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“Well, I never pegged her family for acting like that,” Chris said, stroking his chin. “But I remember when Jeb died. The family was absolutely torn to pieces over it, especially Chloe’s mom. But I think it’s less to do with the fact it was a shifter who caused the accident than what they figured out after he died.”
“What do you mean?” Em asked.
“Jeb was the one who controlled the family money. They weren’t crazy rich, but they were all fairly well off. He parceled money out to everyone when he became the patriarch after his and Denise’s father passed away. When he died, the family was expecting bank accounts and property titles to be transferred to Denise. But it turned out that he’d been gambling away the family fortune for years. To make up for his terrible luck at gambling, he’d taken out second and third mortgages on all the properties. Eventually the banks took everything, including their childhood home.”
Em’s eyes went wide. “I don’t remember ever hearing about that.”
“Well, they kept it pretty quiet,” Amy said. “And it took them a few months to figure out what he’d done, so they were able to keep it out of the public rumor mill.”
“Chloe said she hates shifters because of the accident.”
Chris took a sip of coffee. “It was probably easier for them to blame shifters for their problems than it was to face the reality that Jeb had been embezzling from the family for years and was apparently a terrible gambler.”
“Wow, that’s so awful. Do you think Chloe knows the truth?” Em asked.
“Probably not,” Chris said. “The only reason we know is that we heard gossip around town. They tried to keep it out of the public eye, but small-town gossip has a way of spreading.”
“It’s too bad that her family is encouraging hatred of a single group of people in an effort to cover up the bad deeds of a family member,” Diesel said. “But I guess people do what they think is right to protect their family.”
“Very true,” Chris said. “I wouldn’t worry about that family, though. They’ve always thought they were too good for this town, and after they lost everything, they moved out of the city limits and don’t come around much. I don’t think we’d ever hear about them if it weren’t for Em and Chloe’s friendship.”
“Which is dead now,” she said. “I feel bad for her, but she’s an idiot so I’m not going to worry about it anymore.”
“Good for you. She’s not worth the effort if she’s going to discount someone as nice as Diesel without getting to know him,” Amy said with a smile.
“So...” Chris said, clearing his throat.
Em put her hand up. “You’re going to ask about work. Or living arrangements. Or a wedding. Right?”
“All three?” Amy offered.
“Kedrick isn’t far from here, so I think the unofficial plan is for me to move into Diesel’s house. As far as a wedding, he hasn’t asked me yet, but we will get married at some point. And for work, I’d really, really love to take Tuesday off, too.”
Her parents looked at each other for a moment and her dad said, “That’s fine, honey. You know, Diesel, if you ever have a day off and want to help out, I could totally use another pair of strong hands around here.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Diesel said.
They finished their coffee and chatted with her parents for a while longer.
“So, you don’t have to work until Wednesday,” Diesel said with a curious hum as they left the coffee shop an hour later.
“I know, right? What will we do with the time?”
“Well, for sure we’re going to need to be naked for most of it,” he said with a chuckle. He opened the car door for her and closed her inside, then got behind the wheel and turned on the engine. “But I have to work tonight.”
“Boo.”
“But I want you to meet Duke and his mate, Ree. I texted him and he asked if we’d like to meet them out for dinner before my shift.”
“Okay,” she said. “Where?”
“There’s a little diner in town, it’s owned by an older pride couple. On the weekends they have an all-you-can-eat meat buffet. It’s pretty damn great.”
She smiled. “But we’ve got some time before we need to meet them, right?”
“Lots of time, sweetheart.”
* * *
