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He’d been trying for the last couple of days to get in touch with his father. The first couple of times, it had gone straight to voicemail. Not that he’d stoop to leaving a message. He was his son, after all, and figured his father would just simply answer. But then after that, it said that the number was no longer in service. What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Calling the cell phone company had gotten him nowhere quickly. All they could tell him was that the number he had wasn’t working. Like he fucking didn’t already know that. Nor would they give him a working number, not even when Brock told them their customer’s son had suffered a major setback, and he needed to get in touch with him.
Going to his father’s home first, he pounded on the door for several minutes before the lady that had lived next to them for years opened her door. He was wondering why she wasn’t in a nursing home herself when she told him that no one lived there anymore.
“What do you mean, no one lives here anymore? This is my father’s home, and I know for a fact that he’d be living here still.” She told him he was wrong about that. His father had moved out several days ago. “That’s ridiculous. Where has he gone if he no longer is living here?”
“You’re the same little snot you used to be as a child. Even if I did know, I’d not tell you. If you were any kind of son to him, you’d know that now wouldn’t you?” She started back into her home when he whistled to get her attention. “I’m not a damned dog, you moron. I’m going into the house to avoid saying something to you that the good Lord would frown upon. Now get yourself out of here, and if you were smart, which you’ve never been, you’d just leave those men alone and let them get on with their lives.”
He stomped all the way to his car. Sitting in it with the air blowing over his face to cool his temper, all Brock could think about was how the world was going to hell, and he and his brother were going to be the only ones left with a nickel’s worth of sense. He decided to head to his father’s plant—if it was still in business. The thing had to be about defunct by now. All they did was pour driveways or some such thing. How many driveways could a city need? he wondered as he drove there.
Pissed off because he had had to park on the street because the lot was so full, he was rolling with a full head of steam when he realized two of the people that had worked for him were now sitting in a nice office with crap surrounding them. When his father finally passed on, he was going to make sure that shit was gone. Brock was stopped by a man he’d met before.
“Del Archer. You’re not going in there. Your sister is in a meeting.” Brock told him he wasn’t looking for his sister but his dad. “Oh well, I think he and his dad are going to garage sales today. Something I guess your grandda enjoys.”
“Why isn’t he at work where he should be? Why he is still working is beyond me. He should be in a retirement home someplace out of the way.” Del told him he was retired. “Not my grandfather, you moron, but my father. I asked you where he was, and I won’t do that again.”
“Well, that’s good to know since I already told you. He’s out looking at garage sales with your grandda.” Brock rolled his eyes in such a way that there wasn’t any way the man could not understand it was meant for him. “You really are a piece of shit, aren’t you? But as I said to you twice now, your sister is in a meeting, and you’re not going to interrupt her.”
“What the hell is she doing ‘in a meeting’?” He used his fingers to indicate to the man that he didn’t believe she was in a meeting than he did this man was related to Katherine Archer. “I’m sure you might not know this about my sister, but she’s nothing more than a slut.”
Brock didn’t have any idea how he
ended up in the emergency room, but there he was when he woke up. Not only was he there, but there was a police officer with him sitting there reading something on her phone. When he tried to sit up, his head felt like something exploded behind his eyes, and he quickly laid back down.
“Mr. Lowery?” Brock nodded but decided that was a terrible idea too. “I’m Officer Jacobson. I’m here to inform you that you are in the hospital and that there is a restraining order against you from Del Archer, as well as Merce Lowery. Do you understand what I’ve just—?”
“She can’t do that. I’m her guardian. Where is she anyway?” The police officer told him he wasn’t his sister’s anything and that she was still pressing charges. “You. Did. Not. Answer. My. Question. Is everyone fucking deaf today? Why am I in the hospital? You can at least answer me that, can’t you?”
“Sure. Del hit you in the face with his fist. Is there anything else I can do for you? I’m on overtime here waiting for you to—” He asked again where his sister was. “Now, how would I know? I’m an officer of the law. So far as I know, Miss Merce hasn’t broken any laws. She’s a nice person.”
“And you’re saying I’m not? Like I care what your opinion of me is. How can I get out of here? I have to talk to my dad and my sister. And I do too have her as my ward. My father has fucked up enough to make it, so my brother and I had to step in and take care that she was raised right. Fat lot of good that’s done us. She’s blown her chance for an education, as well as anything else she might have.” The officer laughed. “I suppose you don’t believe me? Not that I care, but I’ve seen her in action. She’s just a kid, and she’s stupid too.”
“Well, that stupid sister of yours just landed a deal for the city to hire two hundred people to start with, then another hundred or so after the first training goes well. That kid, as you called her, is pretty important to our town right now, so you had better tread lightly where she’s concerned. You just might find yourself in a heap of trouble.” He asked her if she had just threatened him. “No. That would be ridiculous, don’t you think, since I’m a law-abiding person. I’m just letting you know that people around here are thrilled with her work and will do just about anything to keep her happy. You remember that when you go around spouting off about how she’s stupid from now on.”
When she left him, he laid there thinking about the people of this town. They were going to ruin his chances of getting any houses sold if they kept this up. His name had meant something to everyone. He and Harley had worked very hard to not only make sure the town came to them when they needed to sell or buy a house, but they would also call them when they needed information about the town. He’d been lying through his teeth since they’d started out about how wonderful this town was, and now it seemed it was going to be a fact. Shaking his head as gently as he could, Brock reached for the little buzzer thing to get himself checked out of here.
He’d pushed the button for the tenth time when someone finally came into his little curtained-off area. The first thing the nurse did was take the call button away from him and disconnect it from the wall. Glaring at her had no effect on her disposition, as she was already spitting mad.
“You think you’re the only one in here today? Do you have any idea how many people, much worse than you are right now, have been brought in in the last five minutes? You will need to wait your turn and—”
“I want out of here.” She told him he had a concussion and needed to be watched for a few more hours. “I don’t give a rat’s ass. I want you to sign me out of here right now, or so help me, I’ll have your pension.”
She was still laughing as she moved out of the area, leaving the curtain wide open. Pissed off at the entire human race, he sat up and swung his feet over the side of the bed. Falling forward, he realized he was going to be staying longer and that there wasn’t shit he could do about it.
The next time he woke up, he was tied to the bed at his wrists and ankles. He thought it was overkill on keeping him in the bed, but he didn’t move so much as his eyes when the pain shot over his entire body like an electrical shockwave.
“You’re pretty stupid yourself, don’t you think?” The man stood up and looked down at him. “My name is Peter Archer. Yes, I’m related to Del. I’m here to explain to you anything you might not understand about your sister, father, and grandda. Not that I think you deserve to know shit about them, but that’s not my call. What is it that has you willing to fall the fuck out of bed to find them? Didn’t they tell you that you had a concussion?”
“Yes. Not that it’s any of your business, but I need to find my father. He’s moved out of his home and taken my grandfather out of the nursing home my brother and I have been paying for.” Peter nodded. “Is there a screw loose in your head? Answer the fucking questions. That’s what you’re here for, isn’t it?”
“If I’d not promised Merce I’d not harm you, I’d hit you again. Your father has moved out of the house because he wanted something that was all on one floor. Your grandda is living with him, and he thought it would be easier than putting him through going up and down stairs all the time. Taking the older man out of the nursing home has given him a fresh outlook on his life, and he’s thriving more than he ever has. You’ve not paid anything on the nursing home for the last fourteen months. According to the home’s records, you never visited the elderly Lowery, nor did you send him anything in the way of birthday cards or Christmas gifts in all the time he’s been there.” Brock asked about Merce. “She’s now the sole owner of Lowery Construction. From my understanding, she’s also going to change the name to Lowery and Archer. They’re working together now, and it is a good fit. Also, you might not care about this, but my brother and your sister are dating. That will make us sort of related as in-laws if they decide to take it further. That won’t keep any of us from using your head as a bowling ball if you get uppity again, but then you did ask about her.”
“I forbid her to get married.” Peter just cocked a brow at him. “She’s just a child and a promiscuous one at that. I tried to tell your brother that, but he hit me instead. I should sue him.”
“Yeah, good luck with that one. Are there any other questions that I can answer for you? By the way, you didn’t ask, but I’ll tell you anyway. Merce has moved into the house. Harlin turned it over to her just the other day.” He’d have to add that to the list of shit he was going to take care of. “Also, you might be aware of this too, but my mom bought your building. Why would a real estate company not own their own building? Anyway, she bought it and is going to tear it down, so you don’t have a place to work from. Most of your employees have come to work, in some form, with my family. I’m sure you know that. Also, if you think you’re not going to pay them their vacation time since they told you they were leaving, I’ll not just own your asses, but every little thing you’ve acquired since you turned eighteen. Understand me?”
“You’re one of those vampire lawyers, aren’t you? I should have guessed it. There is nothing you won’t try to get a man when he’s down.” Peter laughed. “You think this is funny? That my being here in the hospital is anything that I deserve?”
