Page 3 of Deception

Her emotions had fed right into her dad’s scheme.

Her dad would be happy.

But doing this felt gross. Olive never wanted to do it again.

Never.

Bracing herself, she stepped outside ready to tell her dad she was finished.

CHAPTER 2

TODAY

Olive Sterling paused on the sunny sidewalk of Oasis, Texas, and felt the warm, late April breeze sweep over her, pushing strands of her curly hair away from her face.

She stared at the small, familiar town around her. This place, located about an hour west of Austin in Texas Hill Country, had once been home.

That seemed like another lifetime ago, however.

Her gaze drifted from the Rusty Lantern Café, where she’d soon meet the subject of her investigation, to Irwin’s Pharmacy on the corner.

As Olive stared at the small business, memories of that long-ago day with her dad filled her mind. This wasn’t the same pharmacy Dad had ordered her to go into and plead for money. But it might as well be.

Olive had put the recollection out of her head for many years, trying to forget the shame she’d felt as she obeyed her father.

Right now, the details of that day jolted back into her memory with striking accuracy.

Her father’s ask hadn’t made sense back then.

But now it did.

Now Olive knew more about her father. Knew about his schemes. About the lies that had been hiding beneath his friendly exterior.

Other parents taught their children not to lie. Her dad, on the other hand, had taught herhowto lie. Which was probably why Olive hated not telling the truth now.

She could justify it when it came to investigating, she supposed. But not in real life.

Even worse, she’d never truly have closure on those issues. Her father was dead, and he’d taken the answers to the grave with him.

Olive pulled herself together and drew in another breath.

She glanced around her again. She never thought she’d revisit this place.

Then she’d gotten a phone call from her old friend Jason Stewart. His request for help had been hard to turn down.

Partly because it was Jason, the only man she had ever loved.

He was also the man she could never be with.

Not that shewantedto be with anyone. Her life was too complicated—not to mention the fact she had major trust issues. The one man she was supposed to feel safe with—her dad—had been full of lies. How did someone move past that?

She stuffed her hands into her pants pockets and watched the people around her.

Did she even know anyone who still lived here in Oasis? Or had everyone moved on? Gone on to bigger and better places?

Olive had lived here when she was sixteen. Back then, the population was only 3,241. Now the town had blossomed to nearly fifteen thousand, and a few strip malls and hotels had even been erected on the outskirts of town.

In some ways, living in Oasis had been among the happiest days of her life. This town was where she’d met Jason. He no longer lived here—he was in Chicago. But some of his family remained.