Page 40 of Fortune’s Control (Fortune’s Creek #1)

“My mother is here?”

“Along with Evelyn. I invited them after speaking to her this afternoon.”

That inspired some hope. I rubbed my temples as images of our upcoming dinner flooded me. An entire meal spent discussing my faults threatened my perfect mood.

“Should I get it?” Sophie asked.

“Please do,” I said.

She left the room, with Jack following like a puppy. Despite my growing annoyance, I grinned at the amusing picture in my head.

“We spoke after you left today.” Shane flashed his eyes upward. “If she doesn’t meet my standards, she’s gone.”

“Did you threaten her?” I meant it as a joke, but he gave me a solemn nod. “You explained how it would be, with no opportunity for her to push back,” I guessed.

“That’s what I do.”

I giggled. “It’s so annoying, and yet I’m grateful for this part of you.”

I love this part of you, Shane Wilcott.

Voices carried from the entryway, signaling the probable end to that night’s sleuthing.

“Should we join them?” he asked.

We were in Shane’s rarely used office. Its wood and leather decor told me it once belonged to his father, as Shane wasn’t the sort to spend his days behind a desk.

His left leg altered his physical capabilities, but didn’t diminish them, and he maintained his athletic habits.

Heck, he already turned over the business portion of his rental properties to me.

I kissed his cheek, pleased with our night, despite recent events.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“Nothing in particular. They can come back here and wait. I want to make another phone call before dinner.”

*****

“Evelyn, it’s good to see you.” She pulled me in for a sideways hug. “We’ve had a minor swerve.”

“Sophie told us on the way in. She’s madder than hell.”

Sarah Jane stood by the entryway alone, holding her expensive purse like a secret weapon. “How did today go? I understand it was an exciting one.”

I narrowed my eyes at her atypical question. Even if genuine, it was uncomfortable hearing it. “We’re hopeful. How long are you in town?”

“Two days. I left work early, arrived last night, and checked into a hotel in Gainesville. There weren’t many local options.”

Beside me, Sophie clapped before shoving Jack out the door. Shane, unsurprisingly, didn’t join them.

“Why are you here? I thought you had plans with George?”

Sarah Jane glanced at everyone in the room with obvious discomfort. She probably felt like she was on trial. “George and I are no longer involved. You never gave me a chance to tell you. ”

“I’ve been busy, and you hung up on me.” Funnily enough, I wasn’t angry about that. It struck me as an odd, almost fantastic, joke. Liberating when it should be hurtful.

“Yes, about that.” She cleared her throat. “I thought about our last phone call, and I realized the man I spoke to may not have been a police officer.”

“No shit,” I blurted out. Evelyn laughed. “I think you spoke to the man who tried to kill me. Shane, can you show her?”

He pulled up the screenshot and invited Sarah Jane closer so she could see. Sarah Jane leaned forward, studying the stranger’s face.

“I remember the goatee and thinking he should get rid of it. It could be him. Plenty of young men confuse facial hair with an interesting personality. Mostly, I recall his voice. He had the sweetest way of talking. A gentle lilt and polite. He wore a sports jacket and a blue tie, with his hair combed. This man is a slob who doesn’t recognize basic grooming. He showed me a badge, if that matters.”

“Do you remember his name or badge number?”

“He told me, but I didn’t pay attention.” I translated that to mean she was more interested in flirting than anything else.

“It’s enough for now,” I decided.

“What’s next?” Shane asked me.

“I want to call Mr. McCormick, and then we’ll eat.”

Evelyn put an arm over her daughter’s shoulders. “The rest of your friends are in the kitchen. Why don’t we start on dinner while you two take a minute?”

Sarah Jane shot me a questioning look. I wavered, afraid of another outburst or a painful question, and then my stomach growled. “That’s perfect. Sophie has much of it ready, so this should be quick. Whoever makes the margaritas will be my new personal hero.”

“You handled that well,” Shane said once we were alone.

“I did it for myself more than her.”

“If it matters, your mother spent a couple of hours with Evelyn, just the two of them. It wasn’t only my threats that brought her here.”

“Do you know what about?”

“You’d need to ask them. I already had plans.”

“You think you had a fun day, but I showed people spreadsheets.” I gave him a cheeky grin, which Shane stole with a kiss. “One phone call, and we eat.”

“Call away.”

“Lawyers should communicate via text. Way more convenient for me,” I said as the phone dialed.

“McCormick and Associates. Can I take a message?”

I groaned. “Can you tell Mr. McCormick that Delilah Mayberry needs to speak with him? He’ll know why.”

*****

Dinner was a more subdued affair than planned, but no one seemed to care.

Sophie bragged about her fighting skills while Jack listened in awe.

Evelyn and Lainey shared the latest book club news.

My mother spoke little, choosing to listen and take it all in.

It was strange behavior from a woman who usually commanded the center of attention.

“Why don’t you three go to the living room?” Shane suggested after dinner ended. “I’ll clean the kitchen and make your tea when it’s done.”

My eyes grew because he meant that living room—our second favorite room, after the one with the bed in it.

“Well, this room is art.” Sarah Jane gazed up at the tongue and groove ceiling with appreciation .

“We spend a lot of time here.”

“I’ll bet.”

I frowned at her tone, unable to identify it. “What do you plan to do tomorrow?”

It was Sarah Jane’s turn to frown over the unexpected question.

“Truth be told, I’d prefer to go home to Atlanta.

I don’t enjoy this town, and the sooner it’s in my rearview mirror, the better.

Having said that, you’re still my daughter.

If you need me, I’ll stay as long as you want me, and if you kick me out, I’ll leave. ”

Sarah Jane inspected her deep red nails, checking for any cracks or chips.

That hurt, yet it also gave me an odd sort of power.

It was a pretense; she wanted to appear unaffected.

She likely believed I’d kick her out or disown her, and it’s not an unreasonable concern.

I could, and maybe doing so was the wiser path.

“Who is my father?”

She glanced at Evelyn, whose pursed lips told me she knew the answer.

“Hank Mayberry. I left this town without knowing I was pregnant, and insisted he marry me when I found out. Hank had no talent, goals, or ambition, which I ignored because he had one important skill: flattering me, and I was na?ve enough to fall for it. We crashed on friends’ couches until you were a couple of months old, and I found him with another woman.

I took you to Atlanta for a fresh start, and he died in prison.

Think what you will of me, but I learned my lesson with him. ”

How strange. I should feel a connection to that name, but it’s like asking an opinion on a long-dead historical figure.

How should I feel about it? Sarah Jane learned a lesson, and in a way, she did.

A string of beaus, but she never brought one into our lives and kept that part of herself separate.

Despite all that, she never gave up searching.

How much of it was a desire to replace her missing father?

Evelyn said her light dimmed after his death, after all.

I wanted to ask why we never visited my grandmother, or why she kept that part of her life hidden, but the questions dried in my mouth, because I knew the answer.

Sarah Jane learned her lessons, and coming home meant revisiting them.

Pride kept her moving, and unprocessed grief kept her from Fortune’s Creek.

Admitting this to me meant owning up to her mistakes, and Sarah Jane never did that.

My future mattered more to me than dwelling on her past. I married a stranger who found my grandmother, and I helped a town because the people helped me. For the first time, almost everything I ever dreamed of was nearby, all save Emma, my best friend, who lent me her family when I needed it.

“I’m creating a new career for myself here. Would you like to know about it?” I asked.

She blinked in surprise. And relief. “I would love to hear more.”

“I’m pursuing my CPA license.”

“Numbers. You get that from me,” Sarah Jane said with a note of pride.

Numbers aren’t messy. “I also spoke to our mayor about a potential job if our grant proposal is approved.”

“Oh, like a non-profit? You enjoyed that work.”

She listened that much?

“It’ll be approved,” Shane announced from the doorway. “Your tea is ready.” He passed it over so I could take my first needed sip. “Overly sweet iced coffee in the morning, and unsweet, hot herbal tea in the evening.”

Sarah Jane watched him, curious. “Do you mind if I ask how you lost your leg?”

Shane took his familiar spot next to me. “I didn’t. It’s a transtibial amputation, which means only the part below the knee. It’s from a training accident two months before my enlistment ended.” His jaw tightened, but otherwise, Shane gave no sign that the question bothered him.

“Does it prevent you from…” Sarah Jane glanced at me. “Are you able to…”

My eyes widened with horror. Was she asking that question now?

Shane’s features sharpened as he drew the same conclusion before relaxing. “You want to know if I can protect her?” He leaned back and put an arm over my shoulder.

“Well, forgive me for asking the obvious question.” Sarah Jane’s quick defensiveness returned, and for once, I didn’t mind. “A man posed as a detective and then ransacked your sister’s home. Also, he’s driving around like a drunken madman.”

“We have cameras,” I said. It was true, but it did not address her concerns.

“She’s safer here than she ever was in Atlanta,” Shane said.

I heard the unsaid part: I was safer here than in Atlanta with my mother.

“Then keep it that way,” she said.

My mother came to Fortune’s Creek because she was worried about me. I have entered the upside-down, and if I’m honest, I liked it here.