“I’ve been over this with her.Both units are being remodeled for the next two months.Neither is available.”
“You’re staying in one while you work on the other?”
“Yes.”
“How about this,” Jackson said.“You take a break from your remodel and let her have the cabin for one week.She can enjoy the lake with Emily.In the meantime, I’ll convince her to make reservations somewhere else.”
Paul shook his head.“Sorry, I can’t do that.”
“What if I pay for the cabin rental and your lost wages?”
Paul took another pull on the beer.He wasn’t interested in making any deals.“I don’t want your money.”
“What do you want?”
“A hassle-free work environment, without a kid underfoot or your sister’s—” He bit off the end of that sentence, because it wasn’t polite to saytits in my facein present company, and because it was an exaggeration.She hadn’t put her tits anywhere near his face.
“My sister’s what?”Jackson said in a flat voice.
Paul didn’t answer, for self-preservation reasons.“Look, she can’t stay here.I’m using power tools and hazardous materials.It’s not safe.”
“I agree,” Jackson said.
Paul suspected that Jackson meanthewasn’t safe, and it pissed him off, even though it was true.“Your sister is obviously in some kind of trouble.Whatever it is, I want nothing to do with it.I came here to be alone, to work at my own pace, and to recover from a shoulder injury.I came here for peace and quiet.”
Jackson’s eyes narrowed.“You think she’s in danger?”
“I don’t know.Is she?”
“She’s going through a divorce.”
Paul had figured as much.“Will her ex come after her?”
“He won’t come here.”
“Why is that?”
“Because he’s not welcome,” Jackson said.“And he’s not the type to risk a beating.”
Paul wondered if Vanessa’s ex had put his hands on her.No woman deserved to be treated that way, but it was none of his business.He had to focus on protecting himself and let Jackson Nava worry about his sister.Jackson might be a little too easygoing for the task.He was an entry-level peacekeeper in a sleepy lakeside town.He didn’t have the experience to anticipate every threat.Paul did, and he’d learned to be cautious.Since he’d been shot, he’d become an expert at imagining worst-case scenarios.
Any scenario involving Vanessa Nava spelled disaster.
“I’ve been real hospitable up to this point,” Paul said.“But my patience has expired.You folks need to clear out of here by the end of the day.”
Jackson offered a frosty smile.Instead of extending their conversation, he reached into his front shirt pocket for a business card.“I’ll relay the message to my sister, but I can’t make any promises.She’s as stubborn as they come.”
Paul accepted the card.“She’s parked illegally.”
Jackson shrugged.“If you’d like to file a complaint, be my guest.Call the number on that card and ask for Sheriff Nava.”
“Sheriff Nava,” Paul repeated, his stomach sinking.
“He’s our father.”
Paul didn’t react to this smug statement, but it took effort.Jackson Nava wasn’t quite as guileless as he appeared.Instead of sputtering with outrage, or cursing the Nava family to hell, Paul thanked Jackson for the beer and walked away.
Their father was the town sheriff?
