Page 50 of Jameson’s Salvation

“I know you didn’t. And I know you never would, even if it wasn’t Kennedy coming on to you and just some random drunk girl. I’m only bringing it up so you’ll know she told me what she did and what you said to her that night.”

“So she told you I was a dick to her.”

“Yep. And she also told me what you said to her opened her eyes to the person she’d become and she didn’t like what she saw so she changed.”

“Could’ve taken more care, I regret being such an asshole that night. But I was young and my temper got the best of me. Kennedy and I were friends, I liked hanging around her, she was always sweet and funny and palled around like she was one of the guys. And she was pretty back then, but I never thought of her as someone I would date. We were too good of friends. But that didn’t mean half the guys in school didn’t see her as a challenge, and that’s how they saw her because she turned them all down. Then her dad was killed and the change in her was immediate, a switch flipped and she was someone I didn’t know. So that night, when she came on to me, I lost it. I was so fucking angry my sweet, funny, pretty friend had turned into…” Nixon stopped and shook his head. “I shouldn’t’ve been so hard on her, I ruined our friendship. She avoided me for a long time after that. To tell you the truth, I was shocked to see her at the house. I knew she’d been close to my dad, but I was gone by then. It sucked losing her, first to the sadness of losing her dad, then again after that night.”

“You shouldn’t regret a thing. She avoided you because she was embarrassed about how she behaved. And I’m not breaking confidence when I tell you, she still to this day thinks of you as a friend. Her words were, ‘a friend I can trust with my life.’ You didn’t take advantage of her that night, and she was so drunk, you know you could’ve. Instead you saved her from a life of misery.”

Nixon nodded and continue to stare.

“What else is on your mind?” Jameson invited.

“Never seen you spend the night with a woman.”

“Nope,” Jameson unnecessarily confirmed.

“I take it you’re not sleepin’ on her couch playin’ sentry.” Jameson didn’t answer, he didn’t need to, Nix wasn’t stupid. “Right. And you’re good?”

“More than.” Jameson smiled and so did Nix.

“Suppose you are. Where are we at with Reggie Coleman?”

“Can’t prove it, but either he drilled a hole in Lola Lane’s AC line or he had someone do it.”

“Hittin’ her in the pocketbook.” Nixon echoed Jameson’s thoughts.

“Yep. And I’m not sure if Kennedy has drawn the correlation yet or not, but she told me the organic grocery store flat out cancelled their long-standing order to stock her honey. And there are two more smaller shops in town where she sells the candles she makes and some jewelry. They didn’t ask her to take her stuff out but they moved it all the way to the back of the store and haven’t sold anything in a while.”

“Goddamn it,” Nix muttered, then leaned back from the door frame and shouted down the hall, “Holden. Bring your shit down here.”

A few seconds later Holden entered the room and both men sat at the conference room table.

“Who owns the property Nature’s Choice rents from?” Nix asked.

Holden went to his computer and a minute later he had what he needed.

“Chester River Holdings owns the building. Willow Realty handles the rental.”

“Who owns Chester River Holdings?” Jameson asked.

“Hold on, I’m looking.”

“Kennedy also told me that sales have been down at the farmers market, too, but she’s blaming that on the weather, says when it’s hot attendance goes down.”

“It shouldn’t be this hard to find out who owns Chester River Holdings, but I can’t find it. We can ask Micky—”

“Ask Micky, what?” She popped her head in the conference room and smiled.

“What are you doing here? I figured you’d spend the day sleeping off your birthday celebration,” Holden teased, and McKenna’s face flamed red.

“Eh, it wasn’t—”

“Don’t think you wanna go there.” Nixon smiled at his girlfriend.

“You don’t know what I was going to say.” She continued to smile wide.

“It doesn’t matter what you say, these idiots will take your words, twist them, and use them to bust my balls.”