“If you continue badgering me, Dad,” Mariah continued. “I’ll have to resign.”
Her father stiffened, then his expression softened. “Okay, just make sure everything is on the up and up. I have too much invested in this project.”
“If there are any problems, I’ll let you and your partners know.”
Just then she heard a commotion outside. “Excuse me, Dad.”
She walked to the door, opened it and saw a large flatbed truck loaded down with lumber coming up the road. So her warning had been taken seriously. All her excitement disappeared when the vehicle stopped, the driver’s door swung open and Shane jumped down from the cab and marched toward her.
“You wanted the lumber delivered before noon.” He checked his watch. “I believe we have five minutes to spare.” He grinned at her as he handed her the supply order. “Now I’m going to lunch.”
Twenty minutes later Shane climbed the steps to his garage apartment behind his mother’s house. He didn’t have any appetite for lunch. That was good, since he didn’t have any food in the place. He hadn’t exactly had an opportunity to shop lately. Hell, with the hours he’d been putting in at the site, he hadn’t found much time to do anything.
Shane opened the door to the limited space he’d called home since his newly married brother, Nate, moved to the Hunter family ranch six months ago. Since all his funds were tied up in his business and this project, getting his own place would have to wait.
There was a living room and kitchen combination where a small rust-colored sofa and a large leather recliner faced the entertainment center that housed his one extravagance, a flat screen television and stereo. Two stools were arranged under the short counter that served as the dining area. A narrow hall led to a bath and his bedroom, where he knew his bed hadn’t been made in weeks.
His thoughts turned to Mariah. Not two full days on the job and already she was giving him problems. How was she supposed to help the project go smoothly if they couldn’t get along? Why hadn’t she come to him about the lumber delivery?
Well, he’d shown her, all right. He ignored the sour feeling in his stomach as he dropped his keys on the counter and opened the refrigerator. Inside was a six-pack of beer, a half gallon of milk with a week-old expiration date. He poured it out in the sink and placed the empty container in the trash.
“I guess I’ll have another food group.” He opened the bread drawer and smiled on finding his stash of Twinkies. He pulled out two and immediately ripped the cellophane off one and took a huge bite.
Just then there was a knock on the door and he finished off the other half of the cake as he went to greet his mother, who was holding a basket of clean laundry.
“Don’t tell me that’s your lunch.”
“Hello, Mom.” He took the basket from the slender woman. “And what’s wrong with what I’m eating?”
She flashed her piercing blue eyes at him. “Don’t get me started.” She sighed. “At least come down to the house and fix a sandwich. You work too hard to be skipping meals.”
“Mom, I appreciate your help with the laundry, but I can feed myself.”
“I didn’t do your laundry. I only took your clothes out of the dryer so I could use it.”
Betty Hunter tried to act tough, but she still worried about her three adult kids. Now that her oldest son, Nate, was happily married and living out at the ranch, and her daughter, Emily, had moved to L.A., she’d been concentrating all her attention on him.
“Sorry. It won’t happen again.” Shane took the basket and put it on the sofa.
“That’s what you said the last time.” She glanced around the apartment. “Now that you have a project manager, you should be able to have a personal life. By the way, how is Mariah?”
“What did Nate do? Rush over to the house to tell you?”
“Nate never said a word. You know news travels fast in a small town. Quit avoiding the question, how is Mariah? She was such a sweet girl.”
“Mom, you’re talking about Kurt Easton’s daughter. He only brought her here to spy on me. He’ll do anything to get me off the Paradise project.”
“If I remember correctly she used to be pretty smitten with you, and you were crazy about her, too.”
“High school was a long time ago,” he said quickly. “And we never should have been together in the first place. We were young and foolish.”
“That was a rough time for all of us, especially for you and Emily,” his mother said. “You were both too young to lose your father.”
When Ed Hunter died suddenly, life had changed for the family. They’d lost everything, including the Double H Ranch. They had to move into town. His mother went back to teaching and Nate came back from Phoenix and took a job in the sheriff’s department to help support the nearly bankrupt family.
Shane could still remember the whispers among his so-called friends at school. He hadn’t wanted anyone’s pity, especially not his girlfriend’s.
His mother smiled. “We had some lean years, but we all pulled through.”
“I’d like to think so, but it’s hard when you have Kurt Easton around to tell you that you’re no good.”
“Most people don’t listen to him. Look at what you and Nate have accomplished—your brother bought the ranch back and is making quite a name for himself with his wood carvings. You’ve started a construction business and won the bid on a huge project.” She smiled. “If I haven’t told you lately, son, I’m so proud of you. You can’t allow one person’s opinion to wear you down.”
“Easton’s hard to ignore.”
“If you’re referring to Mariah, she was always such a pretty girl with those big green eyes.”
Shane shot her a warning glance. “Mother.”
“Okay, I’ll stop. But only if you stop worrying about Kurt Easton. His partners hired Hunter Construction because you are the best. It’s true he holds a grudge against all the Hunters, but that has nothing to do with you.”
“Nothing?” Shane raised an eyebrow. “The man threatens me every opportunity he gets. What exactly did Grandpa Nathan do to set him off?” Shane had heard so many variations of the story he never knew what to believe.
“It was a long time ago and all the parties involved are gone,” His mother said. “Unfortunately Kurt continues to keep the bitterness alive.”
“Just tell me Grandpa didn’t swindle the Easton’s out of land?”
“No! Nathan Hunter was a fair and honest man. His only sin was that he fell in love. James Easton and Nathan Hunter were as close as brothers for most of their lives. When James went to serve in World War II, he asked your grandfather to look out for his sweetheart, Catherine Summer.
“Over the next two years, they spent a lot of time together and… Well…one thing lead to another. When James returned, he got angry, and said that Catherine had agreed to marry him. She denied any such promise. Terrible words were exchanged and their friendship ended. James Easton carried his bitterness until his death. It all should have ended then, but Kurt has continued on with his father’s grudge.”
“And Easton won’t quit until he destroys me.”
“Then don’t let him,” his mother stressed. “I know over the years he’s given Nate some problems. But to most people in town the Hunter-Easton feud is old news.”
Betty sighed. “The one I feel sorry for is Mariah,” she said. “Kurt has put the poor girl in a difficult position.”
Shane