Dylan nods. “I’ll meet you outside her classroom at noon.”
Really?
Something’s up for sure. There’s no way he wants me in on the Emily interview too. “Why are you being so agreeable about me helping?”
Dylan gives me a quick kiss. “Because you’re cuter than any of my deputies. See you later.” He turns and heads out the door without looking back.
Yep. He’s definitely up to something. No way he wants me in on two interviews in a row.
I busy myself straightening books and filling online orders, watching the clock the whole time. Since Brittany is back in school, I hired a woman named Nan to help me out a few hours a day. As soon as she arrives, I’m going to see if Madge has learned anything new about Dylan’s interview with Uncle Frank this morning. After that, I’ll head over to the school to meet Dylan.
After another hour slowly passes, the bell tinkles again, and this time, it’s Gage. These days, a visit from my lawyer isn’t good.
“Morning, Sawyer.” Gage joins me at the front counter and pushes up his glasses. “Want the good news or the bad first?”
Of course, it couldn’t just be good news for a change. “The bad, I guess.” I draw a deep breath to brace myself.
“Your building permits for the new restaurant have been held up. Some new red tape I have to untangle before we can move forward. But it’s doable.”
“That might be a blessing in disguise.” I let out the breath I’d been holding. “I don’t have money until the trust stuff is cleared up anyway. So, what’s the good news?” Maybe my luck is about to change.
Gage smiles. “I just found out our trust hearing had to delay for a week. The judge had to have his appendix out last night.”
Thank goodness. “Maybe now if Brittany’s mother actually shows up on Wednesday, we can clear up where the adoption money came from. But she can’t legally take Brittany back, can she?”
“No. But people can change.” Gage smiles tightly. “If Stella really has stopped the partying life and Brittany wants to be with her biological mother, would it be right to stand in their way?”
I hadn’t thought of it like that. “But what if it’s all an act? What if Stella makes Brittany think things have changed, but they haven’t?” I can’t let Brittany go back to the life she had before.
Gage shrugs. “Brittany would see through that. She’s a street-smart kid.”
Only because Stella made Brittany that way. “So, I should just let a fifteen-year-old decide what’s best?”
“I think you should consider that the situation might have changed.”
I slump onto the stool behind me. “My gut tells me Brittany is better off with me right now.”
“Even if you lose the trust and your house? Not to mention your new restaurant. Brittany needs to go to college soon. The wine you inherited isn’t worth enough to send her to the kind of school she deserves.”
I rub at the headache brewing behind my temples. “I’d figure it out.”
Gage nods. “I’m sure you would. But you’re only thirty-two. This is your opportunity to be single with no obligations again. You could go to France and study under a famous chef like you’d planned. And be with Dylan without the complication of a kid. Maybe Stella coming back, if she’s really changed, isn’t such a bad thing?”
It sure feels like a bad thing.
My goals have all changed. I like the idea of opening a new restaurant, figuring things out with Dylan, and being Brittany’s sister. However, I need to do what’s best for Brittany, no matter what that is. My mother would have wanted that. “Let’s just see what happens on Wednesday, then we’ll go from there.”
“Okay. See you later.” Gage turns and walks out the door.
I drop my head into my hands and moan. Gage is right. Brittany added a bunch of complications to my life that were hard at first. But now, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
How is it possible that my whole life might be hanging in Stella’s hands?
Nan, a thin, gruff, gray-haired retired librarian, is in charge of the bookstore for the next hour, so I hurry up the steps to the municipal building across the grassy square to talk to Madge. Maybe if Dylan is in, we can walk to school together to talk to Emily like we did when we were kids. It could be nice.
I push the glass doors open and start down the long tiled hallway to the police station. When I see my uncle with a garment bag and briefcase in his hands, I skid to a stop. “Are you going somewhere? And does Dylan know?”
“Yes. And yes.” My uncle breezes past me. “Not that it’s any of your business. See you in court next week.” He departs through the double doors and disappears down the steps.
How can Dylan let him leave? What if my uncle plans to hide out in Timbuktu?
I pick up the pace and push my way through the police station doors. Madge is on the phone as always, but she waves me toward her desk. I’m so steamed, I change direction for Dylan’s office. He has some explaining to do. Who’d let the number one suspect leave town? Especially after telling my father he has to stay put.
I poke my head inside Dylan’s office, but it’s empty, unfortunately, so I backtrack to Madge’s desk. Tapping my foot and motioning with my eyes to get off the phone isn’t getting me anywhere, so I give up and flop into her guest chair.
Finally, Madge disconnects the call. “You look upset.”
“Why would Dylan let the mayor leave town?” My anger made me miss an important detail about Madge. For the first time since we’ve met, she isn’t wearing a Christmas sweater. And her eyes look red like she’s been crying.
Madge shrugs.
