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“Okay, let’s start with orange juice I knohere that is…”
“Cancelled,” Linnie snaps and Roan closes his eyes for a moment, as his lips move in a silent count to ten
“Well, I can try to cook…” He looks utterly lost as his eyes dart around the room
“I have an idea,” I interject “I have a super-secret-double-chocolate pancake recipe that’s been handed down to our family by the cousins of some Christmas elves It’s been in my faiving Linnie a stern, playful look “But you have to promise, you won’t tell anyone”
“I won’t tell,” she answers in a rush, shaking her head “I’ secrets”
I hear Roan sigh and see relief wash across his face as he mouths thank you
“I’ll even let you help; you just have to be sworn to silence for all eternity about what you see here today”
She holds up her little hand in oath “I swear”
The next hour is a flurry of flour and cocoa powder, syrup and chocolate chips Roan watches as I ith Linnie, and as les and feels upstairs, the look in his eye as he sits there ads that flutter my heart and make me feel safe
As Linnie finishes the last few bites on her plate, Roan’s phone rings and he stands, walking a few steps toward the back s of the house where the sun is co, but the sky is clear, and his voice turns hard again
“This is Roan,” he answers, like his nae He listens to whoever is on the other end, shoving his free hand down into the front pocket of his suit trousers, then replies “That’s not the offer I ned, or it’s lawyers and depositions and court and I have pockets as deep as hell itself So, if they think they can play this that way, sure Tell the for the contracts Buyer’s remorse is for pussies”
He listens for another ar rush on her near-empty plate
Roan takes another step away, then his voice rises “I don’t give a fuck The provision was for the Goorie to have access to their land within two years That’s not negotiable I don’t care what they think I didn’t strong ar, they can cry all the way to bankruptcy court because that’s where they are going if they don’t stick to the terms That’s it Tell them those words exactly Fine Goodbye”