The Sticky Cowgirl (Lone Star Sweets, Book 2) (6 page)

But he lifted his head before she could do more than lick the taste of him from her lips. He set her away from him and for once, she could read the disappointment, the emotion in his eyes.

It sucked.

“Samuel…”

He shook his head. “Don’t. It was a long shot. I knew that, but I had to try. The legal department will move ahead with eminent domain starting next week.” His voice was devoid of the emotion so evident in his eyes. He was back to being all business and it hurt.

Samantha wanted to plead with him, beg him to reconsider, beg him to let her reconsider. He wasn’t the only one torn between what was right and what wasn’t. At this point, she wasn’t sure which was which. But, she didn’t say anything. He waited, as though expecting her to, and she should have. Instead, she let him walk away.

She didn’t watch him go. She just dug in the loose gravel and dirt with the toe of her boot. “Shit,” she whispered.

She took a step forward, headed back toward the bakery door and stopped short when she saw Cass standing there, one eyebrow raised in question. Samantha growled. “Not a word about what you saw or what you think you saw.”

Cass nodded. “Sure thing, but if you —”

“I don’t. I just need to work.”

Chapter Six

Jock Dawson kissed his daughter’s cheek as he greeted her at the door. “I expected to see you a couple weeks ago, Sammy girl.”

“I know Daddy. I’d come up with an idea to try and help my store, but it didn’t pan out the way I’d hoped.”

“I see. Tell me ’bout what’s going on and maybe I can help.”

“Turner Enterprises is what’s going on.” Samantha plopped down on the couch. “Have you ever heard of them? One of their higher ups is trying to buy the shop. The location.”

She glanced around the room. It was the same as it always was. Rich browns, leather and wood, the large stone fireplace in the middle of the front wall. She’d grown up in this house, spent many nights on this same couch watching television, playing games, even sneaking in a make-out session here and there when her family was gone.

Being there now made her feel safe and not so alone, fighting the big, bad world outside the door.

“Not the actual business then?” her father asked. He took a seat in his chair. A black leather recliner. Top of the line at the time her parents had bought it. No one else ever sat in it. No one else was allowed.

“No. They don’t care about my sticky buns. They just want my building.”

Jock nodded. “I see. So, why are you fighting it?”

She stared at her father in disbelief. “C’mon Daddy, you know why. You know what that place means to me. The memories I have there.”

“Oh baby girl, that place you knew is gone. The memories you have are in your head, not in the building.”

“I got that. I’m old, but I’m not dense, no matter what your mama used to say.

“But they’re going to tear it down, along with the others on my block. It’s history. They’re going to put up something cold and concrete and impersonal.”

“You know this for a fact? All the paper said is they’re putting up some sort of multipurpose building with parking and offices and living areas. Didn’t say anything about concrete and such. Didn’t say anything about tearing your building down. Figured they were going to maybe build around yours and the others on the block. Thought they were some kind of historic or somethin’.”

“Thought you wanted to help me?” Arms crossed over her chest, Samantha pouted. She still hadn’t gotten over her… What the hell was she supposed to call what happened between her and Samuel? A fight? A lover’s spat? What were they? Were they only adversaries? The sparks between them suggested otherwise, but what did she know?

“I am tryin’ to help you, darlin’, but you’re not helpin’ yourself.”

That confused her a bit. “How do you mean?”

“Stubborn. Headstrong. That’s what you’ve always been. Your mama said you would be before you were even born. You kicked the second you had feet to do so. Always moving. Always rarin’ to go. Being attached to that building for sentiment isn’t going to keep them from takin’ it from you. It’s the memories you cling to, the times before your mama passed that you want.”

“So, you think I’m running away?”

“No, I think you’re tryin’ to keep hold of somethin’ that’s only in your head anymore.”

“Maybe I just like tradition and all.”

“If that was it, Sammy girl, you’d have stayed on the ranch.”

Was her father right? Was she looking for something that was gone? Trying to hold on to something that had long since passed? “I don’t think I’m living in the past, Daddy.”

“You’re not, but you seem to think the only way to keep something alive or close to you is to reside where it did, do what you’ve always done.”

Samantha eyed him suspiciously. “You’ve never been a proponent of change or trying new things or branching out. What’s changed? Is something wrong?”

“Nothin’s wrong and nothin’s changed.” He shrugged. “I’m just telling you that sometimes you have to follow your own path, even if that path isn’t what you first thought it was.”

“That’s all I’m trying to do, Daddy.”

Jock sighed. “Is it?”

“Yes,” she answered quickly.

“Uh huh. Is there somethin’ else going on that’s makin’ you dig your heels in? Other than how much you love that building?”

She refused to squirm under the unblinking gaze of her father. She never could lie to him or keep things from him. He always had a way of knowing when she tried. But this time? She had to keep some things to herself. “Of course not. I just think we have enough new buildings downtown. We need to be preserving the old ones, the ones with character and charm and a story all their own.”

“There are plenty of old ones being taken care of. I’ve read about them too.”

“Not enough,” she insisted.

“Have you talked to any of these people? The one’s who work for that company?”

“Yes. One of the executives comes to talk to me and offer me money every few days.”

“How much money?”

“Daddy, it’s not about the money.”

“It’s always about the money, darlin’.”

“If it were, I’d have taken them up on their offer. I could buy two locations with what they're offering me, but my business is still so young. I’ve been lucky to have built a customer base where I am and if it weren’t for this, I’d probably be making a little money finally, but with all the other businesses having already sold to Turner, some of my foot traffic has slowed.”

It was the first time she’d admitted it, even to herself that she’d seen a drop in the bottom line. Her father was right. It was always about the money, but even if she never turned a profit, even if all she ever did was barely break even, she still wouldn’t give up her building without a fight. She still wouldn’t choose to do any other business.

“If I have to move locations, I’ll have to start all over again.”

“You did it once.”

“I was lucky once. No guarantee I would be lucky a second time. And what about my current customers? Most of them stop in on their way to work. It’s why I’m only open until noon.”

“Why didn’t you tell me money was so tight?”

“Daddy, I’m a new business. A small, food business. Of course money is tight. It’s always tight”

“I see.”

Samantha gave a tender smile. “That’s your favorite saying, isn’t it? You’ve said it three times since I sat down.”

“I do see. I often see things others don’t. I’m a business man too. I might not have started this ranch, but I have kept it running and profitable for years now. I didn’t do it by bein’ run over or lettin’ myself be railroaded into somethin’ I didn’t believe in, but there are times, darlin’, when you have to compromise, when you have to know you’re beat. Business is a gamble. When you lose in one respect, you often win in other ones.”

“That turns my stomach. What do I do, Daddy? How do I keep from being beat?”

“You follow your gut. That’s the one thing you always have to do, the one thing you never compromise on. Your gut. That may be construed as stubborn and you have to be willing to suffer the consequences of being stubborn. Your brother, if I understand it right, wanted a store like you have, but had to make another choice because of money.”

What was he getting at? “No thanks to you, Daddy, but yeah. So?”

“You’re not too old to put over my knee, young lady. You’re right though. I didn’t help your brother and he followed his gut, but he also had to make some compromises in order to do what he wanted to do.”

“How does that help me? My boot heels are dug in so deep that I’m more likely to find oil than to get out of this mess with my dignity and my business intact.”

“That should tell you something, Sammy girl. Have you considered asking this Samuel if you could see the plans for the new space? If it’ll have businesses in it the way the paper said, maybe you could be one of the businesses. Work out a deal for one of the prime spots.”

She had thought about it, but every time she did, she immediately rejected the idea. She wanted her space. She didn’t want something new and pristine. She wanted the history and character of her current building. “I can’t be closed that long. I’ll lose whatever ground I’ve gained.”

“You said what they’re offering is enough that you could open two locations. I’d help out too. You could open a new place until their building is done.”

“I don’t want to be part of their building.”

“Not even if it meant you could stay where you’re at? The building would be different, but the location would be the same. Is it the four walls or the address you’re wantin’? Seems you want both, but darlin’, I’m just tryin’ to get you to think a little differently.”

“It sounds like you’re trying to get me to compromise which would go against standing up for what I believe in. Which one am I supposed to do? And why’re you acting so weird?”

“Weird? I’m doin’ no such thing.”

“It’s like before, you were being… I don’t know… Progressive in your advice and thinking. I expected you to be gruff and full of fight for me. Ready to throw a couple of shells in the shotgun and ride into town like the old days.”

“This ain’t been the Old West in a long time, but I am full of fight for you and I am always on your side. I promise, we’ll figure this out. You have to do some of the work too, though. I can’t give you the answers. You have some choices to make.”

“What would Mama have said?” she asked, wishing with every bone in her body that her mother was there, sitting beside her on the couch, holding her hand and telling her everything would be all right.

But then thoughts of Samuel crept in. She wanted him and she wanted her bakery. There were no two ways about it and he was the wild card in the whole mess. At least he was her wild card. To have him would she have to give up her fight? If she gave up her fight, would she lose a part of herself?

She studied her father for a couple of minutes. He’d aged since she moved out, but he was still the same man, maybe even a little softer around the edges than he had been since her mother had died. He’d given up his dreams for her mother and never regretted it. And she wouldn’t exactly be giving up anything. Well, aside from the things she’d been fighting for all along. Operating her business where she wanted. “This is about you and Jacks, isn’t it? Y’all have changed. Both of you.”

“Could be I had to learn a few things if I wanted my son back and he had to learn some things too. We couldn’t go on like that.”

“I just never thought I’d see it.”

“Your brother and you, Sammy girl, are more important than anything else. Don’t you ever forget that. I was similar to you, or at least your way of thinking, so you get it honestly. But what you have to remember is that it’s about the people, not the place or the buildings. I’m attached to this land because I’ve been working it all my life and built a life with your mother here. I had to keep things the same after she passed or I was afraid I’d be betraying that life we spent together. But all I was betraying by sticking to my ways, was the love she felt for all of us. I’m a sentimental old man, but don’t you go tellin’ anyone, you hear me? I’ll deny every word of it.”