“You tried that threat on me the other day, Mom. It didn’t work then, and it won’t work now. You might want to think back to our conversation.” Ellie reached for her grandfather’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “You and I had a conversation too, Grandpa. We agreed to fight and not give up until we win.”
“But Ellie, what if she—”
Ellie looked her grandfather in the eye. “I don’t care. She can do her worst. All that matters is that we keep the inn in the family.” She lifted her gaze to her mother. “If family is so precious to you, I’d suggest you give this up now.”
“Don’t you dare threaten me with that! The law is on my side.” She took her phone out of her purse and brandished it at Ellie. Her mother didn’t believe she had the spine to stand up to her. She also knew Ellie was bluffing. She’d never do anything to hurt Bri or her father. “Would you like me to prove that to you? I’ll call the police right now and test your theory.” Her mother gave her a smile that wasn’t a smile at all. “It would be too bad if you were unable to attend tomorrow’s big event because you were behind bars, wouldn’t it?”
Nate walked into the room. From the vitriol-filled glance he sent her mother, he’d heard what she’d just said.
He moved to Ellie’s side, sliding his hand beneath her hair to give her neck a gentle squeeze. “Hey, babe. You okay? It sounded like the conversation was getting a little heated in here.”
Her grandfather looked as relieved to see Nate as she was.
Before she could respond to him, her mother snapped, “Who are you?”
Nate placed his left palm on his chest. “I’m wounded you don’t remember me, Mrs. MacLeod. We met last weekend. Nate Black. The love of Ellie’s life.” He winked at Ellie, and Joe chuckled. She could kiss Nate for making him laugh when he’d been close to tears less than a few minutes ago.
“I didn’t recognize you without all the hair.” Her mother waved her hand as if that was neither here nor there. “As you can see, we’re in the middle of a family meeting. A private meeting.” She turned her head and nodded at the door, silently ordering him to leave.
“You really know how to hurt a guy, ma’am.” He dipped his head to look into Ellie’s eyes. She couldn’t read his mind, but she didn’t need to. His eyes held a promise that everything would be all right. “I count as family, don’t I, babe?” he said, then quirked an eyebrow at her grandfather. “Joe?”
“Sure do,” her grandfather said while all Ellie could do was nod. She was afraid that if she tried to speak, all that would come out was a half-hysterical laugh.
“Looks like you’re outvoted, Mrs. MacLeod. But to be honest with you, no way in hell was I leaving after hearing you threaten Ellie.” His lighthearted tone had been replaced by one that sent a chill down Ellie’s spine. But he’d misjudged her mother if he thought she’d be cowed.
“Then perhaps you should suggest to Elliana that she not threaten me, Mr. Black. Or I will have no choice but to call the police.”
“Take a look out the window, ma’am.”
Her mother drew an annoyed breath through her nose before complying with Nate’s request. “And what exactly am I supposed to be looking at, Mr. Black?”
“You see the guy carrying the football? The one all the kids are chasing? That’s Gabe Buchanan, Highland Falls chief of police. But I’ll save you the embarrassment of calling him in here to level your charge against Ellie. It won’t stick, ma’am. If anything, you’ll be charged with making a nuisance call. Possibly a charge of harassment if Ellie and Joe are inclined to press charges. Which I’d advise them to do.”
“You’d advise them?” Her mother laughed. “Please, you know nothing about this.”
Nate slid his warm hand from the back of Ellie’s neck and reached into the pocket of his cargo shorts. “That’s where you’re wrong.” He flipped open his wallet to reveal his badge. “I’m an agent with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.”
Her mother’s gaze jerked from the badge to Nate. “No. You can’t be. You’re a physiotherapist.”
“I might have exaggerated my qualifications to Ellie. In my defense, I was looking for an in with your daughter, and helping out Joe with his therapy was mine.”
Clearly, Nate was an accomplished liar. He hadn’t missed a beat.
“Now, if you’d like to check out my credentials, feel free to call my boss at the NCSBI.” He reeled off a number. “Word of advice, don’t share with him that you plan to bring charges against Ellie. He’d be about as unhappy with you threatening her as I am. And seeing as I’m handing out free legal advice today, here’s another piece for you. Drop this now, tear up the sale agreement that you made illegally with the developer. Because if you don’t, if you harass Ellie and Joe again, I’ll open an investigation into you, your son-in-law, and the developer, and I won’t stop until I find enough to tie the three of you up in court for a very long time.”
The color drained from her mother’s face. She fumbled her phone, nearly dropping it before shoving it into her purse. With her head bent, she spent an inordinate amount of time rearranging the contents of her purse. An attempt, Ellie suspected, to regain her composure. Then, with a decisive snap of the clasp, her mother lifted her chin and turned to leave the room. Before she left, she glanced over her shoulder at Ellie. “Whatever happens next is up to you.”
Chapter Seventeen
Moments after her mother’s dramatic exit, the front door of the inn slammed so hard that the big-screen TV above the mantel shuddered. Ellie blew out the breath she’d been holding and sagged against Nate. “It’s over. It’s really over. And it’s thanks to you.” She hugged him. “You were amazing.”
He smiled and gave her hair a gentle tug. “Let’s hold off on celebrating for now. I don’t think you’ll have to worry about your mother harassing or threatening you and Joe, but I got the information on Richard’s finances that’d I’d been waiting for. He’s in financial trouble, Ellie. He made a couple of investments, two that stayed just this side of legal, and he got burned. If this deal is as big as I think it is, he’ll have a hard time letting it go.”
“Never did like the man. All show, if you know what I mean,” Joe said. Then he beamed at Nate. “But I do like you. Consider yourself an honorary member of this family, son.” Her grandfather got off the couch and slapped Nate on the back. “I’ll go tell Jonathan the good news. I have a feeling this will change his mind about you, and he’ll be all in with you dating my granddaughter.”
Ellie had been all in with dating Nate for a while now, but this totally sealed the deal. At least for her. Nate looked decidedly uncomfortable at the idea of having another matchmaker to contend with.
“Grandpa, I need to talk to you for a minute,” Ellie said.
Her grandfather nodded as if he guessed what she wanted to talk about. He sat down and picked up the video game controller.
Nate glanced from her to Joe. “I’ll give you a minute. Let everyone know you guys are okay and there was no bloodshed. Sadie, Abby, and Mallory were worried about you.”