Page 61 of The Forbidden Note

“Where did the girls go?” Sol asks.

“They went to change out of their funeral clothes,” Dutch answers.

“Cadey looks like she’s holding it together,” I note.

“It’s just a front. She’s torn up about this, but she doesn’t want to be.”

Sol nods as if he gets it.

I’m glad to see Dutch and Sol talking politely again. There’s still some unresolved tension, but at least it doesn’t feel like they’re on the edge of duking it out.

My eyes slide to the driveway where dad was parked last night.

“Guys, there’s something I need to tell you,” I say.

Finn, Dutch, and Sol were already starting to head inside, but they stop when they hear the serious note in my voice.

“Dad came to visit me last night.”

Finn’s eyes widen.

Sol stiffens.

Dutch glares at me. “What did he say?”

I give them a quick summary.

Dutch runs a hand through his hair. “If dad is sniffing around Cadey, trying to figure out if she’s pregnant…” He sighs. “What will he do if the answer is yes? He was crazy enough to throw me in jail to get his hands on this inheritance.”

“I’m starting to think moving away is a better idea,” Finn says.

I shake my head. “Before you buy your plane ticket, I have a plan.”

“What plan?” Sol asks.

“To stop dad.”

“And how do we do that?” Dutch growls.

I smirk. “We ruin his marriage.”

Dutch narrows his eyes. “I’m not staking Cadey’s life on a joke, Zane.”

“It’s not a joke.” I look each of my brothers in the eye. “Dad only cares about the inheritance because he qualifies. And he only qualifies because he’s married. So how do we knock him out of the race where it hurts?”

“We destroy his ticket in,” Finn whispers.

Dutch looks thoughtful.

“It’s crazy,” Sol says with a shake of his head.

“Crazy enough to work.”

Finn studies me with those sharp eyes. “Convincing Miss Jamieson’s mother to let go of dad won’t be easy. She loves him.”

“Love doesn’t last forever.”

Sol snorts.

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