Page 93 of Silent Partner (Pine Falls 3)

“Do you want to tell me about it?”

“Only if you promise not to think I’m crazy.” I smiled sleepily.

“Ah, we are all a little crazy, honey.”

“This is probably true.” I paused for a moment. “I keep dreaming about the night my parents died. We’re in the car and rolling and rolling. My mother always calls for me, but I can never reach her. And just when I think I’m utterly alone and I’ll never stop rolling, a voice always saves me.”

Grandpa scrubbed his salt-and-pepper-stubbled face. “A voice?”

“Not just any voice. Brant’s voice,” I shyly admitted.

“Hmm. Sounds like you’re trying to tell yourself something.”

“What’s that?”

He tapped my nose. “Well, if I had to guess, I would say that Brant rights your world.”

I shook my head, not wanting to believe his interpretation. “Maybe that could have been true, but he . . .” I couldn’t say it. I was tired of saying it, and even thinking it.

“I know, kiddo. You’re all in a damned mess.”

“That’s one way to put it.” I ran my fingers through my tangled bedhead hair.

“I knew that man was in some kind of trouble. I would have never guessed this.”

“You and me both. I think I liked it better when I thought he was tied up with the Mafia.”

Grandpa chuckled. “You keep that sense of humor, kiddo, and I think you’ll figure it out.”

“What if I don’t?” That worried me more than anything.

“So far, your track record is pretty good on figuring things out.” He smiled.

“Well, I’ve never faced anything like this before.”

“Not sure a lot of folks have, but that doesn’t mean you won’t figure it out. I’ve learned in life, kiddo, that the things that seem hardest in the moment always have a way of losing their bite. They may leave a few marks, but I find those are the best reminders not to make the same mistake twice.” He wagged his bushy brows.

“But how do I know which mistake not to make again?”

He blew out a deep breath. “That’s one I can’t answer for you. You’ll have to check with your heart.”

I rubbed said organ. “It’s too broken to think.”

“I guess the question is, which choice will heal it?”

That was a good question.

Grandpa patted my arm. “Maybe your subconscious is trying to give you the answer.” He winked.

I bit my lip. “I don’t know.”

He stood and kissed my head. “Like I said, you’ll figure it out. Good night, kiddo.”

“Grandpa, would you be disappointed in me if I decided to leave?”

Without hesitation he said, “I’ve never been disappointed in you, and I’m not going to start now.”

I smiled. “Thank you. Good night.”

“Love ya, kiddo.” He hobbled off, acting more like a man his age.

“Love you.” I snuggled back down under the covers, not knowing if I would be able to go back to sleep. Afraid to repeat my dream and let Brant save me again. Oh, Brant, what am I going to do about you?

~*~

I woke up still not knowing the answer to that question. But at least I’d gotten in a few hours of sleep, because it was back to the grind. Being the main person in charge, while satisfying, was grueling. Maybe it was another sign that it would be better for more than one person to be in charge. Except Giselle and Carter were the worst. How could I give my baby over to them? But how could I be indebted to Brant?

This was why I needed to take ibuprofen before I even left the house. Too bad it hardly touched the headache I had going. Maybe I needed to go home and sleep in a real bed. Except I wasn’t sure I could sleep alone knowing psycho Jill could pop up at any moment. I still shuddered thinking of her slinking out from behind the dumpsters in the dark. I needed her to do a press conference or something so I knew if she was out of the state.

Bleary eyed, I drove into work singing at the top of my lungs to the Backstreet Boys and even a Christmas song or two. The radio stations were getting an early start on the holidays—we were still a couple of weeks away from Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving . . . maybe I would skip it this year. I didn’t need an awkward holiday on top of all the other awkwardness. I couldn’t imagine all of us sitting around the table with Brant and Dani both there. Plus, Ariana’s dad, stepmother, and brothers would all be attending again, and I’m not a great actress. Something snarky might slip off my tongue, like, “Please pass me the knife to shove in my heart . . . I mean, the carving knife for the turkey.” You never knew about these things.

With those happy thoughts, I arrived at work. The employee parking lot had a few cars, including one pretty fancy car I didn’t recognize. I knew it didn’t belong to one of my employees, because I knew how much they all made. It was probably someone from the accounting firm next door. We’d asked them several times not to use our lot. I would have to send another polite, yet firm, email. One more thing to add to my to-do list today. At least it was light outside and people were here. I skipped my weird ninja moves but still hustled toward the employee entrance.

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