Page 66 of Five Mountain Daddies

I raise an eyebrow. “What isit?”

“Big.”

I stare at her for a second then burst out laughing. It’s the most absurd name I’ve ever heard in my life. “You’re kidding, right? Just ‘Big’?”

She shakes her head, blushing. “He has these… girls, and they all call himthat.”

My laughter died down a little bit. “Girls call him that? Like,girlfriends?”

“Not girlfriends, exactly. More like fuckbuddies.”

I nod again, my smile slowly disappearing. I shouldn’t be surprised. Samuel is a big man, loud and handsome and outgoing. Of course he has girls fawning all over him in this town. I doubt there’s a guy anywhere within an hour of driving that’s anything likeSamuel.

Still, that nickname. I can’t believe anyone would call him that…. but it also makes sense. He’s the kind of man that could protect me, take care of me, at least if I were into that sort of thing. Of course, I’m the president of a big company and apparently I’m rich now, so I don’t need him. But maybe he could take care of me in otherways.

I lean toward her and try to pretend like I don’t care that much. “What else do you know abouthim?”

She leans back, a wicked little smile on her face. “Well now, Amelia Evans, are you interested in getting someBig?”

I wince at that. “Not interested,exactly.”

She laughs a little bit. “Come on, every girl has a crush on him. Hard notto.”

“We work together,” I admit toher.

She cocks her head. “I heard he’s the new head of theunion.”

“And I’m taking over for myfather.”

Realization dawns on her face, but I’m not sure if that’s an act. I can’t imagine there’s anyone in this town that doesn’t know all my business intimately, but maybe she just hasn’t heardyet.

“So you guys have to…” she trailsoff.

I nod. “Right.”

She sighs. “Well, there are a lot of rumors aboutSamuel.”

“Likewhat?”

She hesitates a second. “I’m not sure I should say, honestly. I don’t know what’s true and what’s just bullshit. I don’t really knowhim.”

“I’m just trying to get on equal footing with everyone else in thistown.”

“Well, word is he gets around, but that’s not a big surprise. I hear he has a few kids with a few different women… but I think that’sbullshit.”

I wince at the mention of children. “Whatelse?”

“Petty things. Like he used to steal when he was younger, got in some trouble. Some of that’s true, apparently. He’s mainly really well liked. I mean, he’s head of the union. That’s a bigdeal.”

I nod, though inwardly I’m trying to process all this. Samuel is my biggest adversary, but I can’t see him that way. I just can’t bring myself to think of him as some person that I have to defeat in a contractnegotiation.

Fact is, I have sympathy for him and the other miners. I don’t want them to get screwed in this negotiation, but I also know that Evans Energy isn’t doing that great. Coal overall is slowly shrinking as an industry as the world moves away from polluting energy sources. We’re stuck in the industrial revolution while the world moves on fromus.

I have to find a balance between what will take care of my workers and what will ensure that the company keeps going. If they get too good of a contract, that might hasten the demise of Evans Energy. If they get a bad one, Evans will keep on going, but they’ll bear theburden.

Callie changes the subject, which I’m grateful for. She tells me more about her life back home, and I tell her about mine. We basically chat and catch up, but I can’t stop thinking aboutSamuel.

He’s a big man, and apparently he has a following in this town. He has a bunch of girls that call him that. I have no clue how I fit into that little harem he has, or if that rumor’s even true. I don’t know if anything Callie told me isreal.

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