Chapter 20
IT WAS TRUE THAT MANY hands made light work. Malcom was pretty sure his moving stint had broken all moving records in history. He stood in one of the back bedrooms, surveying the work.
The bed was set up, and his desk. He’d brought over the furniture he’d collected over the years—even though nothing really matched. He’d worry about that stuff when he had a more permanent place one day. In a corner sat a stack of boxes that he’d dumped all the files in—out of order for now. He still didn’t know the extent of the damage from the break-in the other night.
For now, he could live here and get his business up and running.
“Are you hungry?” Lori asked, coming into the room.
When the pizza was delivered, everyone had congregated in the kitchen, where conversation and laughter came from now. But Malcom wanted to finish stacking the file boxes.
He looked over at her. She wore a T-shirt that said Be Thankful , and well-worn jeans. He was impressed how she gathered all her friends to help him move. It wasn’t a big job or hard job, but he appreciated the help and support.
“I am hungry,” he said.
Lori smiled that beautiful smile of hers. “Then what are you waiting for? Come and eat.”
Malcom walked toward her. “I was just appreciating how my girlfriend is taking care of me.”
Her brows lifted. “Oh, I’m your girlfriend now?”
“If you want to be.” He stopped right in front of her, nearly toe to toe.
She looped her arms about his neck. “Let’s see how this dating thing goes first.”
“You’re already messing with my heart,” he said close to her ear as he settled his hands about her waist.
“Hmm,” she murmured, her warm breath a flutter against his skin. “What are your plans for Thanksgiving?”
This surprised him, and he drew back. Thanksgiving was coming up, but it had been the last thing on his mind, despite thinking of the holiday every time he saw Lori.
“I think I’ve been uninvited to my brother’s, and you couldn’t pay me to go to my mom’s—uh, my parents’.”
Lori moved her fingers into his hair. “Well, I have a backup plan if you need it.”
“I need it.”
Her mouth lifted into a smile, and he was about to kiss her when she said, “Come with me to Florida. My mom is dying to meet you. My dad too, although he won’t admit it. You could talk about tools together.”
Malcom smirked. “Tools? I’m sure that will take at least a whole day’s conversation.”
“It is what it is,” she said with a shrug.
“I think I’d love to go to Florida to talk about tools with your dad,” he said, then brushed his lips against her cheek. “Will there be food too?”
“Of course there will be food.” She turned her face so that the next brush of his lips made contact with her own.
Malcom drew her closer, bringing their bodies flush as they continued to kiss. Someone laughed in the other room. Sounded like everyone was enjoying themselves, but he didn’t want to move away from Lori.
When she drew back, her lips were redder and her cheeks pink. “We should join the others, or they’ll wonder what’s going on.”
“What is going on, Lori?” he asked, lifting a hand and touching the stud earrings in her ears in the shape of little teacups. “I think going to your parents’ for Thanksgiving puts us at boyfriend-girlfriend status.”
Lori gave a little shrug. “We’ll see. It might just be tool talk.” She drew away and stepped out of his arms, but he grasped her hand before she could get too far.
“Let’s go out tomorrow night. Dinner somewhere. Just us. As much as I like your friends, I’m feeling selfish when it comes to you.”
“They’re your friends now too,” Lori corrected.
“Our friends,” Malcom amended. “You pick a place.”
She turned more fully toward him. “Okay. I guess we’re really going to date, then?”
“You did invite me to Thanksgiving.”
“True.”
He leaned down for another kiss, which was over way too quick. Because apparently Lori had an agenda to get him fed for the night. “Okay, I’ll think of a place,” she said, then drew him out of the room with a hand.
Once everyone ate and took off, Malcom drove Lori back to her apartment. “Thanks again,” he said, as they turned onto the street.
“Did you leave the trailer lights on?” Lori asked.
Malcom noticed the lights just as she spoke. He knew he hadn’t because he’d purposely turned them off now that the place was empty. Tomorrow, a semi would haul it off the lot and to wherever Bronson wanted it. He had yet to reply to Malcom’s text about it. Ironic that his brother should ghost him .
He turned toward the trailer. “That’s Penny’s car.” Adrenaline shot through him. What was she doing here? He hadn’t talked to her since the blowup with Bronson. “Maybe she’s going to handle where the trailer is going since Bronson hasn’t answered me.”
“Should we call the cops?” Lori asked.
“I don’t know yet,” Malcom said truthfully. He wasn’t afraid of Penny, but who knew what she would do. The cops still didn’t know who’d ransacked his place.
“Wait here,” he said as he parked the truck.
“I’m not waiting in the truck while you face that terrible woman,” Lori said, and opened her door before Malcom could say anything else.
She grasped his hand as they headed toward the trailer.
Malcom’s heart thumped hard—he had no idea what to expect. When he opened the door, he found Penny inside, leaning against the counter, talking on the phone.
The instant she saw him, she straightened. “I need to go, Bronson.” She clicked off and stared at him, then her gaze moved to Lori.
“You’re still with her?” Penny said in a steely tone. “I thought she’d be temporary.” Her gaze bore into Lori. “Congratulations, honey, you’ve made it about ten times longer than I predicted.”
“Penny,” Malcom cut in. “What are you doing here?”
“Returning this,” Penny said, holding up his laptop.
“You took it?” he asked, disbelief pulsing through him. Was he really surprised, though?
“No, it was dropped off at Bronson’s house,” she said.
Malcom narrowed his eyes. Did Penny really expect him to believe that? “Like on the porch? The driveway? Or did the thief ring the doorbell?”
Penny shrugged. “What does it really matter? Your laptop’s back, and I decided to be nice and deliver it. Some thanks I’m getting . . .” She looked around the empty trailer. “Where did all your stuff go?”
Malcom pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to figure out what was really going on. He picked up his laptop from the counter. No charging cord, of course. “I don’t know what to think,” he said stiffly. “My place was ransacked, and suddenly you show up with my stolen property.”
“Here.” Penny ignored his statement and handed over a stapled set of papers. “We need you to sign this.”
Malcom hesitated, then took the papers from her. Leafing through them, he surmised that he’d just been given a nondisclosure, noncompete, and promise-not-to-sue document. Ridiculous. He held out the contract to her. “Send it to my lawyer. Bronson’s lawyer has his information.”
Penny refused to take it back. She set her hands on her hips. “Seriously, Malcom? This is your own brother. He’s working day and night to save everyone’s necks, including yours.” She pointed a long fingernail at Lori. “It’s her , isn’t it? The minute we start a project in Every Falls, all of a sudden, you’re dating a local girl. She and the whole town are in on this together—everyone knows everyone here. Like they’re all cousins. So weird. This woman has influenced you to turn your back on your family.”
Malcom opened his mouth to respond, but Lori cut in.
“You have thirty seconds to leave this trailer before I call the cops,” she said in a dead-calm voice. “Oh, and by the way, the chief of police is my dad’s cousin, and I’ve already sent him the video I just took of you inside this trailer.”
Penny gaped at her. “You’re a first-rate—”
Malcom stepped in front of Lori just as Penny lunged. Her claws—nails—landed on his chest. He staggered back a step, but managed to remain upright.
That’s when they all heard police sirens.
“Move, Malc!” Penny screeched. “This woman is mine!”
He grabbed her arms as she lunged again. “Stop, Penny. You’re making everything worse. Do you want assault added to your breaking-and-entering charges?”
Her chest heaved with anger. “This trailer belongs to the company. A company that you’re no longer a part of.”
“And it’s leaving the property tomorrow. A fact which Bronson already knows. You shouldn’t have come here, Penny. You shouldn’t have taken my laptop,” he added. Because suddenly he knew. Being this close to her reminded him of her expensive perfume. He’d caught a whiff of it when he was loading the papers into the boxes earlier tonight. But he’d brushed it off as being his imagination. Now, he realized she’d been the one to go through all his stuff.
“What were you hoping to find?” he ground out.
Penny jerked her arms away from his grasp, rubbing them. “The bankruptcy is all your fault, you know,” she hissed. “We were all on our way to being wealthy. I even laid myself at your feet and was willing to create a future together.”
The sirens cut off, and red and blue lights glowed against the white blinds.
“What does that even mean?” he asked. “You were going to frame me if things went south?”
Penny scrunched up her face. “You’re the one who made the mistakes, not me, not my sister, and not Bronson. Someday, you’ll pay for all of this.”
Someone banged on the door, and Lori opened it up before the police could bust in.
The next few minutes were a whirlwind as Penny proclaimed her innocence, but the cops insisted they talk to her separately, outside of the trailer.
After they were done with her, one of the cops came back inside. “Do you want to press charges, sir?”
Malcom scrubbed a hand through his hair. It was complicated, but Penny had literally stolen his property.
“This has to end,” Lori said quietly.
He nodded, then looked at the cop. “Yes, I do.”