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Jace felt bad for her, but at the same time was hopeful. “It’s a bad time for teachers. So maybe it’s time for a change. Why can’t you take over your father’s company?”
“There’s so many reasons I can’t even count them. First of all, I’m not qualified. I have limited business experience. I could lose everything by managing things badly.”
He felt a twinge of hope. “You can learn. Besides, Lyle has lawyers and accountants for a lot of it. I’ll be the person at the construction site. You can check out my credentials. I’m damn good at what I do.”
This time she studied him.
“I can give you references in Denver,” he offered.
Lori couldn’t help but be curious. Her life had been exposed, yet she knew nothing about him. “Why did you leave there? Denver.”
“Divorce. I had to sell the business to divide the joint assets. Moving here was my best chance to make a good home for my daughter. Best chance at getting full custody.”
She might not like the man’s bad attitude toward her, but wanting to be a good father gave him a lot of points.
“Once I finish Mountain Heritage and the spaces are leased, I’ll have some revenue coming in. It’ll allow me to control my work hours. I can pick and choose construction jobs so I can spend more time with Cassie.” His gaze met hers. “Best of all, Destiny is a great place to raise children.”
She smiled. “That I remember about this town, and how they decorated at Christmas.”
She watched conflict play across his face. “That’s what I want Cassie to experience, too. I don’t want her in some boarding school in Europe because her mother doesn’t have time for her.” He stood, and quickly changed the subject. “I also have several men that are depending on this job.”
“I need to talk to my lawyer before I can make any decision.” And she needed to speak to Gina. Her sister weighed heavily in this decision. She turned toward Jace. “I know you were hoping for more.”
He nodded. “Of course I was, but I can’t wait much longer. Just so you know, I’ll be contacting my own lawyer. I have to protect my investment.”
Lori tried not to act surprised as she nodded. Jace Yeager finally said his goodbye as he stepped off the porch and walked around the house to the driveway. She heard his truck start up. Just one more problem to deal with.
“Thanks, Dad.” She glanced skyward. “You couldn’t give me the time of day when you were alive, but now that you’re gone, you turn my life upside down.”
She walked back inside the house and back into her father’s office. Paige and Mr. Bradley had their heads together. They spent the next twenty minutes going over all the details. She could contest the will, but if she lost, she’d lose everything and so would this town.
Mr. Bradley checked his watch, gathered up his papers and put them in his briefcase. “Lorelei, if you need anything else from me, just call.” He handed her a business card. “There’s one other thing I didn’t get a chance to tell you. You only have seventy-two hours to make your decision,” he said then walked out the door.
Lori looked at Paige. “How can I make a life-changing decision in three days?”
“I know it’s difficult, Lori, but there isn’t a choice. What can I say? Lyle liked being in control.” The brunette smiled. “Sorry, I hate to speak ill of the dead.”
“No need to apologize. Over the years, my mother never had anything nice to say about the man. It doesn’t seem as if he ever changed.”
She thought about what Lyle had done to Jace Yeager. The man would lose everything he’d invested in this project if he couldn’t complete it. She closed her eyes. “What should I do?”
“Are you asking me as your lawyer or as a citizen of Destiny?”
“Both.”
“As your lawyer, if you turn down Lyle’s bequest, the corporation and the partnerships would be dissolved and all moneys would be given to charity. You’d get nothing, Lori.” Paige went on to add, “As a citizen of a town I love, I hope you accept. Hutchinson Corporation employs many of the people in this community.”
She groaned. “Lyle really did own this town.”
Paige shrugged. “A fair share of it. But remember, the Hutchinsons built this town with the money they got from mining.” She smiled. “Times are changing, though. My brother-in-law Justin is moving at a pretty good pace to take that status. He has an extreme skiing business. And don’t count out Jace Yeager. He’s got some other projects in the works.”
“And now he’s tied up in this mess,” Lori said. “Dear Lord, you all must have hated my father.”
“Like I said there’s always been a Hutchinson here to deal with. Your grandfather Billy was a piece of work, too. He’d done a few shady deals in his time. The family has done a lot of good for Destiny.” She tried not to smile. “Maybe Lyle was a little arrogant about it.”
“And now it looks like you all have me to continue the tradition.”
Paige raised an eyebrow. “Does that mean you’re staying?”
“Do I have a choice?” She knew it was all about Lyle protecting the Hutchinsons’ legacy. Not about his daughter’s needs or wants. He had never cared about that.
Well, she had to think about what was best for her family. She and Gina had planned to move away from Colorado, and her sister’s ex-husband. Most important they had to be safe. Could Eric find them here in Destiny? Would he try? Of course he would if he had any idea where to look.
If Lori decided to stay, at least she could afford to hire a bodyguard. “I need to talk to my sister. She would have to move here, too.”
Paige nodded. “I understand. So when you make your decision give me a call anytime. I need to get back to the office.” Her lawyer walked out, leaving her alone.
Lori went to the desk, sat down and opened the file. She stared once again at the exorbitant amount of money her father was worth. Although she was far from comfortable taking anything from Lyle, how could she walk away from this? The money would help her sister and nephew so much. Not to mention the other people in Destiny.
But she’d have to be able to work with Jace Yeager, too. The man had his own anger issues when it came to a Hutchinson. Could she handle that, or him? No, she doubted any woman could, but if she stayed out of his way, they might be able to be partners.
She took her cell phone from her purse and punched in the familiar number. When Gina answered, she said, “How would you feel about moving into a big house in Destiny?”
The next morning, Jace took his daughter to school then drove to the site. He needed to do everything he could to save this project. That meant convince Lori Hutchinson to stay. And that was what he planned to do.
He unlocked the chain-link fence that surrounded the deserted construction site. After opening the gate, he climbed back into his truck, pulled inside and parked in front of the two-story structure. The outside was nearly completed, except for some facade work.
Yet, inside was a different story. The loft apartments upstairs were still only framed in and the same with the retail stores/office spaces on the bottom floor. He got out as the cool wind caused him to shove his cowboy hat down on his head. Checking the sky overhead, he could feel the moisture in the air. They were predicting rain for later today. How soon before it turned to snow? He’d seen it snow in October, in Colorado.
He heard a car and looked toward the dirt road to see Lori pull in next to his truck and get out. Though tall and slender, she still didn’t reach his chin. He glanced down at her booted feet, then did a slow gaze over those long legs encased in a pair of worn jeans. Even in the cold air, his body took notice.
Calm down, boy. She was off-limits.
His gaze shot to her face. “Good morning. Welcome to Mountain Heritage.”
“Morning,” Lori returned as she burrowed deeper in her coat. “I hope this tour is going to be on the inside,” she said. “It’s really cold.”
He nodded. “Come on.”
He led her along the makeshift path through the maze of building materials to the entry. He’d been surprised when he’d gotten the call last night from her, saying she wanted to see Mountain Heritage.
“As you can see, the outside is nearly completed, just a little work left on the trim.” He unlocked the door, and let her inside.
“We’re ready to blow in insulation and hang Sheetrock. The electricians have completed the rough wiring.” He glanced at her, but couldn’t read anything from her expression. “This is going to be a green building, totally energy efficient, from the solar panels on the roof, to the tankless water heaters. Best of all, the outside of the structure blends in with the surrounding buildings. But this complex will offer so much more.”
He pushed open the double doors and allowed her to go in first. He followed as she walked into the main lobby. This was where it all looked so different. The open concept was what he loved the most about the business complex. He’d done most of the design himself and was proud of how well it was turning out.
The framework of a winding staircase to the second-story balcony still needed the wooden banister. He motioned for her to follow him across the subfloor to the back hall, finding the elevators. He explained about the hardwood floors and the large stone fireplace.
“It’s so large.”
“We need the space to entice our clients. These back elevators lead to the ten loft apartments upstairs. Both Lyle and I figured they’d rent pretty well to the winter skiers. Of course our ideal renter would be long-term. We were hoping to make it a great place to live, shop and dine all without leaving the premises.
“We have a tentative agreement to lease office spaces for a ski rental company from Justin Hilliard. He’s planning on doing a line of custom skis and snowboards.”
“How soon were you supposed to have this all completed?”
Was she going to stay? “We’d been on schedule for the end of November.” Now he was hoping he still had a full crew. Some of the subcontractors he’d been working with had come up from Durango.
Lori felt ignorant. She’d never been to a construction site. Doubts filled her again as she wondered for the hundredth time if she’d be any good taking over for Lyle. So many people were depending on her. “How are you at teaching, Jace?”
He looked confused, then said, “I guess that depends on the student and how willing they are to learn.”
“She’s very serious.” She released a sigh. “It looks like we’re going to be partners.”
Damn. Jace had a woman for his partner, a woman who didn’t know squat about construction. And he was even taking her to lunch. He’d do whatever it took to provide for his daughter.
He escorted Lori into a booth at the local coffee shop, the Silver Spoon. He hadn’t expected her to accept his lunch invitation, but they’d spent the past two hours at the site, going over everything that would need to happen in the next seven weeks to meet completion. She took notes, a lot of notes.
He’d made a call to his project manager, Toby Edwards, and had asked him to get together a crew. Within an hour, his foreman had called back to tell him they got most of the people on board to start first thing in the morning.
So it seemed natural that he would take her to lunch to celebrate. He glanced across the table. She still looked a little shell-shocked from all the information she’d consumed this morning, but she hadn’t complained once.
“This place is nice, homey,” she said. “Reminds me of the café I worked in during college.”
Okay, that surprised him. “It’s your typical family-run restaurant that serves good home cooking, a hearty breakfast in the morning and steak for supper. Outside of a steak house, there isn’t any fine dining in Destiny, and Durango is forty-eight miles away. We’re hoping a restaurant will be added to our complex. Not only more revenue for us, but more choice when you want to go out.”
He smiled and Lori felt a sudden rush go through her. No. No. No. She didn’t want to think about Jace Yeager being a man. Well, he was a man, just not the man she needed to be interested in. He was far too handsome, too distracting, and they would be working together. Correction, he was doing the work, she would be watching … and learning.
“I hear from your daughter that you’ve been remodeling your house.”
“Restoration,” he corrected. “And yes, it’s a lot of work, but I enjoy it. So many people just want to tear out and put in new. There is so much you can save. I’m refinishing the hardwood floors, and stripping the crown moldings and the built-in cabinet in the dining room. What I’ve replaced is an outdated furnace and water heater.”
She smiled. “And the roof?”
He raised an eyebrow.
She went on to say, “Cassie told me that you had to put out pans when it rained.”
She caught a hint of his smile, making him even more handsome. “Yeah, we had a few adventurous nights. We stayed dry, though.”
She couldn’t help but be curious about him, but no more personal questions. Focus on his profession. “I bet my father’s house could use some updating, too.”
“I wouldn’t know. Yesterday was the first time I’d been there. I conducted all my business with Lyle in his office at the bank.”
She didn’t get the chance to comment as the middle-aged waitress came to the table carrying two mugs and a coffeepot. With their nods, she filled the cups.
“Hi, Jace. How’s that little one of yours?”
“She keeps me on my toes.” He smiled. “Helen, this is Lorelei Hutchinson. Lori, this is Helen Turner. She and her husband, Alan, are the owners of the Silver Spoon.”
The woman smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Hutchinson. I’m sorry about your father.”
“Thank you. And please, call me Lori.”
“Will you be staying in town long?” the woman asked.
Lori glanced at Jace. “It looks that way.”
She couldn’t tell if Helen was happy about that or not. They placed their order and the woman walked away.
“I guess she hasn’t decided if she’s happy about me staying.”
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