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even
compassionate. The very next, he was cold and distant.
    “Charlie Webber, my construction foreman
just left here,” he said, then hesitated, ramming his hands in his
trouser pockets. His head lowered as a dusty loafer kicked into a
patch of tall clover.
    He stared into her eyes. “A township
supervisor showed up this morning when my crew was about to break
ground for the road up here. The supervisor stopped them.” He
paused. “It’s my own fault. My lawyer was out of town so I had to
retain the services of another one before I had time to make the
proper inquiries into his background. The man has no experience in
real estate transactions of this nature. If he had, all the
necessary permits and approvals would’ve been finalized prior to
settling on the property.”
    Now Betsy understood his mood swing. And all
she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and assure everything
would turn out okay. But she knew that wasn’t what he needed right
now. The man might be vulnerable if put in a situation foreign to
him, but Skylar was in familiar territory. He didn’t need a hug and
she kept her arms at her side and prompted him to explain his
solution.
    “So now what? I mean what timetable are we
looking at before you can move forward?”
    Skylar glanced at his watch and started
moving down the hillside. “The township’s monthly meeting should be
getting underway any minute now. I intend to get approval before it
adjourns.”
    Ninety percent of Betsy’s dealings involved
residential properties. The other ten percent gave her experience
with urban land sales purchased for development. Obtaining the
required permits and approvals was not as simple as Skylar made it
sound.
    Skylar suddenly stopped in mid-stride, as if
something had occurred to him. He started to turn back around as
Betsy came up alongside him. He reached out and relieved her of the
basket then was off to the races again down the hillside. Betsy
shifted into a trot in order to remain at his side.
    “You should come with me to the
meeting.”
    Betsy glanced over at him just in time to
see the grin.
    “The supervisors might be more agreeable to
my request with a pretty woman at my side.”
    His statement left Betsy speechless. How
dare he make reference to her as if she were a pawn he could use to
sway their decision in his favor? Did he really think she was
pretty? The thought gave her a chill of excitement and brought a
smile to her face. Then she frowned. In comparison to his beauty
queen girlfriend Stephanie Rogers, Betsy thought herself a plain
Jane. If it were Stephanie at his side would he have said
beautiful?
    They reached old Betsy and Skylar sat the
basket in the rear end of the truck and froze when he spotted
Betsy’s motorcycle.
    “You ride a Harley?”
    Betsy couldn’t keep from smiling as she
gripped the handlebars and swung her leg over the seat. “You have a
problem with that?”
    He shook his head and grinned. “No problem.
So you want to follow me?”
    “I never said I was going to the
meeting.”
    His lower lip dropped. “As my Realtor you
could offer insight into the need for additional housing in the
area.”
    Betsy couldn’t argue. Nor could she
visualize anything but pine and spruce trees sprouting from the
hillside he wanted to build homes on.
    “You can give them the facts,” Betsy said,
then glanced down her front. “I’m not dressed for the occasion
anyway.”
    She watched him close his lips and swallow
hard. Could he be feeling the same sense of loss as her since they
were about to part? Wishful thinking, Miss Sensible mocked. The man
gave little indication of being physically attracted to her. But
then Betsy thought she did a good job hiding her true feelings.
Could he be too?
    Skylar’s hands gripped the side of his truck
bed. “If I had more time I think I could convince you to join me.”
He paused, taking a deep breath. “Since time isn’t on my side, I
guess this is goodbye.”
    “Bye.” Betsy saw