Page 10 of Pick Yourself Up
According to the police, the Lauzons had wanted to coerce Wells into partnering with them. They wanted to expand their reach by joining with a legitimate business.
Wells had refused all offers.
T, Spade, and Brown had been sent to The Sidderlight Hotel to convince him to see the error of his ways.
Thanks to Dark Eyes, that hadn’t worked out.
Now the family was pissed.
The police believed it would be safer if Amber wasn’t in Chicago. They didn’t think she’d be in any danger if she moved out of reach.
Now that her visible injuries were fully healed, she’d decided to come home. Well, it wasn’t her home, as she’d never stepped foot on the property. But it was home to two of her siblings and that was the same thing.
Nathaniel Sidderlight had finally accepted her resignation with a generous severance package. He’d offered to help her find a new position anywhere in the world. The man had connections with a lot of hotels.
But Amber couldn’t face that anymore. She’d managed to put on her uniform and work a few shifts once she’d healed. But that had been all about proving to herself that she wasn’t a coward. That she could do it.
She just didn’t want to anymore.
In the back seat, Boomer yawned and shoved his massive head through the seats to nuzzle her throat. “Hey buddy. We’re here. I’m just building up my courage.”
The German Shepherd licked her nose. It always made her laugh. “You’re a silly boy for a dog that weighs nearly as much as I do.”
She’d worked with a company that trained personal bodyguard dogs to select this beauty. Some days, having Boomer at her side was the only way she dared to leave her hotel room.
Now, they’d travelled across a few states to get to Vermont. To her family. “We should be safe here, Boomer. You’re going to like the farm.” She hoped they both would.
He licked her ear, and she laughed. “Fine. I’ll put it in gear. I probably should have told them I was coming.” But she hadn’t been sure she’d be brave enough to get in the car and drive all that way. What if she brought danger here?
She eased the car down the farm road and slowed at the older farmhouse that appeared first. This was the farmhouse that Knox and Jolie thought she should turn into her very own hotel.
The building was huge and friendly, with trees and bushes leaning into it from all sides. Additions over the years made it interesting and fun. Not perfect. Scars showed the passage of time, and she wondered at the stories of the people who’d lived here.
She imagined a large, boisterous family filling the space. Multi-generational. Working together to farm the apples that grew in the back.
Similar to what her family was doing. Knox had been the one with the vision. The one who wanted to use this surprise inheritance to pull their family together. Well, everyone who was left.
She wondered how their grandfather Fox would feel about the venture. He’d never mentioned his brother Jay, but Amber figured Fox would be happy that Jay had left them the farm, that he’d wanted it to stay in the family.
Boomer woofed softly. “Too much introspection, Boomer? Okay, I’ll keep moving.”
The road widened a bit, and another farmhouse appeared on the left, with a huge barn on the right. Both buildings shining with the golden leaves of the apple trees surrounding them. She knew Knox was hoping this barn would lure in their brother Lawson. He was a mechanic with a penchant for restoring old cars and trucks. She figured it was a pretty good lure, and she wouldn’t be surprised if Lawson joined them in the future.
Them? That implied Amber was staying and not just visiting.
She wished she knew if that was true. But she wasn’t sure of much now. “Running from the mob does that for a woman, Boomer.”
With a mental shake, Amber parked beside the Ford Escape that belonged to her sister. Jolie had fallen in love with Ford Evans, and the fact that she drove a Ford made everyone smile. Ford’s Ford truck sat on the other side.
Knowing that her sister had fallen for such a good man made Amber happy. Knox had found love on the farm as well. Thea was the queen of compost and the driving force behind helping the farm recover from years of neglect and earlier exposure to pesticides and other pollutants.
The group followed regenerative farming practices that echoed those of early farmers. They wanted to increase the health of the farm by improving its biodiversity and using natural products.
Amber knew nothing about any of it. Not yet anyway. She figured she’d learn a lot by listening to their plan and helping where she could.
“Okay, Boomer. Let’s do this.”
She opened the back door of the car, and Boomer moved to stand at her side, waiting for her command. The dog was a sweetheart, but he’d been taught to protect and was always ready to do his job.
