Friendswood by Rene Steinke Page B

next to that, a discreet cabinet of crystal decanters and glasses and bottles of bourbon.
    Avery’s lip curled up on one side. “Yeah. That’s what my granddad would say—don’t let opportunity go to waste. Do you know, thanks to the eco-nuts, we haven’t built a new oil refinery in Texas for decades? Can you imagine those old facilities? Safety, my ass.”
    â€œWell, the Rosemont situation has been taken care of—no question about that—after all the settlements.” He’d wanted an exclusive to the other neighborhood, Pinelands, but this new neighborhood, after it was built, would be a nice follow-up.
    â€œLook. If you ask me, I don’t think there was a single good reason for all those people to lose their houses in the first place. Was there cancer? Yes. But you know something? Did you notice how people used to just die of it? They didn’t count it up the way they do now. That’s got to make a difference. I’m not convinced there’s any more cancer now than there ever was. In the old days you just went when it was your time.”
    Hal shrugged. “Exactly.” He was foggy on the details of what had happened to the Rosemont neighborhood all those years ago, remembered a few people got sick, and they’d buried the toxins instead of the other options they’d had. That, and some people still believed it was all a hoax.
    â€œCan I trust you to keep something under your hat?”
    â€œAbsolutely.”
    Avery looked at him, eyes narrowed, as if he were mentally measuring his face. “You want an exclusive, don’t you? It could be effective, I’ve been thinking.”
    â€œI sure would like that.”
    â€œThe building permit over near Banes Field isn’t even the problem anymore. That’s practically a done deal. The only issue is, I’ve got this lady on my ass. She’s been on me in fact for a couple of years now. I don’t really know what her deal is, but I heard the husband—supposedly a nice guy—left her. Her name’s Lee Knowles. You know her?”
    Hal felt the stirring again in his chest, that hope he felt sometimes in church. “Well, she’s my neighbor. I sure do know her.” Darlene had taught her daughter, maybe, or another one of her kids? That wasn’t luck—that was a blessing.
    â€œShe actually paid a shitload of money for a study of the ground soil. Just to stop me from doing anything out there. What kind of cup of crazy is that? After the EPA said the soil was cleared. I mean, what’s her deal? It’s a fragile sort of situation right now. We’ve got time on our side—no one is thinking of Rosemont anymore. But it’s the sort of thing where if she makes a big enough stink, well, nutty as she is, it could affect the sales of my homes.” He sighed. “I have half a mind to just take the plans, thecontractors, the whole shebang, and buy another piece of land somewhere, figure out some way to write off the loss.”
    â€œI don’t blame you.”
    â€œJust write it off. I’d like to do something for this town though. Really. People need to work.”
    Hal had been staring at the cross in the windowpane, and now the words came back to him:
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper
. He was beloved. “You know something, Avery, let me see if I can talk to her. I might be able to make some headway there with my neighbor.”
    Avery raised an eyebrow. “I keep thinking there must be another side to this. Does she own property somewhere?”
    Hal didn’t remember anything about the lady except he’d noticed she was good-looking for someone pushing fifty. And she’d kept her dogwood tree up in the front. “Let me find out for you.”
    This was his way in. Hal had prayed about it, and now he could visualize how it would happen. He’d do this favor for Avery, prove himself worthy of opportunity, and then