more to it. More that she had never really wanted to talk about with anyone else. And, now was no exception.
“What did you do?” Lane asked.
“I kicked his ass out,” Rebecca responded.
“Did you call Jonathan?” Cassie asked.
“No. And I’m not going to tell him, because the last thing I need is for my older brother to end up in jail because he killed someone. And trust me, if Jonathan had any idea that this guy was back in town, he would get himself locked up for homicide.” Rebecca was only a little bit sure she was exaggerating.
“Do you want me to call Finn? He can come down and hang out by the store. Look menacing or whatever,” Lane said, referencing her friend Finn Donnelly.
Though, she wasn’t entirely sure the cranky rancher would refer to Lane as a friend. Actually, Rebecca wasn’t entirely certain what Lane and Finn’s deal was.
“Thanks for offering the use of Finn without his permission,” Rebecca said. “But I’m fine.”
“What does he...want?” Alison asked. “Did he just want to check in with you? After all these years?”
Rebecca lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know. And I really don’t care. As far as I’m concerned he can jump off a bridge. I don’t really want his apologies. Or his pity. Or his anything.” And she certainly didn’t want him to seize control of her building. She didn’t want him to give it to her. She didn’t want him to have his hands on anything that she touched.
“Well, I’m all for holding grudges,” Lane said. “I think it’s healthy. Good for your pores.”
“And, often keeps you safe. Forgiveness is for chumps,” Alison added.
“I would be the first to say that some people are just better off out of your life. Or, off the planet.” Rebecca knew that Cassie was thinking of her ex-husband, the total dud she’d been with before meeting Jake, the love of her life.
“Yes,” Lane said, nodding, taking a sip of wine. “Some people really don’t need forgiveness. And, I imagine the man that left you with permanent physical scars is one of them. He was... He was driving recklessly, wasn’t he?”
He had been. And the ensuing cover-up had meant that he had never been charged. And that no one ever knew. But even if he had been, it would not have solved what happened next. Because that one event was the breakdown of the rest of her life as she’d known it then.
“Yes. I just... It wasn’t really something that I wanted to deal with. I’ve dealt with it, really.”
If dealing with it meant growing yet more bitter by the year, then she most certainly had.
“Well, if he comes back during the workday, you know you can always call me,” Lane said.
“Me too,” said Cassie.
“Obviously, I will also show up with a weapon of some kind,” Alison said.
“I appreciate that. You have no idea how much your willingness to appear with weaponry means to me. But, I think it will be fine.”
“It’s just so desperately random that he showed up,” Lane commented.
It wasn’t quite as random as Lane thought. But, Rebecca didn’t want to get into it. Legally, Rebecca wasn’t allowed to get into it. But then, since none of the payoff money from Nathan West had ever made it into her possession, she wondered if the agreement applied to her. Her mother had taken off with it a long time ago.
The money had never been for her pain and suffering. It had been her mom’s getaway fund.
“I guess assholes who are prone to driving recklessly are also prone to random appearances?” she suggested.
“I guess so,” Alison said, watching her a little bit too closely. Almost as if she sensed there was more to the story. Well, Alison was going to have to keep sensing. Because she was not going to get any more out of her. Alison had a past she didn’t like to talk about. She should understand.
“I don’t want to talk about the asshole anymore. I just want to eat some pie.”
“I respect that.” Lane took a piece of pie out of the box and set it on a paper plate. “Eat your feelings. I bet they’re delicious.”
“Of course her feelings are delicious,” Alison said. “They’re going to be consumed in a vehicle that I baked. And everything I bake is delicious.”
“Hear, hear,” Cassie agreed.
Rebecca was just going to try and put Gage out of her mind. With any luck, he would give up. He had disappeared very effectively for the past seventeen