Page 110 of Trick or Tease

“I do care,” I said, my voice breaking slightly. “More than you know. But I also care about your future, about giving you real security instead of depending on whether the weather cooperates or the corn maze doesn’t flood.”

“That’s not your decision to make!” Billy shouted, finally losing his composure completely. “It’s my life! My choice! And you took that away from me the minute you called that appraiser without telling me. You haven’t been here. Don’t act like you give a shit about what we do here. You’re all high and mighty now. This shit doesn’t matter to you. I get that, but that doesn’t mean you have the right to take it away from us!”

“Billy, I didn’t make any decisions. I got the offer and I was going to talk to you about it.”

“Bullshit! You already have this thing signed, sealed, and delivered. Were you even going to give me a dime? Maybe I would just wake up one day and find out I was homeless and jobless. What about Mom and Dad? Did you even think about them?”

“That’s exactly who I’m thinking about! All of you. This money isn’t that big of a deal to me, but it would change all of your lives. You could do anything. Go anywhere. You and Lucy could go to school⁠—”

“Not all of us want to be corporate drones,” he hissed.

“Not just school. A home. Security. Vacations and reliable vehicles.”

He shook his head. “That’s your dream. Not mine. You’re basically saying all of us that appreciate the basic things in life are just waiting for some dude to come along and save us from our lives.”

“That’s not what I’m saying.”

“You think Mom and Dad busted their asses most of their lives, and Dad’s parents and their parents, just to have you come along and sell it because it would be easier? Fuck that. You don’t know anything about us. You don’t have to like this place, but it’s ours. I’ll buy you out.”

I bit my tongue to keep from telling him he couldn’t buy me out. He couldn’t afford it. Especially given the appraisal. But that was the lawyer side of me.

“Billy, there haven’t been any decisions. I wanted to talk to you about this. About what it would mean for you and Mom and Dad. They could travel the world instead of limiting themselves to where they can drive. They can stay in nice hotels or take a cruise.”

I felt his disgust. Sabrina was staring at me like I was a complete stranger.

He crumpled the contract in his hands and threw it at my feet. “I trusted you,” he said again, quieter now but somehow more devastating. “I trusted you.”

Then he stormed into the house, leaving me standing there with the wadded-up contract at my feet and the weight of what I’d just destroyed settling over me like a suffocating blanket.

I looked at Sabrina, desperate for something. Understanding, forgiveness, anything. But she just shook her head slowly.

“You’re exactly who I thought you were when you first came back,” she said, her voice flat. “I just forgot for a while. I guess you’re good at that. All that lawyering just taught you how to be a snake. Good job. You get an A for being the biggest asshole I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting.”

I opened my mouth but she held up a hand.

“Don’t. Don’t say anything. It doesn’t matter. You’re a real piece of work, Garrett. I hope you sleep better at night in your fancy apartment. You can rest your big ass head on a stack of money. I honestly wish you never came back. I wish like hell we never went to Manhattan. Believe it or not, we were all perfectly happy without you. We moved on, Garrett. Without you. Go back to your life. Forget you ever saw us.”

Then she turned and followed Billy into the house, leaving me alone on the porch.

I scrubbed a hand over my face. I wasn’t sure that could have gone any worse.

41

SABRINA

The final night of Hogan’s Haunted Farm was everything we dreamed it would be. The weather was perfect. It was cool but not freezing, with a light breeze that made the jack-o’-lanterns flicker and dance. It was perfect sweater and boot weather, which always made for cute outfits for the ladies. And provided the perfect excuse for the guys to lend their jackets or hoodies to the young women that didn’t dress for the weather.

Families showed up in elaborate costumes. We were running a contest for the best one. One of the categories was family or group costumes. We had seen several variations of the Addams family. A group of zombies, including a baby in a stroller. The Avengers were a hit. As was the Harry Potter family. My favorite was definitely the Alice in Wonderland group.

It was fun. Pure, innocent fun. The kind of fun that came from the simple things in life. Kids shrieked with delight as they ran through the corn maze, and couples snuggled close on the hayrides. Not everything needed to be Disneyland. Not everything had to cost thousands of dollars.

But some people just didn’t understand that.

It should have been the perfect end to our most successful season ever. Instead, I felt like I was performing in a play where I’d forgotten all my lines. I smiled until my cheeks ached, directed families toward attractions, and made small talk with locals. But inside, I was hollow. Empty. Like someone had scooped out everything that mattered and left me with just the shell.

I had dressed as a witch again tonight. I was wearing a full black dress, pointed hat, and dramatic makeup that Lucy had helped me apply. I looked the part of someone with magical powers, someone who could cast spells and make things happen with a wave of her hand. If only it were that simple. If only I could hex a certain lying, manipulative lawyer and make him disappear from my life forever.

The worst part was that Garrett was still here, still helping, still playing the part of the devoted brother and community member. I watched him earlier, laughing with a group of teenagers as he explained how the trebuchet worked. It made me sick. How could he stand there acting like he cared about these people when he had been planning to sell their gathering place out from under them?