Page 10 of Choosing the Montana Cowboy

“Better than me, most days.”

“Benefits of an old soul, I guess.” Natalie smiled. “My parents split when I was ten. My sister took it pretty hard, but I didn’t mind it so much. Less fighting at home, and we got twice as many presents at the holidays.”

He studied her for a moment, those hazel eyes of hers looking a little less glassy than when he’d first sat down. Sunnie had sensed she had a good heart, and so far, he hadn’t observed anything to contradict that. Unless, of course, this was all just a part of her corporate act.

“So, you’ve been with Terakion a long time?” he asked.

“A little more than four years now.” Her gaze shifted to the nearly empty water glass. “Had the opportunity to try something new.”

Sam sensed there was a story there, but wasn’t sure how to read between those lines. Nor did it matter, really. The past job wasn’t what had his family in a pickle; the present job did. “So, talking to towns ahead of your company’s bulldozers is something you’ve done for a while now.”

“Correct. Not my first rodeo.”

“And how often do you get to come back and see the finished products?”

“In person? Not very often. They keep me moving a good part of the year, helping the next community with their upcoming developments. But the company shares updates and photos of the finished products at our quarterly meetings.”

Sam took a drink. “So, you don’t really know how things are working out in those other towns.”

“Well, our sites wouldn’t stay open if things weren’t going well.” She paused to study him for a moment. “You don’t think we’ll finish the project? Is that your concern?”

“No, ma’am. My concern is about what your resort wouldreallydo to Marietta.”

She leaned back from the table. “I see. So, what I hear you saying is that you don’t think the proposed resort would be an asset to your community.”

He wanted to fire back a response but opted to take a drink of his beer instead. Give himself a second to think. How would Gran answer this question?

“Try to see this from our perspective. Your company has proposed taking over the land we’ve been farming the past decade so we can feed our cattle at a reasonable cost. That’s some of the most fertile soil in the area, and, according to the map you showed us tonight, Terakion plans to come in and drop some ridiculous topiary collection over the top of it. It’s a complete waste of natural resources.”

“The topiary zoo and playground is a favorite for our youngest clients and helps keep impervious surfaces on that portion of the land to a minimum.” At his flat look, she added, “Hey, don’t just take my word for it. You can look it up on our website—several of our topiary exhibits have won national awards for green infrastructure.”

“They’re oversized animal-shaped plants, Natalie. Our community needs more than something that looks pretty.”

She took a drink of her water and tapped the screen on her cell phone. Sam took the hint. This conversation had headed down a path she wasn’t planning to stay on much longer. But he didn’t want her to leave, not when he’d stumbled into a golden opportunity to try to sway her thinking.

“Sam, the resort needs to look appealing if it’s going to attract customers. And it will look amazing—all of our resorts do.” She raised a hand to stop him from arguing the point. “I hear what you’re saying about the land, and I’m sorry we didn’t know about the lease. But if your neighbor has died and left the land to someone else, I’m not sure your lease is even still valid.”

“Trust me, we’re getting our lawyers involved. But if your company doesn’t buy the land, then maybe Hank’s greedy son will let the lease continue.”

Her brows furrowed. “If the land is so valuable to your ranch, why didn’t you guys just offer to buy that portion from Jack Nelson?”

“Trust me, we would have if we’d known he was considering selling.” Sure, it would have been a major hit to their reserves, but it would have been worth it. Heck, they’d been talking for years about making an offer on that land plus another twenty acres so they could grow enough for their stock and have some feed left over to sell to other ranchers in the area.

Natalie offered him a sympathetic smile. “Is there other land nearby that you could farm? Or perhaps an untapped area on some of your own land?”

“Our soil isn’t as fertile or level as Hank’s was. Is. And we’ve already explored all those options years ago. No one is willing to lease out their land for farming at the same rate as Hank did.”

“Hmm, what about buying the feed from another local farmer? It seems like it would be far cheaper to let someone else do the work.”

Sam shook his head. “We looked into that, too. The cost is nearly twice what we can harvest it for on our own.”

“So, you’re wanting me to go back to corporate and ask them to modify our redesign so you can keep leasing the western edge?” She rubbed one temple.

“No.” Sam leaned forward, his gaze locked with hers. “I want you to leave the plans exactly as they are… and drop them in someone else’s town.”

Natalie blew out a surprised huff. “I’m trying to work with you here, Sam, but it’s tough to do when you’re shooting down my every suggestion.”

“Because no suggestion is going to fix all the things your resort is about to break!” He grabbed his beer bottle and pointed it toward the door. “There’s land everywhere. Find them another plot somewhere else.”

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