3. Chapter Three
Chapter Three
Koa
Katie sits with her back to us, staring out the window as Andrew and Lottie’s dogs play in the yard.
No doubt she’s thinking of her horse Preakness, and worrying herself sick over what might happen to him.
Spencer sits beside her, frequently glancing at her to ensure she’s okay.
It’s a comfort to have him with us, keeping watch over my sister.
As much as I adore her, it’s difficult to prioritize her when my life is also falling apart. Spencer helps carry the weight.
“I speak for Coach when I say you’re okay.
Your contract doesn’t stipulate anything about your family’s behavior, so as long as you stick on the straight and narrow, you’ll be fine.
That means trying to avoid any more confrontations with overeager reporters.
” Andrew sips his coffee and leans back in his chair, shifts forward again, crosses and uncrosses his legs.
“Easier said than done, I think. They came out of nowhere and attacked. I never stood a chance.”
Andrew’s unease spreads across the room, leaving all of us on edge. If he’s on edge, I can’t help feeling Coach’s kindness is only so thin.
“What happened, exactly?” Lottie asks, her gentle tone the only soothing thing keeping us remotely sane.
“I stopped for gas on the way to practice. My card was declined, I chalked it up to a safety flag, and went inside to pay. While inside, they came to tow my car and the reporters swarmed in. After that is kind of a blur, but I was practically suffocated until Spencer and Katie showed up.”
“We only knew to look for Koa after they took Katie’s horse. I was on my way to practice when she called.” Spencer nods my way. “She couldn’t get ahold of Koa, so she called me.”
Katie’s gaze briefly shifts his way, then back out the window to watch the dogs.
Andrew’s kids are napping, which is a small blessing.
I adore them, dote over them as often as possible, but twins crying through our discussion would only put me on a sharper edge at this point. My nerves can’t take much more.
“Do you think the claims might be true?” Andrew asks.
With a heavy sigh, I scrub a hand over my face for the hundredth time. “My heart says no and that there must be something more to it, but the truth is, we’re not a close family. You know that.”
Andrew frowns. “Yeah. I guess I was hoping…praying, really.”
Spencer glances at Katie again, then to me with a cautious gaze. “What will we do if it’s all true?”
“Not sure. I need to talk to Mr. Johnson, see what he’s discovered, and I guess we’ll figure it out then.”
“When are you supposed to meet with the lawyer?” Spencer asks.
I check my watch, a little surprised I managed to keep it on my wrist, with the vultures circling at the gas station. Groaning, I stand. “In twenty minutes, actually. I better get going. They good to stay with you for a while?”
Andrew narrows in on me, nods once, and I know my baby sister is safe here.
None of that reporter nonsense, no one charging her to get a quick story about our father.
I’m still not sure whether the news is true, considering our mother isn’t responding to calls, but that doesn’t matter.
The world thinks he’s guilty, and so he is until he proves his innocence, which I’m beginning to doubt with each news story that airs on Andrew’s television.
“You can take my car. I doubt anyone would notice it.” Lottie digs in her purse and pulls out a keychain with a witty pun about math on it.
“Thanks, Lots.”
She drops the keys in my palm with a sweet smile.
A wave of jealousy clenches my jaw. Time and again, Charlotte proves to be not only an amazing friend, but the perfect mate for Andrew.
It isn’t so much her that I’m jealous over, of course not.
She’s my friend’s wife. It’s that I’ve wanted what they have for so long and can’t seem to find it that brings that greedy monster to life in me.
Every relationship crashes, fails from the start, and I’m left grieving the loss of something that wasn’t worth the time.
It’s honestly too bad she doesn’t have a single sister.
A quick glance to Spencer, a quiet agreement between us, and I’m out the door to face the world again.
Hopefully Lottie is right and I can manage to make it to the lawyer’s without too much trouble, prayerfully without anyone recognizing me in her car.
I tug my ball cap low and pray her tinted windows are enough to hide my identity until I can get this over with, figure out where to go from here, and get cease and desist orders sent to every local and nationwide news outlet known to man.
Fortunately, the drive is peaceful. No reporters to be seen, and I’m able to slip into the office with zero hassle. Thank goodness, my lawyer agreed to help me with delayed payment. That’s where my good luck ends.
“Koa, I’m afraid there isn’t much that can be done until the investigation is complete. If they have reason to suspect that your car and home and your sister’s horse, among other things, were purchased with the funds your father illegally obtained—”
“Allegedly.”
Mr. Peterson sighs. “Allegedly, yes, but I am first and foremost representing you and your sister. Please be clear on that now, Koa.”
I nod and bite back a smart remark about my family being innocent.
The truth is, I don’t know. With what Mr. Peterson laid out in front of me, it’s anyone’s guess whether our father knew what he was getting into or not.
There’s still a shot he was bullied or tricked, but the evidence brings up questions, at best.
“Until they can confirm the source of income for the purchases, they have every right to seize them. On the plus side of this, you make a sizeable income with your career, and the direct deposits into your investments are proof that your income is solely based on your own contracts and endorsements.”
“Speaking of endorsements…”
Peterson sighs. “So far, you’ve lost one, but the others have voiced concerns. They are, however, willing to wait out the storm, provided the investigation returns nothing unfavorable about you in particular.”
Shaking my head, I bite back my words again.
I haven’t done anything wrong. Haven’t even taken a penny from my father since I graduated from college, and here I sit ready to lose everything.
Anger and bitterness sway between my father and everyone who accuses him.
I don’t know what to believe, what is right.
I do know I did nothing wrong, and yet, I’m paying for it as if I’m the one arrested, tried, and found guilty before there’s even a trial.
“We’ll get through this. You’re innocent. The investigation will yield the results we hope for, but patience is key. No more confrontations like this morning or your publicist won’t have much to work with.”
My publicist. I hadn’t even considered calling her, but I probably need to check in and see if there’s anything I can do for damage control. No doubt, she is one of the hundreds of missed calls I still haven’t sorted through, and she’s probably a nervous wreck at this point.
“What about Katie’s horse?”
“I’ve already threatened them with everything under the sun if they harm a hair on his head, so to speak.
I don’t think they’d be stupid enough to hurt a horse like that, but I’ll be sure to send an animal advocate to check on him.
Frankly, the horse is my priority over your vehicles and your home. ”
I lurch forward. “I’m sorry, did you say my home?”
Peterson blinks. “I thought you knew. Koa, they seized all of your vehicles, your home, your boat…everything.”
At this, I stand and growl. “How can they seize a whole house? Where am I supposed to sleep? How am I supposed to take care of myself or my sister if my income is frozen?”
“Your contract payouts and endorsement income will be unfrozen soon. Give me a day or so to get all of the paperwork filed. Until then, I’d suggest you ask a friend to be very generous and allow you a place to sleep. Katie too.”
“Katie—are you kidding me? She lives in an apartment. She pays rent on time from her own job.”
“Again, there isn’t anything more I can do.
We have to wait and let it play out. In time, you will be vindicated.
Until then, pray and be patient. Don’t cause me any more trouble.
” He pushes his wiry hair out of his face and frowns.
“I realize it’s not ideal, but you hired me because I am the best at what I do. Let me work.”
Another frustrated groan escapes, but I know he’s doing all he can.
He’ll continue to do so until Katie and I are fully restored, but that can take time.
The only thing I know to do now is ask Spencer if we can stay with him for a few days, maybe a few weeks, and figure out how to access the funds coming to me.
“Do I need to open a new bank account?”
“You let me worry about all of that. I’ll have my assistant set everything up and deposit funds for you to live on this week. I’ll call you when everything else is taken care of.”
For all of my frustration and anger, complaining and whining, Peterson stays as professional as always with that caring edge that does make him a great choice for a lawyer. I blow out a long breath and collect my thoughts.
“All right. Okay, yeah, I can deal with that. Keep me posted, and I’ll just go about life as normally as possible.”
“That is the best course of action. I’m truly sorry you’re dealing with this, but you’re not the first, and you won’t be the last.”
I bid him a final goodbye, nod to his assistant on my way out, and glance around before heading into the parking lot.
It seems clear, so I head to Lottie’s car and resume my incognito travels through Savannah.
It doesn’t take long for a news van to pull in behind me.
At first, I hope it’s little more than a coincidence, but when I begin taking the side streets headed to Andrew’s house and they follow, I know it’s more.
I can’t take them back to his home, destroying his solitude, especially not with his young kids.
The only thing I can think to do is lose them, which of course, would have been a lot easier if I’d had one of my sports cars.
An SUV doesn’t take the turns as well, but if it’s the last thing I do, I’m going to lose the jerk riding my tail as if I’m a murderer and this is the story of the year.
How noble he must be to spend his days chasing innocent people, trying to end their careers for a story.
I merge back into traffic on the main road after navigating the neighborhood.
After a quarter mile, I merge onto the interstate and gas it.
Fortunately, the SUV is a bit more agile than a big reporter van, but if I can see them in my mirrors, then they can still see me.
Weaving through traffic as safely as possible, I work to put too many vehicles between us for them to keep track of me.
When I go around a soft curve and downhill, I speed off the interstate on an exit ramp that’s well hidden by a line of trees.
Taking a sharp right hides me altogether, but I haven’t disappeared just yet.
I catch them pulling off onto the same exit, but I’m well enough ahead that I can take some back farm roads and disappear.
Dirt road after dirt road eventually brings me back to town, but I seem to have lost them.
Just in case, I decide to park the SUV in a large shopping center parking lot and leave it for a while.
Disappear into a little shop somewhere, let them chase their tails while I hide out.
Once parked, I scout the area in search of anything suspicious, as if I truly am the criminal they have all deemed me to be.
I spy Sparkly’s, Andrew’s favorite donut shop, and decide that’s as good a place as any to hide from them.
I remember he mentioned once that the owner is nice and often lets him hide out in her kitchen or exit out the back if he needs to escape fans.
Hopefully, she’ll spread the favor along to a little rich kid whose father may or may not have scammed people out of their hard-earned income.
“Nothing to lose,” I grind under my breath, and pull open the pink door.