“Yes.”
“Or preferably you want me to sell you the place and walk away?”
“Yes.” His sneer had grown with each response.
I clasped my hands and leaned on the desk in his direction. “I’m sorry to inform you, I haven’t made a decision as to what I’m going to do.”
He didn’t back down and leaned toward me as if we needed to whisper so we wouldn’t be overhead. “Have you even looked over his will?” When I blanched, he added, “Maybe you have and realized he made provisions for me to take over because he didn’t want your arrogant punk ass boyfriend to get his hands on it.”
Any smart alec remarks I could have made died in my throat. He got to his feet.
“I’m going to do inventory, Boss,” he said the title like it tasted bad. “If you don’t mind.”
I shook my head. Before he left, he turned back, and I waited for the next barb to leave his sharp-edged tongue. “I may not like your fiancé,” he snapped. “But your father would be disappointed over how you’re carrying on with the new chief deputy sheriff while you’re engaged.”
Gaping didn’t quite describe how I had to pick my jaw off the floor after he left. I thought too late to call out and tell him Aiden and I were just friends. The moment had passed, and the line between Jack and I was drawn.
However, what took my complete attention was the fact that I hadn’t thought about Dad’s will. I’d gotten through the funeral and requested Aiden’s help investigating my father’s death. However, it had never dawned on me that Dad might have left the bar to Jack to buy or to outright give it to him. I had made my intention of leaving Mason Creek for good one day clear to Dad. So, Jack could be right.
The will wasn’t here in the office from what I could see. Unless it had been, and Jack had gotten his hands on it. I would have to go home to check if it wasn’t there before making any more assumptions.
I grabbed the deposit bag and my purse. I closed the office door and didn’t bother to check in with Jack. He’d made it clear I didn’t need to babysit him, and I hadn’t found any reasons so far to dispute that.
I drove over to Brandford Bank to make the deposit. On the way inside, everyone I passed seemed to glance at me, then at the sheriff’s station next door as if waiting to see if that was my destination. I groaned, remembering Aiden’s jaw tightening when I told him about Hattie and Hazel seeing me in his shirt.
Had he been getting the same grief and scrutiny I had even though he hadn’t admitted it? Likely, and I felt awful. Last thing he needed would be labeled as a fiancée stealer even though no one in town would be loyal to Evan. I sighed and entered the bank. I hoped I didn’t get asked a dozen questions about my relationship status while I was there.
Lucky me, I was the only one inside. The teller was young, barely out of high school. Based on her face, I was sure I knew her parents though I didn’t bring it up. She seemed more interested in getting me out so she could go back to whatever she was doing on her phone.
I might have stopped by to see Aiden to smooth things over. But distance was probably better for both of us. Me seeing him now would only add to the speculation surrounding us.
At home, I went straight to Dad’s office downstairs, the room we’d converted into a bedroom for Evan’s stay. It was still a bedroom. I hadn’t done anything to the room since kicking him out. The sheets were still tangled. I left it. Dad had moved some boxes upstairs into the spare bedroom to make room for Evan’s stuff while he was in town.
Everything was boxed up, and I didn’t think he’d have his will there. I left that room and went into his bedroom. I stopped in the doorway. The room faintly smelled of him and my eyes misted. God, I missed him. I forced myself forward and opened his closet. His clothes hung there in anticipation of being worn. I’d have to decide what to do with them, but not now.
I crouched to find his home safe sitting on the floor. I didn’t have to guess at the code. It was my mother’s birthday. Though that was an easily hacked number, dad wouldn’t change it.
Inside, his gun sat on top. I pulled it out and set it to the side with the barrel facing away from me. I’d been taught at a young age all about gun safety. Then, I pulled out four stacks of bills. Dad believed in being prepared. In the event we had to leave in a hurry because of weather or any other natural disaster, he’d want to have access to cash. Underneath was a letter with my name on it.
I rocked back as a wave of pain clenched my chest. With unsteady fingers I worked open the seal as tears poured from my eyes.
Emmabean, it began. I choked out a sob and had to close my eyes before I could read on.
If you are reading this, I guess I’ve passed on and I’m sorry for it. Because otherwise I would be telling you these words while on my death bed long in the future instead of you reading them.
First, I want to say how incredibly proud I am of you and the woman you’ve become. Yes, you are still finding your place in the world, but I have no doubt you’re on the right path.
I hope you find happiness as I did with your mother even if it’s with Evan. It’s the greatest gift one can have next to the love of one’s child.
He’d obviously written this recently, I thought. Why had he been thinking about death? Had something really been wrong with his health? I continued reading.
I know you want to leave Mason Creek. I can’t blame you. When I was young, I wanted to leave too until I met your mother. Then, I didn’t want to share her with the world. It was safer to keep her here.
I smiled a little.
I never stopped loving her and I’ll never stop loving you in this life or the next. Don’t tell the reverend I said that.
Then, I did laugh a little.
My Emma. Your life is your own. Though I leave everything to you, you choose to do what it is as you want. The house, the pub, everything. Those things are your Mom’s and my dreams. They don’t have to be yours. I’ll leave that up to you. Whatever you decide, don’t let things hold you back from being you. I trust and respect you.
If I haven’t said it enough, I love you, always,
Dad
I curled in a ball on the floor and cried while clutching the letter. My heart once again broke into a million pieces.
When my tears dried, my first instinct was to call Aiden. I didn’t want to acknowledge that. Instead, I picked myself up and went back down to the room below to purge my house of any evidence of Evan’s presence. I started with the bed sheets. Before I started the laundry, Aiden’s shirts sat neatly folded where I’d done laundry the other day. I’d caused Aiden too much embarrassment. I would need to figure out a way to return them to him without the entire town finding out.
Chapter 16
Aiden
For the last few days, I combed through hours of footage I’d gotten from the jewelry store and the auto shop because I couldn’t enter a day or time to find the segment I wanted.
The jewelry store footage hadn’t gone back far enough. Though I did watch for vehicles late at night for the BOLO for the missing girl. I found nothing.
I hit pay dirt with auto shop store footage. On the night of Doug’s death, I spotted his car go into the lot at a little past midnight. Maybe twenty minutes later, another vehicle passed the bar, but it didn’t turn into the lot. The car disappeared on Highland Place at a slow pace. I couldn’t tell if it stopped and parked before it went out of range. I made a note of the license plate. A quick search led me to a car rental company.
Since Emma’s father’s death hadn’t been ruled a homicide or suspicious death, I couldn’t compel the rental company to give me the name of the person who rented that car.
I’d sent Emma the information she needed to set up a private autopsy a few days ago. I’d gotten back a thank you and nothing else. I hadn’t seen or heard from her since. I had to assume she was avoiding me. Since I hadn’t called her, was I doing the same?
Sighing, I scrubbed a hand over my face. I was tired and considering what I would have for dinner
when I got a call.
“Cory?” I asked.
“Hey man. Can you meet me at Sal’s?”
It was the name of a bar a few towns over. I checked my watch. My shift was nearly over, and I needed to eat. I would finish looking at footage later. “Okay. I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
The place was more than half empty when I walked in. I spotted Cory sitting alone at a four top. I took the seat across from him.
“You couldn’t meet me in town?” I asked.
“Everyone hates me,” he complained.
The everyone he talked about sided with my sister on how he’d treated her. “What’s going on?” I asked, because he had to have a reason to want to talk to me.
“I heard you were back in town.”
That couldn’t be it, so I stayed silent knowing he’d end up telling me the real reason.
“I thought maybe you could put in a good word for me.”
“With who?” I asked, raising a brow.
“Your sister for one. If she forgives me maybe I could come back without being chased out of town with pitchforks.”
Of course, he was joking but it wasn’t far from the truth. I shook my head. “Can’t help you there. Alana doesn’t want me in her business. Besides, if I talk to her, you’ll have to confess everything you did. And we both know I’ll have to kick your ass. It’s better if I only hear rumors and not the truth.”
Cory had been a decent guy with a lot of ambition. His foray into the rodeo had buckle bunnies chasing him. Hard on a man not to fall when you’re out on the road for weeks. That didn’t give him a pass for breaking my sister’s heart. It did, however, give a reason.
“I still love her,” he said, like that would create sway in his favor.
“Maybe you do, maybe you don’t. But I’m not the one you need to convince.”
His shoulders slumped. “Come on Aiden. You’re my closest friend. Who else can I talk to?”
“A therapist,” I joked.
He drank the rest of his beer and waved a hand to the waitress for another. She came over and gave me all her attention. “Hey sugar, what can I get you?”
She was cute, but she wasn’t Emma. “A beer and a burger.”
She nodded and would have walked away, but Cory said, “Another beer, please.”
I don’t know what he’d done to her, but she scowled before taking his empty bottle and leaving.
“Women,” Cory said. “Speaking of, what’s up with Emma Hawkins. I heard she’s engaged.”
“That’s what they say.”
He eyed me suspiciously. “They also say she was seen wearing your shirt early one morning.”
Fire burned in my gut. “You shouldn’t listen to rumors. Besides, where are you getting your information if you can’t come to town?”
“My parents still talk to me,” he said, defensively. I didn’t think that was his source. “So, is it true?”
“We’re friends.”
“That’s all?” he asked with a sly smile like he’d won the lottery of information. “Because Emma is hot. I would have tried to hook up with her before but she’s friends with Alana. I think enough time has passed where I could date her friend, don’t you think?”
What I thought in the saloon style pub was drawing my gun and shooting him between the eyes for suggesting such a thing. But it wasn’t the eighteen hundreds, and that action would get me the death penalty in Montana.
“I think if you ever think about Emma that way again, I’ll kill you.”
He rocked back on his chair and pointed at me. “I knew it. You still have it bad for sweet Emma Hawkins. How does Darcy feel about that? She’s a sweet piece of ass I haven’t had the pleasure of tasting.”
“Darcy doesn’t need your kind of trouble.”
He sat back up, front chair legs hitting the floor.
“Darcy needs someone who will settle down and take care of her. You, on the other hand, don’t seem ready for that.”
“Come on, Aiden. I’m just yanking your chain. You wouldn’t tell me shit otherwise. I still want Alana,” he said sheepishly. “I really fucked that up.”
“You did.”
My beer and burger arrived, and I let him tell me about life on the rodeo. As much as I believed he still cared about my sister, he wasn’t right for her.
When I got home, I called her. “I know you want me to stay out of your life, but I just saw Cory.” I told her about our conversation. The parts that had to do with her. She listened and didn’t comment.
“Is that all?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Thanks.”
And that was it. I hadn’t seen much of her since I’d been back in town. She was true to her word of doing her own thing and I had to let her.
Later that night, I couldn’t sleep. I sat on my bed with my laptop reviewing the security footage frame by frame to see just where the rental car had gone when my phone rang.
“Emma,” I said.
She sniffed. “They’re doing it now. I thought I could be here by myself—”
“You don’t have to. I’ll be there.”
I took off the shorts I’d been wearing, threw on some jeans, and grabbed my keys. I drove the long way avoiding a drive through town and pulled up behind Emma’s MINI Cooper ten minutes later.
There in the dark, a backhoe worked to remove dirt. I hopped out of my truck and went to Emma’s passenger side. I knocked. She turned and moonlight lit up her face. I took in her red-rimmed eyes before she unlocked the door.
It was almost comical how I had to fold myself to get into her car. I was tall and the car was low to the ground. Once in, it was semi-comfortable. Better than I thought. I reached out an arm and Emma leaned into me. I held her while she cried. This couldn’t be easy. I didn’t want to imagine the day I would have to say goodbye to either or both of my parents. She’d done it twice.
I stroked her hair and murmured things like ‘I’ve got you’ as her father’s grave was unearthed.
“It’s going to be some kind of awful tomorrow,” she said in my chest. “I asked them to do it late or really early, but people are going to find out.”
They were and there would be lots of questions. I was happy the sheriff was away. Though he’d hear about it even on the lake. Someone would call and he would call me. I wasn’t looking forward to it.
“Am I making a mistake?” she asked, on a hiccupping whimper.
“You want justice for your dad?”
She jerkily nodded without pulling away.
“Then you’re doing the right thing.”
“I hope so. This is costing me a fortune.”
I was angry then. “If the sheriff would have done his job, it wouldn’t have cost you a thing.”
She pulled away. “What do you know?”
“Not much. But he should have investigated it. The missing security disk was enough to question the circumstances surrounding your father’s death. Doing an autopsy then would have given answers that we might not get now.”
“You haven’t found anything else?”
Because we hadn’t spoken, I brought her up to date. “I have security footage of a car driving by the bar shortly after your father arrived.”
“It didn’t stop?”
I shook my head. “But it was driving slow as if the person was calculating whether or not to go in.”
“Did you get the license plate?”
“I did. But it’s a rental. Without suspicion of a crime, I won’t be able to get a judge to sign off on a warrant to get more information.”
“Will the autopsy help?”
“It could.” I was banking on it.
Emma would face backlash if she dug up her father and the medical examiner couldn’t label her father’s death as either suspicious or a homicide. And unlike wearing my shirt, that was something the town people would never forget.
When they brought up the casket, I held onto her tighter until the contractor came over with something
she needed to sign. Then they drove off with her father in a van.
“I don’t want to be alone,” she said.
The only question was, “Your place or mine?”
“Yours,” she said. “I don’t care what anyone says.”
When we arrived at my place, I had her park her car out back in the garage while I parked my truck in the driveway. No matter what she said, she didn’t need the added scrutiny of the town. It would be bad enough when everyone questions why she dug up her father.
Back in my bed, she wore another one of my shirts. This time a favorite baseball tee I’d kept from high school. I hadn’t been as big, so this one barely covered her ass.
The sadness in her eyes kept me in check as I held her.
“You can always tell people it’s none of their business,” I said, after placing a kiss on the top of her head.
“About us or about my dad?” she asked before yawning.
That caught me off guard and I struggled with an answer. Before I could, her breathing evened out. She was tired, and probably not sleeping.
My answer would have to wait.
One thing I did know was staying away from her would be impossible. She felt way too good in my arms to give up without a fight.
Chapter 17
Emma
For the hundredth time I cursed Jack and one of my other bartenders for calling out sick tonight. Saturdays were the busiest at the bar and I was down two people. It left me with an all-girl crew. It wasn’t that I didn’t think I could handle it. I was pissed because I was pretty damn sure Jack had done it on purpose to make a point.
It had been a few days since my sleepover at Aiden’s. I’d left early without getting spotted. Even my neighbor hadn’t caught me slinking into my house around dawn. I hated to leave him, but I didn’t want him to get more grief.
Lucky for me, so far no one had been bold enough to ask me about my dad’s coffin being dug up. It could have been because a man whose family had all left town passed the day before. People could have assumed they were digging his grave if they saw the dirt and didn’t go into the cemetery for a closer inspection.
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