Cheryl Harper - Her Unexpected Hero

At some point, the name Callaway better stop showering her with cold anxiety and then hot rage, but Winter wasn’t there yet. She had no real interest in talking to any Callaway.

Janet leaned forward. “Caleb Callaway. He’s hoping to rent a place close to the reserve. Got some business here in town for about six months. Guessing construction of that lodge is about to start.” She winked. “His money’s the same color as everyone else’s, so I figure, why not? The man did put a stop to destroying The Aerie, something this town was firmly behind.”

She waited for Winter to argue.

The town of Sweetwater had initially squared off against her brother, the only man determined to save The Aerie, a rare habitat in the reserve, from development because the town needed the business the lodge would bring in. Ash had been Sweetwater’s Most Wanted for a minute.

And that had been Winter’s fault, even though she knew Ash would agree she’d done what she needed to do if he ever found out. Slipping the governor a way to take down the Callaways in order to protect the reserve? Less noble.

The Kingfisher way was to stand up bravely to do the right thing. Her attempt to save her engagement by sneaking around? That had been a mistake. If anyone ever found out she’d been the anonymous source, instead of Caleb Callaway, Ash would forgive her. But Sweetwater would take longer to forgive and forget.

Caleb had taken the credit and the heat for pulling in the governor.

At her request.

He’d taken the heat for her.

Of all the Callaways, he was the one she was least prepared to face at that second.

When he paused in the open doorway, his jeans and rough denim coat a far cry from his brother’s polished loafers and wool sweaters, a hard knot formed in her stomach.

He hadn’t expected to find her standing there, but the serious expression on his face was fair warning that their business was not finished.

She’d begged him to confess to leaking the environmental-impact report to the governor’s office and take the heat off Ash. Telling the truth, that she’d been the one to sneak the report in during a random visit to the education coordinator at the capitol, would have done nothing to save Ash’s job.

Caleb Callaway, the family playboy who’d built a reputation for solid building practices and being at odds with his brother, had been the only answer at that time. When she’d evaluated her options to save Ash’s job and The Aerie, Caleb Callaway’s intercession had been her only choice.

She’d done what she had to do to get the Callaway playboy to show up for the board meeting and throw his support behind Ash. He’d done it. He’d confessed to leaking the report. Caleb had helped her, going beyond her request to make certain Ash kept his job, had gotten Ash’s idea for the new lodge heard and had gained a seat on the Callaway board of directors.

Caleb had given her more than she’d expected, including a promise not to tell anyone about it.

Guilt triggered a small panic attic as tingling heat spread up the back of her neck. He was here in Sweetwater as a result of helping her. She just knew it. From the expression on his face, he wasn’t pleased about it, either.

What would he ask for in return?

CHAPTER FOUR

AFTER A WEEKEND spent scrambling to get the plans in place to start the lodge on his stepfather’s accelerated timeline and move his crew to the reserve, Caleb was rushed, frustrated and annoyed that he hadn’t skipped dinner on Friday night. This time frame set by Senior was ridiculous. The only way to make it work would be to spend nearly every minute at Otter Lake. He’d end up swinging a hammer himself.

Then he remembered his mother’s confused frown and determined smile.

Senior was worried. Even Whit had been subdued. The family dynamic had changed. People were depending on him.

He could do this, even if he’d rather not be stuck in Sweetwater. Proving that and meeting Senior’s deadline would go a long way to smoothing over family tensions. It was worth the sacrifice.

Thanks to an unexpected phone call from Mitch Yarborough, who was ready for a builder’s signature on the dotted line in order to get his Nashville subdivision underway, Caleb was thirty minutes late meeting Janet Abernathy, Sweetwater’s charming kingpin of rental properties. He was also completely unprepared to run into Winter Kingfisher then. As soon as he’d entered the cute, cluttered tourist trap of Sweetwater Souvenir, he could hear the murmur of womens’ voices, but when he’d paused in the open doorway to the other side of the shop, he’d slammed on the brakes.

Retreat was not a good option, and then her eyes met his. He couldn’t have turned his back to save his life. Why did she seem scared when he was the one having trouble catching his breath?

“Here’s a Callaway I’m prepared to welcome to town.” The woman marching toward him crackled with energy, even if her voice had pieces of slow Southernness to it. “I’m Janet Abernathy. We’ve spoken on the phone, but I don’t remember meeting in person. You don’t get to town often, as I understand it.” She smiled slowly as she offered him her hand. “I count that a real shame. We’re gonna fix it, though.”

Charmed and caught off guard at a warm welcome, Caleb relaxed a fraction as he shook her hand. “Right. Sorry I’m late. I had a...thing.” He shrugged. No one cared that he was scrambling to make sure the projects he had in the works stayed on track or that Missy Yarborough had had a restrained yet intense fit when he’d told her he’d be living in Sweetwater until he could get the project up and running.

In fact, he’d be surprised if anyone in the room actually wanted to greet a Callaway at all that morning.

Besides that, Callaways didn’t make excuses and avoided apologies when they could.

Ever since the Kingfishers had routed his brother and father so soundly, he had the feeling Callaways were no longer greeted as wealthy benefactors in Sweetwater. Before his previous quick trip to town, how many years had it been since he’d visited? Five years? Was that how long it had been since he’d fished Otter Lake?

“Sure. You had a thing. It happens. We busy corporate moguls have to schedule full days.” Janet tapped his arm. “Let’s get you out on the road. This first place I have to show you...” She held up her hands and gestured as if she was pushing open the curtains on a grand vista. “You won’t need to waste a bit of your time with any others.”

Caleb ran a hand down his nape and wondered if Winter would say something. Anything at all would be good.

Then he realized how little her opinion should matter. She was a part of his mission here in Sweetwater. As long as she wasn’t organizing press briefings or rallying the town against him or his family, his job was going to be easy.

“I’m surprised you have it available to rent, then. Because it’s the slow season?” Caleb asked as Janet waved her hands.

“No, it’s not a renter, it’s a buyer, but for you, I’m going to make an exception.” She nodded around the room as if everyone had asked a question. “Regina and I bought it because we wanted to try our hands at a vacation rental.” She pursed her lips. “Well, that’s not entirely true. I wanted to decorate something other than my own living room, but then we decided to hold it instead of reselling it. We weren’t sure why then, but smart businesspeople follow their hunches.” She clapped. “And it’s all working out.”

Caleb raised his eyebrows at Winter. She was a hometown girl, had probably known Janet Abernathy her whole life. Surely she could follow the conversation better than he was managing. She shook her head, but her lips curved as if there was a smile waiting.