Page 61 of Rafe: Sins of the Father

He looks at me, then his daughter. “You sure?”

“Yes, Daddy. Go on.”

Sawyer steps to me, getting in my face. “Take the truck, then come straight back here. I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt here, Rafe. You better prove to me you’re the man I thought you were. That’s my daughter, and you treat her with respect.”

“Yes, sir.”

He climbs in his car and drives off, leaving us in a trail of dust.

I walk to the passenger door of the company truck and open it for her, then go around the hood and slide behind the wheel.

We’re a mile down the road before I look at her. “You really thought I’d do that? Steal from your father?”

“No.” She shakes her head.

“Bullshit. I saw the doubt in your eyes.”

“Charlie stopped us as we were heading out this morning. He said he found it in your saddlebag. I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t want to believe him. Then he showed us the vandalized forklift. Who would do that? Who has a reason to do that?”

“I can think of someone.”

“Who?”

“Connor.”

“Why would he do that?”

I drape my wrist on the steering wheel. “Because I beat the shit out of him.”

“What? When?”

“Last week. Me and my brothers. I used that damn tracking device to lure him to us. Then we took him into the woods, and I beat him, stripped him naked, and left him there. Left his cara mile down the road with his keys and phone locked inside. I’m guessing he smashed the window to get in.”

“I can’t believe you did that. You risked so much.”

“He doesn’t get to treat you like he did. End of story.”

“So now he retaliates?” She flings her hand out.

I shrug. “Or it could be Charlie, setting me up. Like I told your father, Charlie has wanted me gone since I got here. Not sure why.”

“He has been acting shifty.”

“Yeah, and there’s something else, too. The first night Alex Powers came around—”

“Yes? What about him?”

“Bubba and I saw you drive off with him that night. Bubba told me who he was. He found out from Cora Lee. Charlie told her he was interested in buying the mill.” I meet her eyes. “That true?”

“Alex told me that, too. I couldn’t believe it. I tried to talk to my dad about it, but he told me he wouldn’t sell.”

“But you’re not so sure, are you?”

“No.”

“That night when Alex brought you home, I saw Charlie heading up to the house. He was acting weird, and I followed him. At first, he just stood there in the shadows, staring at the house being a real creeper, then Powers pulled up and you went inside. Powers hung around, smoking a cigarette, and I thought maybe he was waiting for you to come back out, but then Charlie approached him. I think it was Charlie he was waiting for that night. They talked, but I was too far away to hear. Don’t you think that’s odd? How does Charlie know Powers? What would they have to talk about?”

“I overheard them that night,” she admits.

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