Page 81 of One Little Mistake
“Mayor Baker, how lovely to see you again. I’m looking forward to our four o’clock meeting today.”
“Patrick, how …funnyto see you here.”
John doesn’t sound sincere or happy to see him, and John Baker just rose ten notches in my book.
“I assume you know Easton, here.”
“Once upon a time, yes.” His gaze drifts to Lexi, and my hands involuntarily ball into fists. He stares at Lexi but continues speaking to me. “Such a pity, really. Hopefully, you’ll be able to hang on to this one, yeah? Although it really did work out best for me in the end, now didn’t it? Having you as a son-in-law would have proved useless. At least my daughter smartened up at the end of her life. Marrying your best friend must have been such a blow, but Dillon has turned out to be rather …” He pauses, and pure evil spreads over his features. “Beneficial.”
I’m about to lay this guy out, when shockingly, Lexi beats me to it. Slamming her fists down on the booth’s table, she climbs over me on the bench. Before I can comprehend what the fuck she’s doing, she’s standing mere inches from Patrick. Face-to-face, ready to fight.
“You must be Macomb,” she seethes. “Let me tell you something, you sick piece of shit.”
“Oh, fuck.” I stand quickly, as does John, but he places a hand in front of my chest, silently telling me to let her handle it.
“If you think you can come into my town and spew your venom, you have another thing coming. Your daughter was dying and chose not to tell her boyfriend. Your daughter chose to marry his best friend without ever telling him, then died, leaving him in the dark. She was a coward, and now I can see where she learned it from. You praise that type of behavior? You encourage lying, cheating, and who knows what other kinds of assholery, while Easton is one of the best men I have ever met in my life. He has proven time and time again that family comes first. You obviously missed that lesson in grade school, but let me be the first to tell you, that shit doesn’t fly here. In Burke Hollow, we do things our way, the right way, and family always comes first. So you can just march your stuck-up, fat face right out of here.”
He sneers, and I think Lexi might actually punch the guy, so I wrap an arm around her waist and pull her back into me.
“Oh, Miss Heart, I presume? You are a spitfire, aren’t you? It’s going to be so much fun watching you crumble when I take your grandmother’s mountain.”
I feel, not so much as hear her intake of breath. I also hear the commotion that bit of news has caused throughout the lunch crowd.
“You’re not so tough now, are you, Miss Heart?” he sneers.
“Get the fuck out,” she bites out, pointing her finger in the direction of the door.
“Gladly. Mayor? I look forward to our meeting.” He glances around at the tables and the patrons, disgust written all over his face.
When the bell chimes to let us know he exited, a round of applause erupts around us—Kathy, our waitress, hands Lexi a large draft beer and smiles.
“Nice to have ya back, kid.”
Lexi doesn’t reply, and I can feel her body shaking as she hands me the beer. Finally, she eases herself out of my embrace and slides quietly into the booth.
As soon as we’re settled, John leans in conspiratorially. “That’s what I wanted to tell you. He’s working with Fontaine to exercise the developmental clause on Victory.”
“Victory?” I ask, confused.
“Victory is the legal name of the mountain. Everyone in town just calls it Heart Mountain because my family has owned it forever,” Lexi explains. Her voice lacks any emotion.
“How the fuck did he know about it?”
“I don’t know,” John admits. “I can’t say this as mayor, but as the Bossy Baker, I’ll say, Fontaine is a shady, old geezer always out for a quick buck.”
“But you’re the mayor. So you have the final say, correct?”
I don’t miss that Lexi remains silent.
John puffs up his cheeks and expels the air trapped there slowly. “I wish I did, Easton. I like you, and if it were up to me, I would have already signed it over. That mountain belongs with the Heart women, but Fontaine enacted an old fiscal emergency law. He says the town is on the verge of bankruptcy. And because of that, our only source of income needs to be utilized.”
“GG’s mountain,” Lexi whispers.
“He’s able to open it up to bidders after Summerfest if we have made no resolution. I’m sorry, Lexi. Truly, I am. I’m on your side, and I’ll happily campaign for this hunka here, but Fontaine is already promising jobs.”
“He’s playing to their weakness,” I mutter.
“This area is full of great people who can do amazing things, Easton, but the economy is so depressed they just don’t have the chance. Find a way to make them shine, and they’ll side with you.”
