“You’ve never held back the truth? Never faked anything to get what you want?” Erica pushed her.
Sinclair’s eyes narrowed, but she stayed quiet.
“What about what he did to Ryder?” someone yelled out.
“Keep me out of it,” Ryder said from the front row.
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“What about it? As far as I can tell, he’s flush in cash and about to be a business owner because of Stark,” Erica responded.
“Why have you changed your tune?” Ryder’s very pregnant wife Trina asked. “I mean you were there when he was trying to ruin Mo’s property and when he brought back that dickwad Rick.”
“He attempted to make a land purchase that would have saved Mo’s neighbor from bankruptcy. I don’t see why that’s a bad deal.”
“He was going to put something there that ruined Mo’s property value,” Trina argued. “You can’t put a landfill or whatever he was thinking.”
“Oh? How many landowners here are okay with being told what you can and can’t do with property you own? I know for a fact that many of you are currently turning over your farms to new crops or business ventures. Maybe the town should have a vote about whether you can do that.”
I looked around the room, feeling as in shock as the others appeared.
“And as far as dickwad, yes, that was bad, but I wonder what Mrs. Reynold’s opinion would be about that situation.”
At least she was more diplomatic than I was.
“I have no beef with Mr. Stark,” Holly said. For a minute, I wondered if she’d say that if I hadn’t just paid for her library. In my effort to clean up my ways, had I again bought myself an ally?
Erica walked up the middle of the aisle. I watched her trying to decide if I should go to her or just let her do her thing?
“The truth is, Simon Stark can be an ass. He’s ruthless and he goes after what he wants.”
Okay, so that doesn’t sound so great.
“But how many here wouldn’t do whatever you had to…have done whatever you had to for your family or livelihood? Fake marriages? Secret children? Secret love affairs? You’ve all been forgiven. Salvation is a lovely town that looks out for its own, but isn’t so welcoming to outsiders.”
“We welcomed you and would have welcomed Mr. Stark if he hadn’t—”
“Hadn’t what? This all started with a plan to bring in a thousand jobs that Mayor Valentine and the governor backed. He moved here. Settled here to be a part of Salvation because he wanted the quiet and piece that it offered. Was he overly aggressive in business? Yes. But I haven’t come across anyone that I’ve interviewed that reached out to him. He only had rejection.” She looked at me then. “I was part of that crowd that only saw a jerk. But if you gave him a chance, you’d see a man who has so much to give this town, if you’d let him—”
“We’d have to sell our souls,” someone yelled out.
“He’s right. Stark doesn’t do anything without something in return,” Sinclair said.
“You’re standing up there making promises in return for a vote.”
Finally, I stood and walked to Erica. “You don’t have to do this.” I’d relieved her of our agreement. “I don’t know why you’re here or why you’re trying to sway people’s opinion—”
She looked up at me. “Because, Simon Stark. I love you.”
In that moment, my world lit up.
12
Erica
I had no clue what I was doing. Starting from the night Simon and I got married, I felt like my world was tilting off its axis. I hadn’t expected him to open up so much to me on our wedding night. Or to make love to me so tenderly and with such vulnerability. I certainly never expected him to relieve me of my part in this arrangement.
But it didn’t stop there. After bringing Mason home from the hospital, I dedicated all my time to him. We played and read until he got tired and I put him down for a nap. Leaving him to sleep, I found my mother making coffee in the kitchen.