Page 78 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

My phone buzzed with a call. It was Trent.

“Hey, how’s it going?” he said as I answered.

“Great,” I said sarcastically. “Fucking villagers with pitchforks were hanging out in my driveway when I got home. They threatened to string me up and tar and feather me if I didn’t get their bills paid.”

“That bad?”

I groaned and slapped Dad’s laptop shut. “Not really. I did have to dole out about thirty thousand dollars in past-due bills, though. That hurt like a bitch.”

“Well, I do have some good news, if you want to hear it,” Trent said.

“Anything to get me out of this funk.”

“Got a call from the realtor I picked to handle the sale of the places out west.”

Sitting forward, I clutched the phone tighter. “Do we have any buyers interested yet?”

“The Hewlett brothers. They made a full cash offer for everything.”

Richard and Steven Hewlett had been our competitors back in Arizona. They’d branched out into similar businesses as us. We’d always been friendly and played the rivalry the way some guys played pick-up basketball games—bragging rights and nothing more. They were good guys. I had no idea they were looking to expand.

“Hell, I’m okay with them buying,” I said. “Especially if it’s a cash offer. We could wire the money here in a day. I could pay Kyle off, and it’ll give us some breathing room at least.”

“I think it’s a good fit. Plus, I know those two are good for it. Could be the ideal situation.”

“Do you think Harbor Mills Bank and Trust will have enough cash on hand for when we need to withdraw?” I asked.

“Doubt it,” Trent said. “I’m sure they’ll have at least twenty-five grand, but that might deplete their funds. You’ll probably need to head to a bank in Atlanta.”

That was inconvenient. Though, if I did head to the city, I could take Avery with me and treat her to a real date. It had been a long time, and she might like it.

“Realtor’s gonna call me back in a bit and give me the update,” Trent said. “If it looks good, I’ll e-sign the paperwork today, if you’re good with it.”

“Sure. Sounds good. Well, we’ll figure out that bank issue when we get to it,” I said. “While I’ve got you here, do you remember Clifton Vonn and Tyler Barron?”

“Vaguely. Why?”

“Pack elders put them up as options for our enforcer. What do you think about them?”

“I don’t want to bad-mouth guys I haven’t talked to or seen in almost twenty years, but I don’t think either one is going to be enforcer material. I mean, maybe they’ve changed, but I can’t picture it. Both had the look back in the day, but… I don’t know.”

I nodded grimly. “Yeah, that’s kinda what I thought. Let’s keep looking. Might be someone the elders didn’t think about. A guy who may not want to be enforcer, but would be good at it?”

“Right. I’ll keep asking around town. Maybe try to make contact with some people I used to talk to back in the day. Do you want to meet in person today somewhere and get deeper into this?”

My phone beeped in my ear, and I pulled it away from my ear. Avery was calling.

“I gotta go. Avery’s calling me. Where do you want to meet?”

“I’m getting a haircut later. Meet at the barbershop downtown in, say, an hour?”

“That works. Bye.”

“Talk to you later.”

I grinned as I switched to Avery’s call, excited to hear her voice. That smile evaporated as soon as she spoke.

“Cole, I just got off the phone with Kyle.”

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