Eric looked at the caller ID on the phone and tried not to groan aloud. He loved his mom, but he couldn’t deal with her right now. Not after everything that had happened with Hank last night.

But if he didn’t answer she’d just get worried, since he always picked up.

The moment he answered the call, he knew it was a mistake—his voice cracked when he said, “Hi, Mom.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked. Of course she knew; it was plain as day in his voice that something had gone down.

Eric sighed. “It’s nothing.”

“It doesn’t sound like nothing.”

Eric checked to make sure nobody in the office was paying attention, then closed and locked the door. He was not about to be the idiot that got caught crying to his mom. “It’s going to sound stupid.”

“Well, lay it on me, and I’ll tell you if it’s really stupid or not.”

Eric told her everything that had happened the night before. Mom listened patiently, not interrupting, although he could tell that she wanted to say something as he wrapped up the story.

“It sounds to me like there’s some bitterness there,” Mom said. “That Hank feared he couldn’t be honest with you, because you would always put your job before him. Did you listen to nothing I said at our brunch? I told you that so that you would understand that you needed balance in your life, so that you could go after a person and not just a promotion.”

“I know, Mom, I just — he lied to me.”

“He did, and he needs to apologize for it. But it’s very hard to fake love, Eric. Harder than you might expect. From the way this boy behaved, I think that he genuinely cares about you. I don’t think that any of that was faked.

“I think that you both need to realize that you two have the potential for something special here. And you need to both apologize for making the other one feel unimportant, and putting such weight on one part of your life that the other part felt stifled and insecure.

“He lied to you because he was afraid that you wouldn’t help him if he was honest with you. And that tells me a lot about how much work you’ve put into this job, and it’s a good thing to have put that much work in; but sweetheart, not so much that a boy who really likes you thinks he has to be underhanded in order to get the help that his family needs.

“I think that you should ask for an apology, but you need to give him one as well. Show him that you care about doing what’s right, and helping out a family in need.”

Eric shifted through his files. “But I’ve done research, Mom; there’s nothing that can be done.”

Then his eyes fell on the description of the surrounding area.

It was the part of the file that talked about what the lay of the land was, literally; what the buildings would require to be stable if they started construction on the land, what businesses or natural resources were nearby, and so on.

And there, listed as a protected area, was the forest that bordered the trailer park.

“Mom?” Eric said. “I think I have to go; I just had an idea.”

“All right. But call me later and update me, okay? I love you.”

“Love you too.” They hadn’t used to say it as much, but they’d been making a point to sign off that way since Dad had died.

Eric went to his computer and started searching. It was a long shot, but if he could pull it off … it would mean the trailer park would be saved, and his bosses couldn’t get angry at him for it.