Flying in Shadows (The Black Creek Series, Book 2) (19 page)

He took the first of two floral arrangements from the passenger seat of his Maserati.
Climbing the porch stairs, he ran his hands along the smooth, square pillars. Andy
stuck his face into the bouquet and smelled the mixture of freesia and daffodils,
then opened the massive front door.

The voices of his aunt and Amanda came from the kitchen in the back of the house.
He frowned down at the flowers. Turning, he traced his steps back to his car to get
the second bouquet. He would have to make another stop at the florist and replace
the bunch meant for the elderly Lucy Melbourne before he gave her a Mother's Day visit.

Walking through the front door, he raised his voice loud enough for the women to hear
him from the kitchen. "Aren't you worried about who is walking in and out of your
home unannounced?"

Reaching the kitchen, Brie and Amanda beamed at the sight of the flowers. Women, he
thought. They can be so easy sometimes.

"You came announced all right. We heard your car from down the street. Between you
and your dad, we could have a dealership right in the drive." Brie took the flowers
from him. "They're lovely, Andy. Thank you so much."

Ensuring the second bouquet was safely held to the side, he pulled her into a tight
hug. "Happy Mother's Day, Ma." Turning to Amanda, he held out the other. "And happy
Mother's Day to you, Amanda."

She hit him playfully on the shoulder. "You know these weren't for me, but I'll take
them anyway." She kissed him on the cheek, then followed his aunt to get a vase.

"Amanda was catching me up on the plans for Jessica's wedding. Have you mailed your
RSVP?"

"RSV who? Jess knows I'm going. I ran into her last week."

Brie shook her head dramatically. "I'll check on the card, Amanda." She turned her
gaze back to Andy. "Are you bringing a date?"

He looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "I can probably find one of those."

"I convinced Jessica to go ahead with an open bar," Amanda interjected. "I'll be fine
with it. It's been three years, six months and twelve days, but I understand why they
get worried. So, you come, Andy. Bring a date and have yourself a nice time."

He realized she was completely sincere. She looked healthy, he thought. Strong. She
had color in her cheeks and had put on weight, although it was hard to notice with
the work apron she seemed to wear every time he saw her now.

* * *

The vast local reserve was dotted with large shallow bodies of water. Rose couldn't
decide if they were large ponds or small lakes. Regardless, the low water was perfect
for Whooping cranes as they searched for snails, crabs and snakes while wading on
their stilt legs. It was not meant for a shopping mall and office strip.

Trees huddled in clusters, erupting from the light brown soil that framed the water's
edge. Bulldozers stood empty in the dawn ready for the drivers to start their careless
destruction. For crying out loud, the cranes were so close to her, she could see a
pair through her binoculars. They towered at five feet tall and were solid white with
a blood red patch on top of their heads.

The support of the public continually impressed her. Donations, time. It looked like
a few hundred faithful followers were there, along with a half-dozen media vans. According
to the response from the social networking site, people attending were from fourteen
different states and from Mexico. She'd been worried she might have forked out the
funds to fly herself and Grace down here just to find out the media had a different
breaking story. Yet, here they were. In force. She squinted and smiled.

Grace handed her the bullhorn. Rose did her best to prepare the crowd for what would
likely emerge and to fire them up with whatever statistic she thought would be the
most inspiring.

Slowly rotating the bullhorn, she spoke earnestly, making introductions and carefully
describing the lay of the land. As she spoke, she made sure to face in the general
direction of the television cameras and radio microphones.

"Due to human hunting, the Whooping crane population dwindled to a mere twenty-two
in the 1940s. The folks at Operation Migration have sweat blood and tears to raise
crane chicks and act as their parents, guiding them behind their glider planes to
locales very near here. It costs over a hundred grand per chick to pay for the feed,
equipment and cost of flying them behind the trikes to their wintering sites."

She gestured with her hands, encouraging the crowd as they created a sea of disgusted
mumbles. "The local reservist who owns this land decided money was more important
than a species." The crowd erupted into shouts of jeers and boos. She nodded her head
dramatically as she and Grace rotated, back to back, like a team.

"Brady Construction swooped down on this property with its shopping mall blueprints
and truckloads of waiting asphalt without one glance at the magnificent creatures
just to the west of us. And we are here to say, 'No!' Someone has to stand up for
those that can't help themselves!" Dramatically, she sighed at the sight of dust from
a line of the first heavy equipment operators reporting for work.

Signaling to the mob, they circled the dormant earth movers and sat.

The construction crew was forced to park far away from the lines of vehicles and walk
through the crowd. She lifted the bullhorn back to her mouth. "We must remember that
we are the civilized in this face-off. We are here to exercise our right to protest
and must keep our hands and objects off the workers at all times."

Grace rotated her head and whispered in her ear, "Mood killer."

Rose elbowed her in the back of the ribs. Watching the crew head to their equipment,
she was always surprised at the number of relatively small and skinny heavy equipment
operators. She always expected big, burly men. Noticing the one on his cell phone,
she decided he must be the foreman. Go ahead and make that call. She smirked.

The operators kept their distance, waiting like they were in a standoff. The protestors
held their ground. It took less than an hour for a set of black SUVs to dust up the
gravel road out to the reserve. As Mr. Brady found the same problem with parking as
his employees, he pulled into a spot well away from the commotion and stepped out
with his own bullhorn.

Show time. Rose grinned.

She heard the helicopter flying overhead but kept her eyes on Brady. She wanted to
give the flyby a good shot. Both she and the developer turned when it was clear the
copter was making a landing. It was small. Looked like a two-seater. When that passenger
stepped out with briefcase in hand, she felt her face redden and her clutched hands
turned all sorts of colors of red. She knew that damned walk anywhere.

Andy.

Chapter 15

Andy avoided asking his uncle for much of anything. Nathan had given up enough, in
Andy's opinion, when he took in him and Duncan as toddlers. But, he needed a plane
and a pilot and had needed them fast. And, it wasn't for him, exactly. It was to help
out an old family friend. Well, it would turn out to be for him once the economy picked
up again. But for now, he was just making a wise investment. And helping Rose.

Her reaction was just what he'd expected. Pissed as hell and ready for battle. In
this case, he wouldn't want her any other way. His reaction was what he was never
prepared for—a choke hold on his heart that seared through him. Her low-heeled leather
boots and khaki dress pants hid what he knew was underneath. Smart and dangerous.
Her round cheeks and porcelain skin concealed the best friend he had lost. She'd cut
her hair. Andy was used to it now, short and croppy, exposing the nape of her neck.
The t-shirt she wore mostly covered a blouse that matched the blue of her eyes. He
could read the large print even from the distance.
Craniac.
Shit. He let out a half-laugh.

As he walked toward Mr. Brady, he kept an eye on her. She recognized him, of course,
but hesitated. Analyzing what the hell he was doing. Good. Let her wonder.

Nodding to her as if passing on a sidewalk in the old neighborhood, he saw her eyes
widen with rage. He wanted the developer to see that he and Rose knew each other.
He could use that. The look on Brady's face said,
young, dumb real estate agent with waste-of-time deal
. He could use that, too. He'd done his homework like any good businessman would do.
Brady had been iffy on this deal from the get go. Andy knew he could get him and he
had a sixth sense for that kind of thing.

Keeping Rose in his peripheral vision, he approached Brady with an outstretched arm.
Using a firm grip, he shook with the developer. "Insane, isn't it? Damned tree-huggers.
It's a bird deal this time, right?"

Brady nodded.

"Oh, sorry. Name's Reed, Andy Reed. See that pretty little lady with the bullhorn
getting ready to make her way on over here?" He turned, then shook his head. "That
would be one Dr. Rosemarie Piper. Nasty as they come."

Mr. Brady had to yell over the rumble of the crowd. "Listen, boy, I assume you've
come all the way out here to..."

"You've got that right, Mr. Brady, sir. We builders have to stick together. We're
not breaking any laws. If the good people of this country didn't want our services,
we wouldn't be in business, now would we?" He crossed his arms and shifted his weight
between his legs.

"I think it's only fair to let you know Dr. Piper and I have been in our share of
scuffles. Look. There. She's making a plan with her assistant." He let out an exaggerated
shiver.

Brady looked around at the crowd. "Free damned country all right."

"And sometimes that freedom comes back to bite us. I've got a list here of business
owners and developers Dr. Piper there has placed on her hit list and it looks like
you're the new addition. Like I said, nasty. She knows the law, sir. Works around
it. Digs in until she wins. This is just a sample of her followers."

Brady frowned. "Get to the point, boy."

Andy pulled out the first contract he'd drawn up on out-of-date carbonless paper in
triplicate. "This is my offer. It's nearly double what you paid. The rent from the
mall's a gamble. We both know that." The next set of papers was full of graphs and
stats. "These." He placed them in Brady's hand. "These are hundred-year rain reports,
hurricane data. You can get rid of a weather gamble, tree huggers and a swamp, and
make a profit in one swipe of your signature."

Brady scratched the back of his ear as he watched Rose start to make her way over
to him. "Boy, I've got all these equipment operators out here. Your deal's tempting,
no doubt..."

Andy pulled out the second contract he had prepared. He held up his empty hand, palm
forward. "I get it. I get it. Let me add this to the deal so we can pay these fine
men for their time and trouble." He forced back a smile at the look on Brady's face
from the offer. "All you have to do is sign; let me take care of the mob and Queen
Mob on her way over here, sir. You keep your good name in these parts. I'll take the
fall."

He hadn't anticipated the sincere satisfaction from helping the... whatever the hell
animal it was he was helping. He smiled, not only for the developer's handshake, but
for the benefit of Rose who looked sexy as hell as she reached them.

The contract was already in review with Brady's lawyer and the check practically passing
between them. He felt pretty damned smug. Smug until Rose gave him an earful.

"You selfish, money hungry, heartless son of a bitch." Her chin seemed to arrive three
steps before the rest of her. Elbows locked, fists bundled. "You think all these people
are going to just stand by here while you outbid a species into extinction just to
fill your damned pockets?"

He could swear he heard her growl. It was a good thing he knew her like he did, because
she spun around like lightning, aiming her heel right at the side of his head. Her
foot came to a screeching halt in his hand. She nearly lost her balance, panting like
she'd just run a marathon and juggling to stand on one leg.

From behind Rose, he spotted who he figured was her assistant with one hand on the
side of her head and the other outstretched as if she could somehow stop what was
going on from a hundred yards away.