Page 26 of Faking I Do
“How long do you think it’s going to take us to go through the rest of these boxes?”
Zina’s gaze drifted around the room. “You buying pizza tonight?”
“Sure.”
“Then let’s get a move on.”
I grinned. It was good to be back in a place where I had friends who would go the extra mile for me, where people had my back, where I felt like I might be able to make a difference. Even if it did mean fighting off the feelings for Bodie I’d hauled around with me for as long as I could remember.
He might believe in putting family first, but I believed in putting the town first. Forging attachments would only slow me down and hurt me in the long run.
CHAPTER 13
BODIE
I stoppedmy truck on the side of the road. It had been almost two weeks since I’d been out at the warehouse checking on Lacey. Now the parking lot overflowed and people had left their vehicles in a hodgepodge dotting the drive to the Phillips House and warehouse. When Lacey called earlier in the week to let me know about the sale, she told me she expected a large turnout over the weekend. But the number of people drifting toward the warehouse doors made it look like attendance might even exceed her expectations. I passed a giant sign advertising the sale as I let the crowd sweep me inside.
“Welcome.” Zina thrust a piece of paper into my hands. “Here’s a map of the warehouse. We’ve got items separated by theme and everything’s marked.”
“So Lacey pressed you into service?” I asked.
“Me and everyone else who’s ever owed her a favor.” Zina continued to hand sheets out to the people coming in behind me.
“Looks like a success so far. Have you sold much?”
“We just opened a half hour ago but there are a ton of people in there.” She nodded toward the door leading into the warehouse. “Lacey’s back by the checkout table if you want to find her.”
“Thanks. I think I’ll go track her down.” I hadn’t seen her since that awkward almost-kiss. Even thinking about my lack of control made my cheeks burn with embarrassment. But we were both adults. We could put it behind us and keep things professional.
I was about to bypass the line of people snaking into the warehouse when a scuffle outside the front door diverted my attention. My dad and pops pushed ahead of everyone else to enter the office area.
“What’s all this?” Dad asked.
I stepped out of the line to stop my dad before he passed into the warehouse. “It’s the sale I told you about.”
“You said if we showed up today we could get some of our stuff back.”
“No. I told you Lacey organized a fundraiser.”
My dad snagged the sheet of paper from my hands. “What the hell has she gone and done?”
“Looks like she’s organized a pretty successful sale,” I commented. “I was about to go find her and see how business has been.”
My pops scanned the sheet of paper. “Where are the tchotchkes?”
“The what?” I squinted at the map.
“The damn decoration stuff. The breakables.” Pops ran a finger over the paper, scanning the print.
“I’m not sure. You want to come with me to find Lacey?”
My dad growled as someone bumped into him from behind. “Watch yourself.”
“Come on.” I led the way, entering the warehouse. Lacey must have rearranged things. Industrial shelving lined the perimeter of the area. Boxes stacked high into the air. We passed a section of toys, crafts, kitchenware, and gardening supplies before I noticed the checkout tables set up against the far wall.
“This isn’t right,” Pops muttered. “We should have had a chance to get in here before she turned it into a damn circus.”
“No offense, Pops, but if you’d handled things the right way, you wouldn’t be trying to buy back your old property in the first place.” I didn’t like the way my dad and pops seemed to feel entitled to what wasn’t legally theirs anymore. They still hadn’t given me any more information on what might really be going down. But my suspicions hadn’t been cleared up, so I was still keeping an eye out for signs.
