Page 17 of Caught in the Axe
She hadn’t said a bad word about him, but I could only imagine what could have gone down. My mind took off with possibilities, each one worse than the one before, making my blood heat and my fists clench.
If he had hurt her in any way…
With a deep breath in, I rolled my shoulders.
Lila was triggering protective instincts I never knew I had. I wasn’t usually the kind of guy who got up in arms over drama between other people. Maybe it was because she was so young. I’d never had a little sister, but that was the only reason that made sense. The tightness in my chest was more than just the heartburn I knew was coming.
It seemed impossible that I’d left Boston just yesterday. My normal life seemed so far away. However, one glance at my phone brought reality slamming into me. The one hundred emails or so needing my attention hit like a solid punch to the gut.
I climbed out of my car and slipped my phone into my pocket, determined to avoid thinking about work for just a little longer.
As I carried boxes of files toward the large wrap-around porch, a sharp whistle rent the air. Within seconds, two large dogs were sniffing around my legs. I bobbled the boxes but recovered before they could fall to the ground.
“Rochester. Heathcliff,” a booming voice called. “Down!”
I spun at the sound, catching sight of Henri Gagnon, my landlord, and a lanky boy with too-long hair who came up to his shoulder walking down the driveway. It had been years since I’d seen Henri, but he hadn’t changed much. His beard was thicker, but he had the same barrel chest and permanent scowl. The dogs abandoned me and took off at a run for him.
Once I’d set the boxes down, I turned and wiped my hands on my jeans. When Henri was close, I offered my hand. Instead of taking it, the flannel-wearing lumberjack pulled me in for a hug.
When he released me, I stumbled, confused. Had a Gagnon—a member of the family my dad had done his best to convince us boys to despise—just hugged me? What was happening here?
“Settled in okay?”
With a nod, I bent to scratch one of the dogs behind the ear.
Henri stepped to one side and tipped his chin at the boy with him. “This is my son, Tucker.”
The lanky boy, dressed in a Gagnon Lumber hoodie, had floppy dark hair that he pushed out of his eyes. “Tucker Gagnon.” He stuck his skinny arm out, offering me a surprisingly firm handshake.
Henri looked down at him and gave him a smile far softer than I thought was possible for this man.
“You’re my Uncle Finn’s brother?” he asked.
I shifted, at a loss for how to answer. It seemed simple. Yes, Finn was my brother. But this Gagnon kid had justreferred to him as his uncle. Damn, things really had changed around here.
Henri grimaced and stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “He’s not your uncle yet,” he said.
If I wasn’t mistaken, there was a hint of discomfort in his voice. Again, I didn’t have a little sister, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that Henri probably wasn’t thrilled that Finn had knocked up Adele.
Tucker scowled at his dad. “He’s going to marry Auntie Adele, and they’re having a baby.”
Henri grunted. “Yup. And she’s not gonna take it easy on him.”
“Does that mean you’re also my uncle?” Tucker asked me, his head tilted in curiosity.
“Uh…” That title, uncle, always made me feel a little itchy. Merry was great, but I hadn’t spent much time with her, and all this small-town familiarity was making me feel claustrophobic as well.
Thankfully, Henri intervened. “My wife Alice is up at our house making a welcome to town lasagna for you. I’ll bring it down later.”
“And these are for you,” Tucker said, shoving a brown carton of eggs at me.
I frowned at the eggs, then back up at the kid.
Henri huffed a laugh. “My beautiful wife insisted on buying our kids baby chicks. That meant I had to build a predator-proof chicken coop and run. She swore the kids would do all the work. The kids swore they would too. And guess who feeds and waters them every day?”
“You make me clean the coop,” the boy protested, crossing his arms over his chest.
He clapped Tucker on the shoulder. “Builds character.”
