Page 101 of Better Together

“Pam Bruner has started one of those dating profiles, and her stories are always entertaining. Maybe I’ll pick it up just to make things interesting every once in a while.”

Colt’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out. “Hey, this is Camille.” He jerked his head toward the front office, hoping Remi would follow him so they could talk to Camille together.

Remi turned to Stella and asked if she’d get the kids started on supper. By the time he answered the call, Remi was by his side.

“Hello.”

“Hey, is this a good time?”

“Sure.” He stepped to the side so Remi could enter the office, then shut the door behind her. “Remi’s here too.”

“Hey!” Remi wrapped his corduroy jacket tighter around her middle and tucked her hands under her arms. His clothes were ridiculously baggy on her, but they always looked better on her than they did on him.

“Good. Both of you need to hear this. We found Tasha.”

Colt choked on air and sputtered for a few seconds. He prayed he was dreaming when the vise around his throat constricted. “Come again?”

“Tasha. And she made quite the entrance. The police just escorted her from my office.”

“Nooo.” Remi’s eyes were wide and disbelieving as she stared up at Colt. “What happened?”

“She got our letter, and she wasn’t too happy about finding out about her sister’s death months after the fact.”

Colt tried to swallow, but nothing happened. The shock and grief had crippled him when he found out about Mark. If Tasha had a heart at all, she was feeling those same things now, and he wasn’t sure if her grief would be as tempered as his had been.

“I’m sorry. You mean she didn’t even know Mark and Brittany had died?” Remi asked.

“Seems so.” The same confident bite Camille had used in the courtroom tinged her tone now. She’d probably given Tasha a run for her money.

Colt raised the hand not holding the phone in the air. “Don’t look at me. I didn’t know how to contact her. I haven’t seen her in almost ten years.” If he didn’t see her for another twenty or thirty, it would be too soon.

“What is she doing in Blackwater?” Remi asked. A note of desperation tinged her words. “I thought Brittany was from Newcastle. I guess I just assumed Tasha lived somewhere around there.”

“I didn’t ask, but that’s a really good question. She had the letter with my firm address on it, so I’m assuming that’s what brought her here. We didn’t get into pleasantries.”

“And you had to call the police?” Colt asked. The skin on the back of his neck pricked, and a cold sweat beaded on his back. “I’m sorry you got caught in the middle of this.”

“It comes with the job, unfortunately.”

“What happened?” Remi asked. The hollow coldness of her voice had Colt reaching an arm around her.

“There was lots of yelling. She said she and Brittany had been working on making things right between them, and that Brittany had mentioned dividing their grandfather’s inheritance with her if she got a steady job.”

Colt huffed. “Sounds like she was dreaming. Last I heard, Brittany couldn’t stand Tasha. They’d been rivals since they were kids.”

“Tasha spun a sympathetic story at first. There were tears, but now I can see that it was all an act. When I told her Mark and Brittany’s estates were to be settled per their wishes outlined in their Last Will and Testament, she dropped the act. That’s when my assistant called the police.”

Remi stared up at him and bit her lips between her teeth. He’d hoped to side-step the Tasha train wreck, but it seemed she was determined to barrel into their lives whether they liked it or not.

“Are you okay?” Remi asked.

“I’m fine, but a few office decorations didn’t survive her visit. Her temper flipped on like a light, and she was still kicking and screaming when the police forcibly removed her from the premises.”

Remi covered her mouth with a hand. Things had been going so well. It looked like it was Tasha’s turn to throw a wrench in the plans.

“I should have given you more of a warning,” Colt said.

“You did. I shouldn’t have underestimated her. People lose their minds when large amounts of money are involved. Add in her obvious drug habits, and you have a recipe for disaster.”

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