door, and of the first time Alice had brought
Mason to visit, until Zachary had been ready to pull out his hair! Eliza told him that selling the house would be nothing
short of a betrayal to those memories. Though he had offered to raise the buying price higher than any building in Carlson,
she told him no amount of money would change her mind.
The worst part for Zachary was that he knew she and Otis needed money. Any fool who stood outside and looked at the property
could see that the owners weren’t financially secure; worn and chipped paint, a sagging roof, and cracks in the windows were
only the most obvious of their problems. Boarders in these parts were few and far between. Eliza had given up her birthing
practice and Otis was a drunk. Even Rachel…
What future did these people have?
“A great deal of work has gone into making sure that this deal actually comes off,” Stack explained, his eyes never wavering
from Zachary’s. “A considerable amount of… greasing the wheels has occurred, if you know what I am saying. For it to come
undone now would be a grave disappointment… indeed, nothing short of a
grave
mistake,” he added pointedly.
“As I explained,” Zachary assured him, “they’ll eventually sell.”
“For your sake, I hope you’re right, otherwise…”
“Otherwise what?”
“While it’s certainly too late for the company to turn its back upon the town, considering all the preparations made, it might
well revisit its intentions of doing further business with you.” Stack smiled sardonically. “If word were to get out that
you were unreliable, who’s to say what future opportunities would ever be presented? After all, the Gaitskill Lumber Company
is one of the pillars of Minneapolis’s business community. It is not an enemy one would wish to have.”
Without any doubt, Zachary knew that this was the true reason for Wilbur Stack’s visit, to give him a warning. Failure to
do as he had promised would have undeniable consequences. The lumber company would make him pay for his failure by blacklisting
him from any further contracts. With the right amount of pressure, his dream of owning Carlson, of being the most powerful
man in the area, could go up like so much smoke.
“There is another matter,” Stack explained with a delicate cough.
“Yes?” Zachary asked curiously over the end of his cigar.
“There are some members of the company’s board who would prefer to work with your father, Sherman Tucker, on this particular
matter,” Stack said with caution, clearly weighing each of his words, watching for Zachary’s reaction. “His is a name well
known in business circles. Many remember his efforts to bring the railroad to Carlson in the first place. I’ve been instructed
to ask if it might be possible to bring him into our negotiations.”
Zachary smiled inwardly. This request was something he’d long anticipated, and had expected to be made much earlier. His father
had been a lion, one of several founders of Carlson, and through sheer will had built the town into a successful community.
When he opened the Carlson Bank and Trust, he’d done so with the belief that fairness always bested greed, that by helping
a neighbor through difficult times the whole of the town could be strengthened. He’d taken pains to raise both of his sons
to believe in the same principles, all in the hope that they would one day succeed him. But Zachary had always known differently…
The truth is that I was never supposed to be the successor!
Mason had always been their father’s favorite. As the elder brother, he had clung to Sherman’s elbow, following the older
man around like a puppy. For that obedience, fortune had smiled upon him. Mason had been the one of the two blessed with the
looks of a leading man in the theater, the brains to master any task put before him, the grace and wit to charm anyone he
met, and the hand of the most beautiful
Mason to visit, until Zachary had been ready to pull out his hair! Eliza told him that selling the house would be nothing
short of a betrayal to those memories. Though he had offered to raise the buying price higher than any building in Carlson,
she told him no amount of money would change her mind.
The worst part for Zachary was that he knew she and Otis needed money. Any fool who stood outside and looked at the property
could see that the owners weren’t financially secure; worn and chipped paint, a sagging roof, and cracks in the windows were
only the most obvious of their problems. Boarders in these parts were few and far between. Eliza had given up her birthing
practice and Otis was a drunk. Even Rachel…
What future did these people have?
“A great deal of work has gone into making sure that this deal actually comes off,” Stack explained, his eyes never wavering
from Zachary’s. “A considerable amount of… greasing the wheels has occurred, if you know what I am saying. For it to come
undone now would be a grave disappointment… indeed, nothing short of a
grave
mistake,” he added pointedly.
“As I explained,” Zachary assured him, “they’ll eventually sell.”
“For your sake, I hope you’re right, otherwise…”
“Otherwise what?”
“While it’s certainly too late for the company to turn its back upon the town, considering all the preparations made, it might
well revisit its intentions of doing further business with you.” Stack smiled sardonically. “If word were to get out that
you were unreliable, who’s to say what future opportunities would ever be presented? After all, the Gaitskill Lumber Company
is one of the pillars of Minneapolis’s business community. It is not an enemy one would wish to have.”
Without any doubt, Zachary knew that this was the true reason for Wilbur Stack’s visit, to give him a warning. Failure to
do as he had promised would have undeniable consequences. The lumber company would make him pay for his failure by blacklisting
him from any further contracts. With the right amount of pressure, his dream of owning Carlson, of being the most powerful
man in the area, could go up like so much smoke.
“There is another matter,” Stack explained with a delicate cough.
“Yes?” Zachary asked curiously over the end of his cigar.
“There are some members of the company’s board who would prefer to work with your father, Sherman Tucker, on this particular
matter,” Stack said with caution, clearly weighing each of his words, watching for Zachary’s reaction. “His is a name well
known in business circles. Many remember his efforts to bring the railroad to Carlson in the first place. I’ve been instructed
to ask if it might be possible to bring him into our negotiations.”
Zachary smiled inwardly. This request was something he’d long anticipated, and had expected to be made much earlier. His father
had been a lion, one of several founders of Carlson, and through sheer will had built the town into a successful community.
When he opened the Carlson Bank and Trust, he’d done so with the belief that fairness always bested greed, that by helping
a neighbor through difficult times the whole of the town could be strengthened. He’d taken pains to raise both of his sons
to believe in the same principles, all in the hope that they would one day succeed him. But Zachary had always known differently…
The truth is that I was never supposed to be the successor!
Mason had always been their father’s favorite. As the elder brother, he had clung to Sherman’s elbow, following the older
man around like a puppy. For that obedience, fortune had smiled upon him. Mason had been the one of the two blessed with the
looks of a leading man in the theater, the brains to master any task put before him, the grace and wit to charm anyone he
met, and the hand of the most beautiful
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