sign. I won’t.”
“But
you have to, don’t you?”
Delaney
glowered and ran her fingers through her hair clear down to the ends. The cool
interior of the cabin was a soothing relief. “I don’t have to do
anything.”
“Can’t
Mr. Harris help us?”
“No.”
She walked past her daughter and into the kitchen.
“But
why not? He said he’d give us a lot of money for this property—and we’d get to
keep some!”
Delaney
understood her concern, but until the title was in their hands, Mr. Harris’
offer was meaningless. Ernie was the only one who stood to gain from that deal,
and while the fifty thousand dollars he offered her would go a long way toward
paying Felicity’s college expenses, accepting it and a lousy ten acres in lieu
of complete ownership amounted to defeat. She pulled a mason jar from the
cabinet and filled it from the tap.
They
needed money, yes. Without it, Felicity would struggle through work and class
and not have enough time to practice her flute. If the girl had any chance to
make the cut for a professional orchestra, she would need hours upon hours of
practice—time she couldn’t spare, if forced to hold down a job. If her grades
dropped, the scholarship would disappear.
“What
are we going to do?”
Delaney
downed a healthy swallow of water and corrected defiantly, “You mean what is he going to do?” They may be in a bind, but she was not willing to concede. Not
yet.
“ Mom .”
Delaney
hated the swells of doubt in Felicity’s eyes. Her daughter shouldn’t be
stressing over money and property rights. She should be carefree and excited
over the prospect of attending UT next year. She was being pulled into the mix
of a family feud and it was inexcusable. But then Ernie always did go for the
jugular.
Delaney
set her water down and closed the distance between her and Felicity. She pulled
her baby into a strong-armed hug and promised, “It’ll work out, you’ll see.”
Chapter Nine
Delaney
negotiated the rocky trail with ease, making her way down to the spot in
question without issue. Careful not to be followed, she double-backed and
triple-backed just to be sure, checking the path ahead and behind her for signs
of the men. Running into them would complicate matters.
Working
through the brush, she scanned the horizon through the trees. She stood
perfectly still, held her breath, and watched for signs of movement, listened
for the sound of voices. Nothing. She glanced about. As far as she could tell,
she was alone. Breathing in the scent of wet laurel, she forged forward. Overhead,
the canopy of trees rustled with the breeze, peppering sunlight in shades of buttery
gold. Dusk would be upon the forest soon and her visibility would be reduced to
nothing. But she couldn’t get away any earlier. One of her clients was being
audited and needed his accounting organized for inspection. Fortunately, Felicity
and a few girlfriends were with the Parker boys tonight, as they were every
Friday night, catching a movie and hanging out at the boys’ house afterward. But
Felicity would be home by eleven—per her strict orders.
Arriving
at the area, Delaney noted everything was as it was before. Matted forest floor,
nothing left behind in the way of backpacks or camping equipment. No signs of a
campfire. She surveyed the trees and rocks but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
She looked for broken branches, any clue to their activity from the other day. But
she detected nothing. Like before, all looked as expected. What was she missing?
A
patter of sound and her heart bolted. She glanced over her shoulder. Was
someone there? Maybe an animal, she thought, peering around, seeing no one. Taking
a deep breath, she calmed the angst building in her chest. It was nothing. She
was alone. Squatting, she sifted through leaves and dead branches on the
ground. There had to be something here. Those men were not hanging out in this
specific location without purpose. She looked
“But
you have to, don’t you?”
Delaney
glowered and ran her fingers through her hair clear down to the ends. The cool
interior of the cabin was a soothing relief. “I don’t have to do
anything.”
“Can’t
Mr. Harris help us?”
“No.”
She walked past her daughter and into the kitchen.
“But
why not? He said he’d give us a lot of money for this property—and we’d get to
keep some!”
Delaney
understood her concern, but until the title was in their hands, Mr. Harris’
offer was meaningless. Ernie was the only one who stood to gain from that deal,
and while the fifty thousand dollars he offered her would go a long way toward
paying Felicity’s college expenses, accepting it and a lousy ten acres in lieu
of complete ownership amounted to defeat. She pulled a mason jar from the
cabinet and filled it from the tap.
They
needed money, yes. Without it, Felicity would struggle through work and class
and not have enough time to practice her flute. If the girl had any chance to
make the cut for a professional orchestra, she would need hours upon hours of
practice—time she couldn’t spare, if forced to hold down a job. If her grades
dropped, the scholarship would disappear.
“What
are we going to do?”
Delaney
downed a healthy swallow of water and corrected defiantly, “You mean what is he going to do?” They may be in a bind, but she was not willing to concede. Not
yet.
“ Mom .”
Delaney
hated the swells of doubt in Felicity’s eyes. Her daughter shouldn’t be
stressing over money and property rights. She should be carefree and excited
over the prospect of attending UT next year. She was being pulled into the mix
of a family feud and it was inexcusable. But then Ernie always did go for the
jugular.
Delaney
set her water down and closed the distance between her and Felicity. She pulled
her baby into a strong-armed hug and promised, “It’ll work out, you’ll see.”
Chapter Nine
Delaney
negotiated the rocky trail with ease, making her way down to the spot in
question without issue. Careful not to be followed, she double-backed and
triple-backed just to be sure, checking the path ahead and behind her for signs
of the men. Running into them would complicate matters.
Working
through the brush, she scanned the horizon through the trees. She stood
perfectly still, held her breath, and watched for signs of movement, listened
for the sound of voices. Nothing. She glanced about. As far as she could tell,
she was alone. Breathing in the scent of wet laurel, she forged forward. Overhead,
the canopy of trees rustled with the breeze, peppering sunlight in shades of buttery
gold. Dusk would be upon the forest soon and her visibility would be reduced to
nothing. But she couldn’t get away any earlier. One of her clients was being
audited and needed his accounting organized for inspection. Fortunately, Felicity
and a few girlfriends were with the Parker boys tonight, as they were every
Friday night, catching a movie and hanging out at the boys’ house afterward. But
Felicity would be home by eleven—per her strict orders.
Arriving
at the area, Delaney noted everything was as it was before. Matted forest floor,
nothing left behind in the way of backpacks or camping equipment. No signs of a
campfire. She surveyed the trees and rocks but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
She looked for broken branches, any clue to their activity from the other day. But
she detected nothing. Like before, all looked as expected. What was she missing?
A
patter of sound and her heart bolted. She glanced over her shoulder. Was
someone there? Maybe an animal, she thought, peering around, seeing no one. Taking
a deep breath, she calmed the angst building in her chest. It was nothing. She
was alone. Squatting, she sifted through leaves and dead branches on the
ground. There had to be something here. Those men were not hanging out in this
specific location without purpose. She looked
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