Loving Reese (Tremont Lodge Series Book 2) by Marcy Blesy Page B

picture and hand it to Finn.
    Lawson peeks over his shoulder. “Is that you?” Lawson asks, pointing at the young girl in the picture.
    My silence speaks volumes. “Is it from your grandparents?” Finn asks.
    “No. I’ve never seen that picture before. Trust me. There aren’t very many pictures of me from my childhood. I’d have seen this picture.”
    “Then what are you suggesting?” asks Finn.
    “I…I don’t know. What if…?” I shake my head back and forth trying to process my thoughts. “What if it’s from my dad, I mean, the man I thought was my dad?”
    “That’s crazy. How would he know you’re at the lodge?” says Finn.
    It’s not Finn I react to as I look past him to Lawson who runs his hands through his hair, his eyes darting everywhere but in my direction. I push Finn gently over to the side so that I am standing right in front of Lawson. I point my finger in his chest, the question formulating in my mind. “What…did…you…do?”
    “Nothing, Reese. I mean, it’s nothing…probably.”
    “What did you do, Lawson?” I ask again.
    “Look, Reese,” he says, backing away. “You have to understand. I was really pissed that I had to go to jail for a few days. I was angry and hadn’t started rehab yet. I’m not the same person I was then. Sobriety is good. You have to believe me. It was a lapse in judgment is all.”
    “What did you do?”
    “I…”
    “Tell her, Lawson,” says Finn, standing beside me in a show of solidarity.
    “I may have snuck into Ted’s private room. Remember—the Tremont Lodge history room?”
    “I remember,” I say.
    “After Ted told me more about the circumstances of my mother’s death—that your mother may have pushed her off the chair lift…”
    “Lawson!” I say, a new wave of rage boiling inside.
    “Well, it might be true. Look, I realize we’ll never know the truth, but at the time I was pretty upset. Anyway, I went through a bunch of old records, and I found the contact information for your…your dad. And I sent him a letter telling him you were back at the lodge and that you might…” He runs his hand through his hair again and cracks his knuckles.
    “I might have told him that you were coming into a lot of money soon.”
    “Oh, my…”
    Finn throws a punch that lands in Lawson’s stomach, dropping him to the ground.
    “I know! I’m sorry. I never thought he’d actually contact you or anything. It was just a way to get back at you even though now I realize it was my being stupid,” Lawson says, holding up his hand to block Finn’s next punch.
    “Finn, stop it! Both of you!” I yell.
    Finn turns back to me. “Reese, do you think your dad is just trying to get money, or do you think he’d harm you?” asks Finn.
    “How the hell am I supposed to know? I haven’t seen him since I was five.”
    “He did shoot your mom, Reese.”
    I snap my head back toward Lawson. “It was an accident. The gun went off accidentally. That’s what Ted said.”
    “That’s what Ted told you. I found some more papers in that box that indicated otherwise.”
    “You, asshole,” Finn says, pulling back to throw another punch.
    The weight of this new information suffocates the life out of me, and I feel another panic attack coming on. “I want to leave now ,” I say to Finn, who takes the picture and my phone, shoves them into his pocket, and puts his arm around me to lead me back to his room.
    “I’m sorry, Reese!” Lawson shouts as we walk away. “I’ll take care of everything. You’ll be safe. I promise!”
    But at this point in my life I don’t believe in promises anymore.

Chapter 11
    “You can’t keep me a prisoner in your room all day,” I say to Finn who is explaining to me for the fourth time this morning why I cannot work or be left alone for a minute. The concern is sweet, but I can’t stop living my life. Ted needs me, and as much as I don’t want to admit that it matters, the lodge needs me, too. There are a lot of