The Soldier's Sweetheart by Deb Kastner

Author:Deb Kastner
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub, mobi
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9780373817108
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

The Howells called a meeting of their own, a family council right there on their red-plaid picnic blanket on the green. The fireworks show had not yet started, and most of the folks around them were celebrating with their own kin. Genevieve had wandered over to where their neighbors Ben and Vee Bishop were lighting off fountains and Vee was watching over the girl, which was just as well because Genevieve didn’t need to see Samantha as worked up and angry as she was.

“We need a plan of action—now,” Samantha announced to her family. They were hovering, looking concerned even without knowing the whole story. She crouched in the middle of the circle like a quarterback in a huddle.

“The enemy has advanced,” Will murmured, a sarcastic bent to his tone.

“What do you mean? What changed?” her father asked.

“Apparently, Stay-n-Shop has already scheduled a meeting with the town council for next Friday night. Jo Spencer mentioned it. She seemed surprised that that was the first we’d heard of it.”

“Count on Jo to be the very first to know,” her mother murmured with a chuckle that sounded half like a hiccup. Samantha knew how hard it was for her mother to contain her emotions under this set of circumstances. Samantha was feeling the same things—confusion, anger, fear, pain.

“Their calling a meeting can only mean one thing,” Will ground out.

“They are proceeding forward with obtaining the zoning and permits necessary to build their store on that land they optioned,” Samantha finished. “I don’t think they’re targeting Sam’s Grocery anymore. At least not directly.”

“Pardon the cliché,” Grandpa Sampson offered, “but it sounds to me like we’ve just stepped out of the frying pan and into the fire.”

Adrenaline set every one of Samantha’s nerve endings alight. If it had come down to fight or flight, as it appeared to have, then they were most certainly going to fight.

“Let’s take it down to the bare truth of the matter,” Will suggested, his jaw clenched. “We need help. Lots of it.”

“What kind of help?” Samantha was disinclined to beg, even from the town council. Their family couldn’t afford a lawyer. Besides, Matthew MacPherson was the only practicing lawyer in Serendipity, and he specialized primarily in family law, not anything like this corporate fiasco.

Cal Turner had been right in that respect. This issue was way out of Matthew MacPherson’s sphere of expertise.

“We get our help from Serendipity itself,” Will answered simply. “The answer is right here.” He made a sweeping gesture across the green.

“What?” Samantha asked.

Will looked at her as if she was being dense and completely missing the point. Maybe she was. Or maybe she just didn’t want to hear it.

“If we’re going to fight this, we need to get Serendipity behind us. We need to prove that everyone supports Sam’s Grocery. Stay-n-Shop can’t battle the whole town. They’ll most certainly see the futility of their move and go bother someone else, somewhere else.”

“But what if they just go target a family like ours in another town?” Samantha asked.

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