Navy SEAL Protector by Bonnie Vanak

Author:Bonnie Vanak [Vanak, Bonnie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Romantic Suspense
Published: 2017-09-15T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Timmy’s birthday party became the celebration everyone sorely needed. As Timmy played video games with Mason and Miles in the basement recreational room, Shelby sat at the nearby table with Dan, Felicity, Jake and Nick. Jake’s girlfriend, Lynn, wasn’t there. Jake hadn’t said much, only that they decided to start seeing other people. He said this with his usual self-deprecating shrug, as if it hadn’t mattered. Nick understood.

Jake was the cousin he liked the most. In a way, he and Jake had a lot in common. They were experts at hiding their emotions.

Nick watched Shelby keeping a motherly eye on Timmy. Certainly the attraction between them still held—in fact, it was even more powerful. But Shelby kept him at a distance. He understood. Nick could sell the ranch, pack his bag and leave, whistling as he rode off, never looking back. Like before.

He had to convince her that he would do all in his power to save the ranch. Nick sensed Shelby was the glue holding Belle Creek together.

“We need to find a new source of income.” Dan sipped his beer. “I’ve been thinking if we decorated the barn with hay bales and pumpkins, and scarecrows, charged admission and had people come through to search for old Henry’s treasure, we could make a decent amount to stave off the bank. We planted pumpkins in the field by Henry’s cabin, should be ready for picking about now. Maybe even do a pumpkin patch. Families love ’em.”

Nick leaned back in his chair, thrusting his thumbs through the belt hoops of his jeans. He always did that when thinking. Old habit from childhood. Mentally he calculated how much he’d have to spend to make his cousin’s idea work.

“Let’s do it. I’ll fund expenses from my personal account. Wagon rides, too. Pumpkin patches are real popular. And you could set up a small store, selling that delicious jam of yours, Felicity.”

Felicity actually blushed with pleasure, and for the first time, Nick saw what had attracted Dan. She was quite pretty when she smiled. Almost human. “I’d have to have help with the canning.”

“I’ll help,” Shelby volunteered. “And we can have a craft fair. The ladies who have a quilting club in town have plenty of crafts they’d love to sell.”

Nick leaned forward, warming up to the idea. If Belle Creek were to survive, everyone had to pitch in and feel they were a part of the process. Teamwork made the SEALs effective, and the same could work here. “We could set up booths. Charge them a fee for the table, a reasonable one. Dan, does the Freelander farm still have goats and donkeys?”

At his cousin’s nod, he continued, “See about them renting out their livestock for a small petting zoo for the children.”

“Pony rides,” Felicity suggested, her glance going to the boys playing on the sofa. “The children would love them. Mason and Miles will loan their ponies. Macaroni is excellent with small children.”

This had to work. Surely, it would. All they needed was a healthy infusion of cash.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.