You know what’s happening.
“Oh.” Henry’s disappointed voice snapped her attention back to him. The man’s kind face fell a little, appearing genuinely disappointed. “I thought maybe you’d stay. The property is quite valuable, you know. You really should give it a few days and take some time to think about it. I mean, the house is yours, so you’d have free lodging for as long as you’re here.”
Mac was shaking her head before the sweet man had even finished talking. “There’s nothing to think about.”
“Abigail—”
“It’s Mac,” she cut him off curtly. Letting out a slow breath, she used a more polite tone. “I go by Mac, now.”
“My apologies.” He swallowed. “Listen…uh…Mac. The loss of your parents all those years ago must have been devastating. Then to be uprooted and sent to live in that huge house with an uncle who was constantly working.” Henry sighed. “I can imagine you must’ve been quite lonely there at times.”
Unable to keep up the pretense any longer, Mac decided to lay it all out for him.
“Henry, the months I spent living in that house were the worst of my entire life.”
Clearly surprised, the man blinked. “I didn’t realize you were so unhappy with Tony.”
She barely contained an eye-roll. “I may have been a teenager, but I wasn’t stupid. I knew all about my uncle’s business dealings. What he really did for a living.”
“You mustn’t listen to rumors—”
“I witnessed him order the execution of a man, Henry. His name was Mark Shaeffer. He was a doctor who borrowed money from the wrong person. Tony was that person. Shaeffer wasn’t just a doctor desperate to get out of a financial bind. He was someone’s son. A husband. A father. Maybe you’ve heard of him?”
“Uh, no.” Henry’s gaze faltered.
“Was,” Mac corrected. “Who hewas. Mark Shaeffer is dead, Henry. He’s been dead eleven years. I know, because I was staring into the man’s eyes when Luca blew his brains out.”
Several seconds went by as Henry struggled with how to respond. “I-I know nothing about that.”
Damn. He’s lying.
“It’s okay, Henry. As Tony’s lawyer, I understand attorney-client privilege is very important to you. So is loyalty. Even now, with Tony dead, you won’t confirm or deny such an accusation, and that’s okay. As my uncle’s trusted friend, I would never expect you to. But honestly, the only good memories I have from my time in that house are the ones when I got to see you. So I hope you can understand why I need to sell it and move on from this place. For good.”
“I’m truly sorry you were so unhappy here. Of course, your wanting to sell is perfectly understandable. If you’ll give me your phone number, I have an excellent realtor who will do right by you. I’ll text you her information.”
“Thank you.” Mac took Henry’s phone and entered her number in his contacts.
“Well.” The man looked at his watch, suddenly in a rush. “I hate to eat and run, but I have an appointment I can’t miss.”
“Of course.”
All three stood. Coop pulled out his wallet to cover the check, but Henry held up a hand to stop him.
“Put that away. This was my treat.”
Coop glanced over at Mac before sliding the wallet back into his jeans pocket. “Thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
With a handshake between the two men and a final hug for Mac, she and Coop watched as Henry went on his way. As soon as he was gone, Trevor tossed a few bills on his table and made his way to where they were.
“Your friend’s a liar.”
Before she could respond, Trevor turned to Coop and asked, “What’s he lying about?”
Coop glanced at Mac, unsure if he should say more. She nodded.
“It’s okay. He knows the whole story.”
