Page 117 of Let It Breathe
June frowned. “Sally Kreitzer brought me a dozen eggs from her farm the other day, but I hardly think she’d burn down our barn.”
“You didn’t give her any of the meringue cookies you made,” Axl pointed out. “Maybe she took it personally.”
Larissa raised her hand. “What about that religious group that showed up last week asking if we sold any nonalcoholic wine?”
Eric looked at Reese. “Didn’t you just fire one of the field hands last month? The one you caught stealing Larissa’s underwear?”
“That guy was sweet,” Larissa argued. “I don’t think he’d light our barn on fire.”
“Clay,” Reese heard herself say. “Clay is new here.”
Everyone stopped talking and stared at her. Reese felt her face heat up. “What?”
“Jesus, Reese,” Larissa said.
“I’m not accusing him,” she pointed out. “I thought we were just throwing out names of people who’d been on the premises, right? New additions, strange people, unexpected visitors, that sort of thing.”
Larissa shook her head and frowned. “You really think the worst of him, don’t you? That’s what this all comes down to.”
Reese threw her hands up. “No more than Mom thinks the worst of Shirley the egg lady or Dad thinks of the repair guy or?—”
“Who is this Clay character?” the fire marshal asked.
“Old buddy of mine,” Eric volunteered, his gaze fixed on Reese’s face. “He’s heading up the construction crew on the new tasting room. Good guy.”
The fire marshal nodded, scribbling in his notebook. “Last name?”
“I can’t believe you,” Larissa hissed, narrowing her eyes at Reese. “After everything he’s done to try to get his life back together, to prove he’s a decent guy, and you go throwing his name out like?—”
“Cut it out, Larissa,” Reese snapped. She wished like hell she’d never said anything. She didn’t really think he’d done it, did she?
“This Clay,” the fire marshal interrupted. “Is he the same gentleman who spotted the fire and called 911 that night?”
“You’re right!” Larissa gasped in mock horror. “I’m sure that means he started the fire!”
Reese rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I said. And who appointed you his defender, anyway?”
“Well, someone has to do it.”
“And you’re always eager to do it, aren’t you, ’Riss?”
Larissa narrowed her eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” Reese said, hating herself for being such a bitch but unable to put a cap on the hurt and anger simmering since yesterday. “Can we just move on?”
“No!” Larissa snapped. “I want to know what you meant by that. Let’s get this out on the table now.”
Reese gritted her teeth, knowing she should just shut up. Knowing she was going to regret whatever came out of her mouth next but somehow not finding the strength to care. She took a breath.
“Fine,” she bit out. “You want to go there? We’ll go there. I think you’re letting the fact that you slept with Clay cloud your judgment.”
“Yeah?” Larissa said. “That’s funny. I was going to say the same thing to you.”
Eric sat up in his chair. “Wait, what?”
“Woo-hoo!” Axl hooted. “This is getting good.”
The fire marshal frowned. “Um, ladies, if we could just get back to?—”
