“Huh.” He stares like he’s trying to place me. “Is my daughter treating you well, son?”
“Very.” I deliberately don’t look at Hazel. “Ms. Spencer is an excellent leader. Very competent and fair.”
Hazel’s cheeks flush as she looks at her dad. “Luke led the build on the old Reynolds place. They wrapped up early and under budget.”
“Nice work, son.” Owen Spencer sizes me up, and I’m not sure he likes what he sees. “I’m assuming you know my daughter works too hard.”
I need to tread carefully here. “Hazel’s a hard worker, sir.” At the edge of my vision, she stiffens. “Everyone at the company works very hard. It’s one of the things I like about being employed by Spencer Development.”
He makes a noise I can’t place as annoyance or pleasure, but Hazel relaxes a little. Something tells me to stay put. To stand my ground until the guards chase me out. If there’s a chance Hazel needs me, I’m here.
“Hard to have a life when you work so hard,” Owen continues. “And you know my Hazel—always so sure she can do everything all by herself.”
That sounds about right. “From what I’ve observed, she can.”
Once more, Hazel puffs up beside me. But Owen’s not seeing this as a point in her favor.
He also seems to realize that he’ll need to try another tack. “No one’s getting any younger here.” With a sigh, he assumes an expression of well-aged wisdom. “Hazel’s well into her thirties now.”
“Dad—”
“What, sweetheart?” He studies his daughter with a fondness that seems genuine. “Are you telling me you don’t want to settle down, have a family?”
She gives him a tight little smile. “You know I want those things.”
“Of course you do. From the time you were little, you played with your dollies and took them wherever you went. To the beach or out on the lake—” He chuckles fondly. “You even had me buy you that little dolly backpack to put them in so we could walk Grandpa’s tree farm together and Eudora and Bluebell wouldn’t miss anything.”
I watch as the memory lands softly in Hazel’s lap. Her lips part a little, then press together. “That’s right,” she says softly. “I forgot about Eudora and Bluebell.”
And she gave me shit about Clover?
But now’s not the time to crow about that. I’m sensing she needs me to step in again. “I’m sure Hazel will get there in her own time. Family, career—she’ll find a way to have it all.”
Owen’s gaze swings back to mine, like he’s just now remembered I’m here. “Easy for you to say, son. If she wastes all her time running the company, she’s got another clock winding down.”
She huffs out a breath of frustration. “For crying out loud—I’m a grown adult woman, not a breeding mare. And my biological clock is my business. It doesn’t mean we need to find a way to get you out of prison to swoop in and save the day.”
Her father looks pained, glancing down at his hands on the table. “So you want to see me rotting away in here.”
Hazel’s eyes shimmer. “You know that’s not true.”
“Seems true to me.”
Her jaw tightens. “I believe in paying the price for your actions and choices.”
“And I believe in second chances,” he says. Lifting his gaze, Owen looks back at me and tries another tack. “I’m sure you’re aware that my daughter is a consummate professional with impeccable credentials. Which makes her the perfect character witness to persuade a judge I need to be back at the helm of my company.”
Say what?
I must look stunned because the old man continues. “She’s part of the reason I’m here—just a silly misunderstanding, really—so my daughter is key to getting me released.” He chuckles fondly, but it’s a brittle sound. “Hazel has a flawless reputation. Never even had a speeding ticket, can you believe it?”
“That’s not true,” she pipes up. “I just had my first one four months ago.”
She’s adorably proud, so I nod. “A regular speed demon.”
“I see.” Owen Spencer levels his gaze at me. “Be that as it may, any judge would take one look at Hazel in his courtroom and believe every word she says. Here’s this brilliant, upstanding citizen known for honesty and integrity and impeccable morals. She associates herself with only the best kind of people, and I just think?—”
“I’m pregnant, Dad.” Hazel points to my chest and I freeze. “And this guy right here? He’s the father.”
