CHAPTER 17
SUMMER
Iwatched him climb those steps like a man walking to his own execution. Except he wasn’t the one being executed. We were. He wanted to destroy our home.
Cody materialized at his brother’s shoulder. I hadn’t even seen him working his way through. He was good, I’d give him that. He put his hand on Colt’s shoulder and said something close to his ear. Colt nodded. Then just like that, Cody melted back into the crowd like he’d never been there at all.
Colt took the last two steps. Judd Mathers turned with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes and extended his hand. It was deliberate. It was the kind of handshake designed to be photographed. I saw at least four phones go up around me as it happened. Judd knew exactly what he was doing. I could feel Colt’s discomfort but he was trying to play along. Judd was sending a message, letting everyone know he was paired up with Colt Anderson. Colt had friends in town. At least he used to.
Capri appeared at my left elbow. “Summer.”
“Hey,” I murmured.
“You okay?”
I shrugged.
The crowd was quiet. Everyone wanted to hear what Colt had to say. He was someone in our town. People did like him, but after all of this, I had a feeling they were going to run him out of town. And unfortunately, with my house next door to his, we were likely to be witnesses to the crowd turning on him and his family. We’d all seen what they did to the building site.
Judd Mathers stepped forward to the edge of the top step and looked out over all of us. He was looking down on us in every sense of the word. He was a tall man and the steps gave him another few feet. He used every inch of it. The fact he was wearing a designer suit in this heat was a statement. It was the kind of suit that said I am not like you and I want to make sure you know it.
The two security guys shifted slightly behind him and Colt. One of them touched his earpiece. Who the hell was he talking to? Were there more of them surrounding us? Snipers on the rooftops?
“Thank you all for coming out this morning,” Judd said. As if he was hosting a party. As if he was the one that put the protest together. What an absolute dick.
“Your voices have been heard.” He spread his hands in a gesture that was probably meant to read as magnanimous. It read as patronizing. “Mr. Anderson and I want you to know that your concerns, your requests, and your demands will be carefully considered as we move forward on this venture.”
Someone behind me made a sound of disgust. I agreed. Nothing about the way he was talking suggested he gave a shit.
“We have your best interests at heart,” Judd continued. “Every single one of you.”
I watched Colt. He was standing just behind Judd’s right shoulder. I noticed he wasn’t standing beside Judd, like he was making it clear they weren’t partners. Colt was staring out at thecrowd. I wondered if he was actually seeing what I meant for him to see or if he was just enduring it.
“Now, I know change can be frightening,” Judd said in the most patronizing tone. “Particularly in a place like this.”
Capri inhaled slowly beside me. “Who the hell does this guy think he is?”
“God,” I retorted.
“Surfside Cove is a beautiful stretch of coastline,” Judd continued. “No question. But let’s be honest with one another, shall we? This is a struggling beach town.” He let that land, putting on a pitiful expression. “The numbers don’t lie. Revenue is down. Businesses are closing. The tax base is eroding. Anyone who can’t see that isn’t looking at the bigger picture. You normally don’t have to worry about such things. Those are the perks of living in a small town.”
There it was. He meant we were small-minded. He meant we were the kind of people who couldn’t see past the end of our own little stretch of sand because we just weren’t as smart as he was.
Grumbling rippled through the crowd. The dude was not making any friends.
Becca leaned close to me from my right. I hadn’t even noticed her arrive. “Did he just call us stupid?”
“He implied it,” I said quietly.
“Oh, he said it,” Capri confirmed. “He just dressed it up nice first.”
Judd wasn’t finished.
“By the summer of 2030, every single one of you will be writing me thank you cards.” He smiled like he actually believed that. “Because you will all be profiting from this port. Your restaurants. Your shops. Your rental properties. Your surf schools.” He gestured broadly at all of us. “The tide is going to rise for this entire community and you are going to look back on this morning and wonder what you were so worried about.”
The murmur in the crowd had not died down. It was getting louder. Someone near the back shouted something I couldn’t quite make out but the tone was unmistakable. A woman a few feet to my left was shaking her head.
I looked at Colt. He was still standing behind Judd and looked like a man who’d been sucking on lemons. His eyes were moving across the crowd now. He looked at Judd like he just noticed him standing there. Then he looked at me.