Page 68 of The Moment They Can Never Forgive
The Dukes had helped make it a warm, dry house to live in and did a few repairs outside, but there was still so much more to do, and she needed to get on with it.
This was hers now, hers and Hudson’s, for better or worse. Her father was never coming back here.
“Right, buddy, this is your new home,” Leah said, opening her door. “Come on inside and take a look around.”
He jumped out behind her, and after she collected her things from the back seat, they headed inside. Leah went to the kitchen, and the dog followed, sniffing everything he passed. She put the things on the counter, then rummaged under the sink and found two large bowls.
“You hungry?”
The dog tilted his head. She filled one bowl with water and the other with food.
“Have at it.”
When the dog had finished, Leah decided to go outside.
“Okay, now, we’re going exploring,” Leah said, heading out the back door with the dog on her heels. She felt better knowing she wasn’t going into her father’s sheds alone because yet more memories awaited her there, and none of them good. But it was time. Leah also thought they’d had an old doghouse once, and if that was the case, it would still be here somewhere.
Walking around the side of the house, she saw the ladder hanging down from the tree. Moving closer, she realized that someone had been here and finished the tree house. Had Dan done that? Leah would have to find out who and thank them. She didn’t want it to be Dan but thought it likely, as he’d made the promise to Hudson.
“We’ll deal with that later,” she said to the dog as she headed away from the house toward the barns.
She and Hudson had already spent lots of time in them. Leah was excited about the project and couldn’t wait to see their efforts turned into actual produce.
The first barn was the smallest and closest to the house, which would be good for her supplies.
There wasn’t much inside but dust, mold, and firewood, which would come in handy in the winter months. Looking up, she noted a hole that would need fixing in the roof.But it’s useable,she thought.
Wandering around the space with the dog on her heels, she found a pair of bolt cutters, some other tools, a box of rusty nails, and a pile of canvas tarps. In another box she found a supply of paint.
The feds had gone through the barns after her father’s arrest, and thinking about that time made her angry, so she shut those thoughts down and closed the doors before moving on to the second barn. This one had a chain and padlock.
After retrieving the bolt cutters from the first barn, Leah broke the lock, the dog watching her every move.
“I’ll tell you right off, dog, my father was an asshole. So don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
This barn held tools and equipment her father had used to run his illegal chop shop business. The one that had put him in jail, a place he’d never leave.
The feds had taken everything of value and all the papers her father had kept, so the leftovers would be worthless, but maybe she could sell some of the tools.
Leah would head back to the house and find something to write on soon. She needed to do a full inventory. Any money she could make from selling things would help with her own business.
She closed the door again and moved on to the third barn.
It would be the ultimate revenge if she could make a success of something here when her father had been an abject failure at everything, including parenting.
Chapter 19
Her father had been a hoarder. He kept everything, no matter how worthless.
Every day in the Reynolds household had been a struggle for Cassie and Leah. They’d had to beg him for money for food, clothing, or school supplies. Bastard.But he’d always had money for what he wanted, which was usually nothing anyone needed, and would end up in one of his barns, unused.
The third barn held a rusty tractor, a pile of hay, and plenty of old furniture, but still no doghouse. A few things, with some refurbishing, she could use in the house or sell. Shutting that door, Leah moved on to the last barn.
This lock seemed sturdier and newer. The effort to break it was harder, but she managed it. Dropping the cutters, Leah slid the bolt open and then the doors. Entering the barn, she thought it felt different from the others. Less messy. There was still some clutter, but it was mostly empty.
She found pallets placed in a square on the floor. What had her father used those for? Two wooden crates were neatly stacked in one corner full of sacks of grain.
“Does grain go off, dog? I have so many questions and no answers.”
