Chapter 14
Brookes stood with his arms folded, staring at the flat tyre. In the daylight, it was evident it hadn’t been an accident. Someone had stabbed the back tyre with a knife. He wanted to brush it off as someone making a Friday night prank, but that didn’t sit right with him. He had driven to the tavern without a problem and parked the car where he usually would before going inside. He would have been in the tavern all of an hour. It had to have happened during that time. The tavern was busy, and the car park had sections that weren’t lit up, so it could have easily gone unnoticed.
‘Who’d you piss off, mate?’ Leo said.
‘You mean other than your sister?’
‘She’s not the violent type.’
‘Harper isn’t that petty, and besides, we were inside the tavern the entire time.’
‘Hmm,’ Leo said. ‘And?’
‘And what?’
‘Did you settle your differences?’
‘Leo, Harper and I are ancient history. She can’t wait to get out of here. She even went to see a lawyer about rejecting the inheritance. Can you believe that?’ He knelt and ran his finger along the slash. Then he noticed another one. ‘Who the hell goes around stabbing tyres? It had to be premeditated.’
‘Maybe there are security cameras,’ he said. ‘A lawyer? Now that’s going to extremes.’
‘Not sure if the owners have invested in those, and if they have them, would they even work?’ He stood up. ‘You know Harper, she doesn’t do things in halves.’
‘It’s worth asking. She’s not going to reject it, is she?’
‘Yeah,’ he said, checking his watch. ‘They open in about an hour. No, I don’t think so. I hope not, then again, she hasn’t given any indication she wants to keep it.’
They replaced the tyre with a new one that Leo had brought around that morning.
‘Have you actually sat down and talked to her about the property?’ Leo asked.
‘She wants to sell it.’
‘Just like that?’
‘Just like that.’
‘I don’t think Harper has had the chance to really think things through. She’s been away for a while. This inheritance, well, it took everyone by surprise.’
‘Yeah, a warning from Georgia would have been nice.’
‘You know how Georgia is. If anyone is going to keep a secret, it’s her.’
‘Coffee?’ Brookes asked.
‘I think you’ve got company.’
Brookes looked up and saw a car pulling up. Once parked, Harper got out.
Leo patted Brookes on the shoulder. ‘Good luck, mate.’
‘Thanks.’
A part of him was glad to see her. He hated they left things off uncomfortably last night. Sure, the flat tyre hadn’t helped, but maybe he could have tried a different approach.
He watched as Leo greeted his sister, then disappeared to his own car before driving off.
Harper approached, hands in the pockets of her jeans, a white-collared shirt loosely tucked in, and the top button undone showing off a gold cross and star on a thin chain. Her hair blew in the wind and he wanted to reach out and push it away from her eyes so he could see her entire face. Instead, he stayed put.
‘We need to talk,’ Harper said.
‘Coffee?’ Although from the sound of her tone the conversation might warrant something stronger.
‘Sounds good.’
Brookes locked the car and led the way back to the house. Rover ran over, wagging his tail, when he saw they had company. He watched as Harper knelt and patted the dog. He looked comfortable with her and pleased with the attention.
‘Come in through there. I just have to wash up.’ Brookes pointed towards the kitchen.
‘I know where it is.’
He nodded. Of course, she did. This wasn’t the first time she’d been here. She was familiar with the entire house. It was going to be their house, or so he’d thought, and then she’d left. God, he had to stop thinking about that. Every time the thought appeared, his anger grew in equal measure. If they were going to have a conversation, he had to reign in his emotions, no matter how difficult that was going to be. He knew for certain that he didn’t want to sell Hugh’s inheritance, he’d buy her out if he had to, but he wasn’t going to sell it and it didn’t matter what she said to him, there was no convincing him otherwise.
When he came back into the kitchen, she was staring out the kitchen window.
‘Still have your coffee black?’
‘You remembered.’
‘It’s not a hard one to forget,’ he said as he fired up the coffee machine.
‘Any idea what happened last night?’
‘It was definitely deliberate. I’ll stop by the tavern later to see if they have any security footage. I doubt it, but I’d like to know the idiot who thought it was a good idea.’
‘Crossed anyone lately?’
‘Not that I’m aware of.’
The coffee machine covered up the few moments of silence. When he poured the cup, she finally sat down, but it didn’t give him any more comfort. The nervous feeling remained. He took his time making his coffee as they made mindless small talk about the weather, the town, and Rover. It was easy, but it was avoiding what she had really come here to discuss.
He sat down opposite her. ‘It has been good to see you, Harper. I mean it.’
She smiled. God, he always loved her smile. When it was real, her eyes lit up, and the dimples showed. He remembered how she had always shied away from it, putting her head down or letting her hair hang loose around her face. Not anymore. There was a certain confidence about her. Not that she had ever been meek, but there was a strength about her that hadn’t been there before, but at the same time there was something else, a barrier that she was holding up and he wanted to know why.
‘I like what you’ve done to the place.’
He watched as her gaze shifted across the room. Six years ago, the house had been a work in progress. A rundown country cottage that he had hoped to make a home. When Harper had left, he had thought about selling it, but Leo had talked him out of it. Luckily, he listened, and instead put the work in, taking his time renovating each room by hand. He’d started with the bathrooms, the bedrooms, and the kitchen. It had been a labour of love but also a therapeutic exercise. When Harper had left, he’d felt so much anger and frustration and sadness that if he hadn’t had something to focus on, he might have spiralled out of control. The renovations kept him grounded, and as the house progressed, so did the control of his emotions. While he never really got over Harper, and maybe never would, the work had given him some purpose to each day. Having Rover around helped too. With time, the house became a home.
‘It’s a work in progress,’ Brookes said. ‘There’s always something to do. A house is never finished.’ He wasn’t sure it ever would be.
‘We need to talk about the inheritance,’ Harper said.
‘I gathered that’s why you’re here.’
‘I did some research on properties in the area. Interest is growing, and if we time it right, we could get a fantastic price. You could finish your house, invest in your business, retire if you wanted to. Obviously, it’s not something that we can do right away due to the stipulations in the Will. If we do it up, then we can probably get an even better price for it. The Christmas in July event will probably help with the eventual valuation.’
He said nothing when she paused, and she took it as a sign to continue, ‘The property next door sold for over a million a few months ago. Another similar in size for almost one point two million. The agent said we could probably ask for about one and a half.’
‘Hold up, you’ve spoken with an agent? When did you have time to do that?’
‘It was just a conversation. I popped into town earlier this morning. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. We need to be prepared.’
He paused, attempting to maintain control over his emotions. He wanted to yell at her, tell her she was out of her mind to think that he was just going to put the property up for sale.
‘It’s been two days, Harper. Two days and you’ve already decided that’s what you want to do.’
‘What is there to think about?’
‘This isn’t some decision you make on a whim.’
‘Well, how could you have decided that keeping it is the right option in two days?’
‘Land is an asset to hold. Have you thought about the tax implications of selling it?’
‘When did you become so orientated with taxation?’
‘When did you stop?’ he asked.
‘We need to reach an understanding before I go back.’
‘I’m not selling,’ he said and put his coffee in the sink. ‘There’s nothing that’s going to change my mind. I don’t care if someone comes and offers me five times what that land is worth. I’m not selling.’
‘You’re being unreasonable.’
‘Am I?’ Brookes said. Maybe he was, but there was nothing she could say or do that would make him put the block up for sale. It didn’t matter how much money was on the table. The inheritance wasn’t about the money and everything to do with Harper.
A loud smash came from the outside. Rover’s ears perked up, and he ran to the door, barking. Brookes got up and followed. Harper was close behind him.
He couldn’t see anyone out there.
Rover continued to bark.
‘What is it, boy?’ Brookes asked, grabbing him by the collar. He opened the door and he heard a car start up and take off rapidly. He let Rover go, but as soon as the dog ran to the front fence with them behind him, whoever had been in the area was long gone.
‘You’ve got to be kidding,’ Harper said behind him.
He turned and found her staring at the back windshield of her car that now had a massive hole in it, and a brick lay on her back seat surrounded by scattered glass.
‘Who did you piss off?’ Brookes said.
‘Besides you, I haven’t been back in town long enough to piss anybody else off. Or so I thought.’
‘Obviously, someone thinks otherwise.’
‘Where am I going to get the back window fixed at the weekend? Is there anything even opened?’
Brookes looked at his watch. ‘Sorry, you’re out of luck. Walter could do it, but they close about now. You’ll have to wait till Monday.’
‘Where are you going?’
‘Bucket and broom. I don’t want any of that on the ground for Rover to step on.’
He heard her sigh, but he didn’t turn back.
What the hell was going on and what game were they playing at? First, the slashed tyre on his car, now the broken back window on Harper’s? No way that the two were a coincidence.
When he returned outside, he saw Harper kneeling next to Rover and giving him a rub and cuddle. The dog had a weakness for attention, and he was basking in every moment.
She stood up as soon as she noticed him and unlocked the door to the car.
‘I was going to say that no one locked vehicles around here, but given what’s happened to both our cars in the last twenty-four hours, I’d say that would be a lie.’
‘Let’s clean this mess up.’
‘I’ll do it. Don’t want you hurting your delicate fingers.’
She raised an eyebrow. ‘What are you implying?’
‘Nothing at all. Move aside.’
He was surprised she didn’t argue. Instead, she returned her attention to Rover, who was more than pleased at the fact.
Brookes tried to think of anyone who might want to do them harm, but no one came to mind. There hadn’t been any notes or warnings, no confrontations that might hint at who might be responsible. It was all quite unsettling.
‘We should report it,’ he said.
‘To the police?’
‘You sound surprised.’
‘Well, what exactly are we going to say? Someone stabbed your tyre last night and this morning someone threw a brick at my car window. I’m pretty sure they have more serious things to do with their time.’
‘Maybe,’ he said. ‘But aren’t you a little bit concerned?’
‘About this? I’m annoyed more than anything.’
‘Because you can’t go back on schedule.’
‘And it’s going to cost me a few hundred to fix this.’
‘I’m sure you’ll manage.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘Nothing, Harper. It looks like there’s more rain coming. There’s a tarp in the shed if you want to grab it. It’s on the table. You want to cover the car, so you don’t get the leather wet.’
She went without saying a word while he worked on cleaning up all the glass. It took a few goes, and he managed to grab most of the large pieces. He’d need a vacuum for the smaller ones.
The phone rang in his pocket. He grabbed it and looked at the number. Lisa. He ignored it. The woman was relentless. It was his turn to sigh as he put the phone back in his pocket and returned to cleaning up the glass.
‘I found this too,’ Harper said, holding up the handheld vacuum cleaner.
He smiled as he grabbed it. God, she still made his head spin at the mere sight of her. Why the hell did she have to have that effect on him?