Page 23 of Sugar Coated Lies
Phew.It’s not his typical behavior to show up at the farm unannounced, although it’s happened. But if it’s not Benedict’s presence, who or what has Everleigh on edge? Wanting to know what’s wrong gnaws at me, making my clothes feel too tight.Let it go. I can find out later when Tennie and Easton are occupied.Waiting is the least suspicious response. She’s fine. Millie will take care of her. I tug at the collar of my polo.
“What’s wrong?” Tennie eyes me.
“Nothing. I just remembered I have a conference call I can’t miss. Sorry, guys. You’ll have to go without me.” I spin on my heel and head back to the farm store.
Chapter7
Daire
Once inside the store,I stop and peer through the glass cutouts in the doors to see if Easton and Tennie are following me.
Far in the distance, they stroll down a row of pecan trees toward the lake. Good.
I walk at a casual pace through the store to the café. No one is behind the counter, but we don’t have customers, so it’s fine.
Before venturing to the kitchen, where I hear things being shuffled about, I make sure no one is watching me.
Violet dusts the cashier counter, while Jesse restocks the syrup and jam shelf. Neither seems to have noticed me.
I make my way behind the counter and push the door open a tiny bit. The scent of warm, sugary desserts teases my nose. Millie and Everleigh stand with their backs to me, baking up a storm. Appliances clutter the stainless-steel counters, flour covers one, and bowls and fresh out-of-the-oven pastries line another. The two talk and giggle like old friends. Everleigh’s soft posture and relaxed demeanor, so different from how she was when I met her and earlier on the back porch, stirs something in me. Happiness for her and for me. I did this. I fixed the disaster I created, quelled my guilt, and put this intriguing young woman in a much better place than where I found her.
She turns her head to Millie, a smile on her lips and a dash of flour on her cheek.
There is nothing erotic about this vision, and yet I’ve never been so riveted. Everleigh surprises me at every encounter. I like it…more than I should. It’s just that the farm is well established. Running it takes little effort: checking in on things, attending meetings and conference calls, getting updates, as well as my upgrades to some of our policies and out-of-date systems.
As with most things in my life, running the farm comes easy. Perhaps a challenge is what I seek, and here before me lies one.
I don’t know anything about this woman, other than what I’ve seen and what my gut has told me. She fits in effortlessly, it seems, but to be certain I haven’t made a mistake that will come back to haunt me, I need to know more about her.
I hustle toward the stairs and climb the steps to my office two at a time. I close the door and quickly pull up the email of a private investigator my father uses on occasion to establish information on pledging board members.
I send Steven the information I have on Everleigh and what I want—hope—to learn about Benedict last summer and his alleged stolen American Express card.
“You look hard at work.” My dad’s voice reaches me from the doorway.
I glance up. “Hey. I didn’t expect to see you today.”
“I was driving by and thought I’d stop in.” He shrugs and steps inside. “Are you busy?”
“No. Come on in.” I stand and gesture for him to enter. “What can I do for you?”
“I was looking for Easton. Have you seen him?” Dad saunters to the bookcase and hidden bar that he had installed when this office belonged to him. “Still got the bourbon, I see. Good.”
I haven’t used that bar since he insisted I take over this office after I graduated and officially claimed my role as VP. I think he did it to entice me to be here more often.
“It’s not even noon,” I point out.
He glances at his watch. “Close enough.” He pours himself a glass and offers me one.
“No, thanks.” I close my email, shut the laptop, and answer his question. “Last I saw Easton, he was headed for the lake with Tennie. How long will she be staying with us?”
“Well…” He sips his bourbon. “Her parents will be with us for another week, then we’re all leaving for a short golf trip. Tennie isn’t interested in joining us, which means she’ll either be at the house with Easton or she’ll return to Atlanta.”
Her family has an estate in Sandy Springs, but they keep a house in Franklin, Tennessee, not far from Nashville, where Tennie was born.
“I don’t know if leaving them alone together is a good idea.”
Dad raises his brows at that. “They’re adults. They’re free to make their own decisions, and you’ll be there, right? You said you were staying for a while. I can’t tell you how happy that makes me and your mother.”
