Page 53 of Spring Showers

He nodded and smirked like a weasel, teeth all showing in the front over his lip. She let go of his face and stepped back.

“You came here at a really bad time, but I want you to see what’s happening here. This resort is so much more than dollars. It’s about a whole community and the way people come together in good times and in bad.” She chose that phrase specifically to remind him of what he had broken between them. His eyes flinched ever so slightly at the reference, and she knew she had gotten to him. “And I don’t care what Grant has to say. You trust me, and if it’s the bottom line you want, this place is a gold mine. An untapped one. If you want to invest in The Foundry, then you give this wonderful man a fair shake. Don’t do it for me though.”

“But I did this for you. For us, Than.”

“You can’t buy my love like this.” Thandie threw a look at Leo with her brows and a side nod. “I have something I need to take care of.”

Leo, catching onto what she was getting at, took over. “Thank you Thandie. She’s correct. This storm aside, I know we have something special here. An untouched market in the area, coupled with the growing trend of folks getting out of the city to have a one-of-a-kind experience.”

Davis stopped him. “I’m a numbers man. So, let’s see it, and I’ll try and ignore all the mess in the meantime,” Davis said and turned to Thandie. “And I still want the full report from Grant.”

Thandie nodded to Leo, and he took Davis towards the loft office. It was an unsaid understanding that they were on the same mission. Meanwhile, ignoring her obvious issues with Davis, she knew that Leo still needed and deserved the investment. The plan was simple: convince Davis to invest in the resort and work the rest out later.

Thandie turned to America. “Can you do me a favor?” she asked after the men had gone. “Whatever happens, can you keep Grant here? Don’t let him leave.”

“I’ll try,” she said with concern. “But why?”

“I’ll tell you everything later,” Thandie said as she began towards his cabin, hoping to find him there. “I promise.”

Thandie used her sprinter’s legs and ran down the still-sopping grounds at an unsafe pace. Words scrolled through her head at what she would say to him. She owed him an apology first and then an explanation about Davis.

His cabin wasn’t far. She just hoped he was there. She slowed as she came around the front steps. Catching her breath, she leaned over with her hands on her knees. She hadn’t run that quickly since high school and was now regretting not keeping up with it.

Up the steps, she hesitated on the stoop. Her hand pressed flat on the center of the door. She played out her words in her mind one last time before knocking. And knocking.

He wasn’t there.

“Of course, you’re not here,” she said, remembering that he had moved all of his things to her cabin the previous night. She wasted no time and ran back to her place, where she found a gloomy-looking man who typically sported bright eyes and an unmatched, cheerful demeanor, sitting on the front edge of the wraparound porch. She hoped this time his demeanor was laced with forgiveness.

With his head buried in his hands, and his feet planted in the mud, he said, “What do you want?”

She walked the rest of the way to him, slow and deliberate in her steps. “Hey there,” she said kindly.

His head stayed down. “I don’t have a key.” His voice sounded broken.

Thandie stopped in front of him. Her eyes shifted from the door and back to Grant. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t,” he said and lifted his eyes to her. “You don’t owe me anything.”

“I know I don’t,” she said and sat beside him on the front steps. “I had no idea he was coming.”

Grant sat up. “I did. But I didn’t know my boss, Davis, is alsoyourDavis. The one who you stacked stones for, and kicked and cried over. The one who I swore if I ever found out who he was, that I would?—”

“What? Take him around the back of the barn and kick the snot out of him?”

“Sort of,” he said and cracked a grin for a split second.

“It’s not necessary. I meant what I said. I’ve let that all go.”

“You forgave him?” Grant said and scooted his bottom a foot away from hers.

“Of course I did. How could I not?” She knew that she had to forgive what Davis did to her if she were ever going to be able to move on with someone else. And she thought Grant might be that someone. “I didn’t mean for you to see that back there.”

“You think that’s what I’m mad about? That you forgave him and kissed him?” he said and stood up, pacing the front porch.

She was confused until he spoke.

“You had me going. All week long. You were just showing everyone so much attention because you knew one of us was here on behalf of the investor. I thought you and I?—”

---