Chapter Eight
Not much to his surprise, when Harlan showed up at the appointed time the next day, Taylor kept him cooling his heels for the better part of fifteen minutes. He pulled out his tablet and used the time to catch up on some work.
“Mr. Taylor will see you now.”
“Since you chose to be late, I can give you fifteen minutes,” Harlan said, walking in and taking a seat. “So get to it. What’s this about?”
Taylor looked much as Harlan remembered him, except older, of course. Dark hair, liberally shot with gray, a neatly trimmed beard, also streaked with gray, and an insufferable air of arrogance.
“My daughter tells me you’ve bought Whiskey River Construction. And that she plans to continue working there. Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“I want you to fire her.”
Harlan laughed. “Why would I do that?”
“Because you won’t get a dime from my bank unless you do. How do you plan to complete your projects without financing?”
“Sorry to disappoint you but I’ve got my own financing. I don’t need yours.” Taylor looked like he didn’t believe him. How did he think Harlan had bought Whiskey River Construction with no money? Apparently, he hadn’t bothered to check out Phoenix Homes either, or he’d know Harlan wasn’t hurting for money.
“Your brother does.”
Harlan stared at him. “You’re shitting me. You’re trying to play that card again?”
Randall shrugged. “I will if I have to.”
Harlan wasn’t worried about Travis and his friends. He doubted seriously that Travis had approached Taylor’s bank, knowing what the man had done to their family years ago. Everyone in the family, including Laurel, the baby of the family, knew Taylor had threatened to evict the family from their house. What none of them knew was why it never happened.
If Travis and his partners needed money to renovate the airfield, Harlan would see they got it. But he knew Zack Bannister owned the property and Levi Chapman was bankrolling the expansion. According to Travis, Levi had serious money. If so, then Levi almost certainly had the financing taken care of.
“You don’t want to threaten me, Taylor.”
“Why not?”
If Taylor had had any leverage that smug smile would have set Harlan off like a blowtorch.
But this time Harlan held all the power. “Any number of reasons. But the main one is Savannah. She doesn’t know what you did back when we were in high school. I accepted your demands and never told her. But you can’t call in my family’s loan this time. How do you think Savannah will feel when she learns you were the reason I broke up with her? When she finds out you threatened to take my family’s home if I didn’t do what you wanted?”
“You wouldn’t tell her.”
“I will if she asks. So far she hasn’t asked.”
Taylor’s face turned red. “She won’t believe you.”
“Maybe not. Then again, she might.”
“You’re still the same low-life you were years ago.”
Harlan laughed. “Coming from you that’s a compliment.” Speaking slowly and deliberately, he said, “There are other banks in town, which I’m sure Travis and his partners know. They won’t have a problem getting the money. Not with Levi Chapman’s backing.” He got up, placed his hands on the desk and leaned closer. He said very quietly, “Don’t screw with my family again, Taylor. You’ll regret it if you do.”
He left before he gave in to the temptation to slug him.
The bastard had changed Harlan’s life once. Harlan had given up the girl he loved for his family. But Taylor didn’t have the power anymore. This time, Harlan was in control. He didn’t know if he and Savannah could make a go of it, or frankly, if she was even willing to try. But no piece of crap like Randall Taylor was going to fuck things up for him again.
This time he’d make it or screw it up on his own.
*
Savannah had promised to meet Avery and Rachel at Booze’s Place after work on Wednesday. They’d all been busy with work or volunteering at the “send a card to the troops” booth earlier that day, so they hadn’t really talked since the ball. If she knew her friends, and she did, they were going to want to know all about her new boss, and what was going on between them. They wouldn’t believe her if she told them nothing was going on.
She told herself that was a good thing. She told herself the last thing she wanted was to open her heart to a man—again—and have him stomp on it. She told herself she wasn’t really attracted to Harlan and that sizzle she felt whenever he was near was simply her imagination.
And she told herself that was a big, fat lie. Or at least, the last denial was.
Savannah had never told anyone what had happened between her and Harlan back in high school. She’d been so young and madly in love. She’d thought they both were. But Harlan, apparently, never had been.
“I’m having a margarita,” Avery said by way of greeting. “Do you want one? I’ll go get them.”
“Sure.” Savannah slid into the booth across from her friend. “Regular with lots of salt. And you might as well order one for Rachel too. She should be here any time.”
“Done,” Avery said and went to the bar.
Rachel came in a few minutes later and soon they all had their drinks and both Savannah’s friends were looking at her expectantly. “What is going on between you and the hunk of burning love?” Rachel asked.
Savannah rolled her eyes. “His name is Harlan.”
“I like hunk of burning love better,” Avery said, with a lift of her eyebrows.
Ignoring that, Savannah said, “What if I told you nothing is going on?”
“We wouldn’t believe you,” Rachel and Avery said in unison.
Rachel continued, “There’s obvious chemistry between you. What happened when you were locked in the closet together?”
Savannah felt her face heat and cursed her fair complexion. “Nothing.”
“Then why are you blushing?”
“Nothing happened. In the closet, anyway.” She didn’t want to tell them about her mysterious stumble that felt like a push in the back or the smell of that damned lavender that had haunted her, and Harlan, all night.
“You spent the night with him, didn’t you?” Avery asked.
“Not exactly. I mean, yes, but not like that.”
“Do we need to get a pair of pliers and yank it out of you?” Avery asked, exasperated. “You know you can talk to us.”
Avery and Rachel were her two best friends in the world. If she couldn’t talk to them, who could she talk to?
“Harlan and I have a history.”
“Weren’t you crushing on him in high school?” Rachel asked. “Seems like I heard that rumor. That’s not a history.”
When she didn’t say anything, they both stared at her. “Or is it?” Avery asked.
“It was a little more than crushing. We dated for a while in our senior year, but we kept it quiet.”
“Why?” Avery asked.
“I can answer that,” Rachel said. “Savannah’s dad would have shit a brick if he’d known. Harlan being a bad boy from the Barrels and all.”
“Would he really?” Avery asked her curiously.
Savannah thought about her father and the fact that he put every boy she dated through the wringer. She didn’t doubt for a minute that if he’d known about Harlan and her, he’d have forbidden Savannah to see him. He’d been determined that she date and marry “the right sort.” And then there was what he’d said at lunch. Clearly, he still thought of Harlan as a boy from the Barrels, and therefore, unworthy.
“Absolutely. I was surprised he didn’t find out about us somehow but he never said anything. I’m sure he’d have forbidden me to date him if he’d known.”
“How long were you two together?”
“Long enough for me to fall madly in love with him.”
“What about him? Was he madly in love too?”
“I thought he was.” Sometimes she wondered how she could have been so wrong. “He was my first.”
“Your first what?”
Savannah just gave her a look.
“Oh. That first.”
“So what happened?”
“Three days after we had sex he dumped me. He said it wasn’t going to work and when I asked why he wouldn’t say any more. I was so naive, I thought he loved me too.” She shook her head. “But he didn’t. To me that proved he’d gotten what he wanted and didn’t really care about me at all.”
“Well, that sucks.”
“Yeah. I thought he’d spread it all over school how he’d scored with the banker’s daughter, but I never heard anything.”
“Neither did I,” Rachel said. “Which you’d think I would have if it was all over the school.”
“Maybe he didn’t tell Elijah or Logan,” Avery said. “Or anyone.”
“But if that wasn’t it, why did he break up with me?” She’d never understood what had happened. It had been so weird. They’d been together over the weekend. On Monday she’d seen him at school and everything had been fine. They met after school and went to the Diner with a big group of friends. When they left, Harlan walked her to her car and they made plans for the next weekend. He’d kissed her, and he’d been every bit as sweet and loving as he’d been the night they made love.
The very next day he’d broken up with her with as lame of a reason she’d ever heard, before or since.
“Ask him,” practical Avery said.
“I can’t. He asked me if I was still pissed about it and I told him I’d almost forgotten it. And that of course I wasn’t still mad at him.”
Rachel tilted her head, considering her. “But you are.”
“I wouldn’t say that. Exactly.”
“What would you say, then? Are you plotting revenge?”
“Of course not,” she scoffed. “That would be childish and ridiculous.”
Avery simply raised an eyebrow and waited for her to go on.
“But I can’t help thinking that he’d deserve it if I did have a plan.” If she were truthful she’d admit that hell, yes, she was still mad at Harlan. But why? She hadn’t been this angry with her ex. Not after the first year or so, anyway. Because you didn’t care about Phillip like you did Harlan. Which was partly why the marriage failed.
Are you kidding? The main reason the marriage failed was that he never loved you and was only using you.
“Haven’t you ever had a bad breakup?” she asked her friends.
“Not that bad and not that long ago,” Avery said.
Rachel didn’t answer. “I’m going to get refills,” she said abruptly and stood up.
Savannah and Avery looked at each other. “There’s a story there,” Savannah said.
Avery nodded. “But she doesn’t want to talk about it.”
“Neither did I.”
“Yes, you did. Otherwise you’d never have mentioned anything.”
Fair point. When Rachel returned with their drinks Savannah continued her story. “Anyway, you can see why I’m not anxious to get involved again.”
“It was a long time ago, Savannah,” Avery said. “He’s probably changed. You have, haven’t you?”
“What about Harlan?” Rachel asked. “Is he interested in a do-over?”
“I…don’t think so.” Maybe he is but he’s fighting it just like you are. “About that night, you know how everyone was crammed in everywhere with people all over the place? Harlan and I were among the last to find a place to sleep or sit or whatever. We wound up in the Harwoods’ living room, on their couch. I think Mrs. Harwood—Becky—felt sorry for us.”
“Go on, get to the good part.”
Savannah scowled at her friends. “He offered to sleep on the floor but I felt bad about making him do that so I said we’d share. I took one end and he took the other. We talked and it was…nice. And very early the next morning I woke up lying more or less on top of him with his arms around me and my head on his chest. So I raised my head and found him staring at me and instead of rolling off of him like I should have, I just lay there.”
“And then what?” Rachel asked when she didn’t continue.
“He kissed me.”
Avery clasped her hands together in front of her heart, fluttered her eyelids and said, “Be still my heart! Was it wonderful? Did you swoon?”
Savannah had to laugh. Which was Avery’s intention. “You are such a smartass. No, I didn’t swoon, but damn it, the kiss was good. Really good.”
“And that’s a problem why?”
“Avery, the man dumped me three days after we had sex. How can I trust him?”
“It was a million years ago. What’s the harm in giving him another chance?” She turned to Rachel, who’d been sitting quietly. “Don’t you think she should, Rachel?”
“I think Savannah should do what she thinks is best.” Turning to Savannah, she said, “For what it’s worth, I can understand why you’re leery of starting another relationship with him.” She stood. “I’ve got to get home. I left the kitchen in a mess.”
“Think she’ll ever tell us that story?” Avery asked after she left.
Savannah shook her head. “I have no idea.”
“What are you going to do, Savannah?”
She snorted inelegantly. “I have no idea about that, either.”