“Looking for Casey?”
“She’s in her office.”
“Thanks.” Josh made his way down the long hall, then tapped a knuckle on her doorjamb.
She had her eyes closed and was rubbing at her temples. When Casey looked up, she sighed. “Go away, Granger. Haven’t you done enough damage for one day?”
“You all lied to Meg for her own good. I did the same.” He held his hand out toward the chair in front of her desk, silently asking permission to sit.
When Casey rolled her eyes, he took that as a yes and settled in. “I love Meg and Haley, Casey. I was just doing my job. And I’m going to help your brother prove your dad’s innocence. Will you let me explain? Please?”
She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “You get five minutes. Go!”
Angry, confused, and hurting even worse than when Josh had left her three years ago, Meg gave Josh time to get his things out of her house by taking the kids to the diner for a treat.
She licked the last remnants of chocolate mousse pie from her fork, looking for her usual comfort in good old reliable chocolate.
Her stomach protested as she stared at her empty plate. “Awesome, as always, Aunt Gloria.” Meg faked a smile, suddenly realizing all she’d consumed for the day was coffee and chocolate. No wonder her gut ached.
Eric nodded enthusiastically. “Really awesome!”
When Haley added a “Yay!” Gloria smiled as she wiped down the long counter. “I’m glad you guys liked it. Eric, what grade will you be in come fall?”
Eric chugged his milk. After using the back of his hand to wipe his mouth he said, “Fifth.”
“That means you’ll have Mrs. Grant. She’s a fun teacher. You’ll like her.”
Eric shook his head. “I’m just here for a few months. Until they can place me somewhere else.”
“That so, Meg?” Gloria lifted a scolding brow. “Seems a shame Eric would have to move and start all over again.”
A dose of guilt from her aunt was the last thing she needed. Josh had just ripped her soul out. It was all she could do to fight back her tears. “Josh is in charge of that. I don’t have any say in the matter.”
“Speaking of Josh, any news yet? Are they pressing charges?” Gloria’s forehead crumpled.
Meg didn’t want the kids to hear about that, so she said, “Eric, why don’t you and Haley go pick a pie from the cooler to take home?”
“Awesome!” Eric jumped off his stool and took Haley’s hand.
When they were out of earshot, Gloria said, “If your dad ends up in jail, Sue Ann certainly can’t keep this town running. And he’s too stubborn to hand over the power to you kids until he draws his last shaky breath. I can’t keep my diner afloat without the celebrities the hotel brings in. We’re all worried, Meg.”
Gloria was right. Her dad was the reason everyone in town had 401(k) plans and health insurance. He’d probably try to run the town from jail. But he couldn’t have pulled off anything like the FBI was accusing him of. He didn’t do it. “I haven’t heard. Maybe I should text Ryan?”
“Why don’t you text Josh? Seems he’d be able to find out. Being he’s one of them.”
Because she didn’t wanted to talk to Josh. Ever again. She’d just text Ryan.
“While you’re at it, consider making up with him.” Gloria shook her head. “Who’d a thought he was an FBI agent?”
“Former. He says he quit recently. If you can believe a word that comes out of his mouth.” And the making up wasn’t happening. Only an idiot would go back for more heartache.
Meg reached into her purse for her phone and came up with Josh’s. She’d forgotten she still had it after confiscating it from him in church. She shouldn’t do it, but hey, he’d lied to her since they’d met. He deserved any snooping she could pull off.
She swiped the “slide to unlock” icon. The next screen asked for a password. Pondering for a moment, she typed in the name of the horse he loved, Charlie, but the letters on the screen shook back and forth, telling her no dice.
Next she typed “Haley,” but that didn’t work either, so she tried “Meg,” pretty certain her snooping would be shut down posthaste.
When his phone came alive, she grunted. He’d probably chosen her name because she was part of the case he’d been assigned. Not because he really cared for her or anything.
His conversation list popped up on the screen. A quick scan proved he’d been talking to people from his old job, just like he’d told her. He hadn’t lied about that. But how to separate the lies from the truth? It was as if he’d become a complete stranger to her in between heartbeats. Who was the real Josh Granger?