Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Griffen shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. Who knows how long it would have been before we opened them if not for you.” He looked to the door as I had a minute earlier. “Savannah brought the boxes down earlier but promised not to go through them until we were here. We’ll give her another few minutes. I don’t want to start without her, considering she helped find them.”
I knew Savannah would understand, but she’d be disappointed if we found anything interesting while she was delayed.
“I think—” Griffen began when his phone rang. I’d been around long enough to know that was Hawk’s ringtone. Every spine in the room went a little stiffer. Hawk usually texted. “Yeah,” Griffen said in answer. “Uh-huh.” His eyes flicked up to Miss Martha and then to me. “Hold on. I’m going to put you on speakerphone. I’m here with Hope, Miss Martha, and Finn.”
Griffen tapped his screen and set his phone on his desk. “Okay, run that by me again.”
Hawk’s voice came through the speakers. “There’s a Lydia Harris at the gate. She’s demanding to be let in to see her grandson. Nicky. She says that if we don’t let her in, she’ll call the police and have charges pressed against Savannah for kidnapping and murder.” There was a pause. “I’m not clear on that last part. Do we have a dead body I don’t know about?” Hawk asked, his tone so dry I wasn’t sure if he was joking.
I thought everyone in the room knew how Oliver had died—via overdose—but not everyone knew about Lydia’s recently threatening texts or the fact Savannah had met with Lydia in Asheville.
I thought back to the night Savannah returned from Asheville when she was so shaken up. Lydia showing up here now made me wonder what exactly had happened that day, what Lydia had threatened. I had my suspicions, and none of them were good.
I frowned. Where was Savannah?
I looked at the door again. “I think Savannah needs to make that decision,” I said.
Griffen started to agree when Miss Martha interrupted. “Let Lydia in.”
“Don’t you think that’s up to Savannah?” I asked.
This woman had been terrorizing Savannah. She’d made her cry more than once. The idea of letting Lydia Harris into Savannah’s home without Savannah’s permission felt all kinds of wrong. Yes, technically, legally, Heartstone Manor was Griffen’s home, and he could do whatever the hell he wanted. But it was Savannah’s home too.
“I don’t think—” I started. Miss Martha gave me a look so sharp I shut my mouth.
“Finn,” she said, “I understand that you’re trying to protect my girl, and I love you for that. You’re a good boy. But she needs to face this woman, and this is the safest place to do it.”
Before I could interrupt, she turned to Griffen and continued, “I think Savannah’s family has a right to know what’s going on.”
“She said she talked to Harvey,” I said, “The day Hope went into labor. He was going to write a letter for her, look into things.”
But Miss Martha shook her head. “Not good enough. This woman has come to her home, Finn. We need to deal with this now. I love my daughter. She is fierce, and she is smart, and she is strong. And for some reason, she’s been running from Lydia.”
Didn’t Miss Martha know? It bugged me that Savannah still hadn’t told me exactly what Lydia wanted. Based on how shaken up she’d been after meeting with Lydia and what I knew of Lydia’s texts, I could guess that Lydia wanted Nicky. Visitation? Custody? Didn’t Miss Martha understand how painful that would be for Savannah?
Savannah loved nothing more than Nicky, and she carried a mountain of guilt at the way Oliver had died. Savannah would face a hurricane head-on, but she carried so much emotional baggage where her mother-in-law was concerned that she couldn’t be rational. I got it. I didn’t understand how Miss Martha didn’t.
Before I could make my case for Savannah, I was overruled. Griffen looked from me to Miss Martha and said, “I’m sorry, Finn—Miss Martha’s right. We need to know what’s going on.” Looking back at the phone, he said, “Hawk, let her in, but escort her to my office yourself.”
“Will do, boss.” The phone clicked off.
“I’m going to get Savannah,” I said and strode out of the room, hoping she was finished with the electrical crisis in the guest wing. I found her coming down the stairs from the second level on her way to the office.
She took one look at my face and asked, “Finn, what’s wrong?”
I didn’t sugarcoat it. She had to know the facts. “Lydia is here, and she’s making threats. Hawk called from the gate. I tried to stop them, but your mother talked Griffen into letting her into the house. She and Hawk are on their way right now.”