Sweet Texas Fire (4 page)

Charlotte threw her phone down on her desk. What she was going to do next? Perhaps she should take a trip out to Sweet Ridge and see just what she’d inherited. For all she knew, it could just be a small strip of land that held no consequence at all. Although it seemed unlikely Gage would be this possessive if it were only a meaningless piece of dirt.

He’d been passionate about wanting the land when he’d been in her office. Even his e-mail response of purchasing it at any price she asked indicated it could be worth a pretty penny.

Maybe she should get the land valued.

A knock on the door sounded and she looked up to see her manager hovering in the doorway.

“Hey, Allen, what’s up?”

“Have you got a minute? There’s some news I need to discuss with you.”

“Certainly.”

She hoped it was good news after the disappointing tidbit she’d received from the lawyer. Maybe he was going to tell her they were extending her contract. When she’d first arrived there had been talk about a possible extension, but as the end of her contract drew closer and closer, the prospect of returning to Australia seemed the more likely outcome.

She attempted to contain her thoughts as she followed Allen down the hall. She wanted to stay longer. She had so much more to give to the firm. But it could be something completely different that he wanted to talk about. Though the company was small, it seemed very busy. They could have another project for her to review.

“Take a seat, Charlotte,” Allen directed as he took his own place at the head of the boardroom.

Charlotte smiled at the other occupants of the room. This had to be serious if the other two partners were also in the room.

Allen cleared his throat. “Charlotte, we’ve been very happy with the service you’ve provided the company over the last four months. As you know, we hired you on a six-month contract with the possibility of an extension. Your visa is a temporary work visa. We deliberately did this for a couple of reasons. One of them was, while you came highly recommended to us, we hadn’t worked with you before and we didn’t want to commit to a long-term contract if you didn’t fit in with our firm. We knew after a week that wouldn’t be an issue.”

“Thank you, Allen. I really enjoy working here. It’s been a great challenge,” she interjected.

“We’re glad you feel that way. Another reason for the temporary visa was because of our long-term plans. If we felt you were suitable and it became obvious to us that you enjoyed working and living in the United States, we would look at commencing a green card process if you were interested.”

The excitement bubble took on a life of its own. She loved working in the States. She’d grown up an ex-pat kid, so she’d lived in Australia off and on during her life. Only it never felt like her real home. Maybe because she’d traveled around so much she had no idea what home really meant. One of the longest periods she had stayed in Australia had been while she completed her final two years of high school and the years it took to get her environmental science degree. But once she started working, she’d started to feel restless, like she needed something more, something bigger in her life than living and working in Sydney. She’d identified the feeling as itchy feet, so when the opportunity to work for Gold Star Eco had come up, she’d jumped at it.

“I’m very interested in this opportunity, Allen. I’ve been hoping you would extend my contract, as I feel I have so much more to give.”

“Excellent. We will look into what we have to do and the cost involved with this process. We’ve never done anything like this before. In fact, you are our first international employee, so it’s all unchartered waters for us, as well.”

“You won’t be disappointed with your decision. I’ll make sure of it.”

• • •

Charlotte pulled into the Sweet Ridge Inn’s car park. It had taken her longer than she’d anticipated to head down to Sweet Ridge. It seemed everyone wanted to head out of town this particular weekend and the roads had been chaotic. If there was one thing she disliked about living in Houston, it was the traffic. People were crazy on the roads. Their love affair for talking or texting as they drove astounded her.

She got out of the car, grabbed her overnight bag, and headed to reception. Within minutes she was getting into an elevator and making her way to her room. Once she’d dumped her bag, she was going to head to Betty Lou’s Diner and grab a bite to eat. Maybe bring back some donuts for breakfast.

It felt good to be back in Sweet Ridge. The laid-back atmosphere reminded her of the small town where she and her family had vacationed at one time when they’d returned to Australia for a break between her father’s assignments.

After a quick visit to the bathroom and a change of clothes, she headed out the door again. It would only take her a few minutes to walk to the diner. Outside, she took a couple of deep breaths. It was nice to breathe in fresh air, not the air tainted by car exhaust she sometimes breathed in in Houston.

The early evening sun softened the outline of the buildings, giving them a romantic feel. She was excited about tomorrow, when she’d take a drive to see the land.

Charlotte reached the cute-looking diner and pulled open the door. Immediately her senses came alive as the aroma of donuts and fried foods greeted her. The diner had an old-fashioned feel to it, with its counter where you could sit and peer through to the kitchen to see the line cooks making up the orders. The booths had turquoise leather seats and Formica countertops. It was like a step back in time to when the town’s diner was the place to be seen.

“Charlotte, honey, is that you?”

Charlotte turned and the diner’s namesake, Betty Lou, enveloped her in a big hug as a greeting. Even Betty Lou looked like a throwback from the 1950s with her beehive hairstyle and funky red glasses.

She returned the hug, surprised Betty Lou remembered her from her previous visits. “It’s good to see you. And you’ve got a good memory.”

Betty Lou laughed. “It’s hard to forget a girl with hair as lovely as you have, not to mention your pretty accent. But it’s been a while.” She sobered a little. “I’m sorry, I have some news about Jack.”

Charlotte squeezed the diner owner’s hand. “I know he’s passed away.”

While part of her wanted to let Betty Lou know about her inheritance, she kept that bit of information to herself. She was sure it would all come out in good time.

Betty Lou wiped her eyes. “It was a sad day when Jack Cooper left this earth. His presence will be felt for years to come, though. He did an awful lot of good for this town. Now, let me show you to a table. How long are you in town for? If you knew about Jack’s death, what brings you back?”

Charlotte’s mind whirled with the questions fired at her, but she answered them as Betty Lou showed to her a corner booth with a window looking at out the main street. “I like Sweet Ridge and realized it’s been a while since I’ve been here. I thought a weekend away might be nice. I also want to explore the place a little more.”

“That’s good, sweetie. Here’s a menu. Today’s donut special is Lemon Sizzle. It’s sour with a bite.”

While Charlotte appreciated Betty Lou’s ingenuity in coming up with different flavors, when it came to donuts, she liked hers plain and coated with sprinkled sugar.

“Thanks. I think I’ll make my donut decision after I’ve had some of your fabulous fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Can I also have a glass of Coke, please?”

“Coming right up. Anything el—” The bell above the diner door tinkled, signaling the arrival of another patron and distracting Betty Lou. “Macy! Over here, sweetie. I want you to meet someone.”

A girl a few years older than her, dressed in a cute slip dress and wearing cowboy boots and a cowboy hat, approached the table.

Betty Lou greeted her with the same sort of hug she’d given Charlotte. “Macy, this is Charlotte, from Australia. Charlotte, this is Macy. She’s a famous country-and-western music star.”

“Hi, Macy, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Hey, Charlotte, it’s good to meet you, too. Australia, huh? That’s one place I’d love to visit one day. Y’alls accent is so cool. Do you mind if I join you?”

“No, please do. And thank you. Everyone always comments on my accent. I don’t see what’s so special about it.”

Macy sat down and Charlotte tried to think if she’d heard any of Macy’s music. She wasn’t a big country-and-western listener, although she’d come across the odd station or fifty on her satellite radio.

“It’s just so pretty. And sounds so proper.” Macy turned to Betty Lou. “Can I have an iced tea and your chicken fried steak special?”

“Sure, Macy. You not eating with Gavin?”

“Not tonight. He’s eating with his brothers, but I’m meeting him at the Silver Spurs later on.”

“You should take Charlotte, introduce her to Gage and Grayson,” Betty Lou said with a wink before walking away. “Those boys could do with someone pretty in their lives.”

Surely there couldn’t be two Gages living in Sweet Ridge. And surely, fate wouldn’t be so cruel as to throw Gage in her path again when she was visiting town to see the very land he wanted.

“Please tell me she’s not talking about Gage Cooper.” She directed her question to Macy, who was humming and drumming her fingers on the table.

“Yep, why? Do you know Gage?”

For all Charlotte knew, Macy could be one of his ex-lovers or something. A high-profile star seemed the sort of girl Gage would chase after.

“Umm, yes, I do. You could say our paths have crossed one or two times.”

Macy leaned forward, a gleam in her eye. “Ohhh, now you’ve got me intrigued. Don’t tell me the two of you dated.”

Charlotte laughed out loud. “No, definitely not. Our interactions have purely been professional.”

Macy sat back. “Well, now, that’s disappointing. I thought you’d have something I could use to dangle over his head. Or at least tell Gavin about so he and Grayson could torment him with it.”

Another waitress arrived with a tray loaded up with their food and drinks. Once she placed their meals in front of them, Charlotte asked Macy the question burning in the front of her mind.

“How well do you know Gage?”

“We all went to the same high school—me, Gavin, Grayson, and Gage—although I was just starting my senior year when he was a freshman. I did expect Gage to be a big- time football player taking my team, the Dallas Cowboys, to the Super Bowl. He was the star player on the high school team. Everyone was talking about what a great future he was going to have.”

Charlotte filed away that piece of information. Never would she have thought Gage would’ve been a football player. He seemed way more at home in an office than on an expanse of green grass. “I don’t know that much about American football.”

“We breathe football here in Texas. I’m dating Gage’s older brother now, and when I asked why Gage is in oil and not the NFL, Gavin clammed up. I’m guessing there’s a story there, but I’m more interested in my man than his brother.”

A soft smile broke out over Macy’s face. She could tell that Macy cared a lot for Gage’s brother, but Charlotte was more intrigued by the story of why Gage hadn’t followed through on his potential to be a superstar football player.

“Actually, dating is pretty tame to describe what is going on between us. Gavin is the love of my life. I inherited a beautiful house, and I’m so happy I could burst.”

Bells started ringing in Charlotte’s head, and all thoughts of delving further into Gage’s non-football career disappeared. Not the “
Danger, Will Robinson!
”
type bells. More of the “
something is familiar here
” type.

“You inherited a house? I’m sorry for your loss. Was it a close family member who died?”

To her astonishment, Macy laughed. Who laughed over someone’s death? Unless they didn’t like that person and were glad they’d passed on. Even though Charlotte hadn’t known Jack a long time, she had felt extremely sad when she’d heard the news.

Macy touched her arm, obviously seeing her surprise. “Jack Cooper was a wily old bastard and I loved him, even though I hadn’t seen much of him since I left high school. Gavin and I used to compete with each other academically in high school. Jack saw it, and sometimes he would encourage me to challenge Gavin because he knew it would make his son work harder. He had a backward method, and maybe he saw something we didn’t see as kids. Anyway, it’s because of the house that Gavin and I reconnected again. Sorry if I shocked you with my laughter—it’s because I know Jack is looking down on us with a big smile on his face.”

Jack had left Macy a house? And he’d left her a piece of land. Should she mention that to Macy or not? If she did, would Macy think the same as Gage, that she’d tricked Jack into making her a beneficiary of his will?

She’d keep her inheritance to herself for a little while longer.

They ate their meal, making small talk about general things. Macy seemed so down-to-earth for a country star, and the people of Sweet Ridge let her eat in peace. Maybe because she grew up in town they weren’t as star struck by her.

“So, are you a big country-and-western music fan, Charlotte?”

“Ahh, not really. I don’t listen to it much. Sorry.”

Macy chuckled. “It’s okay. You either love country music or you don’t. I won’t hold it against you.”

“Thanks.” Charlotte pushed her plate forward. “I swear if I lived here, I would put on so much weight. Betty Lou’s fried chicken is the best.”

“Tell me about it. I’ve had to make sure I keep up with my exercising, otherwise I’d be stacking on the pounds, too. I’m a judge on
America’s Next Country Star
, and we’ve just started filming again. The cameras add pounds.” She laughed as she said it. “Have you had Betty Lou’s donuts? I swear I tried every donut shop in Nashville to find something that tasted half as good as Betty Lou’s with no luck.”

“Yep, I have and I’m addicted to them, too. I’m thinking of getting some to take back to the hotel with me so I can have them for breakfast.”

“Well, make sure you get one of the orange-flavored ones. They are to die for.”

Not wanting to offend Macy, she nodded. “I’ll have to do that.”