Page 14 of Sweet Deal
“With lots of whipped cream.”
He flashed a smile. “Still like a little pie with your whipped cream?”
“Some things never change.”
Again, her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. A frightening thought occurred to him—had he done or said something to upset her? Did placing his hand on her back bother her? Did he tease her too much? What could it have… the deal. She’d seemed rattled when he mentioned it and then she quickly dropped it and went into champion mode. Blast.
“Uh-oh.” Rachel’s gaze leveled with his. “You’re frowning. Don’t tell me you actually need the five dollars?”
He tried to laugh, but he couldn’t. Instead, thankful there was no one else around them, he leaned forward. “Rachel, if I offended you, I’m really sorry. It wasn’t my—”
“Offend me? Of course not. Why would you think that?”
“Back in the park. When I mentioned that deal we’d made. Your mood shifted. It was dumb of me to bring it up. You must think I’m a—”
Cutting him off, she leaned forward, took hold of his hand and squeezed hard. “Hey, you were a good, kind, and special friend. I wasn’t offended.”
“Then what?” Crud. It was the hand thing.
Her chin dropped for a minute, and she seemed to be contemplating the sins of the world.
“Rachel, once upon a time you trusted me. What’s wrong?”
Closing her eyes a long moment, she blew out a sigh and opening her eyes, nodded. “The ranch is in trouble.”
And that would explain all the siblings except Kade moving home.
Agnes appeared, setting down two steaming mugs and generous slices of blueberry pie. His plain, hers under a mound of whipped cream. “I figured some things never change.” The woman shrugged and hurried away.
“How much trouble?” he asked.
He listened in stunned silence as Rachel explained how their trusted foreman wasn’t so trusted. The absurdity of it all hit him harder than he would have expected. This wasn’t just a rough patch, this was a crisis, a bizarre, almost unbelievable predicament straight out of a script for a really bad romantic comedy, or maybe a film noir. No wonder she looked stressed.
“It’s a miracle that everything worked out so well for my brothers. They’re really quite happy. But we can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to getting ahead without needing the trust.”
His mind was reeling. “How much do you still need?”
Her shoulders deflated. “Too much.”
“I’m a good businessman. Maybe I can help, but I need real numbers.” When she gave him a figure, he almost fell out of his chair. He made an enviable living but the kind of math the Sweets were playing with was too steep even for him. “And this foreman did that much damage in just over a year?”
“The perfect storm.” She sighed. “Dad had borrowed a ton of money against the ranch. If it had been used as intended it would have upped our game, but with Ray in charge, well…” She met his eyes with a vulnerability that made his chest tighten.
“What about the upcoming bank payment that has everyone tearing their hair out? How much is that?”
Her gaze narrowed, and he knew the moment she figured out his game. “I couldn’t possibly—”
“Rachel.” He cut her off, his tone gentle but firm. “How much?”
She named an amount that made him raise an eyebrow. Substantial, but not impossible. Not for him.
“Let me help.” He did his best to lighten the mood with a smile. “I’ll trade in all my Italian loafers.”
Her lighthearted chuckle was worth the joke.
“For old time’s sake?”
Resignation settled over her. “I tell you what, I’ll ask the others. See what they think.”
