Forces of Nature (12 page)

“I doubt it,” she replied. “I bet you wouldn't have given me a second look in high school and you probably would've pulled my hair in elementary school.”

Douglas set the ingredients for the omelets on the island and gazed at Crystal. “You're probably right. But you know why little boys do those things, right?”

“Because they're little jerks?”

“That's how we show that we like a girl. That and this,” he said, quickly crossing over to her and taking Crystal in his arms. He kissed her fast, hard, and deep. The chorus of moans that escaped her throat were like a melody to Douglas's ears. He started to untie the sash on her robe when there was a knock at the back door.

“Damn,” he said as they broke their kiss. “Is it always busy like this over here?”

Crystal ran the tip of her tongue across her swollen bottom lip. “I have things that I normally do on Sundays,” she said as she crossed over to the door. It was MJ and Renda standing on the back porch with their gardening tools. Sunday was the day Crystal and the girls worked in the flower garden.

She opened the door and stepped outside. “Hi, girls,” she said.

“Miss Crystal,” MJ said. “Are you all right?”

“I'm fine, I just had a long night.”

Renda folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head to the side. “That man is in there, isn't he?”

“Renda,” MJ said, slapping her sister on the shoulder. “That's none of our business.” She turned to Crystal. “You like him, don't you?”

“I . . . uh . . . am just trying to work with him to save this farm and Starlight House,” Crystal replied.

“Like Halle Berry in that James Bond movie,” MJ said with a gleam in her eyes. “Is it working?”

“Why don't you two join us for brunch?” Crystal suggested.

“Or,” Renda said, “you can bring him to the rose garden after you eat and we can bash him in the head with a rock and then get . . .”

“What did you two watch last night?” Crystal asked with a laugh.

Renda and MJ looked at each other. “There was a James Bond marathon on,” MJ said.

“You two do know that things like that only work in those over the top movies, right?”

Renda shrugged. “Then what are you doing? Isn't this some Lifetime Movie Network movie plot?”

“No,” Crystal said, growing tired of hearing that analogy about having Douglas at the farm. “Listen, I'm going to do whatever I have to do—aside from pretending I'm a Bond girl—to save this farm and your home.”

“We believe you, but some of the others are scared,” Renda said.

Crystal nodded and hugged both of the girls. “Everything is going to work out, I promise,” she said, hoping that she would be able to keep her word.

“We're going to go, but if you do bring Mr. Wellington to the garden, we won't knock him out.”

“That's good to know,” Crystal replied with a laugh. As Renda and MJ headed for the rose garden, Crystal was left to wonder if she was doing the right thing by those girls or if she was setting them up for failure by not listening to Dena and tackling this problem in a more professional manner.

Slowly, she returned to the kitchen and was surprised to see that Douglas had finished preparing their brunch. On the island there were perfectly folded tomato and spinach omelets, cheese toast points, potatoes, peppers, and cheese, and warm biscuits smothered in peach preserves.

“This is a lot of food,” Crystal said.

“I thought we were going to have guests. You and those girls are close and if they wanted to join us, I wanted to make sure there was enough food to share,” he said as he picked up a piece of potato and held it out to Crystal to sample. Watching her as she closed her mouth around the fork, he smiled, thinking about those lips around his erection and how good it felt.

“Not bad,” she said. “Not bad at all.”

“Thank you,” he replied. “I told you that there's more to me than my millions.”

Crystal took another potato slice and popped it in her mouth. “Is that so?”

“Yes,” he said as he placed an omelet on a plate and some potatoes. “Do you need more convincing?”

She took a big bite of her breakfast and smiled. “Why don't you prove me wrong and tell me that you're not going to come after my farm. Otherwise, you're still everything I thought you were.”

Douglas clutched his chest as if he was having a heart attack like Fred Sanford. “You know, business is business, but I'd like to think that we're getting to know each other on a different level.”

“But we're still at an impasse,” Crystal said, pushing her plate away. No matter how good the food was, she couldn't pretend that the gorilla in the room had moved an inch.

“Crystal, I'm not going to make promises to abandon this deal, but I can look at some things and see if there is a way we can coexist on this property,” he said as he spooned grits onto his omelet.

“That's not a viable option,” she said. “This land is important, not just to me and my family, but—”

“I know the story,” he said. “You've been beating me over the head with it, but there has to be some sort of compromise.”

“Yeah,” she said. “The only compromise that I can live with is you finding another place to build this business park.”

Douglas stepped closer to Crystal, feeling the heat of her breath as he stood in front of her. “Business is business, Crystal. This land is the perfect location for this business park.”

“As you've said more than a million times, but what about what this land does now, gives a home to girls no one else cares about, provides food for the hungry and the throwaway people in this county that Welco—”

“Wants to provide jobs for. You and I want to do the same things.”

“No, we don't,” she snapped. “You want to make money and I want to make a difference. It's not the same thing.”

Douglas paused, taking a fork full of food into his mouth. She wasn't totally wrong—the business park was not a charity. Yes, he wanted to make money, but what businessman didn't? Why should he continue to apologize for that? As soon as he found the file, he'd find out why this land was so important to his dad.

“You know what?” he said. “Enjoy your food. I have some work I need to take care of.”

Crystal threw her food in the trash can and stormed down the hall, slamming into the bathroom and ignoring the sounds of Douglas dressing in her bedroom.

By the time Douglas had dressed and left Crystal's house, he realized that the person who could give him answers had been stonewalling him and if he wanted the truth, he was going to have to contact an unlikely source—Crystal's attorney, Dena. There was something about the way she spat out Waylon's name that spoke of an untold history that was more than business.

Pulling the legal forms from his jeans pocket, he typed Dena's office address into his cell phone. Then he headed to the cottage to take a shower. He hoped that he would be able to find Dena, however since she'd already delivered an injunction on a Sunday, and he figured she wouldn't still be in her office. But he'd try there first anyway.

What is it about this farm that drives everybody crazy?
he thought as he hopped into the shower. In his case, he knew what at Hughes Farm was driving him insane and she was across the way in the big house probably plotting with her lawyer to stop Welco.

As much as he hated to admit it, the short time that he'd spent at the farm showed him that the place was special and had an impact on the community. Where would those girls go without Hughes Farm? Why hadn't his dad taken this into consideration before he decided that he had to have this farm for his business park?

Following his shower, Douglas dressed in a pair of khakis and a stripped oxford shirt. As he slipped on his leather loafers, there was a knock at the door.

“What a surprise,” he said when he opened the door to Crystal standing on the front steps.

“I guess you're on your way out,” she said as she gave him a cool once-over.

“I have some work to do. What's up?”

“Renda and MJ wanted to show you the rose garden,” she said. “But if you're working today, you can see it later.”

“I have to go into town, but I'll be back,” he said. “And I'd love to see the garden.”

“I'm sorry about earlier,” Crystal said quietly. “I know what you were saying about business and whatnot. I don't like it, but I know you're trying to do your job. Even though you're the boss and I'm sure you could change things if you wanted to.”

“If I didn't have a board, maybe. But this is bigger than me saying yes or no.”

Crystal held her hand up to stop him from going further. “I don't want to argue with you and that's where this conversation is headed. So,” she said, “I'll just see you when you get back.”

Douglas closed the space between him and Crystal, fighting the overwhelming urge he had to kiss her. “I will do that and maybe we can share dinner without fighting.”

“Maybe,” she said. “I have dinner with the Starlight girls on Sundays because the girls get dressed up and practice fine-dining skills.”

“Then join me for dessert.”

Crystal folded her arms and started to say no, but as she stared into his eyes and felt a familiar feeling of yearning, she agreed. “Will this be another one of your homemade dishes?”

“No. But you will enjoy it anyway. A chocolate cake from Main Street Café,” he said.

“Sounds good. I'll make coffee and we can talk about anything but Welco's land grab,” she said.

“Agreed, but we still have to see each other in court on Monday.”

“Then we will deal with it on Monday,” she said as she turned toward the steps.

“Wait,” he said, reaching out and touching her shoulder. Crystal turned around and speared him with a meaningful gaze. He touched her chin, lifting her mouth to his. In one swift motion, he captured her mouth in a soul-numbing kiss that she couldn't resist if she wanted to. As his tongue danced with hers, Crystal wanted to forget that he wasn't the man of her dreams, wasn't simply her lover and that Dena said she needed to avoid being personal with him. She wanted to forget that he was the CEO of the corporation that wanted what her family had worked so hard for, and that she'd shared the best night of her life with him. Wanted to forget that his kiss was addictive and left her wanting more and more. His hands, stroking her back, made her feel like pure gold. But this had to stop. She pulled back from him. “What was that for?” she asked breathlessly.

“Because you're simply irresistible,” he said. “And, I figured if I didn't kiss you now, I might not get the chance later.”

“You're bringing me chocolate cake, you just may get that chance again,” she said with a smile on her kiss-swollen lips.

Douglas pulled her against his chest and brushed a stray strand of hair from her forehead. Her heartbeat sped up as his fingers brushed across her skin. “You know I'm going to bring you chocolate every day now.”

“Really?” she quipped. “And when that chocolate sticks to my hips, will you still be coming around?”

“I'm not that shallow, and the only thing that's going to stick to those hips is going to be me,” he replied boldly.

With another quick kiss, Douglas and Crystal said good-bye. As he drove into town, all Douglas could think about was dessert with Crystal when he should've been focused on his impromptu meeting with Dena. Something told him that she wasn't going to be easily charmed.

The first thing Crystal did when she returned to her house was call her mother.

“Hello,” Joel said when he answered the phone.

Crystal smiled at the sound of her father's voice. “Hi, Daddy,” she said.

“Baby girl,” he replied. “How are you doing?”

“I'm all right,” she said. “Where's Mommy?”

“She's down on the beach. What's going on with Welco coming after the farm again?”

Crystal sighed. “Daddy, I'm going to handle this.”

“Crystal, I trust that you will and I'm going to hope that you listen to Dena in dealing with this. You have this idyllic view of life and you think other people share your view, but the Wellington family is not to be trusted.”

“Why?”

“Because they've been after our land for a long time and I feel Douglas Wellington's dead hand in this.”

“You don't think his son could be different?” Crystal asked, hoping that she wasn't making a mistake getting emotionally involved with Douglas.

“No. I think he's just as slimy as his father and you need to steer clear of him.”

Too late for that,
she thought. “Dad, why do they want this land so badly?”

“Spite.”

“Care to elaborate?”

Joel sighed and said, “All you need to know is that you should stay far away from Wellington and Welco. This is an old fight that I thought ended when the old man died. Your mother and I will be in court tomorrow to make sure they don't win. That little boy sounds like a carbon copy of his father; he wants what he wants and doesn't give a damn about who he has to roll over to get it.”

Crystal wanted to tell her dad that Douglas wasn't anything like that—that he was sweet and caring.

“Daddy,” she said. “Be straight with me.”

“This is something that has nothing to do with you other than the fact that your last name is Hughes.”

“Don't you think I need to know what's going on? Especially since I have to deal with Douglas Wellington in court soon?”

“Your mother and I will be in town for the first hearing,” he said. “Then, we'll explain everything.”

Crystal sighed and then told her father good-bye. Suddenly, having dessert with Douglas wasn't looking so appetizing.

 

 

Douglas wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing by showing up at Dena's house. He'd driven to her office and she hadn't been there. He needed to talk to her and he wasn't taking no for an answer. Hopefully, she wouldn't call the cops. He parked his truck on the street in front of her ranch style home and slowly walked to the front door, which was open. Dena was sitting on the sofa typing away on her laptop. Douglas knocked on the screen door, causing her head to snap up.

Dena set the laptop on the wooden coffee table in front of her and walked to the door with a scowl on her face. “What are you doing here, Mr. Wellington?” she all but hissed.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Hopkins. I'd like to talk to you,” he said.

“We shouldn't have any contact unless your attorney is present.”

“This isn't about the case,” he said.

“Then we have nothing to discuss, so kindly get off my porch,” she said in a sarcastically sweet tone.

Douglas smiled at her and folded his arms across his chest. “I'm not leaving until you tell me the history between you and my godfather, Waylon Terrell, and why my father wanted Hughes Farm so badly.”

Dena huffed at the mention of Waylon's name and folded her arms. “If you want that information then I suggest you go and talk to Waylon. Or are you certain that he's not going to tell you the truth?”

“Why wouldn't he?”

Dena leaned forward and glared at him. “Waylon Terrell wouldn't know the truth if it bit him on the end of his nose. Tell me something—what game are you trying to run on Crystal? See, she's idealistic and believes the yarn about Hughes Farm that her family has spun over the years. But I, like your father, know the value of that land. I told my friends Joel and Erin that I wouldn't let corporate scum like your father take over that land and I mean it. You're not going to play Crystal.”

“What I'm doing is a business deal. It's not personal—for me—but it seems to be for you.”

“Little boy,” Dena said, “I know this game you're running. What did Waylon call it?
Heart and Mine
, capture her heart and then everything else is mine. Why don't you run along and ask your godfather about that. Now, leave. I'll see you in court.”

She slammed the door in his face with such force that the glass rattled. “Damn,” Douglas muttered, then turned and headed back to his truck. As he climbed in and sat behind the wheel, he pulled out his cell phone and called Waylon.

“Trey, what's going on?”

“We need to talk. Can you meet me at the Main Street Café?”

“When?”

“Now.”

“What's going on?”

“I'll wait for you,” he said, then disconnected the call. Douglas couldn't help but wonder what the deal was between Waylon and Dena.

When he arrived at the café, which was nearly empty, the first thing Douglas did was order the cake that he and Crystal would share and a large latte with an extra shot of espresso.

“You need some extra energy today, huh, Mr. Wellington?” the barista asked as she handed him the drink.

“Something tells me that this is going to be a long evening,” he said as he took the cup and handed her a five-dollar tip. Then he found a seat at a table near the door and waited for Waylon. When his godfather finally arrived, Douglas was filled with questions and doubt.

“Trey,” Waylon said as he sat across from him, “why did you feel the need to drag me away from the Golf Channel?”

“What happened between you and Dena Hopkins?”

Waylon leaned back in his chair and chuckled. “She's representing Hughes Farm, isn't she?”

Douglas nodded.

“Is she still fine?”

Douglas shrugged. “It's hard to tell because every time she sees me, she's scowling, frowning, or looking like she wants to slap the hell out of me. And when I bring up your name, it's even worse.”

“You have kicked a hornet's nest with this,” Waylon said. “And I was hoping you'd never have to get involved in all of this.”

“So, that's why you took the file?”

“This is the second time you've accused me of stealing. One more time and I'm going to treat you like I've never changed your diaper,” he replied forcefully.

Douglas threw his hands up. “No disrespect, but the file isn't the only thing that's miss—”

Waylon cut him off. “Your father and Crystal's mother dated for a little while. I met Dena through them. We were young, bored, and a little reckless. Your father fell hard for Erin Hamilton. But one day, she met Joel Hughes and started working on the farm with him. They fell in love and that was the end of Erin and Doug. He never really got over losing her to that “farm boy.” Then he met your mother. I thought that was the end of his obsession with Erin.”

“It wasn't?”

“You know what happened with your parents.”

Douglas sighed and nodded.

Waylon had witnessed Doug's parents' tumultuous marriage with both sides having affairs and doing other scandalous things for money. What they failed to do was take care of their son. Douglas spent more time with Waylon and various nannies than he did with his parents. His father had always been working, building Welco from the bottom up, and Evelyn wasn't happy about the fact that her husband didn't have time to be with her. He'd stopped being the fun man she'd married once they returned to his hometown. She'd never known why, but Waylon knew. He pondered what to tell his godson as he'd sat there staring at him.

“Trey, this was all about a woman. Listen, you and I both know Doug didn't like to lose and when he wanted something or someone, nothing could stop him.”

“Then why did he marry my mother?” Douglas felt like a child, as if he was finding out that Superman wasn't real and Santa was just a big fat lie.

“Part of his plan. He wanted Erin to see the life she could've had. To his dismayed surprise, she was already happy with the life she had.”

“So, he wanted to take over the farm to punish her?”

“Her and her new husband,” Waylon said. “But you've put this in motion and one thing was right about your father's plan. That farm is prime land for development.”