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Chapter 29

CHAPTER 29

Skylar

Swallow Beach wasn't much to look at in the light of day. Nothing like the quaint charm of Swallow Cove. This was a beach cluttered by one long strip of businesses—just one after the next—with massive signs that probably looked impressive when lit up at night. But at mid-morning? It all looked tacky, the paint peeling, the buildings sagging, and far too many trash bins overflowing with colorful cups and cans.

Hudson Nash eased the boat into dock and Fisher brushed a quick kiss over his lips before approaching me. "Ready?"

"Yes." I hesitated. "You know, I can still do this on my own. There's no need for you to be dragged into my mess."

In the spirit of full disclosure, I'd let Fisher know what was happening on the development scene. I didn't want him to get sideswiped by anything. But this was my problem to solve.

"It's definitely our mess, and if I remember right, I dragged you into it, so it's only fair I get a little dirty, too."

"If you're sure…"

Fisher just gave me one of his sunny smiles. "Trust me, you're taking the lead. I'm just here to give those Wexler assholes a piece of my mind."

After two days of phone tag with Logan Moss and a mix of radio silence and awkward excuses from others, I'd decided to go straight to the source: my rotten ex and his underhanded business partners.

The Wexlers had reason to be salty about the way I'd swooped in on the Swallow Cove deal. But if they realized I wasn't here to take any more business in the region, maybe we could call a truce on this messy business.

Still, my insides trembled with nerves. Facing Blaize wasn't easy, even when he didn't have the backup of Leon and Scott Wexler.

I didn't want Fisher to see just how uneasy I was, so I squared my shoulders and stepped off the boat as if I didn't want to run in the other direction.

I took two steps to the right. Fisher dropped down from the boat behind me.

"Actually, it's the other way." Fisher hooked his arm through mine and guided me in the right direction. "This Logan guy said they always have lunch at Dockside Pub, right?"

"Right." Hopefully fate wasn't also telling me to run the other way, given how quickly I'd taken a wrong turn. "Thanks for…"

"Knowing the way there?" Fisher shrugged. "I grew up here. I've been all over this end of the lake."

"That makes sense." I waved toward the row of bars and restaurants. "And what do you think of all this?"

He wrinkled his nose. "If you're a partier, it's a great nightspot. But it gets old real fast. It's packed with people at night, the prices are too high, and…" He trailed into a laugh. "I sound like an old man. ‘Get off my lawn!'" He shook his fist in the air theatrically.

I smiled. "I've never been much for the party scene either."

"A good thing if you're shacking up with Brooks. He's the least social bartender I've ever seen."

"We're not shacking up," I protested.

"Right, you're dating for real." He shook his head. "So weird."

"Weird? Why is it weird?"

"Sorry, weird is the wrong word. It's just…unexpected."

My heart thudded. "But why?"

I liked Brooks. I was half in love with him, maybe more than half. And I trusted him. I really did. But…I'd ignored red flags with Blaize. I wasn't about to do that again.

Fisher's brow creased at my tone. "I shouldn't have said anything. I didn't mean to imply—"

"Fisher, please. Just be honest with me."

"It's nothing bad!" he blurted. "Not about you or him."

"But?" I prompted.

"But Brooks hasn't had any serious relationships," he said. "I didn't think he would ever open himself to that. His family situation is complicated."

"You mean because his mom left him with his grandma?"

"Yeah." Fisher sighed. "My parents have tried to include him over the years. Make him feel welcome. He remains distant."

"But he just took your old apartment over there."

Fisher smiled. "Yeah, and I hope that he sees just how much Mom wants him around."

I thought of her barging in the first morning I'd woke up there. That was three days ago now. I chuckled. "Uh, yeah, I think it would be pretty hard not to see."

Fisher's eyes narrowed. "Uh-oh. What did she do?"

I laughed. "She's just very friendly. Let's leave it at that."

Fisher groaned. "Oh god, he's going to hate that. Brooks is used to being on his own."

"Well, maybe this is good for him," I said. "Maybe I'm good for him too."

"Oh, Skylar, I know you are," Fisher said. "I should have kept my big mouth shut. He's been so happy since you've been around."

"I didn't think this would ever happen either," I admitted. "But we're the real deal now. Boyfriends. I'm hoping to make Swallow Cove my home. And that means getting this project off the ground."

"Right." Fisher pointed. "That's the place right there."

I swallowed hard, my stomach flip-flopping like a grounded fish. Ready or not, the moment of truth had arrived.

You can do this, Sky. Whatever happens, you're in charge of your life now.

I swallowed hard. "Okay, let's go."

We crossed the boardwalk and opened the heavy wooden door to step inside. The interior was dim, and though it was early for lunch, there were a few customers seated at tables.

The place was like an odd mirror of The Rusty Hook, with boating decor and a full bar. But unlike our pub with its rustic touch of barrels converted to tables and wooden plank flooring, this place had an interior that could have been any chain restaurant, with square wooden tables with glossy tops, straight-backed wooden chairs, and tile flooring.

The server passed by with a tray balanced on one hand. "Seat yourself anywhere you like."

"Thanks."

I scanned the room for a table with a view of the door. We'd arrived early to ensure we wouldn't miss the Wexlers.

"They're already here," Fisher said just as I spotted them. Scott and Leon sat in a corner booth with Blaize and another couple of men, all of them with beers in front of them.

"Yeah." I swiped my sweaty palms against my thighs. "At least we can get this over with quickly."

Fisher fell into step with me as we crossed the restaurant. Blaize noticed me first, a smirk tugging at his lips as he leaned in and said something to Scott.

Scott and Leon both glanced my way, looking less pleased.

"Gentleman, hello. Having a good lunch?"

"Oh, we love this place," Blaize said. "But what brings you here? I thought you liked that crappy little Swallow Hole across the lake."

Cute. They had a nickname for Swallow Cove, too. Frankly, I thought Shallow Beach was a more fitting one, but then maybe I was biased. Because I'd spent ten minutes in Swallow Beach and I already disliked it.

Not that my ex-boyfriend was ever going to help it make a good impression.

"Actually, I came to talk to Scott and Leon."

"I don't think we have anything to discuss," Leon said tersely. "The time for talking would have been before you interfered in our business."

I nodded. "I know you're not happy about what I did over in Swallow Cove. That's understandable. But it's a project dear to my heart, one that's important to my friends." I gestured to Fisher. "You remember Fisher Riggins, right?"

"They should," Fisher said before Leon answered. "I'm the guy you both lied to about your intentions."

The two other men at the table—one a weathered sort of guy with salt-and-pepper hair and the other a younger man who looked a little rough around the edges with a scraggly beard and a sweat-stained T-shirt—shifted uneasily.

"Nobody lied," Scott said. "We told you we'd take community input, and we did."

Fisher scoffed. "You just had no plan to listen to that input or take our wishes into account."

"I'm sorry if you were confused," Leon said, "but communities often resist growth and development. That's just how it goes."

"If I was confused, it's because you wanted me that way."

"But look, we're not here to argue over that situation," I said. "What's done is done. I just wanted to assure you that I didn't have any malicious intent. I care about Swallow Cove, and I wanted to see the town get the project that best served its interest, but I'm not looking to move in on your territory, so we can be professionals about this."

Blaize snorted a laugh. "You, a professional? Unlikely."

"He's not the one spreading malicious rumors," Fisher shot back.

He was a pretty good wingman, and it would be easy to rely on him to fight this battle. But I'd come here to show them that I wasn't intimidated by their tactics.

"They're not rumors if they're the truth," Scott said. "Skylar has no practical experience. He's relying on his father's name."

There was a little truth to that assertion. But only a little.

"Is that what Blaize told you?" I asked. "I guess he failed to mention the years I spent learning my father's business. Before we got involved, I spent plenty of time on worksites with my dad. He was grooming me to take the lead on projects."

Scott and Leon turned to Blaize as one, their expressions making it clear that Blaize had overstated my inexperience. Not that I was surprised.

Blaize had encouraged me to leave my father's business when I was unhappy with moving from place to place. It served his own interests because he preferred to keep me at home, away from people who might empower me. I could see that clearly now. But back then, it had seemed as if he were supporting my desire to find my own way.

I didn't want to work under my father's thumb, skipping from project to project and state to state.

This project was different. This was about giving Swallow Cove a better future. About developing something useful in what was fast beginning to feel like my real home.

The older gentleman at the table cleared his throat. "I think Neal and I oughta clear out and let you all talk business."

"Good idea, Logan," Scott said.

Logan? As in Logan Moss? My heart sank. Here, I'd thought my father's contact could be my ally once I tracked him down. But what were the odds that he'd be eating and drinking with the Wexlers if that were the case?

Neal—probably Neal Mulligan, another guy who'd ghosted me the past few days—slid out of the booth behind him, leaving Fisher and I staring down the three men who wanted nothing more than to see me fail.

And who might very well get their wish.

My confidence began to leak away like the air out of a balloon.

Blaize knew me too well. He took one look at my face and pounced.

"If you wanted a lunch date, you should have just called me, baby. There's no need to interrupt real men at work."

Scott laughed as my face heated with embarrassment. "Damn, Blaize, that was brutal."

Leon shook his head. "It's not a joke." His cold gaze cut through me. "You cost us a valuable development project. If you think we're going to play nice after that, you're out of your damn mind."

He tossed down a couple of bills and slid out of the booth, rising to face me.

"When you fail to find a single contractor willing to work with you, we'll take back what's ours. I advise you to quit while you're ahead."

Leon's intensity unsettled me. This was a man who did not like to be trifled with. And I'd trifled quite a lot by swooping in on Swallow Cove.

I exchanged a look with Fisher.

I had to try one last time for some diplomacy. A truce of some kind.

"We all have a stake in the Ozarks, but we don't have to be competitors. I've got Swallow Cove. You've got Swallow Beach. We could part ways as allies and get on with our work. What do you say?"

"Sure." Blaize grinned. "If you can find anyone to work with you, have at it."

Scott snorted with amusement. "You picked a fight you're not ready to handle. It happens. Best go lick your wounds."

"Or let me lick them for you," Blaize said with a wink. "You'll have to wait a few days, though. I've already got a hot piece of ass lined up for tonight."

"Damn," Scott said, his voice full of admiration.

Fisher grasped my arm, reminding me he was there. Making me aware that he was witnessing this humiliating display. I forced a smile to my face, even as my heart raced with remembered anxiety.

"I think I'll pass, Blaize. If you remember, you were such a terrible boyfriend I dropped you like a bad penny and you tracked me down like a creep only to find I'd traded up for a better man."

Blaize's face reddened. "Why you little—"

I grabbed Fisher's arm and yanked him toward the door. "I think we've overstayed our welcome."

Fisher laughed. "Holy shit, Sky, you know how to go out in a blaze of glory."

Beside me there was the clatter of silverware falling to the floor. I chanced a glance over my shoulder to see Scott holding Blaize back from chasing after me.

No doubt I'd made him wish he could take another swing at me.

But he'd never get another chance.

He hadn't defeated me when he'd hit me before. He'd given me the strength to leave. And he wasn't going to defeat me now, not even with the Wexlers and every damn contractor in the region on his side.

"I don't care what it takes," I muttered. "I am going to take these assholes down."

"Damn," Fisher said, echoing Scott's words from earlier. "That's brutal. "

I met his gaze, smiling grimly. "It's time to fight fire with fire."

Fisher nodded. "Good thing I already have a boyfriend waiting for me on the boat, because you're sizzling hot right now, you know? If Brooks could see you right now, he'd melt the fuck down."

I laughed. "No, he'd try to protect me, which is why I have to do this on my own."

Fisher hummed thoughtfully. "There's a time to stand up for yourself, definitely. Hudson told me the same when he had to face his ex. I get it. But there's also a time when it's just as important to let your friends fight with you. I'm glad I was here today. You don't have to do this alone."

I wrapped my arm around his, giving him a squeeze as we crossed the boardwalk. "I'm glad you were here, too."

Fisher's presence had lent me the strength to stand up to my ex and the Wexlers. But to say it hadn't gone well would be an understatement. They had no intention of calling a truce of their bullshit. If anything, they'd amp it up after today.

And I still had no idea how to beat them at their own game.

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