Page 155 of It Happened on the Lake

Harper Reed.

Evan’s sister.

Olivia Dixon’s granddaughter.

Anna Reed’s daughter.

George Dixon’s granddaughter.

And, of course, Chase Hunt’s girlfriend.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, didn’t want to reopen all the old wounds.

Not so Michelle “Chelle” Brown. Nu-uh. She was eager to rip off all the bandages, reveal the scars, dig deep, and excise the truth.

I suppose it’s time, he thought as he got out of his chair and headed into the hallway.

But it was gonna sting.

It was gonna sting like a bitch.

Chapter 39

“Hey. I got your message but don’t have a lot of time,” Dawn said from the other end of the telephone connection.

Harper couldn’t help but smile at the sound of her daughter’s voice. It was so good to hear from her. “I’m in between classes,” Dawn rushed on, “but I wanted to know that you were okay.”

“Still hanging in there.” Harper was cradling the phone receiver between her shoulder and chin as she washed out the ramekins she’d left out for Jinx. They hadn’t been touched, and she didn’t want to attract any rats, especially now that she knew they were lurking due to Beth’s maniacal driving skills.

“I’m trying to find a time to come up,” Dawn said. “To see you and Grandpa. He’s out of the hospital now, right?”

“Yes. I talked to Marcia. I offered to stop by, but she discouraged it. At least for the time being. She thought he needed his rest.”

“What did he say?”

“I don’t know,” Harper admitted, placing the cleaned dishes on a towel near the sink. “I didn’t talk to him.”

“Isn’t that weird?”

“A little, I guess, but you know Marcia.” Even after all these years, she couldn’t refer to her stepmother as Grandma, even though Marcia had been around all of Dawn’s life. “I asked her to have him call me. So far, he hasn’t.” She dried first one of the small dishes, then the other.

“Do you think she even told him?” Dawn asked, not masking her suspicion.

“I hope so.”

“Yeah, well. If you ask me, she has him on a pretty short leash.”

Harper cringed at her own words being repeated by her kid. “I guess that’s the way he likes it.”

“More like the wayshelikes it.”

True enough, Harper thought. Marcia had always been in charge, and it ticked Harper off that her father let his wife run his life. She changed the subject. “The good news is that his ‘mild’ heart attack can be handled with a pacemaker.”

“And that’s a good thing?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Cool. And you’re okay?” she asked.

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