Page 92 of The Billion Heirs Boxed Set
He looks up, his eyes wide. “Carly.”
“Yes. I came home.”
He’s behind his desk and his eyes fill with hope and determination at the sight of me. “Thank God you came to your senses.”
I resist an eye roll. I’m here to work things out, not make things worse.
I walk inside his office and take a seat in front of the table. “I think we need to talk.”
He firmly nods, his jaw set in his familiar stubborn tilt. “Absolutely, we do. No more Austin Bridger.”
I shake my head. “Daddy, Austin is a good man. I’ve said this to you before. He’s not his father. And neither are Miles and Chance.”
“Do I need to remind you what happened just this morning?”
Was it just this morning? It’s been a crazy, long day.
“Hardly. I haven’t been able to get the image out of my mind.”
“Good men don’t normally have dead bodies on their property.”
“The body was there for a long time, Daddy.”
No one knew for sure how long ago the man died, but I overheard the coroner share an estimate of at least two months. “We don’t even know if the man died in that spot, or if he was left on the Bridger property. It was found in a creek, so it could’ve come from anywhere, especially with those heavy spring rains we had. I know you remember all the flooded basements the town dealt with.”
Dad harrumphs. As mayor, he certainly remembers all the chaos too much water brought to our small town.
At least he doesn’t deny my words. My father may be angry and tense, but he’s an intelligent man.
“The beaver dam is what kept him underwater all this time.” A little shiver runs through me at the memory. “If you hadn’t forced them to break it up, the body may never have been found. I’m sure the sheriff shared all this with you.”
He looks down at his hands and nods. They are facts, not opinions, and I was the one who found the body, who knows as much, if not more, than him.
“Chance is going to go talk to the sheriff tomorrow,” I add.
He looks up at me. “And the other two?”
“Unofficially, the death clearly predates their arrival at the ranch. The sheriff sees no reason to talk to them.”
Dad’s eyes flare. “He doesn’t? Bryant grilled you and Dr. Davis for what seemed like hours.”
“Because we found the body,” I say. “They wanted information. They didn’t think we had anything to do with it. Never once did they imply they thought we did anything wrong.”
Dad shakes his head and looks down at some documents spread across his desk.
“I’m willing to stay home, Daddy,” I tell him. “But my time here will be finite. Only until you and I work out our differences.”
“You know what’s necessary if that’s what you want.”
“Remember when we were at the sheriff’s office today? When Mom asked you not to make me choose? Why would you want to do that? I’m twenty-seven, and you know I need to make a life for myself. I can’t live at home forever.”
“Not forever, Carly. Just until…”
“You can’t even finish that sentence because you don’t know the answer. You know I’m right. I told Mom that she already had me by my age. I’m not a child and you need to stop treating me like one. You know how hard I’ve worked to move forward, and part of moving forward is being able to date. To have a relationship. And I found a man who makes me feel things that—”
He raises a hand to stop me. “Please. Spare me the details.”
“All I was going to say is that it’s important that I be able to feel. Love. Happiness. Joy. Contentment. A connection with someone else. For so long I wasn’t sure I could, but now I know that I can, and it’s wonderful and I won’t give it up.”
