“Yes.”
“Glad to finally meet you.”
“What’s going on?” Claire asked. “Is something wrong, Carl?”
Sunshine knew why she asked; the man looked displeased. “I’m here to make Sunshine an offer. I’ll pay double what you did for this ranch. In cash. Today.”
Sunshine’s mouth dropped open. “Why?”
“Because I want it. I was supposed to buy it—I don’t know how you got the jump on me.”
“I told my realtor I wanted to make an offer. When I did, it was accepted.” There wasn’t anything underhanded about it, but Carl’s tone suggested he thought there was.
“Well, now I’ve offered you twice as much to sell it to me.”
“You can’t just barge in here and try to take Sunshine’s ranch,” Claire said. “This isn’t California, Carl.”
“Money talks all over, Claire. And I want this ranch. I’ve been trying to buy land around here since I let go of my old place. I keep losing out.”
He was obviously distressed about the situation and Sunshine felt bad for the man, but that didn’t mean she would sell to him…
Or should she?
Once again she thought of the bright, modern restaurant she could buy in Chicago. The hordes of patrons she could feed. The write-ups she might get in the city papers—or even the national ones.
Did she really want to trade all that for a ranch—in Chance Creek where women like Fran held sway?
“Double the money,” Carl said again. “If you sign it over today.”
“Carl, that’s crazy,” Claire said.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Sunshine said, although the thought of turning down all that money made her a little dizzy. She consoled herself that the man had to be joking. No one would pay double for her little ranch.
“Of course you can’t; this is your new home,” Autumn said.
“Are you sure?” A muscle worked in Carl’s jaw. “Don’t you want to even think about it? I’m good for the cash; either of these women can vouch for me.”
Autumn and Claire, both looking unhappy, nodded. “It’s true; Carl can afford it,” Claire said. “But he should wait and find a ranch of his own.”
“I think you should take some time to think it over,” Carl said to Sunshine. “What do you say?”
She couldn’t help but nod. “Okay—I’ll think about it. Just for a day or two.”
Carl pulled out his wallet and handed her a card, the look of satisfaction on his face telling her he thought he’d won. “Take your time—within reason, of course.”
“She doesn’t want to sell the ranch,” Autumn told him.
“She might,” Claire said slowly. “Sunshine wants a restaurant.”
“I’ll help find you one,” Carl told her. “Call me, day or night.” He left as suddenly as he’d arrived.
Autumn shut the door behind him. “He’s had a bad string of luck with property,” she explained. “Ethan told me he’s lost out on a couple of places, and Carl’s not accustomed to losing when it comes to money.”
“That’s a hell of a deal he offered you,” Claire said. “You might want to take it. There’ll be other ranches, sooner or later.”
“Don’t do it,” Autumn said. “They don’t come up that often and most of them are a lot bigger, and a lot more expensive. This place isn’t big enough for Carl, anyway; he’s just getting desperate. He’d sell it again the minute he found another one.”
“I don’t remember seeing him before.” Sunshine walked back into the kitchen to survey it again. After Carl’s offer it looked even more woebegone. Was she crazy not to take him up on the deal? Maybe the place wasn’t right for them after all.
“He arrived in town right after you and Cole left. Stole Ethan’s fiancée away from him, thank goodness,” Autumn said. “Then he lost her.”
“That’s the man who stole Lacey? Wow.” She wondered why Lacey had left him. From everything she’d heard about the woman, Lacey liked the finer things in life.
“Should we start making lists of things to do?” Autumn asked her.
Claire checked the time. “I have to go pick up Lynn.”
“And I should probably think about it overnight,” Sunshine added.
“Don’t do anything rash,” Autumn said.
Too late, Sunshine thought.
“Did you have a good time with Claire?” Cole asked late that night when they were heading to bed. Sunshine had been quiet all evening, which worried him. Down the hall, baby Lynn was crying. A small, dark-haired sprite, she’d been tearful on and off since late in the afternoon, which had made everyone a little tense. He was ready for bed, but first he wanted to make sure Sunshine was all right. He’d come home to find her and Claire sitting at the kitchen table having a heated discussion. There was a piece of paper between them with two columns on it. He’d only gotten the chance to read the headings—pros and cons—before Sunshine snatched it off the table and crumpled it up. When he’d tried to find out what they were up to, they’d refused to answer his questions. The whole incident left him uneasy.
“I did.” She turned down the covers of the bed, rummaged through her suitcase and gathered her toiletries. Lynn’s wails hit a high note, subsided for a moment, and started again. “Poor little girl. She sounds over-tired.”
“She sure does.” Cole stood a moment in front of one of the tall windows. It was dark outside, but the contours of the land were visible in the starlight. “Can’t beat the view from here.” Pasture spread out as far as the eye could see. In the distance were mountains—dark shapes against an inky sky. “Nothing says home like this.”
Sunshine sighed and Cole frowned. Didn’t she feel the same way? Something had been off about her for the last couple of weeks. Cole didn’t know what it was, but after his conversation with Ethan yesterday he was beginning to worry she didn’t want to settle in Chance Creek after all. Suddenly he needed to know. Instinct told him this wasn’t the time—not with Lynn’s wails building up into a crescendo—but he couldn’t help himself.
“This is home, isn’t it?” he asked, watching Sunshine carefully for her reaction to the question.
She just shrugged and kept looking through her suitcase.
“I had assumed we were in agreement about that.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the window frame.
Sunshine stood up. “You know what they say about assumptions.” Her tone was teasing, but Cole’s frown deepened. What did that mean? Was she saying she didn’t want to live here?
As Lynn’s cries turned into high pitched screams, Sunshine headed toward the bathroom. Were Claire and Jamie torturing that baby? Probably just changing a diaper or something, he decided. He felt bad for them; they had more company coming in the morning and they needed a good night’s sleep.
“Are you saying you want to live in Chicago?” God, he hoped not. He’d do a lot for Sunshine, but he didn’t think he could endure that.