkin on her empty plate. “What was the pot, anyway?”

“About two grand this year.” Freddy rubbed his chin.

Sophie swung her gaze to him. “Two thousand dollars?”

Loni shrugged. “It’s an event. Every year.” She sat back. “All right, Sophie, show us your plan.” She nodded toward the colorful renderings.

Drawing in a breath, Sophie stood and passed out packets detailing the project that had residences scattered every two acres. “The group is proposing a golf course community, most likely for retirement folks, with a clubhouse and restaurant. It’s close enough to Maverick that the public could come golf for the day, maybe on the way to the tribe’s casino, three miles down the road.” She paused and walked to the renderings. “The Charleton Group has developed similar properties all over the world with great success.”

“Didn’t the Group buy this property with a development in mind?” Phyllis asked, her face buried in the papers.

Sophie tightened her knees to halt their trembling. “I believe so, yes.”

“That was gutsy since the county commissioners could refuse their permit,” Freddie chimed in.

Sophie nodded. “The Group seems confident the law will allow the development. Their lawyers are more up to date with the legal aspects of the proposal than I am. My area of focus is the golf course design.

“This does look like a fun course,” June mused, her large, round eyes magnified by thick glasses. “Check out those sand traps around the fifth green.”

Jacob nodded. “And the water hazard on the sixteenth hole. Man, that’d be fun.”

Loni’s eyes lit up. “This is a wonderful design, Sophie. I like how the residential lots are two entire acres while keeping the feel of the country. The council meets again tomorrow, and we’ll discuss an official position on your proposal.”

The council had been more receptive than Sophie had hoped. Her shoulders slowly relaxed. “Thank you.” She retook her seat.

“Our next item on the agenda is Willa’s Garden at the base of the road.” Loni perched narrow glasses on her nose.

Sophie took a sip of her sparkling water.

Loni turned toward Sophie. “Willa served on the council until she became too ill and passed away. She taught school for thirty years before that and never married. The tribe was her family.”

“So was the entire community, tribal or not,” June spoke up.

The loving way the board spoke about Willa touched Sophie. Ideas shot through her head. A community garden? “How much land are we talking? Do you want fields for sports?”

Loni shook her head. “No. In fact, we’re going to build an entire sports complex on the other side of the high school. That could be your next project. For Willa’s Garden, we just want peace and tranquility.”

Sophie’s hands itched to get ahold of her charcoals and start designing, but she’d never planned a large scale garden. “I can draft up a design for you and then see what you think.”

“By Wednesday?” June’s face brightened.

Sophie tried to contain her own excitement. “I can have a rough design by then.”

“Excellent.” Earl leaped to his feet. “Come on guys, bingo starts in an hour at the casino.” The other two men tossed their empty plates into the trash and followed him out the door.

“Thanks again, Sophie,” Freddie called over his shoulder.

Sophie smiled. They’d drawn her in as if she were one of them. Being included shouldn’t matter to her. Yet she couldn’t lose the smile. She stood and expected handshakes, but both ladies gave her gentle hugs on their way out the door. Clearing her throat, she moved to help Loni clear the rest of the table.

A deep voice from the doorway startled her. “Drop those sandwiches, Mom.” Jake strode in, his eyes focused on the food as his mother handed him a plate.

Sophie had found the man devastating in chaps. That was nothing compared to his look in full charcoal-gray Armani. The dark silk outlined his strength, while his red tie radiated power. The subtle stripe in his pants emphasized the impressive length of his legs. Butterflies danced in her stomach.

She lived in a big city. Muscles were achieved in gyms and exercise rooms. Jake earned his the hard way—outdoors battling nature, adding a wildness she should resist. Men like him didn’t exist in her world, and she didn’t fit in with theirs. But those butterflies beat with furious wings and didn’t give a hoot about logic. Or safety.

She needed to shut her mouth before she drooled.

His dimple winked and his gaze ran over her face like a kid eyeing licorice in a candy store.

Her gaze dropped to his lips. She remembered how his mouth felt against hers, his tongue tangling with hers, and she flushed. His lips curved in response.

“How was court, dear?” Loni pushed the plate of cookies toward her son.

Jake released Sophie’s gaze and dropped onto a vacated chair. “Idiot EPA,” he mumbled between bites.

Loni tapped the unused napkins into a neat pile. “Jake, are you done working for the day?”

“Definitely,” he said.

Loni edged toward the door. “Good. Sophie needs to see the five acres for Willa’s Garden, and I have an appointment in town. Would you show it to her?”

“Subtle, Mom. Yes, I’d love to show Sophie around,” Jake said.

The double meaning wasn’t lost on Sophie. Probably wasn’t lost on his mother, either.

“Good. ’Bye.” Loni made her escape.

Sophie clasped her suddenly shaking hands. She had the oddest urge to tackle the lawyer to the ground and steal a kiss but busied herself gathering the extra copies of her presentation. What was wrong with her?

“So they suckered you in, huh?” Jake turned amused eyes on her.

Oh yeah. Her job. The one she loved. Man, she lost all sense of reality when Jake was around. She ran a quick hand over her face. “Completely. Easily and without much of an effort.” Of course it helped that she wanted to design the garden.

“They do that.” Jake grabbed another cookie. “But—” He paused, obviously to choose the right words. “The tribe isn’t going to support the Charleton Group’s golf course proposal on that land no matter how much we like your design.”

Sophie stilled. “Are you sure?” Maybe he was wrong about the council. They seemed to like the proposed development.

Jake rubbed his chin. “They may come across like a sweet, old, bingo-playing group, but they’re ruthless. Before you know it, ten years will have passed and you’ll have designed everything from memorials to summer gardens. We both know you’re meant to be in the city.”

She frowned. “We both know I belong in the city?” The man had just met her. At his nod, she raked her gaze over his now relaxed form. “Look who’s talking. Armani looks good on you, Jake.” She’d bet anything he was a force to watch in a courtroom.

One eyebrow lifted. “I was in court today.”

“Obviously. What wrong are you and the EPA trying to right?” she asked.

“Ah, stereotyping, are we?” His narrowed eyes belied his lazy drawl.

Heat roared through her ears. “Excuse me?”

“I sat on the opposite side from the EPA today, sweetheart.” He explained why the tribes often sat across the fence from the government.

She tilted her head. Every time she thought she had a handle on Jake Lodge, he surprised her again. His analytical mind complemented his sexy grin in a way that would intrigue any woman, but she had to fight her attraction in order to save her uncle’s company.

“Come on, we can load these, and then I’ll take you to the memorial site.” Jake stood and tossed his trash into the can before grabbing both foam boards with the golf course designs and holding out a hand.

She relaxed and placed her hand in Jake’s much larger one. Warmth shot heat to her lower stomach. Warmth she didn’t want to feel.

Because he was right. She was a city girl.

Wasn’t she?