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He grunted and appeared unsure. I’d never seen that before.
Winston entered with a serving tray of steaming soup in fine china bowls. I regretted he wouldn’t join us since he’d been more of a father to me than my own. It didn’t seem right to have him serve us, but that was the place he liked.
Pepper fiddled with the two choices of spoons and finally settled on a smaller one.
My father unfolded his napkin with a flourish and placed it on his lap.
“How were you involved in the fires and murders?” I hadn’t come here to share a meal. I wanted answers. My stomach was too turbulent to eat anyway.
“Can we not enjoy a meal before the interrogation?” He spooned the soup into his mouth noiselessly.
I pushed mine away. “Youinsisted on dinner. Not me.”
“Our time together is always so hostile.” He continued to eat, as if what I wanted was meaningless.
“Any guesses as to why?”
Pepper sipped her water and glanced at me to see if I was okay. No. I was not. We hadn’t been here five minutes and my blood was close to a raging boil. My father was pretending to be pleasant to get a rise out of me.
And it was working.
I should be better than this.
“Why did you buy the building next door to Grey Paws?” She took a bite of soup, obviously much better at playing his game than I was. Pepper gave him what he wanted—sharing a meal—while going after what she wanted—answers.
I still felt duped that he’d been my landlord. What a fool he must take me for.
“Believe or not, the surrounding area is quite desirable now. It’s only a matter of time before the property values on that street skyrocket.”
“You don’t know that,” I said petulantly.
He barely looked up. “Son, I’ve been around real estate my entire life. I know trends better than anyone else in this city. I have the fortune to prove it.”
I hated that he was behaving as if we were a normal family having a nice dinner. This wasn’t what I’d intended when I’d called to set up a meeting. I’d planned to spend as little time together as possible, fairly certain I’d leave with more questions than answers.
But I had to try.
“How did you get me to move in there?” I asked. Obviously, he’d been following me, but getting me to make maneuvers without direct contact? He was good.
“I had Morgan put up the flyer at the fire station.” He spoke evenly, as if he’d done nothing out of the ordinary.
“You had no way of knowing I’d take it.” I folded my arms over my chest.
“Your lease was up. The building suits your simple style.” He smirked. “You took it, didn’t you?”
I pressed my foot into the table leg so hard it moved an inch. “Why do you follow me?”
His expression turned hard. “I watch all my children.”
“Why?”
“To make sure you don’t suffer the same fate as your mother.” I dropped my arms and my jaw.
Pepper reached for my hand.
I pointed at him. “You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to pretend like you care.”
“I’ve no idea where you got the impression I don’t care.” His spoon clinked in the bowl.
