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“Is everything okay?”
“My wife and I are good, but that’s not what I called for.”
“Oh?” I didn’t like where the conversation was headed. With my last name plastered all over Dad’s company, people expected the family to have nice things and money.We did. Edwin didn’t seem the type to be calling for money, but I’d heard too many lines like his not to expect something.
“I need a favor.”
“I’m not sure what I can do for you—”
“It’s not for me exactly, but my sister.”
“You have a sister?” I asked, not that it mattered. “I don’t know what I could do for—”
“She needs a place to stay this week. It’s only for a week. Her apartment flooded, and she lost her job, which was kind of a good thing. I’d been trying to get her to move anyway.”
Was losing her job a polite way to hide that she was fired? Was he trying to hand off his problematic sister to an innocent bystander?
I rubbed my temple. “I don’t understand. You have a home.”
“Michael’s staying at my place for the week, and you know him. He’s a prick, and I don’t want him near my sister.”
Michael was Francis’s brother and my cousin. A fucking joke of a man. Still, that didn’t mean a stranger should be pushed off on me because of him.
“Ed…”
“I know this sounds like an odd request, but I don’t want her wasting money on a motel. She has a lot to figure out, and she needs to leave that godforsaken town. She’d do well here.”
“I don’t think I can, Ed. I don’t know her—”
“I can pay you. She won’t accept any help, but if she doesn’t know about it, it won’t bother her.”
“I don’t need your money.”
“You’re the first person that came to mind. It’s just a week, Hudson. I know we’re not close, but I’d be in your debt.”
“This is ridiculous,” I said as my shoulders sagged. “You know that, right? I don’t know her. Wouldn’t she be uncomfortable staying with a stranger?”
“Yes, but Genie is also obsessed with saving money, so she’d do it.”
What kind of name was Genie?
I sighed long and loud.
“You’re going to let her stay?” he asked.
“Why me? Why not call Jack? Or Freddy?” Even as I asked, I knew the answer. I stopped hanging out with those men years ago. They lacked decency.
“Jack is an ass toward women, and Freddy is no different. She needs a few days to relax and figure out what she’s going to do. Not be around men trying to make her situation worse.”
“I could very well be worse than them. How do you know I won’t seduce her?”
Edwin laughed. “No offense to you or my sister, but I’ve seen your type. Genie’s not anything like that one chick you dated who always wore heels and never had a hair out of place. You know all put together and shit like you.”
Something about his words irked me, like I was being judged. Hilary might have been a well-loved person in the community, but she had been cutthroat and often cruel, especially when it came to other women. Something else that confused me to no end was the competition women had with each other. Edwin probably thought Hilary was as sweet as she made herself look, which could be a problem. If he thought that, then he was clearly suggesting his sister was a hellion. I didn’t want anything to do with someone who disturbed my peace.
“If you’re suggesting that your sister is trouble...”
“She’s clumsy, awkward—a complete nerd, actually. She spends her free time reading on her tablet. That’s what I meant. She’s a mess, but I promise she’s not trouble.”
