Page 108 of Silent Partner (Pine Falls 3)

She gave me a deep, genuine smile. “I thank God every day that you came into my life.”

“Me too. Well, maybe not the last few days,” I sheepishly admitted.

“Ah, Kins, thank you for trying.”

I snuggled Sammy to me. “You know, I keep thinking about that day we made snow angels. Do you remember that?”

She nodded. “It was the first time in my life I felt innocent,” her emotions bled through.

That broke my heart. She’d been seventeen at the time and had already been through so much. Too much.

“You gave me that gift, Kins. You let me experience childhood.”

“And you helped me survive childhood.”

She rushed over to me and gave me a squeeze. “Let’s survive the rest of our lives together.”

“Deal. But can I be honest?”

“Please do.”

“I’m still struggling with all of this, and my heart still hurts.”

Dani’s eyes filled with tears. “I know. I’m so sorry. I wish I could take it all away.”

I wished she could too. I was about to respond to her, but my new phone came to life and started buzzing with what seemed like a dozen text and voice mail notifications. I’d apparently missed a lot the last several days. It startled me, which made me startle poor Sammy, and he began to cry. I brought him up to my shoulder, patting his back, trying to comfort him. “I’m sorry, little man.”

“You’ve obviously been missed,” Dani commented, albeit a bit hesitantly. “I can only guess who all those texts are from.” She smiled. “Here, let me take Sammy so you can respond.”

I handed over our nephew before eagerly picking up the phone. The anticipation faded when I didn’t recognize a number that was repeatedly popping up on my notification screen. A wave of nausea washed over me as I began to read them. “Um, Dani.”

“What is it?” She gently bounced Sammy, quieting him.

I held up my phone. “How did she get my number?”

“Who, honey?”

“Jill,” her name almost got stuck in my throat. At least, I assumed it was Jill, based on the content of the messages. The number was, of course, private.

Dani’s eyes went wide with fear. “What did she say?”

I was trying to be brave, but my hands shook as I scrolled through her warnings. I started with a real doozy: “Are you so desperate that you would be with a man who is sleeping with your sister?”

Dani’s face went ashen before it turned red and her features steeled. I recognized that look. She was ticked, and the world better watch out. “What else did she say?” The fear in her voice had been replaced with fiery determination.

I scrolled through a few more and read them out loud.

“I will expose you all.”

“You will never have him.”

“These new pictures of the two of you are precious. Enjoy him while you can.”

I felt sick to my stomach that she was still following us around and threatening us.

Her final message was, “Are you so naive? He’s obviously lying to you. Either that, or you are a bigger doormat than I imagined.”

I looked up at Dani. “What should I do?”

Dani held a smiling and babbling Sammy close while standing as tall as she could. “We stick together and fight like hell.”

Dani’s fire lit my own and reminded me that I’d promised myself I’d never be bullied again by the Jills of the world.

My thumbs went to work. I believe every word Brant has told me. Keep enjoying those pictures of us. And keep sending your messages—they’re great evidence for the restraining order I plan to file against you. Have a nice day.

I showed Dani the message before I hit send. She smiled and we high-fived.

That’s right—don’t mess with the Kramer sisters.

~*~

I tried my best to take that attitude back to the restaurant with me, but I’m not going to lie—knowing I was being watched freaked me out. And I was worried that my baby, which I’d finally gotten possession of, wouldn’t get a chance to fly. I knew I wasn’t out saving lives like Dani, but Two Girls and a Guy meant a lot to me. Especially now that I was so close to making my restaurant dreams a reality.

When I pulled into the parking lot at the restaurant, I had a text from the private number. I had wondered how long it would take for Jill to respond.

You have no idea who you’re dealing with.

I texted right back: Same. She could chew on that. I forwarded the message to Brant, who was livid after reading the previous messages I had forwarded to him before I left Ariana’s shop. He was currently at Holland Industries, conferring with his dad about whether they should make a move right now. Apparently, Brant had some dirt on Jill that he’d been holding back. I wanted to know what it was. The question was, would the Copelands make a move before the announcement of the sale next week? Or was Jill acting of her own accord outside of her father’s control? It was like a chess game, with everyone trying to anticipate their opponent’s next ten moves. I only hoped we reached checkmate first.

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