Page 53 of The Contractor & the Entrepreneur

“He does that plenty on his own.” She rolled her eyes. “What are you thinking?”

“What if this wasn’t an act of nature?” He spread his hand around to indicate the mess. “A mudslide makes sense here, but it would fall away a bit at a time, or even huge chunks, but not the entire stretch. Your family has been fighting you the entire time to not develop this property. What if they sabotaged it somehow to try to take it from you?”

“You think my uncle would be smart enough to start a mudslide?”

He shrugged. “Some bombs placed in the right spots and nobody looking for another answer... It could work.”

Her stomach turned over. “But why would they want this mess? It’ll be worth a lot if we can get it all cleaned up and stabilized, get approval, start building again, and sell the other lots, but why bully me into selling and mess up the prime real estate they’re trying to take?”

His blue eyes swept around the property and landed on the river. “I don’t know. Unless there’s something more valuable than the property.”

“I can’t imagine what could be. We deal in property values, Rhett. You think there’s gold hiding underneath us?”

He gave her a half smile. “I don’t know. I’ll research it later.”

“Thanks.” But she didn’t hold out much hope that he’d find anything.

Rhett thought there was a conspiracy between her uncle, cousins, and father because he didn’t know her family.

Her dad lived to control her. He’d come up here to try to play the hero, and her uncle and cousins were jerks who would threaten and hurt her just for the fun of it.

Later that night, she and Rhett had stopped to eat at a hometown diner and then driven home. Everything was overwhelming her. It was all such a mess. Rhett was the only good part of her life right now. Would she drag him down with the debt and the mess of this property?

Her dad was here, in town. He would make her regret her decision somehow, would try to sweep in and control her. Maybe she should just let her dad buy it. She could use the cash to acquire a property more suited to a new residential developer and start over. A property that wasn’t a mess.

No. She’d stood up to her dad and she’d even felt empowered and brave for the first time in her life. That was her property. Her grandpa had given it to her, and it meant a lot to her. Rhett on her team meant a lot to her. All those contractors working so hard today to try to clean up and having her back meant a lot to her. She had to keep choosing faith.

She was here to stay. No matter what her dad threw at her.

Her spine tingled with cold chills at the thought.

Rhett walked her up the stairs and held her close. “Are we running in the morning?”

“The two-hundred-yard sprint followed by a slow walk situation?”

“Yes, ma’am. It’s a workout you have to experience.”

“If you’re there, I’m in.”

He smiled and bent down to kiss her. She arched up and returned the kiss. Kissing Rhett was thrilling every single time. They bonded together as one, and she felt like nothing could ever pull them apart. All the worries and fears disappeared completely.

As he slowed down the kisses, he held her close. “You amazed me today, Sloan. Your courage is inspiring.”

Then he kissed her again. She didn’t have to explain that her bravery used to be a thin shell, but he infused her with courage. She was part of a team. Rhett’s missing piece. She didn’t have to be alone or face her father alone again. Rhett would be there for her.

He’d changed her false bravado into real faith. In him. In her Savior. And in herself.

Chapter

Twenty-One

Sloan was floatingfrom Rhett’s kisses and support as she finally said goodnight and locked her apartment door behind her. She was dirty and it had been a long, stressful, and exhausting day, but Rhett made everything better and his kisses could distract her from any stress. Even the huge one hanging over her head.

What ulterior motive could her dad have for trying to buy her property beyond ‘saving’ her and attempting to reinsert himself in her life? Everything always went his way in business, and she knew his tactics weren’t always legal or moral. Yet she also knew he believed in his deathbed promise to her mother and thought it was his right and responsibility to have her firmly under his wing and dancing to his crazy tune.

She wanted to soak in a hot bath, but she walked over to her laptop instead. She wasn’t even sure what to search.

A loud rap came on her door. Rhett? He needed some more kisses to tide him over until the morning? Smiling, she pivoted and hurried back to the door, flinging it wide.

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