“That’s why you shut the well off.”
“Yeah.”
“But you love her, right?”
“Very much.”
“Did you tell her about that money?”
“I tried to, but we got interrupted.”
Rilee hopped to her feet. “If you didn’t tell her, someone else did. Think about it. That’s the only reason we can’t find her, Ford. You said her phone’s been off. She’s upset and doesn’t want to be found.”
“That’s not helpful.”
“Give me Riggs.”
Ford stood, turning in a full circle, as though the answer to Cadence’s whereabouts would jump out at him. But all he saw were mobs of people, all smiling and laughing, as if his whole world might not be crashing down around him. If Cadence learned about the money from someone else, she might never forgive him.
“Did you check the lodge?” Rilee asked. Ford still stared as if no one was speaking his language. She let out an exasperated sigh. “Men! If she’s not at the lawyer’s office, she’s at the lodge, dummy. That’s the place she goes when she feels overwhelmed.” When Ford didn’t move, Rilee added, “Get a move on. She’s supposed to catch a flight today, remember?”
* * *
“Is she here?” Ford asked when he burst through the door of Mr. Jenkins’ office.
“Ford, good to see you.” Mr. Jenkins stood from his desk, digging a folder out of his filing cabinet. “Please, have a seat.”
He scanned the small office, poking his head through an open doorway and into the coat closet. There was no sign of Cadence anywhere. So Ford relented and headed for the chair. “Wasshe here?”
“Earlier, yes.” Mr. Jenkins slid a piece of paper across the desk and set a pen beside it.
The chair felt like hot coals beneath him, urging Ford to hop out and run to the lodge before it was too late. But his eyes fell on the document, freezing him into place.
“Sign, please.”
Pen in hand, Ford hesitated. It no longer felt right accepting the money. Not under these circumstances. “I can’t sign—"
“You can read it over first.”
The temptation too much to fight, Ford skimmed the document. But the information he expected was nowhere to be found. Not a single mention of fifty thousand. He’d seen the original addendum once, when Mr. Jenkins read the terms of the will that involved Ford. But this wasn’t it. “What is this?”
“Patty Whitmore is covering Rilee’s entire college tuition, minus any scholarships she might have earned.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I wasn’t able to tell you before now.” Mr. Jenkins sat back in his chair. “But Patty added a special term to the agreement she made with you. You can read all about it if you want, but basically it had to do with you telling Cadence the truth despite everyone telling you not to.”
“But I didn’t. I tried, but—”
“I was allowed some leeway to judge intent in case she found out another way.”
“But why?”
“Patty hoped you two would fall in love. She told me, in confidence, that the real test would be whether or not you kept this secret from her. Because if you loved her, you wouldn’t even consider it, no matter what anyone else said.”
“I do love her. Very much.” Ford hoped it wasn’t too late to make her understand why he agreed to any of this.
“I know.” Jenkins nodded toward the document. “Sign, please.”
