this is Emily. I’m at your mom’s and we were wondering if you’d be home for supper?” Emily met Maggie’s gaze as she talked.
“No, sorry. I should have let her know, I guess. Is she okay?” he asked.
“Fine. We’re going over some final details for the wedding. Why do you ask?”
“So she’s still going through with it.” Josh spat.
Why wouldn’t she? What did he know? Emily heard the tension in his voice and sensed he was not pleased with the prospect of this marriage either. Her eyes lowered as she tried to get a read on him.
“I’m headed over to Lucas’s office. There’s something we need to hash out.”
“Josh, is there something you want to get off your chest?” Emily asked, hoping to snag a clue what this conflict between Josh and Lucas was about. She glanced over at Maggie, whose eyes were riveted on Emily’s side of the conversation.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” he snarled.
“But, Josh—”
“Not now,” he barked. “After I have it out with Lucas, I’ll come home and tell my mom everything. I want you to be there, too, Em. She’s going to need you.” The line went dead.
“What did he say?” Maggie wrapped her arms around herself.
“He said he was going to have a talk with Lucas, then he’d be home.”
“A talk? What does that mean?” Maggie pressed.
Emily shrugged her shoulders. “He said he’d be home afterward and explain. So let’s give him the chance to do that, okay?” She tried to downplay it and not expose to Maggie the anger she’d heard in Josh’s voice.
“Okay,” Maggie reluctantly agreed.
“Didn’t you say we’d be having dinner together, too? I’m getting kind of hungry,” Emily said, changing the subject.
~*~
Josh pulled his car into the parking lot next to the historic Graystone Building and entered the main lobby. He meandered down the dimly-lit hallway and found the door to the suite of offices open. The reception area where Fiona would sit was dark, but light was streaming out of the partly open door to the next office. Male voices were coming from behind the door.
Josh crept nearer to see if he could overhear the conversation. He recognized Lucas’s voice right away, then he realized who the other man was—his Uncle Sully.
“I need that hundred thousand dollars back, Lucas!” Sully demanded.
“I already told you that I would give it back to you in two weeks. You hold up your end of the bargain and I’ll hold up mine.”
What bargain? Josh couldn’t believe his uncle was in cahoots with this scumbag. He leaned in a little closer.
“I need it now,” he protested, “not in two weeks. That could be too late. I’ll be ruined!”
“Don’t be so dramatic, Mayor. You’ll live.”
Josh heard the coldness in Lucas’s voice. His muscles clenched and his fists curled into a tight ball at what he’d heard.
“I can’t let you do this to us,” Sully cried out in a shaky voice. “When everyone finds out this Whitetail Resort is a scam, we’ll all be arrested. Who’ll take care of my wife if I’m in prison? And what about Maggie? She’ll be ruined, too.”
“Hey, put that gun away!” Lucas hollered.
A gun? Josh took a small step forward and clanked into a metal waste basket. Had they heard him? Footsteps were coming toward the door, so he crouched down behind a file cabinet in time to see his uncle fly out of the room and into the main hallway. The sound of a heavy door slamming in the distance echoed through the office and he knew his uncle was gone.
He stood and stretched to his full height of over six feet tall and faced the door to Lucas’s office. Josh’s athletic body was vibrating with pure adrenaline. He couldn’t comprehend all of what was happening between Lucas and Sully, but he did understand that Lucas was planning to ruin his family, including his mother, and he wasn’t going to let him get away with it. He stormed into Lucas’s office to give him the beating of his
“No, sorry. I should have let her know, I guess. Is she okay?” he asked.
“Fine. We’re going over some final details for the wedding. Why do you ask?”
“So she’s still going through with it.” Josh spat.
Why wouldn’t she? What did he know? Emily heard the tension in his voice and sensed he was not pleased with the prospect of this marriage either. Her eyes lowered as she tried to get a read on him.
“I’m headed over to Lucas’s office. There’s something we need to hash out.”
“Josh, is there something you want to get off your chest?” Emily asked, hoping to snag a clue what this conflict between Josh and Lucas was about. She glanced over at Maggie, whose eyes were riveted on Emily’s side of the conversation.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” he snarled.
“But, Josh—”
“Not now,” he barked. “After I have it out with Lucas, I’ll come home and tell my mom everything. I want you to be there, too, Em. She’s going to need you.” The line went dead.
“What did he say?” Maggie wrapped her arms around herself.
“He said he was going to have a talk with Lucas, then he’d be home.”
“A talk? What does that mean?” Maggie pressed.
Emily shrugged her shoulders. “He said he’d be home afterward and explain. So let’s give him the chance to do that, okay?” She tried to downplay it and not expose to Maggie the anger she’d heard in Josh’s voice.
“Okay,” Maggie reluctantly agreed.
“Didn’t you say we’d be having dinner together, too? I’m getting kind of hungry,” Emily said, changing the subject.
~*~
Josh pulled his car into the parking lot next to the historic Graystone Building and entered the main lobby. He meandered down the dimly-lit hallway and found the door to the suite of offices open. The reception area where Fiona would sit was dark, but light was streaming out of the partly open door to the next office. Male voices were coming from behind the door.
Josh crept nearer to see if he could overhear the conversation. He recognized Lucas’s voice right away, then he realized who the other man was—his Uncle Sully.
“I need that hundred thousand dollars back, Lucas!” Sully demanded.
“I already told you that I would give it back to you in two weeks. You hold up your end of the bargain and I’ll hold up mine.”
What bargain? Josh couldn’t believe his uncle was in cahoots with this scumbag. He leaned in a little closer.
“I need it now,” he protested, “not in two weeks. That could be too late. I’ll be ruined!”
“Don’t be so dramatic, Mayor. You’ll live.”
Josh heard the coldness in Lucas’s voice. His muscles clenched and his fists curled into a tight ball at what he’d heard.
“I can’t let you do this to us,” Sully cried out in a shaky voice. “When everyone finds out this Whitetail Resort is a scam, we’ll all be arrested. Who’ll take care of my wife if I’m in prison? And what about Maggie? She’ll be ruined, too.”
“Hey, put that gun away!” Lucas hollered.
A gun? Josh took a small step forward and clanked into a metal waste basket. Had they heard him? Footsteps were coming toward the door, so he crouched down behind a file cabinet in time to see his uncle fly out of the room and into the main hallway. The sound of a heavy door slamming in the distance echoed through the office and he knew his uncle was gone.
He stood and stretched to his full height of over six feet tall and faced the door to Lucas’s office. Josh’s athletic body was vibrating with pure adrenaline. He couldn’t comprehend all of what was happening between Lucas and Sully, but he did understand that Lucas was planning to ruin his family, including his mother, and he wasn’t going to let him get away with it. He stormed into Lucas’s office to give him the beating of his
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