A black sedan pulled to a stop in front of him, and an older gentleman climbed out. The stranger stood as tall as himself, but the man’s hair was a bit shorter and silver. The ill-fitting gray suit emphasized his skinny stature. When Cord focused in on the man’s face, he had no doubt this was Lexi’s father.
“Mr. Lawson, I’m Howard Greer.” The man extended his hand.
“I know who you are.” Cord ignored the man’s outstretched hand. “What are you doing here?”
“I thought my daughter might be here. Seems she spends a lot of time with you riding around the countryside.” He looked around as though Cord might be hiding her.
“She isn’t here. Why don’t you call her?”
The man sighed. “She isn’t taking my calls. When I stopped by her motel, some gabby woman said my daughter wasn’t in her room and she didn’t know where Alexis might be.”
“And you naturally assumed I’d what? Taken her hostage?”
The man’s brows furrowed. “I didn’t come here to argue with you, Mr. Lawson—”
“You shouldn’t be here at all. You already caused enough trouble when you were on the East Coast.”
The man pulled a folded white hanky from his pocket and ran it across his brow. “Sure is hot out here in the sun.”
Cord, remembering the man’s heart condition, relented and invited him onto the porch. After Cord retrieved him a glass of ice water, they both sat down.
Mr. Greer drank half of the water before setting it aside. “I flew out here to make sure you don’t take advantage of my daughter.”
“Me?” The man had to be kidding. No one could take advantage of Lexi. She was much too smart for that. “You’re the one who won’t let her use her own judgment to finalize this deal. You’re the one making her miserable with ultimatums.”
The man sat back as though the words shocked him. “You seem to know a lot about Alexis.”
“We’ve spent quite a bit of time together since she’s been in Whistle Stop. Lexi is a very strong, determined woman, who would do anything in the world for you.”
Mr. Greer’s eyes narrowed. “What are you implying?”
“That you need to let your daughter choose her life and not guilt her into doing what you want her to do.”
Color filled the man’s sunken cheeks. “She told you all of this?”
The dam on Cord’s frustrations bur
st, and the words spilled out. “She’d never say it. She’s too loyal to you. But she’d never leave you. She feels that without her around, you’ll work yourself into the ground.”
Cord paused, realizing he’d probably crossed a line. Lexi would be mortified if she knew he’d repeated the things she’d told him in confidence.
“And you know what my daughter wants?”
Cord wanted to say that he did, but he couldn’t lie. “No, I don’t. But don’t you think you owe it to her to let her choose?”
???
Caffeine from the Poppin’ Fresh Bakery plus the sugar from not just one but two dark chocolate cupcakes pumped through Alexis’s veins, bolstering her weary body. She’d almost requested a third cupcake, they were sooo good, but at the last second she’d latched on to a modicum of self-control. No amount of chocolate was going to drown her sorrows.
After procrastinating as long as she dared, it was time for her to face Cord. The coffee sloshed nauseatingly in her stomach. She desperately wanted to see where their future could take them, but first she had to stop him from losing the Brazen H. Just because her attempt to buy the Arizona property hadn’t panned out didn’t mean she didn’t have another idea percolating in her mind.
The what if’s and maybe’s danced through her mind, keeping her up all night. By the time the sun had crept over the horizon, she’d had a new plan. It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it was better than nothing. However, there was one major hitch—her new idea would still leave her father’s company in a tough spot…
The words her father’s company profoundly struck her. Was this truly how she looked at HSG—as her father’s business?
She didn’t have to even contemplate the answer. Deep inside, she knew she’d followed in his footsteps because it was what was expected of her—not because she’d chosen the path herself. As much as she loved her father, she didn’t love running HSG. Did that make her an ungrateful daughter? A bad daughter?
Even so, could she keep on doing what was expected of her? When was it appropriate to follow her heart? Something told her that it’d never be the right time where her father was concerned. This meant she must now mark her line in the sand. She either chose her future with Cord or chose her preordained future at HSG—if Cord agreed to the sale.