Page 4 of Billionaire Lumberjack's Bargain

“I assumed your grandfather would have told you.”

“It must have slipped his mind.”

Just like everything else seems to lately.

There is nowayhe wouldn’t have told me something like that immediately…if herememberedit. By the time hedid, he probably assumed he alreadyhad.

“How long ago did it happen?”

“Um, going on maybe two months.”

Fucking hell.

It’s beenthatlong, and Mrs. Bower and their child have been up there alone…

The apprehension I felt earlier at seeing the vultures rushes back even harder now. Not a wave. A goddamn tsunami of anxiety I haven’t ever felt. A strange sense that something is very wrong.

“What happened?”

“Horse kicked him, apparently in the head. Died almost instantly, from what Camille told me.”

Camille…

The wife.

A hazy memory of a dark-haired woman waving at me from behind a wall of falling rain and the slightly fogged truck window flashes through my head.

“She found him…”Sheriff Wilson sucks in a long breath, and knowing the man as well as I do, I can tell that whatever he saw when he went up there that day still burdens him.“She’s a nurse. Said there was nothing she could do when she found him.”

I might have only been four when Mom and Dad died, but I still remember that utter sense of helplessness and loss when they were suddenly gone. And once I was old enough to understand what really happened, another feeling settled into my chest and never left.

Guilt.

“I’m surprised your grandfather didn’t tell you. I came up and spoke with him about it right after it happened. Asked him to check on her to see if she needed anything every once in a while—”

Shit.

My throat tightens. “Like I said, it must have just slipped his mind. I’m sure he’s been dealing with it.”Lie.“Just didn’t let me know.”

“Why didn’t you ask him?”

Because everything is falling apart up here, and no one can know about it.

Ignoring his question, I try to shift the focus of the conversation away from Pops and his declining health. “I saw some vultures circling around their property earlier today.”

“Well, damn.”Concern makes his voice waver slightly.“I hope Camille’s all right.”

“They have a little one, right?”

“Yes. A son. I don’t remember how old. You never met him?”

“No.”

I run my hand through my hair and release a heavy sigh as I drop my head against the chairback. “You know how Pops is. He always takes care of collecting the rent and dealing with any business issues himself. I haven’t seen the Bowers since they took over Uncle Tim’s property, and I only met Dave once, when they first arrived and stopped by to talk about the homestead with Pops. Camille didn’t even leave the truck to meet us formally because it was pouring rain and she was pregnant.”

“I see…”

Though he tries to mask it, the uneasiness in his voice brought on by this conversation cuts through the radio feed.

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