Page 18 of A Field of Beauty
“Because Lovey told you what she found out.”
“What did she find out?”
“That the city council has marked the farm for urban density housing.”
Wait. What?“The farm ... as in Mountain Blooms Farm? My farm?”
He nodded. “A developer has been lined up. Apparently, this week you’re going to be receiving an offer of”—he made air quotes—“fair market value.”
“But I can say no, right?”
“Apparently, you’ve already said yes. According to...” He held up three fingers.
He didn’t need to say it. She knew. Tyler.
On Monday morning, Tessa walked into Tyler’s campaign office and slapped the original contract she had signed to purchase Mountain Farm on his desk. It had taken her all Sunday afternoon and evening to find it, then to read it thoroughly. Afterward, she was furious. With Tyler, but even more so with herself. “How could you?”
Tyler looked up, surprised. “What’s wrong?”
“That’swhat’s wrong.” She pointed to a small detail buried in a long paragraph of text in the contract. “The land had been identified for urban density. You knew it had. And right underneath that sentence comes one that says that the developer will get first rights of refusal when I sell.” She could see from his expression that he wasn’t surprised.
He leaned back in his chair. “I thought you knew. It was right there. You signed the papers, Tessa.”
She flipped back through her memories. He kept rushing her through the escrow signing because he had some kind of campaign speech to give or babies to kiss or something like that. Now thepieces fit together. “You hid it from me! You intentionally skipped over thatsignificantpiece of information.”
“I did not hide anything from you. It’s never been a secret that the city has identified those sites. You could’ve checked into it. Frankly, you should’ve. You shouldn’t have signed your name without reading the fine print.”
“How could you have done such a thing? You’ve seen how hard we’ve worked this property. We have worked our butts off.”
“You don’t have to sell the land. This isn’t eminent domain.”
“Every other property that surrounds mine will be turned into high-rises. I spoke to the developer, Tyler. I saw the plans. My field won’t get more than a few hours of sunlight each day, if that!”
He shrugged. “You still don’t have to sell. However...” He seesawed his hand in the air. “However, you’ll be getting a fair market price from the developer. There’s a pretty good chance that the longer you hold out, the lower in value that land will be.”
“So if I don’t accept what the developer offers me now, I’m going to lose money.”
“Probably. Historically.”
“What I can’t figure out is what you were hiding. Unless...” Ah. Of course. “The developer promised you a huge donation to your campaign.” She covered her cheeks with her hands. “So let me guess. The tomato farmer wouldn’t sell out. You needed a new contract that said the developer could get the first crack at it.”
He didn’t deny it. “Tessa, you’re looking at this in the wrong way.”
“Look me in the eye and tell me that this sale wouldn’t benefit you immensely.”
He glanced up at her, but he didn’t hold her gaze. “It’s a win-win, Tessa. We’ll find you another little plot of land. Your field hand can work his soil magic.”
“His name is Dawson Greene, Tyler. And he’s much more than a field hand.”
His head jerked up. “I knew it,” he said, his eyes narrowed. “I knew there was something between the two of you.”
“What are you talking about?” Tessa squeezed her fists in the air. “Stop twisting things! You lied to me, Tyler. You virtually stole this land from me.”
“I did no such thing!” He slapped a palm against his chest, then dropped it with a sigh. “I was helping you with something you knew nothing about. You’re young, Tessa. You’re so beautiful that sometimes I forget how young you really are.”
A chill went down her spine. She thought Tyler was so different from the neighbor, and in many ways they were. But at their core, they were the same man. They both took advantage of her. “You don’t get it, do you?” From her pocket, she took out the engagement ring that she’d finally gotten off last night with the help of Vaseline and smacked it on his desk.
At the door, she turned back. “And by the way, three billboards along Highway 74 have been slathered with graffiti.”
