“He is. But life hasn’t treated him fairly. When his brother and sister-in-law died in an accident, he became an overnight parent to his nephew. I get the feeling the adjustment has been far from easy for both of them.”
“That’s awful. Hopefully things will turn around for him and his nephew.”
Cord shrugged. “I hope so—”
“Alexis! Alexis!” Mrs. Sanchez’s voice had them both turning around. The woman rushed down the sidewalk in a burnt-orange and royal blue dress and big-rimmed sunglasses. Her face, as always, was made up with bright pink lipstick. And her dark hair was piled high on her head with a plastic clip.
“Hello, Mrs. Sanchez.” Alexis smiled.
Cord mumbled a greeting before stuffing his hands in his pockets and shifting his weight from foot to foot.
Mrs. Sanchez fanned herself with a stack of colorful papers. “It’s going to be another hot one.”
“It sure is.” Alexis glanced up at the clear blue sky. It was only going to get hotter out. “I’m thinking I might have to start drinking iced tea instead of coffee.”
Mrs. Sanchez frowned and shook her head. “I could never do that, no matter how hot it gets out here.” She stopped fanning herself and removed a baby-blue sheet of paper from her large stack. “You’ll be wanting one of these.”
Mrs. Sanchez handed her the paper and then handed one to Cord. “The mayor was so impressed with what you had to say the other day that he had flyers printed up announcing the town meeting. He’s hoping to get everyone there. It’s going to be exciting.”
Alexis’s gaze skidded to a halt as she took in the bold headline:
A New Vision for Whistle Stop
She gasped and glanced at Cord. His brows were drawn together in a formidable line. She should have mentioned this to him sooner. She shouldn’t have let herself get distracted.
“I need to get going,” Mrs. Sanchez said. “I told the mayor I’d help hand these out.” She patted Alexis’s arm. “You take care of yourself and let me know if you need anything.”
Mrs. Sanchez entered the Cantina while Cord made his way toward his pickup. He didn’t waste time saying good-bye to Alexis.
“Cord, wait! Let me explain.” Somehow, she had to make this right with him. She couldn’t have him going off thinking she’d somehow deceived him.
He stopped in his tracks. His shoulders were rigid, and he kept his back to her.
“Aren’t you even going to face me?” She didn’t want to talk to the back of his head. She wanted to look into his eyes and know that he’d truly heard what she was trying to tell him.
He turned. His face was creased with frown lines, and his mouth was set in a firm line. “I don’t need a speech. It’s obvious that everything I’ve told you about my family and the land has been a complete waste of time.”
“That’s not true. Let me explain—”
“Is there a problem here?” The authoritative voice had them both turning. A tall, well-built young sheriff stood on the sidewalk. He tilted his cowboy hat to her and then turned a cold, hard stare to Cord.
“Um…no. No problem.” Alexis glanced at his nametag. “We’re fine, Sheriff Carson.” She flashed the sheriff her friendliest smile, wanting him to believe her and quickly move on. Cord was definitely not in the mood to make peace with the man who obviously had issues with him.
“Okay, ma’am.” He shot Cord a warning look. “If you need anything at all, my office is over on the corner of Mesa and Main streets.”
“Thanks.”
They both stood there awkwardly until the sheriff strode out of earshot.
She turned back to Cord. “I take it you two aren’t BFFs?”
“He isn’t worth worrying about. I don’t need people to like me.”
“But don’t you get lonely?” When Cord’s brows gathered and his eyes darkened, she realized she should learn to keep her thoughts to herself.
“I’m fine on my own.” His voice was loud, as though he had to speak up to be heard over the wall he’d built around himself. “Not that it’s any of your business. You came here to do a job, and you aren’t about to let anything stand in your way—”
“That’s not true. But you have to understand that without my offer you’re going to lose the land anyway. Otherwise, you wouldn’t need me to sign this.” She held up the still-unsigned letter of intent.