time Walker had done anything like that was so far in the distant past, he couldn’t even remember it. When he was in Tulsa, his days blurred into a constant hamster wheel of work, work and more work. There were deals to be made, holdings to oversee, marketing to develop, accounting reports to analyze. Jones Holdings, Inc., was so diversified that Walker constantly felt like he was playing catch-up. He didn’t have room in his life for anything other than work.
Or at least that was what he told himself. He had a great team working for him, and if he really wanted to, he could take time off. Go on vacation. Pick up a hobby.
Date.
Except he hadn’t had a relationship that lasted more than a couple nights in more than two years. Not since Theresa had ended their five-year relationship, saying she wanted a man who invested his heart, not just his bank account.
Walker still didn’t know what she meant by that. He’d given her everything he could, or thought he had. The lines had been blurred, though, because Theresa had worked for him, and more often than not, their date night conversations had been about work. She’d wanted more romance, she told him, more of his heart.
He’d told her he wasn’t sure he had a heart to give. Work had been his passion for so long, he didn’t know any other way to live. Eventually Theresa had given up on him and moved on. Last he heard, she had married an accountant and was expecting their first child. There were days when Walker wondered if maybe he’d missed out on something great. But those moments only lasted a second, because he was smart enough to know he was happiest when he was at work.
Once again Lindsay Dalton sprang into his mind. She was the kind of woman, Walker was sure, who would want the romance and the kids and the house with a yard. She might be all business in the courtroom, but he sensed a softness about her, a sentimentality, when she smiled. When she’d been talking to her sister. And when she’d started to dance.
That had made him wonder just how much fun Lindsay was trying to hide beneath those courtroom suits.
“Back to the day care,” Walker said, done with thinking about and discussing his personal life. A few days here, and he’d be back to the daily grind. He’d be happier in Tulsa. Less distracted by things like Lindsay Dalton’s smile lingering in his mind. “There’s a lot of ill will toward Just Us Kids because of this lawsuit. In order to expand the business, I need to turn the tide here in Rust Creek Falls. Even if we win the lawsuit, there are still going to be people who will believe the day care caused that illness. I want to head off the negative publicity from the get-go.”
“Something you’re apparently already doing,” Hudson said. “I heard you bought everyone a round last night.”
“How’d you hear about that?”
Hudson grinned. “It’s a small town. Everyone knows everything here.” He took a sip of coffee, then forked up a forgotten last bite of pancake. “If you want to build goodwill here, the best thing you can do is something that gets you involved with the town. One thing about Rust Creek Falls—it’s like a big family. They’ll accept you as one of their own—”
“You make it sound like an ant colony. Or the Borg.”
Hudson laughed. “Pretty close. I never expected to like this place, but you know, living out on Clive Barker’s ranch property and coming into town from time to time...it’s started to grow on me. It might do the same for you.”
Walker scoffed. “I’m leaving the minute this lawsuit is concluded. Until then, all I’m focused on is winning.”
“The lawsuit and the hearts and minds?” Hudson asked.
“All part of the strategy,” Walker said.
Hudson sighed. “Why did I ever think five minutes of dancing meant you were becoming human?’
Walker didn’t dignify that with an answer. If his brother focused more on business and less on having fun, then maybe Hudson would understand.
“You know, Walker, I’m not this irresponsible screwup you keep making me out to be,” Hudson said.
“Then what are you doing with your days instead of overseeing the day care?”
“Going back and forth between here and Wyoming, helping a friend set up a horse ranch. I’m helping him hire people, implement a solid record keeping system, buying the horses...in other words, running a business.”
Walker was impressed, but kept that thought to himself. He didn’t want to encourage his brother to spend time in Wyoming, not with this lawsuit on their backs. “I’d rather you were running the day care here.”
Hudson rolled his eyes. “There is no pleasing you, is there? Can’t you start thinking about something outside the family business for five minutes?”
“That family business puts the money in your bank account to do this horse ranch thing. If you were smart, you’d be helping me protect it, not beating me up for not having more fun.”
Hudson drummed his fingers on the table for a moment, then sighed. “Okay, if you want to make people like you, do something nice for the town. Something hands-on. This isn’t the kind of place that’s going to appreciate a bunch of money thrown at it.”
Walker scowled. “I wasn’t going to do any such thing.” Truth be told, he’d thought maybe he could just make a sizable donation to the local community center or a food bank or something and be done with it. He could see Hudson’s point. A round of beers only bought temporary goodwill. He needed something bigger. Something involved. Something...
An orange flyer stuffed in the small plastic tabletop sign holder caught his eye.
Rust Creek Falls Harvest Festival!
Get involved now and help make this year’s festival the best ever!
The announcement was followed by an invitation for volunteers to meet at the local high school Saturday afternoon. Today.
“Here’s something I can do,” he said to his brother, spinning the sign toward Hudson.
Hudson laughed. “You? Help with the harvest festival? Have you ever even attended a festival?”
“Doesn’t matter. All I have to do is pitch in with...whatever they do to put together one of these things. People will see I care about the town. Problem solved.”
Hudson sat back and gave his brother a dubious look. “You honestly think it’s going to be as easy as that? This is real life, big brother. It’s not some report you analyze or an interview you do with some overly enthusiastic CPA.”
“And it’s not rocket science, either.” Walker dropped some bills on the table, leaving a generous tip for the waitress. “You stay in town for a while this time. Get to work at the day care and make sure the place is so clean and neat, no kid would get sick if he licked the floor. When they call you into court—and I’m sure they will, since you are the landlord—you can honestly say you saw that the place was in order. I’ll stop in later, after I check out this festival thing.” He picked up the flyer and tucked it in his pocket. “This might just be step one in my campaign to not only beat Lindsay Dalton but build the Just Us Kids chain.”
And that would get him out of this town, back to work and away from women who lingered
