Page 58 of Love At Peace

She was having me framed for fraud.

Chapter 22

Roarke

Iwasn’t sure when I would see Heather, but I hoped I’d be able to spend the evening with her. Since we’d reconciled, things still seemed shaky. She’d shed a lot of light on her past, and I wasn’t stupid. I knew how hard that was for her. Opening up wasn’t something she did lightly. That made it matter so much more.

She’d taken that hard, difficult step of sharing with me, and it was proof that she wanted to commit. That she cared to let me into her life.

How can she want to let me in if she really plans to take off soon?

Deep in my heart, I wanted to refuse that notion. She couldn’t actually leave. Not just because I was here, but because this was her home. Eric was here. Her job that she seemed to enjoy was here. And I could tell that she wanted to stay because she couldn’t completely hide her enthusiasm when looking at houses for sale.

She doesn’t want to go. I felt like that had to be an accurate assumption.

Until David could be dealt with, though, it was an awful waiting game.

We were all expected to show up today, the day after Thanksgiving, but it turned out that there weren’t too many urgent things to handle. So far, it was a normal Friday. It was so slow that we ended up splitting up, and I wondered if my coworkers were feeling the effects of too much turkey and beer from the day before. I wasn’t sluggish, not physically, but I appreciated the chance to ride out to check on a section of fence. It had been replaced a couple of years ago, but some cattle was still slipping through from somewhere.

The time alone wasn’t boring. It wasn’t a drag. Out here, alone with the grand, wide-open views of the landscape stretching out before me, I was almost at peace. But I couldn’t rest easy until David was out of here. I wouldn’t truly relax until Heather gave me an indication that she would stay with me or try to give us a chance. And I would lower my guard until Nevaeh came to her senses, any senses, and grew up to be responsible for once.

My thoughts kept me company as the horse took me further out. Daydreaming about Heather was an excellent way to while away this downtime as I rode along the fence, inspecting it. But worrying about my niece kept me too hung up on the hopelessness of my relationship with her.

I wasn’t her parent, but I was a concerned relative.

I wasn’t her boss, but I was nervous that she’d never take care of herself and have an income to live on.

What about the baby?

Is she going to be able to take care of a child?

It didn’t seem likely.

Is David helping her at all?

His word wouldn’t mean much, but he was wealthy from what Heather said. Marty looked him up and seemed to believe the man was loaded. If he was a lawyer, even a corrupt one, he’d have some funds to live on.

So why would he want to stick around here for long? His work is in Chicago and that’s not a short drive. Is he going to take Nevaeh there with him? Does he even know about the baby? Does he want to acknowledge the baby?

Questions hit me without pause, and I realized I’d have to try again. I had to reach my niece somehow and just make her see reason. It wasn’t just her life she was playing with anymore. An innocent baby would be impacted by her choices and actions.

Buzzes vibrated in my pocket, indicating a call was coming it. Way out here, in this area of the land, reception was spotty. I slowed the horse, though, stopping him near a thin tree line so the wind wouldn’t make too much noise as I answered my phone.

Seeing it was Gavin, I wondered what he’d want. He was further back, checking a different part of the fence.

“Hey,” I answered. My horse shook his mane and stomped a foot.

“Roarke, he’s got him,” he answered.

“What? Who’s got who?” My first thought was David, that Marty had him in custody. But I checked myself, not letting my hopes get too high yet.

“Marty. He’s going to be able to get David.”

I grinned. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah. Remember Wendy talking about Mindy Rosario and her family coming back home? They checked the Ring camera footage, and they have a picture shot of Eric’s front yard and his porch. David showed up at his place and urged him to get into his car. He was seen with him.”

“About time. About time we get a damn break like this.” My heart beat so fast, thrilled for Heather.