Page 21 of Hidden Desires

Marc cautiously moved toward his girlfriend and kissed her cheek. “Hey, babe. What can I do?”

“Well, plenty.” She finally turned to give him a real kiss. “Let’s eat first.”

She looked at the food Jackson laid out on the counter. “Did you get enough for all of us? I mean, if not, we can go out. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Yeah, sure.” Jackson began to make his own sandwich. “When will Autumn be back?”

She shrugged. “You could try her cell.”

After everyone settled down with their food, Jackson got Autumn’s cell number and punched it in his phone. She picked up on the second ring.

“Hey,” Jackson waited for a response and then added when she said nothing, “Uh, did you get everything settled?”

“No.”

“You okay?”

“No.”

Jackson glanced over at Summer and Marc, who were watching attentively. “When are you coming back to the clinic? I got lunch for us and Marc came over after his shift to help out.”

“Jackson, I can’t deal with this right now.” She sniffled. “I just can’t, so please stop.”

He stood, food forgotten and went to the door. “Where are you?”

“Driving back to the clinic from the bank.”

Jackson pushed the door open and stepped outside away from the crowd. “What happened with the insurance?”

She sniffled again. “Their records say I haven’t paid my bill for an entire year. It’s not true, but the agent said they canceled my insurance and that I’ll be fined if I don’t come up with money to pay them and renew my policy.”

Jackson pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why would the records say that if you paid them?”

“I don’t know. I thought my bank statements or canceled checks would account for proof of payment, but they magically disappeared from my account as well. The bank said the checks were voided or not cashed. There was no record of them anywhere in the system. I tried pleading with Dan at the insurance place, but he said it was business not personal.” He heard something make a thumping noise. “I swear Gallagher is behind this. I just know it.”

“Why?”

“Because they are friends. I wouldn’t put it past him to pay Dan to suddenly make paperwork disappear. Frank always said everyone had a price, you just had to find out what it was.”

Jackson fumed. He gripped his cell phone tight in one hand while he fisted the other. “How much money do you need?”

She told him the amount.

“Fuck. That’s ridiculous. Go with a different company.”

“I can’t. It’s a monopoly in a small town, Jax. There is no other company.”

Jackson pursed his lips and stared out into the street. Fishy didn’t even begin to describe what was going on. Nor did anything make sense.

“I’m at the bank. I’ll call you when I’m on my way.”

They disconnected and Jackson went back inside. He told Summer and Marc the bullshit Autumn told him about the insurance and the non-payment and the owed bills. “So how did she get mixed up with him?”

Summer shrugged. “Gallagher was the stud of their vet school. He came from a line of veterinarians, and his father was dean on the board. He was like the cool kid in a long list of nobodies.” She sorted through some of the papers and handed them to Marc who filed them away. She brushed her hair from her face. “Autumn, of course, was the intelligent one. She showed him up on everything they did and Frank couldn’t stand that. It was almost like he had to be good at something just because his family expected it. I don’t know why Autumn agreed to date him, but he only used her. She was his lab partner, the one who basically did all his work for him. She didn’t see it then, but the little twit used her ideas and backed them with his money so he came out smelling like a rose. Finally, though, he called her a name, and she gave him a good punch or two. I was so proud of her that day.”

Jackson didn’t need to ask any more. He had heard enough as it was. The protective streak he had developed was a mile long and at least a mile wide. He would love nothing more than to visit this pompous asshole and finish him off.

“How long have you known Autumn?” Jackson asked Summer.

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