Page 15 of Daddy's Pursuit
The sheriff’s deputy looked apologetic as he stepped up. “Ma’am, it looks like Mrs. Harkness was experiencing some dementia. She didn’t realize what was going on. She received plenty of notices.” He sighed and shook his head. “I hate that it played out this way, but under the law, well…”
“Under the law I own this house!” the rude man declared curtly.
“ButIdidn’t get those notices,” Iris tried.
The man waved off her protest. “Doesn’t matter. The notices were sent to the property owner. Whatever arrangement you and her had is none of my concern. She got moved to a nursing home today. Now you need to pack your things and get out.” He sneered. “Not that you have much.”
Anger and embarrassment flashed through Iris. That man had obviously entered the garage apartment. Had he seen herstuff? She didn’t have anything she wouldn’t want anyone to see—like Little gear. She couldn’t afford that. Still, just the thought of him snooping around enraged her.
And made her feel ashamed.
He’d clearly noted what measly possessions she owned. They might not be much to him, but to her they were the world.
“Ma’am,” the large, muscular deputy said in a soft tone, “I don’t like this either. But unfortunately, I’m bound by the law. He owns this house. Do you have anywhere you can go? Friends or family to stay with?”
Up until that point, Iris had kept the tears at baby. But that question forced them out.
“No,” she admitted. “There’s no one.”
He nodded in understanding. “Do you have money for a hotel?”
She shook her head.
“That’s not my concern, either,” the grumpy, greedy man said, waving his hand once again. “I don’t owe you anything and don’t look for a handout from me!”
“I can drive you to a shelter,” the deputy said. “Introduce you to the directors. They’re nice people and will give you a bed until you can get on your feet.”
She should have taken him up on the offer, but for some reason, she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Instead, she shook her head and said, “It’s okay. Thank you, though.”
She hung her head, her shoulders shaking as she started to sob. She hated that they were seeing her like this, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it.
Finally, after she was able to compose herself enough to speak, she said, “I’ll go… get my stuff.”
“You have thirty minutes,” the new owner barked.
Don’t worry,Iris thought. It won’t even take me that long.
I don’t have that much.
Chapter Ten
Jack didn’t like this one bit.
It felt creepy, checking up on this young lady like he was. But Athena suspected Iris needed help, and Jack couldn’t turn a blind eye to that. Plus, he’d known the Auntie long enough to know her gut was usually right.
So, he parked his car a ways down from the address listed on Iris’ application and walked along the sidewalk until he found the old Victorian mansion.
“Damn,” he muttered under his breath.
The way that place looked, he wouldn’t have been a bit surprised to see a ghost looking out one of the windows before disappearing into the night. If he believed in that sort of thing.
Something else looked off about the house, too. It was dark. Almost unsettlingly so.
A lone, dim streetlamp barely provided enough illumination for him to make out a few details. But he could see that beyond the waist-high, battered and crooked white picket fence was a yard thick with growth. A giant tree stood in the center, and it had been so long since it had been trimmed that its branches were bumping the house’s roof.
Other than that, he couldn’t tell much, though he suspected sunlight would reveal a fading paint job and worn siding.
He knew from her application to the nursery that Iris didn’t live in the main house, but a garage apartment. Following the sidewalk, he curved around the corner lot to the back of the property. Sure enough, a detached building was there, next to a narrow alleyway.
