Page 335 of A Merry Mountain Christmas

“There are some things you should know,” Jack said. He’d struggled with where to start, ease his way in or go straight for the jugular? There was a very good chance Lee might storm out, so he’d decided to lead with the part that could possibly keep him out of prison and reveal the rest in descending order.

He told Lee about Dottie instructing Jack and Maisie to sit behind the plant wall separating the dining area from the bar on the other side. “Your dad—ourdad—has done some bad things, Lee. Both in the past and apparently in the present.”

Lee shook his head. “Look, I know he’s an asshole.”

“No, this is more than just him being an asshole. I’m talking illegal stuff.”

Lee’s face paled. “What do you mean?”

Jack told him about Dottie and Prescott’s discussion about Beau bailing him out decades ago because he’d committed fraud.

“With your mother?” Lee asked in disgust. “It was probably all her doing and he got caught up in it. Genevieve is a beautiful woman. I’m no fool. I know that’s his weakness. I can see him falling for it.”

Jack wasn’t sure what to be more astounded by—that Lee knew what his mother looked like, or that he was trying to excuse their father’s behavior.

“It wasn’t the only incident, Lee,” Jack said with a patience he didn’t feel. To his surprise, he didn’t feel vindictive or angry. Mostly he felt pity. “There were more occurrences. Sounds likeBeau ended up giving him most of his money to keep him out of jail.”

Lee shook his head. “No. Beau hated Dad. Refused to give him any help at all. Dad had to do it all on his own, but he said it made him a better man.”

“Prescott Buchanan is a liar,” Jack said. “He’d be nowhere without Beau. He practically admitted it himself.”

“I’m supposed to just take your word for this?” Lee sneered. “How do I know this isn’t your way of getting back at me for treating you like shit last night?”

“That’s not my style, but I realize you don’t know me well enough to know that,” Jack said quietly. “You don’t need to take my word for it, though. We recorded the conversation.”

Lee went still. “Against my father’s knowledge? That’s illegal.”

“No,” Jack said, “North Carolina is a one-party consent state, which means only one person has to give consent, and Dottie asked Maisie to record it.” Maisie had looked it up this morning to be sure it was safe to mention.

Lee studied him for a long second, then snapped, “So where’s this recording?”

Jack pulled his phone out of his pocket and unlocked the screen. Maisie had shared it with him in the cloud, and he had the audio file queued up. “Before I play this, there are a couple of things you need to know. Your father’s in trouble again. Legal trouble, and you’re going to be caught up in it, and there’s something else—”

“Just play the damn tape!” Lee shouted.

“Your funeral,” Jack muttered, then hit play and set the phone on the table between them.

Parts of the file were hard to hear, but Prescott’s booming voice had helped ensure the message was conveyed.

Lee listened with a flat expression while Dottie and Prescott discussed River and Dottie’s relationship with Beau, but he perked up as the discussion turned to his family. He made a strange face when Prescott said that Lee was exactly like him. Flinched when Prescott admitted that mistakes had been made in connection with the fraud charges. Stiffened when Prescott and Dottie discussed Lee’s mother. But when Dottie said that Prescott was up to his old tricks again with a new young woman, Lee’s mouth dropped open in surprise.

“What woman?” he whispered, leaning closer to the phone.

There was silence and then Prescott’s denial. Next were Dottie’s fateful words, “Oh, Prescott. Don’t you see how far you’ve fallen if you think breaking your son’s heart is a lighter offense than cheating people out of money?”

Prescott answered, “According to the law it is.”

Lee started to stand, then sat back down, his jaw tightening as he listened to the rest, until Dottie said, “Give Lee his freedom.”

Their father threatened to leave, and Dottie issued her threat to go to the authorities if he didn’t come clean by the end of the year. Then she implored Prescott not to bring Lee down with him. And the recording ended.

Lee was quiet for several long seconds. Then he swallowed. Still staring at the phone, he asked hesitantly, “What did he say to that?”

“After Dottie asked him to save you?” Jack asked, his heart breaking for his brother. Lee might be an asshole, but his entire life was being ripped apart. “Nothing. He got up and walked away.”

Lee’s gaze lifted to Jack’s. “And the woman? Do you know who she is?”

Jack wasn’t sure this was the right move, but Dottie had set this all in motion, and he’d known her for long enough to realizeshe knew what she was doing. She was right more often than she was wrong. So he pulled the photos out from under a stack of books on the table and slid them toward Lee.

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