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“Arthur,” I said as soon as my lawyer answered the phone. “I don’t know if you’ve seen the local news, but I have a case of libel to give you.”
I told him the fact, sent him the link Ewan had sent me, and then I sent the true recording to him and said, “I don’t know what you will do with all this but make sure it’s enough to get him galloping. If you can sue the smirk off his smug face, I’ll take that too.”
“Don’t worry, John,” Arthur replied. “I have enough to set the suit in order. It will slap his table by tomorrow morning, and the clip will be at every media house by tomorrow night. He’ll be ordered to formally apologize if he doesn’t want half of his assets liquidated and donated to every charity in the state, and believe me, with the dough he’s got, it will be more than enough to stretch.”
“Thank you, Arthur,” I replied.
Hanging up, I rubbed my face. Rayna was right; something had been amiss, but who had realized we had been filmed?
“Boss?” Micah knocked on the door.
“Yes?” I asked.
“So, I went back to the bakery and got the video feed from the day Miss Rayna went to the bakery…” He lifted a flash drive and twiddled it between his fingers. “And it’s got audio.”
“Well, this day is getting better and better,” I said, reaching for the drive while spinning the laptop and playing the clip Ewan had sent me. “Listen to what West’s cheap shot this time.”
As Micah watched, I picked up my phone and texted Rayna, telling her about West, and sent her the clip as well, but then added,Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it handled.
Micah’s low whistle returned my attention as he shook his head. “What a low-down sonofabitch.”
“That he is,” I replied. “But that fucker doesn’t know how to play poker because he lost his royal flush.”
“The cameras we’ve got,” Micah gave a slow grin.
“The cameras we’ve got,” I replied with a nod.
With a laugh, Micah stood and went to the door, only to pause with his hand on the knob and pivot back to me. “Sir, this Miss Everett, she’s more than Sammie’s teacher, isn’t she… well to you?”
“It’s…a long story, but yes,” I replied. “Keep it hush-hush, okay?”
“Bossman, I’m pretty sure everyone knows about itexceptthe kids,” he replied but still saluted me. “You two aren’t all thatsuaveif you get my drift, but you’ve got my word.”
I groaned. “Go look about some bulls or something.”
“Yessir.”
ChapterTwenty-Four
Rayna
The night of the daddy-daughter dance was surreal. We’d converted the gym into a fairytale, a countryfied spin on Cinderella, had grown up a cowgirl and wore leather boots instead of glass slippers.
There were hay bales in the corners, with pumpkins propped on them, orange and gold streamers with balloons, a long buffet table with food piled on the tables, and smaller round tables in muted beige tablecloths behind them.
The music was a mix of upbeat pop songs and snaggy country hits. As far as the night went, it was a success. About thirty-something daddy and daughter-pairs had shown up for the night, but I still hadn’t seen John and Sam yet.
“Rayna,” Jessica said while passing with a jug of lemonade. “Can you go back to the kitchens and get the other jug, please?”
“Sure,” I replied while heading to the cafeteria kitchen and bypassed the cooks laying out sandwiches and fried chicken on serving trays while I got the large glass jug.
I backed out of the swinging door to the gym and almost ran into John. He grabbed me right before I tripped over my feet and held me upright. “Whoa there.”
His warm drawl made me shiver. “Oh, thank you.”
As I stepped back, he reached down and lifted Harper into his arms. Samantha was standing close to him, and all three matched. John wore dark jeans and a blue and brown plaid shirt, Sam wore a large patchwork brown and blue shirtdress and leggings, and Harper wore a flouncy, princessy, blue tulle dress and brown leggings.
“You three look like you stepped off a postcard.” I smiled while setting the jug on the table. “I’m glad you’re here.”
