The Discarded Heiress Returns novel · Chapter 6 of 32
Chapter 6: The Wheel
I crossed the road barefoot and walked straight into his path.
He stopped the wheel an inch from my toes.
He was tall, broad through the shoulders, with short dark hair and a sunburn starting on the back of his neck.
He looked down at me, then at the counter on the handle.
"You're standing on four hundred and twelve feet," he said.
"You're standing on a sea turtle nest."
He looked down fast.
There was nothing under his boots but sand.
When he looked back up, I was smiling.
"That's mean," he said.
"The nests come in May. You'll want to know that before you pour concrete on them."
He had a crooked front tooth. It showed when he laughed.
"Wells Fordyce," he said, and held out his hand. "Fordyce and Company, Atlanta."
"I know who you are."
I didn't shake it.
For three months, men in khakis had been buying everything around me.
The old gas station on the left. The two empty lots on the right. The mini golf with the dead pirate. The cottage behind the marsh. The dune lot across the road.
Five lots, and the Lantern in the middle.
"You must be the manager," he said.
"I'm Tallulah. I run the Lantern."
"Then you're the one I need to talk to."
"Then you're out of luck. It's fish fry night."
I turned and walked back across the road.
I heard the wheel clicking behind me.
The back deck was full.
Forty people at picnic tables over the marsh, paper plates, sweet tea in mason jars, string lights coming on as the sun went down.
Dale was at the fryer in a Braves cap that had gone soft with age.
Keep reading free with an account. Start The Discarded Heiress Returns from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.
← Chapter 5 · All chapters · Chapter 7 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend