I glanced at her left hand and didn’t see a ring.
“Here are the first two letters. Wyatt has the last one.” My mother pushed the papers across the table to Sinclair.
Sinclair picked up the papers as she looked at my mother. “They sent you more than one?”
“Well, I refused him right off. He’s quite persistent.” My mother sat at the table with her own drink.
Sinclair looked over the letters.
“I take it we’re not the only ones to get a letter like this.” I said, nodding
toward the other letters she brought.
“No. About six other landowners got them too.” She looked up at my mother. “You said you refused him. Is that still the case?”
“It’s up to Wyatt.”
Sinclair looked at me, her eyes full of questions.
“Right now, with my father gone, the farm is in my hands,” I explained. “I don’t have any intention of selling.”
“What if your father returns?”
I flinched at her blunt question. As if she realized it was a bit insensitive, she said, “I’m sorry, I—”
“He won’t be back and if he does come home, there are things Wyatt can do to retain possession of the property.” My mother’s eyes were sharp, her tone firm. I hadn’t known her to be like that growing up. Had my father’s leaving helped her find her personal power?
I also wondered what she was talking about. What things could I do to retain control of the farm? Deciding to ask her about that later, I turned my attention back to Sinclair. “We don’t want to sell so a billionaire can incarcerate people in our backyard.”
“Good. I’m deputy mayor of Salvation and I’m working on stopping Stark from building his prison here. I need families like yours to hold fast and not give in.”
Deputy Mayor. I could see it. Sinclair was always strong and willful, but now she had an air of power and authority about her. It was sexy.
Pushing thoughts of sexy powerful Sinclair aside, I said, “I don’t have a problem with that, but the tone of the last letter was less than friendly. I get the sense that Stark is ready, willing, and able to play hardball.”
“I know how to play hard too.” The fire in her eyes as she said that made me proud that she’d achieved success. It also made me hard. I’d always loved her spirit. Her willingness to stand up for what she believed in.
I grinned. “You always were a straight shooter. I’m not surprised you’re practically running the show here.”
“Yes well, there are forces working against us beyond Stark. And we’ll need the community to support all the farmers.”
“How hard can that be?” I asked. Salvation was a farming community. How could the town not support the very foundation it was built on?
“This prison will offer jobs that many people in town need. Family farming is seen as a dying occupation,” Sinclair explained.
“People still want their hamburgers, don’t they?” My tone was sharper than I’d intended.
Sinclair wasn’t affected. “Like most other industries, family-owned businesses are being usurped by big corporations. We let it happen in the name of cheaper prices or progress. I don’t know if we’ll win, but I don’t plan to stand idly by while Stark buys land for less than it’s worth. I don’t want farmers shafted so other residents have a job that will probably underpay too.”
“They’ll take this farm over my cold dead body.” I nodded at her so she knew the seriousness of my vow.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
4
Sinclair
I can’t breathe. I was already tense when I drove up to the Jones’ property knowing this was the place Wyatt had grown up in. I’d never been here before. I didn’t think Ryder had spent much time here either except on a few occasions when he did some work for Wyatt’s father on the ranch. Wyatt never talked much about his family and I got the feeling that was on purpose. I wasn’t sure why although rumors were that his father was an alcoholic and abusive. Whatever the reason, Wyatt never invited his friends over and so this would be my first time at the place he’d grown up in.