“It might be better to stay at home. I have lots of people who can help you get things settled.”
“I appreciate that, Dad, Charlotte. But I need to do this myself. I’m not sure staying with either of you is the bestthing for me.”
“You’re not thinking of staying in a hotel, dear, are you?” her mother said with disapproval in her eyes. “How would that look if you didn’t stay with your family?”
Sneaking a peek at Scott, who kept his face neutral, she took a deep breath. “I think I’ll stay with Scott.”
All eyes swung to him. His calm demeanor was only disturbed by a tiny twitch of his lips as he said, “You’re more than welcomehere, Heather.”
“I’m not sure you’re thinking this through well enough,” her father said, disapproval now apparent in his expression. “No offense to Scott, but he’s had a nasty brush with thelaw recently.”
“If you’re talking about the assault charges, they’ve been dropped. The woman admitted she liedto the police.”
Scott’s posture was so stiff he could pass for a mannequin. Why wasn’t he defending himself?
“Even so, dear, it simply wouldn’t be right.”
“That I’m staying with a guy? Please, Mom, this isn’t the Victorian era. And I honestly feel safer here with Scott. I wouldn’t want any of you to get hurt.”
“Why would we get hurt?” her father thundered, his eyes blazing. “Is there something you aren’t telling us?”
Sitting up straight, Scott cleared his throat. “We’ve had some mishaps on this new construction venture. At first we thought they were all coincidence, but between the bogus charges against me and Heather’s house, it might be more than that.”
“You’re saying someone might be trying to kill you? Both of you? Are the policeaware of this?”
“The prosecutor who was trying my case is aware someone had it out for me, trying to put me in jail. She wanted us to let her know if anything else questionable happened. I consider this questionable. I was planning to speak with her and the police today. And my cousin, Jack, still has friends in the FBI. He’ll be contacting them.”
“Hearing this new information, I definitely think you need to stay with us, Heather.”
“I don’t want to, Dad. I don’t want any of you getting hurtbecause of me.”
“Then give up this project. It’s not worth getting killed over.”
“I agree, but it’s too late now,” she told her father. “We’ll be looking further into what the building was used for and who might want us out. I’m not losing the money I put into the project because I’m scared.”
“No money is worth your life.”
“Now that I’m involved it may not matter if I stop the project.”
“Then I’ll get a security guard to be with you.”
“With all due respect, sir,” Scott started, “I can keep her safe. I’ve got military training and I know what to look for.”
“How safe did you keep her when herhouse blew up?”
“Dad.” She reached over, squeezing her father’s hand. “If it wasn’t for Scott, I’d be dead right now. He stopped by to check on me. He was the one who smelled the gas and got us out of there. I was ready to wait and call the gas company but he wouldn’t even let me get my phone before he grabbed me and ran.”
“Which is why you didn’t answer when we called,” her mother said.
Her father took a deep breath in then exhaled slowly. “I didn’t realize. Thank you, Scott, for saving Heather’s life. I still don’t like the idea of her not being with us but I guess I have to respect her wishes.”
Wow, she hadn’t expected that from her dad. Was he finally seeing her as more than his littlehelpless girl?
Looking at Scott, he said, “I’m trusting you to keep her safe. And if you need any of my resources, do not hesitate to ask. Whether it’s money, people I know, or simply vehicles or tools, they’re yours ifyou need them.”
“Thank you, sir,” Scott said. “I promise I’ll do everything I can to keep her safe. And find out who’s behind this. She’s come to mean a lot to me.”
Scott had come to mean a lot to her too. But what exactly was she to him? A friend, business partner, lover, more? She wished she knew, not only for him but for herself.
