Page 28 of Her Final Hours

Inside, Hugh was engaged in a heated exchange with a painter. He was positioned on the stairs, his voice a mix of frustration and anger. The chaotic scene, with drop cloths covering furniture and the smell of fresh paint, only added to the disarray.

“You are going to have to take it back. That’s not the paint I asked for. Like seriously, how hard is it to get the right paint?”

“Sorry, Mr. Sutherland, there must have been a mix-up at the hardware store.”

“Sure, sure, like they’re in the habit of doing that. They mix based on the color you choose. I told you to get White Kitten. Does this look like White Kitten?”

Hugh paused his tirade and turned toward Noah. His brow furrowed, reflecting annoyance. “I know we said we’d talk, but this might not be a good time.” He turned to continue to argue when Noah pulled him away, and they went into the kitchen. “What is going on? Why are there so many people at the house? And what’s with the coming soon sign outside?”

Hugh let out a sigh and ran a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. “It was a last-minute decision. I’ve decided to sell the house. Kerri is handling the listing.”

“Sell the house? But this place has been in our family for generations. What about Mom? And why now?”

“Mom is gone, and it’s time for a change. The memories, the weight of the past… it’s becoming too much for me. I need to move on, find a new chapter in my life,” he confessed, his voice tinged with vulnerability. “And it just so happens a property will be on the market soon that I simply can’t pass up.”

“Is that so? And where might that be?”

“On High Peaks Lake.”

“You’re already on a lake. I don’t understand.”

“No, you don’t because if you did, you wouldn’t have tossed back the gift.”

Noah looked bewildered for a second, then suddenly, the penny dropped. “You’re moving into my house, aren’t you?”

“Your house? You never owned it. You rent. Hell, by the sounds of it, you didn’t appreciate it. So I’m taking it.”

“But…”

“It’s already done. Besides, from what Natalie Ashford told me, you made a big fuss about it. How could you embarrass me that way?”

Noah shifted from one foot to the next. “Hold on a second. First, you never told me the Ashfords owned that place; second, you never told me you are in bed with them.”

“In bed? What are you talking about?’

“Partnership. You scratch their back; they scratch yours. The moving of the thin blue line.”

“I do a little business. I’m not sure of what concern that is to you.”

“A lot, especially when the people you do business with step over the line.”

Hugh looked utterly perplexed. “You’re losing me.”

“What kind of business are you doing with the Ashfords?”

Hugh turned and began to make some coffee. “How about we have a drink? I think the caffeine might clear your mind.”

Noah darted in front of him. “Don’t dodge the question. What business are you doing with them?”

“Real estate, son. Now can you step out of the way?”

Noah relented. Yet the tension in the air didn’t dissipate but only increased.

“Is this why you came over? So you can rake me over the coals about my decision to sell this house?”

“If you want to sell the house, that’s your decision, but why didn’t you tell me about the house on the lake?”

“Because I knew you would have this reaction. And because I’m not going to have some son of mine spending months over at Gretchen’s or in some shithole of an apartment while you get your life together.”