He whips around and glares at his son. “I’m finishing this. I will get what I want.”
“You will not. I’ve already called the sheriff and he’ll be here soon to pick you up. And I’m going to insist that Fee files a restraining order on you. Which is gonna make it hella hard for you to run your shop. You fucked up, Dad. You gave them exactly what they needed.”
The old man’s mouth falls open and he grips the cane tightly. Then his shoulders sink and he sighs.
“I’ll buy the damn property from you, Dad. Because you will never be this close to Fee and Harper again. I will not let that happen. I’ll buy it at a decent price with cash and then…I think you better get the hell out of town. Retire and go get your head on straight. Maybe have some sessions with a psychiatrist.”
“I don’t need that.”
“You need something, Dad.” His voice gets softer. “I hope that you find what you need, Dad. But you can’t go around acting like this and expect to get away with it.”
He turns to me and there’s a soft look in his dark eyes. A sweet look that makes my stupid, stupid heart flutter wildly. “If he leaves town, will you agree not to charge him with vandalism. Or whatever they would charge him with in this case?”
I pause and he sighs. “Please, Fee. He’s an old man. An old, bitter, stupid man. Give him a chance to get out of here and away from what’s driving him nuts.”
Glancing over at Harper, she nods and I sigh and then nod my head. “I don’t know what his problem is. But I hope that if hegets away from this property that he’ll get his head on straight and function normally. Cause right now he’s acting crazy.”
“I’ll make sure that he leaves.”
“Fine. I’m agreeable to that. As long as he’s definitely leaving.”
Mr. Stephens nods his head. “Fine.” He turns and walks out the door.
Harper grins at me. “Well, that was exciting.” But then her smiles fades as I stand, crossing my arms and looking away from Monroe. She looks back and forth between the two of us and then hums. “Okay. Well, I guess that I’m gonna go get us some coffees since we’re gonna have to get this cleaned up before we let anybody else in.” She shuffles her way to the door and leans over to whisper, “You better not fuck this up, buddy. Because if you’re who your dad says you are and you were playing my cousin, I’m gonna squash you like a bug.”
He grins at her. “Noted. Trust me, Harper. I’m not planning on doing anything to hurt her.”
“Good,” she growls. And then she grins at me behind his back and gives me a thumbs up.
As soon as the bell over the door stops jingling and she disappears from view, Monroe turns to me and sighs. “I’m so sorry, Fee. I don’t know how many ways I can say that to you. I’m just so sorry.”
My stomach sinks. Is he, in fact, sorry that he tried to scam me? Or is there some other reason?
What if he doesn’t feel about me the same way I feel about him?
CHAPTER 12
Monroe
Her pretty face turns away from me and she grabs a dust pan and broom and starts to sweep the glass into it.
“Hey, why don’t you let me do that? I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I’ve cleaned up worse than this. I’ll be fine. You don’t have to stick around if you need to go with your dad.”
“Why would I want to do that?”
Her shoulders sink and she takes a deep breath and lifts her head, turning to me. “He told me what you were both doing.”
“I had nothing to do with whatever he thought was going on. He’s lost his mind. I didn’t want anything to do with it.”
“You made that joke?”
“It was a joke, Fee. Always a joke. I will never do a damn thing to hurt you. Or your business.”
“What did you mean when you said you were going to buy it from him? I thought you were taking it over from him.”
“No. He refused to retire. Now I know why. It was never going to happen. He brought me here to supposedly help him while the place was shuttered while he was in the hospital. But he had no intention of letting me take it over. But I wasserious about having you file a restraining order on the man. You deserve peace in your own place of business.”
