“So a few years after his death, I started buying cheap properties. Rentals in decent areas that didn’t require more than basic updates. Two properties turned into four, four turned into eight…and so on. Around that time, I’d had enough of my cheating wife and filed for divorce. Instead of letting that bitterness eat away at me more than it already had, I become more hands on, buying government foreclosures, houses auctioned by banks, any little gem I could turn fast. I’d go in and gut the place. There’s nothing more cathartic than beating the f**k out of stuff with a sledgehammer.”
“Are you kiddin’ me?”
“No. I worked out my aggression toward my ex-wife and started flipping houses at exactly the right time in the market. I made a killing. I reinvested it in rental properties. Daniels Development Group is still in business, I’m still a figurehead CEO, but with the spectacular crash of the housing market, the bulk of my business focus is Daniels Property Management. Since I’m not hands-on, ripping places apart, I can work from anywhere. Made it easy to move here.”
“I had no idea. I gotta say. That’s impressive.” Dalton gave him a self-satisfied smile. “Everyone else in the family sees you as a suit, making real estate deals. From this point on, I’ll see you busting shit up with a chainsaw.”
Gavin laughed.
“So we have a deal?”
“All right.”
“This stays between us,” Dalton cautioned. “If anything changes on your end or my end, we’ll agree to meet to discuss it before making a decision?”
“Sounds good.”
Without missing a beat, Dalton said, “Now that that’s out of the way, you wanna play pool?”
Gavin studied the too-innocent face. Pool shark as well as card shark? Probably. But Gavin still had a few tricks he could teach this pup. “Sure. But we’re not playing for money, right?”
“How about if we play a few games and see how it goes?”
“Sounds fair.”
Two hours later Gavin went home three hundred dollars richer.
He doubted Dalton would underestimate him again.
Chapter Thirty-Three
March…
Rielle stormed into Gavin’s bedroom. “Do you know who I just got off the phone with?”
“Publishers Clearing House?”
“Not even remotely funny, Gavin Daniels. A trucking company based out of Denver just called, asking me when I’d be home to accept shipment for a greenhouse. Not a greenhouse kit, but a fully finished greenhouse.”
He had a hard time containing his smile.
Her gaze pierced him. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
“Could you describe this greenhouse?”
Rielle threw up her hands. “It’s a greenhouse! You know very well what a greenhouse looks like.”
“Oh, right. Then that’s probably the greenhouse I bought you.”
“Did I just hear you say you bought me a greenhouse?”
“Is there an echo in here? Yes, I bought you a greenhouse. And I’m disappointed because they were supposed to deliver it last week.”
“Oh. My. God. Are you serious?”
“Completely.”
“Who buys someone a f**king greenhouse?” she demanded.
“I didn’t buy someone a f**king greenhouse, I bought you a f**king greenhouse,” he shot back. “Big difference.”
“How did you even know I was pricing them?”
Gavin cocked his head. “Rory told me.”
“What? When the hell did you talk to my daughter?”
“Last week she called to check on Sierra, when Sierra was sleeping, so I chatted with her. She apologized for being a jerk when she found out we were together. I confessed I’d been difficult to live with in the weeks after Sierra’s accident and I wanted to make it up to you.”
“That’s your way of apologizing? You buy me a greenhouse?”
“Yep.”
“Jesus, Gavin. Why didn’t you just buy me flowers?”
“In a way, I did. You can grow your own flowers in your new f**king greenhouse.” He grinned.
“You are impossible. I can’t accept this from you.”
Gavin scooped her up, threw her on the bed, and loomed over her. “You don’t have a choice. I custom ordered it. It’s on the way and it’s nonrefundable.” He studied her face. She had that determined set to her jaw, which meant arguing was pointless. So he kissed her.
“No fair,” she panted after he slid his mouth between her br**sts.
“Say, thank you, Gavin, for such a thoughtful gift.”
“I will pay you for it.”
“Now you are starting to piss me off, Ree. I didn’t buy it out of guilt. I bought it because you needed it and because I could. I wanted to do something nice for you.”
“This goes way beyond nice.”
“I know. What I feel for you can hardly be described as nice. I love you.”
That’s when she softened. When her pride took a serious smackdown from her heart. “I love you too. It’s just weird to have you buy me things. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it.”
“Get used to it. And practice that saying thank you thing, because I had them toss in a new tractor with a trailer attachment.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Did you really?”
“Yes. But it’s just a little tractor, so a little thank you will be fine.”
She laughed. “You are so ridiculous. That’s probably why I’m ridiculously in love with you.” She lifted up and kissed him. “Thank you, Gavin, for such a thoughtful gift.”
“My pleasure.”
“This greenhouse is enormous,” Ainsley said.
“Tell me about it. It’s twice the size of the one I’d been saving for.”
“And Gavin just bought it for you three weeks ago? Out of the blue? Was it a lucky guess?”
Rielle unhooked a hose coupling. “No. He talked to Rory and she told him. I suspect she exaggerated just a bit about what I wanted.”
Ainsley laughed. “How is Rory?”
“Busy. We only get to catch up about once a week.”
“So has she come around as far as you and Gavin being in a relationship?”
“Actually, yes. She apologized to me and to Gavin, although he didn’t go into detail about what she said to him.”
Ainsley’s eyebrows rose. “That’s progress.”
“I thought so. I’ll admit I suspected Rory was trying to pull one over on me. Claiming she had accepted the relationship in the hopes I would confide the intimate details to her. She’s sneaky that way.”