Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
“And I’m not leaving until I get what I came for. I need to know if he’s got something of mine. Something nobody wants to see the light of day,” Rex said, eyeing Cara warily.
She sighed. “I think you need to accept that you’ve worn out your welcome in Serendipity, Mr. Bransom. Whatever happened in the past, you’re the one stirring it up now. If you persist in continuing this, you’re going to implicate yourself in something that was buried a long time ago.”
“You know this man?” Dare asked.
“This is Rex Bransom. He’s Mike’s biological father.”
Dare blinked in surprise. “Does Mike know he’s around?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
Dare turned to the judge’s wife. “Mrs. Baine, would you like to press charges?”
She folded her arms across her chest. “My husband has given the police chief all the information he has on the past. What happens is up to him. In the meantime, if Mr. Bransom leaves now, I’ll forget this incident ever happened.”
“Nobody can find out about this!” Judge Baine suddenly yelled, turning on Rex at a full run.
“He’s attacking me!” Rex held his hands up to protect himself, but Dare stepped between the men and as gently as possible subdued the judge.
“Relax,” Cara muttered to Rex. “You’ve shown up and agitated everyone imaginable. Now are you going to leave quietly, or am I going to have to arrest you?”
He scowled. “I’m going. But you tell that son of mine that if he knows what’s good for his father, he’ll bury that journal where no one can find it.”
Cara narrowed her gaze. Having not been welcomed, he’d decided to ruin Simon’s reputation instead. “Haven’t you realized? Mike’s not like you. He’ll do the right thing even if someone gets hurt.”
“Even Saint Simon?” Rex spat with disdain, making his point before ambling toward his car like he hadn’t a care in the world.
And he didn’t. As a cop, Rex knew the same thing Cara knew. The statute of limitations on evidence tampering was ten years, and really, unless they were talking murder, the statute would have run out on any number of crimes with which Rex could be charged. Nobody in Serendipity wanted him here, so his reputation couldn’t get any worse. But Simon’s could, and clearly, that was Rex’s goal.
Cara’s chest tightened at the thought of the man she respected as her boss and as Mike’s father suffering for bailing Rex out and doing right by Ella. Rex Bransom was a loose cannon for the entire Marsden family and the life they enjoyed here in Serendipity.
Cara watched until he’d climbed into his rental and driven away before refocusing on the scene behind her.
“Can I call an ambulance?” Dare asked Mrs. Baine. “Perhaps they can give him a sedative?”
She shook her head. “I’ll call Dr. Al,” she said of Dr. Alan Collins, Alexa’s father. “He’ll come over and tell me what’s needed.”
Dare nodded. “Okay. Need help getting him back into the house?”
Mrs. Baine shook her head. “Once everyone’s gone, he’ll calm down and go back inside.”
Cara swallowed hard. “If you have any trouble, let us know?” She felt sorry for Mrs. Baine and the difficult life she now shared with the man she loved.
“I will. Thank you.” She wrapped an arm around her husband and whispered calming words.
Cara and Dare headed for the squad car.
“Care to share what’s going on?” he asked her.
She bit the inside of her cheek. “Umm . . . not really? It’s not my story to tell. It’s up to Sam and Mike,” she said.
“Understood. We Barron brothers have had so many secrets, I’m not going to judge others.”
“Thanks,” she said with a grim smile.
“Think he’ll leave town?”
Cara knew Dare referred to Rex. She thought for a moment and sighed. “I don’t know. He’s not welcome here. I’d say it was sad if he hadn’t caused the hard feelings all on his own—and how he’s behaving now isn’t exactly encouraging anyone to think differently, you know?”
Dare nodded. “When Ethan came back, he wanted to make amends. Nash and I didn’t want anything to do with him, but he dug in his heels—and everything he did showed us he’d changed, even before we were ready to admit or accept it.”
“Not Rex. He showed up at the Marsdens’ claiming it was because he’d heard Simon was sick, but when he wasn’t greeted with open arms, he began issuing subtle threats.”
Dare swore under his breath. “How’s the family taking it?”
Cara stared at the long stretch of dark road in front of them as Dare drove. “They banded together. It was really nice to see.”
Even she’d felt the us-against-the-world vibe that Simon had put up against Rex. He’d enveloped Mike in complete acceptance, and everything inside Cara warmed at the sight. She knew how badly Mike had needed that sign of belonging, and Simon had given it to him.