Chapter One
Things were supposed to be working out. Brody Jackson had finally been arrested. When Luke and Cy got home from their little field trip to make sure it was really happening, they told all of us about what they'd seen. The FBI agent had assured them that Faith's stepfather was going to jail for possession and distribution of child pornography.
The videos of her? They would never be seen by anyone outside a courtroom. She was going to be safe. We'd gotten exactly what we'd wanted, even though it had been impossible. This should've been a big win.
It wasn't. The problems were still stacking up, and the latest was in my driveway.
The incessant beeping from my phone made me want to snap someone's head off. Even worse, from where I was standing, I could see the white pickup waiting down by the street, and the man's arm reaching out the window to repeatedly press the call button. Behind me, Cessily was in the living room calmly explaining to Luke that while Brody's arrest was good for Faith, it would make the custody case a little harder. Meredith was now on equal footing with him.
That shouldn't matter, though, since Faith was old enough to choose whether she wanted to live with her mother or father. The girl had never tried to hide how much she wanted to live with her dad. In other words, so long as Southwind was deemed an appropriate place for her, then everything should be fine. If it wasn't, then we had bigger problems. The whole purpose of Southwind was to be a home for teens in need.
My phone beeped again, proving that man wasnotgoing to give up. Grumbling under my breath, I swiped at the screen and gave him access. Through the window beside the door, I watched as the ornamental metal gate began to slowly roll to the side. The white truck rocked backwards for a moment, and then forward once it was in gear, creeping up until there was barely enough room for it to fit through. Then Paul Simmons gunned it, sending gravel flying as he hurried up toward the house.
"You didn't..." Ash said behind me.
I turned to see him standing halfway between the couch and me, looking at his own phone. We all had the app for the gate, so they could see that I'd let him in, even if they couldn't see through the other windows. Luke, however, didn't seem to care. His complete attention was on Cessily, his attorney. Those two were still talking intently.
"That man isn't going to leave until I make him," I told Ash. "So I'm going to make him."
I pulled open the front door just as the truck swung up in front of the house with the driver's side facing my door. Thankfully, Ash didn't follow me out. I had a feeling he wanted to, but I didn't need a man to back me up. Especially not with this asshole.
"The whole town knows what you did now," Mr. Simmons said, trying to make it sound like a threat.
I had to fight to keep from rolling my eyes. This man thought he was hot shit. He owned a few thousand acres of land and ran the cattle industry out here. Locally, he was seen as powerful, but Cats Peak, Texas, wasn't even a zit on the ass of a map. With little more than three hundred people in town, this place was basically nothing, and his clout paled in comparison to mine.
"Well, why don't you tell me what I just did, Mr. Simmons?" I asked, wanting to hear his version.
"There's feds crawling all over this town," he snapped. "Meredith's husband was just detained. How long do you think it will take before people realize that's because of you?"
"Oh, I'm sure you'll tell them," I said. "But you go right ahead with that. I'll just ask if that means you're ok with child porn. I mean, it sounds like he was distributing, and I can't think of many reasons someone wouldn't be upset by that." And I lifted my chin, taunting him to answer.
Instead, Paul got out of his truck and slammed the door. "That's nothing but bullshit, and you know it. You're still just digging your hole deeper, aren't ya? Before you showed up, this was a good place to live!"
"Where child abusers went unchecked." I nodded, trying to look unconcerned. "Did you know that they often seek out small, sleepy towns because it's easier to fit in? Because out here, being nice is so normal, and they use that to explain away their actions. I'm also not going to sit back and ignore any child being hurt. Even if she's not mine."
"That's the thing, isn't it?" Paul asked. "Faithisn'tyours. She's Meredith's daughter, and that woman wants her child back. You can't just steal that girl away, Miss Dawson. You come in here with your big-city ideas, and - "
I groaned, cutting him off. "You are such a stereotype, aren't you? Mr. Simmons, I was raised in this town. My big-city ideas are that I just wanted to come home. Let's get to your real problem. I told you what my price is for the land. That is the amount it will take for me to move and rebuild my program somewhere else. Not a penny less."
"And it's bullshit," he snapped. "Who the fuck do you think has thirty-five million just sitting around?"
A smile curled my lips. "Ashton Walker. I mean, I only have a little over two million, and most is tied up in investments right now." I slowly walked forward, leaving my porch to approach him. "Did you think I was just some helpless little girl, Mr. Simmons? I'm a world-renowned lingerie model. One with the power to turndowna contract with Victoria’s Secret. I'm tired of your hillbilly games. I don't care if you like me. You still can't stop me from reopening Southwind."
"We'll see about that," he grumbled.
"Then you do that, but the next time you come to my place and hammer the call button on my gate, I'll call the cops before I let you in. I tried to play nice, but you don't understand how that works, do you?"
"Cats Peak doesn't need people like you in it," he warned, taking a step closer. "Or those fags you got in there. If you think Meredith is going to let her daughter be raised like this, then you got another think coming."
"Ithinkit's illegal to discriminate for sexual orientation." My smile grew, only because I was enjoying taunting this man. "I also have God on my side now, so leave it alone."
"God doesn't run this town, sweetheart," he said. "I do, and once Luke loses his daughter, you lose your hopes of getting a business contract in this town. And when people realize what kind of a bitch you really are? You'll do the same thing you did last time. You'll pack your fancy ass up and go back to where your kind belongs."
"Mr. Simmons, I don't lose." I took another step toward him. "And if you don't like what goes on around here, then you don't have to look."
"The courts will, Miss Dawson." He chuckled. "This is a small town. People like to talk, and your grandmother was one of them. I know all about your issues. I know all about your crazy mother. Never mind that the whole town now knows about Vera and Bea after your display at that woman's funeral. This is Cats Peak. Around here, we call it God's country, and sinners aren't welcome."
Behind me, the door opened. I didn't turn, but Paul's eyes jumped up and his smug expression turned into a scowl. Not that it helped me figure out who had just walked out of the house, but it also didn't matter. I had this, and I wasn't close to done.
