Read Online The Change Up by Elley Arden - Free Book Online Page B

find a nearby location and plant twice as many trees as we cut down here. I’ll even make a sizable donation to your favorite environmentalist charity. Sound good?”
    “No. That’s not an acceptable alternative.”
    She studied him closely, letting her intense gaze linger on his face as she tried to figure him out.
Good luck with that, sweetheart.
    “Why, Sam?” she asked. “Why isn’t it good enough?”
    “Because those are mature trees. You can’t pacify me with saplings after you’ve slaughtered century-old trees. Do you know how long it will take for the trees you plant to bring joy to anyone? Kids will be grown before they can climb a single tree. Parents will be gone before they …”
    He tripped over his words, giving her enough time to jump in with, “This is about your mom. Isn’t it?” Her gaze softened. “She was always a big wildlife advocate.”
    Vulnerability coursed through his veins followed by a tidal wave of annoyance, and still he figured it best to shoot straight. “That’s part of it. She loved those woods. Hiked them every Sunday for most of her life. It was a part of her.” He shrugged away the pain. “It’s a part of me.”
    Rachel closed her eyes briefly, and he hoped he’d struck a nerve. It felt like he had. “I’m sorry, Sam. I didn’t know there was such a deep personal connection. I’m even sorrier about your mom’s passing. She was a great lady. I remember when she took riding lessons from my mom. Did you know the horses wouldn’t eat apples unless they were from her?” Rachel chuckled at the memory. “It was so strange. She just had a way about her.”
    A smile warmed his face, and he said, “That sounds like my mom.”
    Rachel nodded, but then her expression changed. She cleared her throat and her face suddenly seemed sadder, but also colder. “Unfortunately, according to the research my father has compiled over the last eighteen months, to accommodate the type of car traffic this stadium needs to keep ticket sales in the black, those trees must come down. I have a plan to follow and deadlines to keep.”
    Unbelievable. “Why did you waste my time asking those questions if there wasn’t a shot in hell that the answers would change anything?”
    Her face twisted with bewilderment. “I don’t know. I guess curiosity finally got the better of me. Maybe I was even hopeful there was a way we could both walk away from this with what we need. I’m sorry, Sam. I really am.”
    He was sorry, too, because no matter how important this commercial contract was to his father, Rachel was forcing his hand. He needed to consider his next step very carefully. All it would take was the support of one neighbor to file a formal complaint, which would force the municipality to call in environmental experts. That would give the trees a two-week reprieve.
    Sam could have that kind of support by Monday morning. He wasn’t sure what a two-week reprieve would do, except maybe give him time to get through to Rachel’s father.
    “Look, if I could just talk to your dad …”
    Her lips tightened into a thin, flat line, and any sadness he thought he’d seen lingering there was gone immediately.
    “The municipality has given us the green light, and Wes Allen is scheduled to start next week. That’s the bottom line, Sam.”
    His fists balled at his sides. “Of course. And the bottom line’s all that matters to you, isn’t it, Rachel?”
    He stormed out of the office before she could even respond. As he headed to his truck, Sam’s brain went into overdrive. There had to be a way to salvage the trees; there just had to be. The question was, how far was he willing to go to honor his mother’s memory? Far enough to sabotage his father’s business?

Chapter Five
    Rachel never understood the concept of a weekend. If you wanted to be on top, you only had seven days each week to get there. Just because she’d been stuck in Arlington for almost two weeks now didn’t mean she was going