Like every morning, I wake up, take care of my father, and then head to work when the nurse shows up. I’m dragging a little bit tonight because I was out late with Caleb, Dylan, and Jordan, although I really didn’t want to be. Jordan invited me and I didn’t realize the Carter brothers would be there.

Dylan is my age, though I don’t really know him, and Caleb is two years older. They’re notorious in our town. The Carter brothers are rich and supposedly good looking, though I think they look pretty boring to be honest. Their father is a property developer in our town and on every board imaginable basically. He runs a big charity and is elected to local government every year. The guy is the town’s mayor practically, and his sons act like they own the place. They’re notorious for getting away with shit that normal people could never imagine getting away with.

I’ve never really had a problem with them and still don’t. Caleb and Dylan both got wasted and were a little creepy, but they weren’t awful either. I’ve hung out with Dylan a few times in the past, and he’s always been friends with Jordan though I’ve kept my distance. Since everyone graduated though, there aren’t too many people left to hang around with, and so I shouldn’t be so picky.

Maybe the Carter brothers aren’t so bad. They did offer to pay for everything, which was nice, and they didn’t do anything that creepy toward me. I don’t now if I’m going to want to spend more time with them, but I might have to if Jordan is going to be hanging around them more.

Whatever, this is the sort of stupid drama that I don’t want to get involved with. I’ll give the Carter brothers a chance, because maybe they’re not so bad. Mostly they were boring last night and bragged a lot about the deals their dad has been making lately.

I pull up front of the preserve’s office and am surprised to find a nice black car parked out front. There’s usually just Laura’s old Nissan, but this car is a BMW and clearly newer. I get out of my car and head inside, wondering who’s visiting so early.

As soon as I step into the office, I know something isn’t right. Normally, Laura would be at the front desk, either looking at the day’s tasks or making coffee or doing something. Instead, the place looks totally deserted, and most of the lights aren’t even on. I go around turning everything on, getting the coffee ready, and it’s only then that I notice Laura’s door is shut and her blinds are drawn.

Curious, I walk over and press my ear against the door. I know I probably shouldn’t snoop, but I can’t help myself. I hear voices inside, but I can’t really make them out. I pull back, not sure what the hell is happening, and head back out front.

I get some coffee and start my usual morning tasks, going down my checklist. I sweep out front and put some water out for dogs before restocking the bathrooms with paper towels and generally straightening up. It’s not technically my job to clean, but I do whatever’s needed when it’s needed.

About an hour after I get there, Laura’s door finally opens. Two men leave, both dressed in expensive suits and carrying briefcases. They don’t even glance at me as they walk past. They head outside, get into the dark car, and are gone.

I walk into the back. Laura is still in her office, sitting in her chair, looking like she just saw a ghost.

“Who were those guys?” I ask her.

“Lawyers.” She doesn’t even look up from her desk.

“What did they want? Is everything okay?” I step into the office, concerned. I’ve never seen her looking like this before.

She looks up slowly, a frown deepening across her face. “They want to buy the preserve,” she says.

I narrow my eyes. “Doesn’t someone want to buy it every year and the council always blocks it?”

“They say the council isn’t blocking it this year.”

I stare at her for a second, at a total loss. “How is that possible?”

She sighs, shaking her head. “I really don’t know, sweetie. They came in here with some pretty aggressive claims and I don’t know what to think about it.”

“Who do they represent?” I lean up against the frame of her door. I feel like I’m getting sick, like my knees are going weak and my stomach is churning.

“You know who,” she says softly, shaking her head.

It hits me all at once. The Carter family is the only family in the town with the power and money to buy the preserve.

“They can’t do this,” I say. “Don’t they have enough?”

“Apparently Mr. Carter doesn’t think so.” Laura sighs again and stands. “Come on, we have some work to do.”

“How can you be so calm? We have to call our lawyers. Or the mayor. Or the paper.”

“Honey.” She walks over to me and takes my shoulders. “Calm down. Nothing is happening today. I need some time to figure this out. We’ll fight it.”

I look at her for a second, but it’s not good enough. I turn away without another word and walk as fast as I can out of the office and into the woods.

Truthfully, I’m not mad at Laura, not at all. I know she’ll fight to protect this place if at all possible. I’m angry with the Carters and I don’t want her to see me crying.

I can’t help myself. I love this preserve more than anything else in the world. I genuinely don’t know what I’d do if it gets taken away from me. I walk far out, toward the meadow, crying softly. It takes me about ten minutes of hiking before I finally get control of myself and calm down enough to think.

Do the Carter brothers know about this? I have no clue if they even realize that I work here. They definitely don’t know how important this place is to me. I can’t imagine them wanting to hang out with Jordan and me last night has anything to do with their father wanting to buy this land. Still, it makes me angry, fucking sick, that they’d do this. I keep thinking about the looks Caleb kept giving me all night. I thought they were innocent, but now I realize that he was flirting with me, and it makes me want to throw up.

People like the Carters, they think they deserve more. They think they’re special and good and smart just because they have money. But the Carter brothers did nothing for their money, and their father was given a million dollar loan from his father to get started. Everyone knows the Carters come from money and aren’t self-made at all, but that doesn’t matter.

They still have money and power, and that’s what makes the world keep moving. They’re going to use their power to take the things that are important away from me, and it makes me despise them with everything I have.

I sit down in the middle of the meadow and lean back on my hands, trying to calm myself down, but I can barely think. Laura seemed genuinely worried and that freaks me out. She’s never seemed so much as slightly annoyed by anything since I’ve met her, but this morning she seemed downright shaken.

There’s a noise to my left that draws my attention. I cock my head and stand up, looking into the tree line. I hear it again suddenly, and for some reason I feel paranoid, though I don’t know why. I watch as a person steps out from the trees and into the grass.

“Thought I’d find you here,” he says. It’s Lucas Baker, looking just as handsome as I remember.

I pause for a second. “What are you doing out here?”

“Laura told me I’d find you here. She’s pretty great, isn’t she?” He smiles at me.

“Yeah,” I say. “She is.”

He stops midway toward me. “You okay? You look like you’re upset about something.”

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m fine. You here about the flowers?”

He nods. “The life of a florist is very exciting.”

I can’t help but smile a little bit. “Almost as exciting as things are around here, I bet.”

“Could be. You sure you’re okay?”

“It’s nothing, really. Don’t worry about it.”

He walks toward me again. “You can talk to me about it, if you want. I’ve been through some shit myself and I can be a good listener.”

I look at his handsome face and for a second I’m tempted to spill my guts out. I don’t know why but being around him makes me feel so much more comfortable, way more comfortable than I should feel. I don’t even know him, and yet he makes me want to talk about absolutely everything.

“It’s just some drama with this place,” I tell him finally.

“Someone stealing your trees?”

I sigh and glance down. “Something like that.”

He crosses his arms. “Point me in the direction of this tree thief. I’ll take care of him.”

I can’t help but smile. “I don’t know,” I say. “He’s got an army of lawyers.”

“Lawyers are my greatest enemies,” he says sincerely.

I can’t help but laugh. “You’re in a feud with all lawyers?”

“That’s right,” he says earnestly. “I’ll destroy them for you. It would bring great honor to my family.”

I laugh again and shake my head. “No thanks, lawyer slayer. I think I’m good.”

“Lawyer slayer. I like that.” He flexes a little bit. “I think it fits.”

“Totally. You’re a very scary man.”

He grins at me and I suddenly feel better. It’s strange, and although I’m still angry as hell about everything, I suddenly don’t want to scream my head off. He took the edge off my mood and even got me smiling.

“Want to walk back?” he asks me.

“Sure, but didn’t you want to see the flowers?”

“Ah,” he says, shrugging. “They’re beautiful. Let’s go.”

He turns and starts walking and I have to hurry to catch up. I smile to him, not understanding at all what his deal is, but I don’t mind. We start chatting again, just falling into a comfortable rhythm, and soon he has me laughing again.

I don’t know what he’s doing out here, but I’m glad he came. I wanted to scream and cry and I knew I’d be an angry mess all afternoon, but suddenly it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. In fact, by the time we get back to the office, I feel like I’m ready to fight back against whatever’s coming.

“I’m glad you found me out there,” I tell him. “I was pretty angry.”

“But you’re not now?”

“No, I’m still mad. But I’m glad you found me anyway.”

He laughs a little and leans up against his truck. “I’m glad I found you, too. Actually, I wanted to ask you something.”

“What’s that?”

“What are you doing for dinner tonight?”

That makes me pause, a little surprised. The image of Caleb flirting with me from the night before drifts back into my mind, mingling with my anger at his father for wanting to build on the preserve.

But I’m not sure why. I don’t have anything to do with Caleb. I don’t know why I’d pause over this attractive man asking me out, especially when I so clearly want to be with him. Caleb Carter has nothing to do with it.

“Nothing,” I say honestly.

“Good. I’m taking you out.”

“Okay,” I say, a little surprised at the excitement coursing through my veins.

“You like The Bunker?”

I laugh a little. The Bunker is this little diner at the other side of town, an all-night place. Nothing fancy, but it’s a local institution. “Best food in town.”

“Perfect. I’ll pick you up at eight.”

“See you then.”

He grins and gets into his truck. He fires up the engine and I step back. I feel his eyes roll up and down my body, and normally I’d hate it, but right now I don’t mind. In fact, I want him to look at me.

He pulls out and heads back down the road. I feel my pulse hammering in my chest, and a strange, confused feeling washes over me.

I’m excited to go to dinner with him. But I’m afraid of losing the preserve. I don’t know which feeling is stronger. But I can’t deny the tingling between my legs and the way my body is just drawn toward him. I’ve never had a man like him ask me out before.

He’s ten years older than me, which should give me pause. Maybe to some people that’s a little weird. But I don’t really care. That doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, I think I like it. He’s an older man, which means he’s experienced and mature, which is maybe what I need right now. He can make me laugh and keep me level-headed, even in this awful time.

I head back inside to see Laura, feeling slightly better.