Page 107 of When Morning Comes Around

He went inside and opened the fridge. They weren’t going out tonight, so he figured he could get something started for dinner.

He closed the fridge door and pulled his phone out of his pocket when it rang.

“Hey, Harvey. Is everything all right?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me. Is Sadie with you?”

His heart started to pound. “No. Why?”

“I’ve been trying to get ahold of her. I left her a message, but she hasn’t called me back yet.”

“What do you need? Is there anything I can do?”

“Yeah, there’s something you can do. I probably should have called you first. You can run dopey Dale out of town for me.”

“Out of town? Are you saying that he’s here?”

“Yup. He had the nerve to show up here. I told him where he could stick it, but he says he needs to talk to her.”

Dom scowled. “It’s a long way to come to talk to her – why couldn’t he just call her?”

“That’s what I wanted to know. He wouldn’t tell me, though. He’s a little weasel, Dom. You’re going to have to watch him.”

Dom could hear the blood rushing in his ears. “You don’t think he wants her back?”

He was surprised when Harvey laughed. “Calm down, and get your brain back online, son. Of course he wants her back – he’d be crazy not to. But there’s no way that she wants him back. I reckon she must’ve told you herself by now, but even if she hasn’t, I’ll say it for her – she loves you. She loves you in a way that she never loved him. You don’t have to worry about that. When I say you’ll have to watch him, I mean that he’ll play on her soft heart. Don’t let him.”

“What does he want?”

“Same thing he’s always wanted – as much money as he can get his hands on with the least effort possible on his part.”

Dom scowled. “From the way I understand it, he’s got the upper hand there already. He’s still living in their house, still running their business – with access to all the funds – while Sadie’s working for Jake just to cover her everyday expenses.”

“Don’t I know it. He wouldn’t tell me, but I’ll bet he’s come up with some angle to screw her over.”

“No way.”

Harvey chuckled. “Exactly. She’s her own woman, and she’ll make her own choices, but I reckon between us we can help her to see sense.”

“Yeah.” Dom stared out the window at the lake. He hated the idea of Dale taking advantage of Sadie, but at the same time, he didn’t want her to feel like he was trying to make her decisions for her.

“She’s out with Jo. She should be back soon. I could call her and…”

“If she’s going to be back soon, maybe you should wait. You can tell her that he’s here and have her call me. I’ll tell her what I know.”

“Okay. And are you alright? Did he come into the garden center?”

“He did. You could tell he was shocked to see me. He probably thought he could ask Tilly and Parker where she was.”

Dom frowned. “Do they know him?”

“They do. Why?”

“I… It’s probably not my place to say, but I’m not sure about them.”

“Not sure how?”

“I’m just going to throw it out there – I may be wrong, but I’d rather say it and be wrong than have kept quiet if I’m right. They’re not trying to screw you over, are they?”

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