The vet hustled into the back with Buck on her heels.
Here was Bobbie’s opportunity.
“I had a brief conversation with Buck earlier, then Chief Ildavorg while we were waiting by the river.”
Mase raised a brow. “And?” he prompted.
“And they both told me that Buck used all his college money to pay off the damage to my boat and the hardware store,” she threw out, wondering how they’d react to that.
“Old news.” Spencer tickled Duck under the chin and got a sweet little groan from the pup. “We were all aware of what happened. Because of the way things played out, though, and since it was agreed that Buck would be headed into the Coast Guard, he didn’t need his cash. But why are you bringing this up now? You had that money years ago.”
Bobby shook her head. “It never went into my hands.” She didn’t hesitate to lay her cards on the table. “I didn’t even knowabout it until Buck told me today in my shop. I had no idea thatanymoney had ever been exchanged.”
Mason’s whole body became instantly alert, and the little dachshund balanced across his knees, whined in solidarity. Mase patted it, and tried to calm down for the puppy’s sake. “Okay. Where did the cash go, then?” he questioned between tight lips.
“Your“guess”is as good as mine,” Bobbie answered sarcastically, her insides suddenly churning with anger again. “Am I correct in thinking we might all beguessingthe same thing?”
“Your asshole brothers?” Spencer put in, then backed off a bit. “No offense or anything. I know they’re your family.”
“Family. Right,” Bobbie responded bitterly. “By blood only. They’ve never spared more than a few ounces of familial compassion for me, and now I’ve found out that even when I thought they did, it’s all been fake as hell. So you don’t need to couch your language with me. Theyareassholes, and always have been. I just never thought they’d…” Her voice broke, and she took a couple deep breaths to regroup.
“I didn’t think they’d stoop as low as that,” she went on. “But what I’m going to tell you will show they can go even lower. They let me stew in my loss for a few years, then graciously gave me a small downpayment toward a loan for my new boat,andtold me that they’d co-sign the papers. I thought… I thought they were trying to be good brothers. I know now that they had to have had other motives. They did the same when it came time for me to start my catering business five years ago; a small cash downpayment, and a co-signature on a note. In that instance, however, for their generosity in “helping” out, they asked for a fairly decent share of my company’s future profits, which I’ve been paying ever since. Of course, I was more than happy togrant that to them at the time, not knowing how duplicitous they were being.”
It ate away at her to know that everything rightfully could have been hers, including college, without the struggles she’d had,orthe bleak years she’d been basically trapped in that run-down excuse for a home.
Buck’s growl from the doorway startled them all.
“Are you shitting me? They own part of your business?”
His angry voice sounded from across the room
Bobbie didn’t know how long Buck been standing there, but the irate look on his face said he’d heard most everything.
CHAPTER 15
Buck thoughthe’d done a pretty good job tamping down his anger regarding his money not making it into Bobbie’s hands all those years ago. He’d repeatedly told himself that the brothers might just be holding it for her, or since Bobbie had clammed up, maybe they’d eventually given it to her when she’d started her business.
But by eavesdropping, which he wasn’t sorry in the least that he’d done, he now knew the truth, or at least most of it. The assholes had not only blatantly stolen the money that had been intended for Bobbie, they’d then made her sign loans to get her current vessel,andto start her catering venture.
To up the gall level, they were currently, practically extorting her into handing them a portion of her hard-earned proceeds for which she worked her ass off.
He was going to fucking kill them.
“Slow down, Buck,” Mason stood with his dog in his arms, moving toward his brother with determination. “We need to approach this logically and methodically.”
The conversation, wherever it had been headed, was interrupted by the vet who emerged from the back. “Who wants to go next?”
Spencer stood up with a wriggling Duck. “I will.”
Clearly, Spence saw that Buck and Mason needed to continue their conversation…and that Bobbie was unwilling to miss it.
“Okay. Come with me,” Dr. Katze indicated.
Once the pair disappeared, Bobbie asked Buck about his little white dog. “Uh, not to change the subject, but how’s your puppy doing?”
Buck’s countenance lightened a bit as he dropped a kiss on the dog’s head. “You mean Cooper? He’s been given a clean bill of health.”
“Cooper?” Bobbie questioned, tilting her head in a very dog-like fashion.
