Levi squeezed her butt, bringing her attention back to the present. “What is it? What did you figure out?”
“Figured out might be too strong a phrase. Just a possible connection I hadn’t made before.” But the more she thought about it, the more it seemed possible.
“Don’t make me tickle it out of you.”
She laughed and squirmed against him. “I’m just thinking it through. What if Glen went to Future 4 Us looking for me and heard about the fallout with Ed? What if Glen found Ed and talked him into coming to Vermont?”
Levi frowned. “How would they know where to find you? I thought your boss was the only one who knew where you were headed.”
Isla nodded. “She was, but when I told her the town’s name, she thought it was hilarious. Over the few days, while I was wrapping things up, we made a ton of jokes. She would ask if I was going to Phail. I know I quoted Piper’s town slogan more than once.”
Come to Phail to succeed.
She tapped on Levi’s chest. “While I think Ed is a slime, he can be a charming slime when he wants. He thinks he’s pretty irresistible to the ladies, and he is friends with a lot of the scientists in the lab. I know he kept in touch with several of them. There were lots of snide comments aimed my way about me being the reason he got fired.”
The more she said it out loud, the more possible it seemed. “What if someone told Glen where to find Ed? Maybe they cooked up this plan together. Maybe Glen paid Ed to come up here and harass me, or worse.” If the plan was to take her out of contention for the will, the only thing that would accomplish that definitively was her death.
She watched Levi think it through. “It’s possible.”
“It is. I can see Glen thinking he could get away with it even if Ed’s caught. He’ll just deny it all.” Which people might believe.
“Have you told your father about any of the things that have been happening?”
She shook her head with a sigh. “No. I don’t want him to think I only got in touch with him because I wanted something. I was hoping to build an actual relationship.”
“Might be better to tell him before the police talk to him about Glen.”
Isla dropped her head to her hands. “I suppose. Why is everything such a mess?”
His arms shifted to hold her close. “Not everything. This, this right here, is not a mess. We’re not a mess. And we’re going to figure out the other mess.”
She lifted her head to smile at him. “Thank you.”
One sexy eyebrow shot up. “For what?”
“For not giving up on me when I panic. For believing in me. For loving me despite the wackiness.”
He grinned. “That’s the easy part, Isla. The wackiness isn’t your fault.”
“It sure feels like it is.”
Levi rolled them over and braced his weight on his elbows. “You’re an amazing person, Isla. Life has handed you some crappy circumstances, but you’re still working to make life better for others. It’s not your fault there are some greedy people with weak morals in the world. We’re going to get them. I promise.”
Even though she knew he couldn’t promise any such thing, his words warmed her heart and eased the panic that had gripped her when she’d thought he’d been shot.
She reached up and cupped his face in her hands. “I love you, Levi. And we’re going to figure this out together.”
“Best news I’ve heard all day.” And he set about proving it.
Levi felt helpless as Isla set up the video call with her father. He wanted to fix things for her, wanted to make the call himself. But he wasn’t a jerk and knew she wanted to do those things for herself.
She’d been in a complete panic earlier, but she was more settled now. Resigned was probably the best word. She didn’t want to go outside yet, and she wanted to talk to her father before they called Marcus about her theory.
When her father connected, they chatted for a few moments, but then Isla waved Levi over to sit with her. “Dad, I’d like you to meet Levi Connors. Levi, this is my dad, Reginald Duggan.”
Duggan’s eyes widened, and his eyes roved over Levi. Levi nodded at the screen. “Hello sir, nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you as well. How well do you know my daughter?”