Page 88 of Wood Riddance
“It’s fine. We need more detailed information. I’ve contacted Mrs. Garner, and she’s been helpful, but she’s been gone for five years now.”
Figured. My dad’s longtime comptroller was well into her retirement, but back in the day, she knew everything going on at Hebert. I had no doubt that things didn’t go to shit until after she took off for sunny Florida.
“What are you suggesting?”
“Go see Dad in prison.”
My gut roiled at the thought, and my chest constricted so tight I was worried I wouldn’t be able to walk my ass home without passing out. “Fuck no.”
“Gus and Jude have been once before. They’re coordinating another trip. Go with them.”
“You’re out of your mind if you think I’m going to the state pen to see my murderer father.”
“That’sourmurderer father,” he said, back up on his high horse. “And yes, you are. You’ll take a list of questions with you. I’ll have my assistant send them to you in the next couple of days. Get answers for me,” he urged, this time sounding the slightest bit desperate. “Take notes. You don’t even have to look him in the eye if you don’t want to, but please go.”
I focused on breathing steadily to be sure I wouldn’t keel over right here. The thought of seeing him made me sick. But Owen had a point. We couldn’t sell without cleaning things up first.
And we needed to sell. I needed my cut so I could start my business, and then we could all move on.
Not to mention, there was a teeny, tiny part of me that felt guilty. Like I had some atoning to do. After all, I’d worked for the business for more than a year and had never noticed my father’s shady dealings. Maybe if I helped my brothers get this all squared away, the constant weight on my shoulders would lift.
When I moved back to Lovewell, my father had offered me work. He was practically begging me to join the family business. After years of successfully avoiding it, I gave in, especially when he offered me a brand-new plane.
Flying for Hebert timber was a cushy gig, and it had given me the time I needed to plan my next move while I socked away as much money as I could.
Part of me had hated having to eat crow. Giving in to my father’s nepotism. Especially after he had treated my mother and my brothers so poorly. But it meant I could give my baby girl a good life.
But timber had been losing value for years. I should have questioned how he could afford all the state-of-the-art machinery and the cars and the houses. We shared access to the logging roads with three other families, all with timber claims almost as large as ours. Despite also being some of the biggest logging outfits in Maine, they were struggling and making cuts. Yet Hebert had expanded?
I had been ignorant. Willfully. I’d taken the plane and the job, and I’d put on my blinders. I’d let him bribe me into working for him.
So I had a part to play to get things sorted out, as much as I didn’t want it. Because like it or not, I had to make things work here in Lovewell, the town that despised my family. I had to figure out how to thrive while surrounded by the people who knew all my dad’s dirty secrets.
My daughter was here, and my family was here. They needed me. So I’d do whatever it took.
“Fuck it. I’ll go.”
* * *
There was a fresh blueberry pie, a bouquet of daisies, and a package of frighteningly expensive gourmet dog treats on the seat beside me. I’d win that dog over if it killed me. It didn’t matter that he was tiny. He didn’t seem to notice how I towered over him. And I had no doubt he’d rip a hole in my arm if I even looked at Adele wrong.
I was upping my game. We’d been sneaking around and hooking up and flirting when no one was watching. But like I’d told her the night she showed up at my apartment, I was all in. What we had was real, and while we were focused on having fun at the moment, we were building toward a future.
The more time I spent with her, the more I adored her. This was so much more than lust and sex. She was hilarious, and she was sweet when she thought no one was looking. And pushing her buttons was my new favorite hobby.
Tonight, I was riding the kind of high I’d only ever felt when flying missions. But right now, there was no danger, no adrenaline. Only lust and affection for this singularly spectacular woman.
Not even the phone call from Owen or the sinking realization that I’d have to face my father soon could bring me down. Damn, I was a goner.
I had turned off route 901 when the phone rang.
“She-Ra,” I said when the call connected through Bluetooth. “I know you can’t wait to get my clothes off, but I’ll be there in five.”
“No. It’s not that,” she whispered. “Mrs. Dupont just walked by and paused on the sidewalk in front of my house. I swear she was looking in the windows.”
“Okay…”
“She walks that yappy Pomeranian. You know which one I’m talking about? That dog is pure asshole. He-Man hates it.” In the background, there was a quick metal-against-metal sound, like she was pulling her curtains closed. “She’s the biggest gossip in town. I think she’s onto us.”
