Chapter Seven

Without wood the fire would die.

Building a new home for the purple Martins he loved, Duna looked up and smiled when she entered the kitchen. "I decided on a three-story with twelve openings. They're communal birds you know."

"I think the experts call it colonization." She blew a quiet sigh. "Where's this one going?"

"Far enough away from the house for privacy but close enough so I can chase out other early nesters."

"How about on that high post in the empty lot? Plenty of aerial space over there."

"Your father put that post up one year, slapped a birdhouse on top and hoped to interest a wood duck. I didn't have the heart to tell him they prefer to be by water and are partial to an old hole in a tree."

She chortled. "He was a whiz when it came to engines but never did have a knack for bird habitats."

Duna put the stack of roof shingles down and cocked his head in her direction. "You want to talk about it?"

"If I thought it would make me feel better, I would, but it won't so I don't."

"That bad, huh?"

"I hurt him. Gah…I didn't set out to, but he wants something I can't give him."

"The land, you mean?"

"Well, there is that, yes. But that's not what the disagreement was about."

"Humph."

"Is that all you have to say…humph?"

"If I don't know what else he wants or what the disagreement was about, what more can I say?"

"Anything other than humph."

The hammer in his hand joined the shingles on the table. "All right. How about this: The dog that digs deepest finds the bones."

"I've never heard that one. What does it mean?"

He shrugged. "I take it to mean we shouldn't be so quick to judge a man. Sometimes there's more than what we see on the surface and we have to work to uncover it."

She put a hand on her hip. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you're coming to his defense, even though he wants our land."

"Your land. And maybe he did want it at one time, but that was before he met you."

"I don't believe this!"

"What? And don't pull that face on me. Is it so hard for you to believe he might have changed his mind? It's easy to fight for something when your enemy is faceless."

Season headed for the stairway. "I'm going to bed. First him and now you."

"He kissed you, didn't he? And now your heart's all tangled up like a calf caught in barbed wire."

She whirled around. "Yes, he kissed me and yes to your second question." Closing her eyes, she reeled from the aftershocks still wracking her body from that kiss. "We have nothing in common. He's like a character from My Best Friend's Wedding pursuing love at a White Sox game and I'm like a character from Little House on the Prairie homesteading in DeSmet."

Duna put a hand in the air. "Ghel, get to know him before you stuff him in a crate and slap a label on it."

"I don't know if I can trust him and it's making me crazy. Back and forth, back and forth. Is he a lying snake or is he telling the truth?"

"You'll never know if you turn away from him, will you?"

"No." She chewed on her thumb. "What should I do, Duna?"

"Sleep on it. Maybe things will look different in a few days. But remember this; true love is worth fighting for. It comes along once in a lifetime for some, never for others."

"Love you, Grandfather."

"Love ya more, Season."

"Goodnight. See you in the morning."

"Goodnight, ghel."

* * *

Rann walked through the cavernous lobby of the Lodger, the most exclusive hotel in Pine Bay. He expected nothing less from Amanda, his mother's administrative assistant. He walked past the desk clerk, nodded and headed for the elevator. Once in his room, he plopped onto the bed, his brain a jumbled mass of turbulent emotion. He shouldn't have kissed her, knew once he did, he'd all but ceded his ass away, not to mention his heart.

His cell vibrated in his pocket. Pulling it out, he checked the number and groaned. "Hello Dick-him."

"It's Hickum, Martin Hickum as you damn well know."

"What do you want?"

"Your mother asked me to call and remind you to send the names of the landowners on the Pine Bay project."

"Tell my mother I'll send them when I'm damn well ready. Been a little busy here cutting ruthless land takeovers."

"Yeah, that ought to go over like a pregnant pole vaulter. Get it? A pregnant vaulter going over the pole?"

"I get it Dick-him. I just forgot to laugh. Never mind about my mother; I'll tell her myself."

Hanging up on Martin afforded him a small sense of victory.

Dragging himself from bed, he walked toward the bathroom. Perhaps a hot shower would relieve the roadmap of knots in his shoulders.

His cell phone rang again and he didn't need to look at the number to know who was on the other end. Like a fox sensing a bloodhound on his tail, he knew it was his mother.

"Hello, Charlotte."

"So we're in the Charlotte mood again." She expelled an exasperated breath. "Martin just phoned me. Is there a problem with your Internet connection?"

"At this three-hundred- dollar-a-night fortress?"

"Really, Rann, why can't you ever just enjoy your wealth?"

"Your wealth."

"You would appreciate it if you were married and had children to provide for."

"Here we go."

"What? I've been waiting a long time for grandchildren."

"A long time? I'm twenty-eight, not forty-eight. Besides, what would you do with grandchildren…schedule them in for visitation on your calendar?"

"What is your problem these days, hmm? Tell me, did you want for anything growing up? You went to the finest private schools, the best college, and visited Europe three times before you were eighteen. Name one thing you were deprived of in your childhood."

Your time and unconditional love.

"Rann?"

"Nothing, Charlotte, I didn't want for one Single. Solitary. Thing."

"Oh, you're insufferable."

"Huh."

"Huh what?"

"You're the second person who said that tonight. I better sit up and take notice."

A long pause ensued. "Who…who said that to you? A woman? Have you met someone? What aren't you telling me, Rann? Does it have anything to do with the Pine Bay project?"

Season's trembling chin flashed before him. "No, no one. There is no woman."

"Well Bernadette will be relieved to hear that."

"Mother, I don't care what Bernadette would be relieved to hear or not hear."

"I don't understand why you fight me on this. She loves you and comes from one of the finest families in Chicago."

"And one of the richest."

"There is nothing wrong with wealth." He pictured her with her nose turned up, her blue eyes spitting sparks. "I give up, and I have better things to do than argue with you like wild dogs fighting over a bone. Will you send those names tonight or should I put Martin on it?"

Oh, God. Martin would descend like a steamroller and crush everyone in his path. "No. I'll send the names tonight."

"See that you do."

"I don't think things are going to work out at Pine Bay."

"You are withholding something, then?"

"I was hoping to resolve the issue but…."

"There are no buts."

"Goddamn it, you can't expect everyone to submit to your demands."

She drew an impatient breath. "And I can't resolve the problem if I don't know what it is."

"One of the landowners is flat out refusing to discuss terms, contracts, offers." He massaged his forehead with his thumb and middle finger. "What about the Silver Cove project in Virginia? Why don't we concentrate on that for now and see if Pine Bay is more malleable a year from now?"

"Are you completely mad or just borderline crazy? We already discussed this. There is a fortune to be made here and I don't intend to let it slip away. I told you before, extensive effort, time and money has been dumped into the Pine Bay project and nothing short of the planet blowing up will stop me from building condominiums there."

"Not even me walking out of your life?"

For the first time in his life, she fell mute for a moment. "I don't know what's going on in that backwater town but we'll continue this discussion on Friday." Her voice went up and octave or two. "Get your head straight before you return. I don't want to hear any more talk about you pulling a disappearing act like your father or any more talk about people who worship their land, do you hear me!"

"You're yelling, how can I not hear you?"

"Jesus, I need a drink, possibly ten."

"Before I hang up, I want to ask you something."

"What?"

"Is Martin involved with the Outfit?"

"Not that I know of. Good heavens, what makes you think he has connections to the mob?"

"Word gets around fast in Chicago. Since he's your lover, I thought you'd know."

Her voice cracked. From anger or guilt, he didn't know. "I don't have time—"

"That's the problem, Charlotte, you never did."

The line went dead. Evidently, he'd really pissed her off.

Rann undressed, turned the shower on and allowed the hot water to flood his body. If only it could wash away the sickening feeling in his gut.

Before he climbed under the covers, he emailed the list of landowners to his mother. He knew the moment he hit send, he'd made a terrible mistake.