AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I nodded. “How long you here for?”
“Who knows. I took a leave from work in Austin, and I’m sure she’ll keep me here as long as she can. I don’t blame her for needing a buffer. It’s hard enough being stuck in the house with Dad on a regular day, but with your homeless project, he’s downright impossible to live with.”
My brow quirked. “Really? He’s stayed quiet about it for the most part. Just a little bit of inconvenience.”
“And you think that means he’s not working on getting his way?”
“I suppose he probably is,” I said, my stomach sinking.
On a glance to make sure Chantelle wasn’t listening—she was currently trying to hit on the poor guy who made the mistake of sitting next to her—she leaned in, hooking her finger for me to get closer.
“I’ll keep an eye on him, if it’ll help,” she offered. “Wouldn’t be the first time. Who do you think busted his Goody’s deal?”
“Marnie Mitchell, you sneak,” I said with small smile.
“He’d kill me if he knew. I could definitely kiss my trust fund goodbye.” She was half laughing, but worry shot through my chest like a comet. “Good thing I decided to get a job instead of letting him turn me into my mother. She doesn’t even know how to pay her bills. Keaton—my dad has never even given her a credit card. He gives her cash and pats her on the head, and she eats it up like she’s the lucky one.” She shook her head in disgust. “I probably wouldn’t have risked it if I relied on the money. He always has his best interest in mind, but I always thought the town was a close second. Lately, I’m not so sure.” With a sigh, she put a smile back on. “Anyway, your discretion is appreciated. And know you’ve got a friend on the inside.”
“Your secret’s safe with me,” I promised.
“I wouldn’t believe it from anybody else, Keaton.”
I ordered drinks, toasting with Marnie before we said our goodbyes and I headed back to our group. My stomach knotted up at the thought of the delicate nature of the trust fund. It had always seemed so solid, a sure thing if there ever was one. But that was an illusion. He could take it just as easily as he’d given it.
When I’d passed out drinks, I grabbed Daisy for a dance, spinning her around the open space near our tables to the tune of Wyatt Schumacker singing “Boot Scootin’ Boogie.” He shook his ass in a pair of Wranglers and a pressed pearl snap, his rodeo championship belt buckle marking the time his hips made, which had the crowd’s full and undivided attention. But not mine.
It was on the weight of my financial situation, the woman in my arms, and the tenuous posessession I held on them both.
I might not have been able to do much about the money, I could hold onto Daisy with both hands.
So that’s just what I did.
22
ROCK/HARD PLACE
KEATON
A week later, I watched as Daisy held her hand over her mouth in an attempt to stop coffee from exiting it with her laughter at something dumb I’d said.
My laughter, however, was free, partly at the sight of her and partly from the sheer joy of her company. When I’d become a man who not only laughs, but cracks jokes, was unknown. All I did know was that I hadn’t known this self in a long, long time.
It was good to see him.
We were just a few minutes from leaving for work for the second time in weeks. Our permits had come in, and we’d called the crew back the next day, anxious to get started again and to get the shelter ready for tenants. The break had done everyone well, Daisy and me most of all.
I almost ignored my phone when it rang, one of the many things I never believed I’d consider, much less do. But when I glanced at the screen from its place on the counter, I frowned.
Seeing my foreman’s name minutes before we got in was not a good omen.
I answered, “Yeah?”
“You’re gonna want to get down here.”
“What happened?”
Grim, he answered, “The equipment is down. All of it.”
“What do you mean, all of it?”
“Three engines blew when we started them. Sand in the oil, I think. A couple of the engines that were too hard to get at have metal superglued in the ignition. Cables clipped, tires slashed—you name it. Every piece of machinery on the site is down. Cops are on their way.”
My breath came in sips, my heart drumming, a string of obscenities beneath the sound of my pulse in my ears.
“I’ll be right there,” I said, hanging up and moving for my keys in the same motion.
“What’s going on?” Daisy asked.
“Site’s been sabotaged,” I answered. “I need to get down there.”
