Page 52 of Sweet Somethings

"I wouldn't have started it if Juliette hadn't grilled me last night."

He wasn't surprised Juliette had put Doug on the defensive. She did have a persistence about her that could be unsettling. "I'm sure she'll drop it. There's nothing left to discuss. There's no evidence, no truth to be found; it is what it is."

"What's going on between you and her?" Doug asked.

"Why do you care?"

"She's trying to build a business in this town, a business that's going to require goodwill, people who want to buy their baked goods from her. That might change if she hooks up with you."

"You must be one hell of a lawyer, Doug, always thinking of the angles."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Whatever is between us is between us."

"So I'm going to have to get around you to get to her?"

"That's a question you'd have to ask her."

"I used to beat you when it came to the girls," Doug reminded him, a familiar, cocky note in his voice.

"We'll see if your luck holds up."

"I guess we will." Doug turned and left, shutting the door forcibly behind him.

He stood there for a long minute, thinking about their conversation. He'd always thought Doug had turned on him—Travis, too—but now he wondered. Had Doug's father made him believe that in some effort to protect his son? It made sense. He could clearly remember the chief sitting him down, looking him in the eye, and telling him that Doug and Travis had both given sworn statements that he'd lit the branches of the tree on fire for fun, and then had run when the fire got too big. They hadn't even said it was an accident; they'd sworn he'd done it on purpose.

Doug was telling a different story now. But he was also desperate to be elected mayor. How could he believe anything Doug had to say? And the reaction Travis had had to him when they'd run into each other had been filled with anger and bitterness. The chief had probably told him a different story, too.

Maybe the person Doug should be talking to was his father.

On the other hand, he doubted the chief would tell his son anything that contradicted his past story. The Winters had always been a family that protected their own. And his friendship with Doug had been seen as a cancer. They'd wanted to cut him out of Doug's life long before the fire. He was probably lucky the chief hadn't found a way to send him to jail, but fortunately there really hadn't been any evidence that pointed to him.

Shaking his head, he told himself to stop thinking about it. He couldn't change the past, so there was no point in going back there. He needed to stay in the present.

The door opened again, and this time his grandfather walked in.

"Was that Doug Winters I saw driving away from here?" Vincent asked.

"It was."

"Why?"

"He wanted to know if I was going to cause him trouble in his run for mayor."

"Because of the past," Vincent said with an irritated nod. "I can't believe his nerve. You're not thinking of leaving early because of him?"

"No. He won't have anything to do with any decisions I make."

"Good. I need your help on this job as long as you can give it."

"About that. You keep promising me some helpers, but no one shows up."

"There are some other contractors running big jobs right now. Everyone is busy."

"This project isn't going to get done with just me working on it. And I could be gone in a few weeks depending on what happens with my next physical. What are you going to do then?"

"I'll find some help." His grandfather walked down the hall, and he followed him into the bedroom he'd been working on.

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