Chapter 19
Nineteen
Present Day
Mo had gone home and slept for two hours. He needed eight, but he wanted to be able to sleep tonight. He showered, ate a sandwich, and settled in to work on what he could from his home office since he wouldn’t get access to Bronwyn’s computer until later.
His first order of business, after his deep dive into William Pierce, was to dig into the background info for Bronwyn’s security team. He was an hour into the work when Meredith came in without knocking.
When he, Cal, and Meredith had moved back to Gossamer Falls, they’d built what soon became known as the tiny house compound on the edge of their property.
Last year, Cal had moved out of his place and into his forever home with Landry.
Meredith still lived in her house, but she’d be gone soon.
But she’d be back. Her land was beside his, and when she and Gray nailed down what they wanted for their forever house, she’d be next door once more.
But until then? The compound would be lonely.
Meredith came up behind him and draped her arms around his neck. “Hey.”
He patted her hand, then went back to work. “Hey.”
She was quiet for maybe ten seconds before she said, “We went to see Cassie and then I helped Bronwyn pack up her desk. We took everything back to her place.”
“Good.”
“She told me what that movie star wanted.”
“Yeah?” He was listening. But he could listen and, at the same time, scan files for the telltale signs he was particularly good at finding.
“She wants to get married at The Haven.”
“Have they ever done a wedding?”
“No. They’ve allowed people to book out the whole place before, but there’s never been a wedding.”
“Did Bronwyn say yes?”
“She told her she’d see if she could devise a plan to satisfy all parties. But she’s not sure the wedding will happen. That woman’s been engaged to at least three different men.”
Mo snorted. “She’d hate to do all that work for nothing.”
“That’s what she said!” Meredith straightened behind him and rested her hands on his shoulders. “Are you okay, Mo?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Oh, I don’t know. You’ve had a lot of Bronwyn time lately. And sometimes, after you’re around her, you get sulky.”
“I do no such thing.”
Meredith’s silence was her response.
He knew this tactic. It didn’t matter if he didn’t want to discuss it. Meredith would wait him out. He gave in. “I keep thinking she’ll speak to me. And she continues not to. It’s ridiculous.”
“I think she keeps thinking it needs to mean something.”
Mo stopped and turned so he could see Meredith. “What does that even mean?”
“It’s a big deal, Mo. She’s frozen you out for years, and now, I think she feels like just talking to you, without a big production of some sort, would somehow cheapen all of it.”
Mo turned back to his computer. “I’d rather she just said, ‘Hey, Mo’ so we can move on. There are no words for how much I do not want to rehash the past. Not now. Not ever.”
“I don’t know.” Meredith’s words held a musing quality. “Sometimes you have to put the past to rest and only then can you move forward.”
“Our past is nuclear.”
“Not all of it.”
A chime sounded and Mo clicked over to a program he’d had running in the background. “Wait a minute.” He studied the screen.
Meredith leaned over his shoulder again. “What is it?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
“I don’t see anything.”
Mo ignored her and continued to analyze the report.
“What does this mean?” Meredith pointed to a red highlighted area on his screen. “Has someone done something bad?”
Mo tried to shoo her away, but she leaned closer. “I wish this made more sense to me.”
“You can’t read forensic accounting reports. I can’t read dental X-rays.”
“True. But the red is bad, right?”
“The red is bad,” Mo confirmed. “The tricky part will be figuring out who, what, when, where, and why.”
“So I should leave you to it?” Meredith moved away, but he grabbed her hand.
“Thanks for all your help the past few days.” He needed to say this as carefully as possible. He would never hurt his baby sister if he could help it. “You want a fairy tale ending for us, but I think you should prepare yourself that we’re more Romeo and Juliet than Anne and Gilbert.”
Meredith’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Not so long ago, you thought we might be destined to live out our lives like Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, but now look at us.”
Mo huffed. “In this version, Marilla gets her man and leaves Matthew all alone.”
A tear slipped down her cheek. “I don’t want to leave you all alone.”
Mo stood and pulled her into his arms. “Mer, please. Don’t cry.
We’ve discussed this. I’m so happy for you.
I love Gray. I love how he treats you. I love how you are with him.
I want you to marry him and give me nieces and nephews.
I want you to hurry up and build your house so we’ll all be close forever.
You aren’t leaving me. You’ve given me a new brother. I’m not complaining.”
She snuffled and wiped away a few tears. “You were kind of complaining.”
“What do you want me to say? Am I lonely? Sometimes. Yes. But not always. And I wouldn’t ask you or Cal to return to how you were two years ago. Not for anything.”
“But . . .”
“But I do think that you and Cal have gotten all loved up and now you want that for me—”
“And Bronwyn.”
He nodded. “And Bronwyn. But me and Bronwyn? It isn’t going to happen.”
“It might.”
“It was always a long shot, Mer. From the first time I held her hand, the odds were against us. Right now, I’d be happy to be able to have a conversation with her.
I want to apologize. I want to set the record straight on some things that are still out there between us.
I think we both need it. But I can’t do anything until she moves first. And I’m not sure if you’ve picked up on this, but Bronwyn Elizabeth Elena Pierce is one of the most stubborn women in the universe. ”
Meredith grabbed a tissue from the small box on his desk. “She’s worth the wait. I know she is.”
Mo couldn’t keep having this conversation. “Meredith, I promise that I’ve given all of this to God. I’ve asked him to fix it. I’m trying to let him lead and handle it. And I’m trying to be okay with whatever his answer is. If I can do that, then so can you. You need to let it go.”
“I can’t. I want her for my sister. I want you to be happy. I want to see the two of you together again, and I want to be able to say I told you so.” She swallowed. “But I can stop badgering you. That I can do. Or, at least, I can try. I might slip up.”
“That’s okay. Thank you.”
He squeezed her close for a second before releasing her and stepping back behind his desk.
“So, the red thing on the screen?” she said.
“Talk about stubborn.”
“Quinn women are always stubborn. This is a documented fact.”
“Fine. That red thing, as you put it, tells me that money is moving in a way that is not normal. There are algorithms that can predict this stuff. Sometimes they’re wrong.
But when there’s more uncertainty, the feedback is in orange or yellow.
I’ve never seen a red report that didn’t indicate some form of tampering.
Now, I need you to go home and let me find out what it is.
” He pointed to the chair. “Or you can stay here. But if you stay, you have to stop looking over my shoulder and commenting on everything.”
She gave him a watery smile. “I’ll go home, but only if you promise to tell me if you find something big.”
“I promise.”
He watched until Meredith walked into her tiny house. She blew him a kiss from her window, then let the curtain fall. She would probably call Gray and talk to him for the next hour. He didn’t mind. He liked living close enough that he could hear her when Gray said something that made her laugh.
He hadn’t lied. Much. He liked Gray. And Meredith was one of those people who was meant to be married, have several kids, probably foster a few more, then adopt them and need to build onto her house.
She would have dogs, cats, and maybe a ferret because she wouldn’t be able to say no.
Her life would be chaotic and happy, and he couldn’t wait to see it play out. She deserved every bit of it.
But he was lonelier than he’d fessed up to. And sometimes, when she was with Gray, and Cal and Landry were at their house, and he was alone by the firepit? Yeah.
He wished things were different.
But for now, he had a trail to follow that would keep his mind too occupied to dwell on what could have been.
He sat back down at the computer and dove in.
But before he did, he considered Meredith’s words.
Then he remembered Meredith and Landry having a chat with Bronwyn in the bedroom. A chat that Meredith had yet to share with him. And he remembered how Bronwyn had looked at him today.
And he wondered if there was a way he could win his friend back after all.
At 7:30 p.m., Bronwyn looked up to see June standing in the doorway of the small conference room. They’d managed to move most of her things in and turn it into a functional office during the remodel of her old, and forever in her mind contaminated, office.
“Ms. Pierce?”
“Yes?”
“This was delivered for you.” June stepped inside and placed a room service tray in front of her. “I received a call from Chef Cassie. She told me it was coming and that I should bring it to you and tell you that her cousin said for you to eat it because you haven’t eaten anything all day.”
Bronwyn lifted the lid and found a bowl of decadently creamy pasta. She could tell from the scent of garlic and rosemary that it would be heavenly. “Which one?”
“Which one what?”
“Which of Cassie’s cousins?”
“She didn’t say, ma’am. I’d be happy to call her back an—”
“No.” Bronwyn waved a hand. “It doesn’t matter.”
It does so matter.
That annoying inner voice was getting louder by the minute. It didn’t help that the inner voice was currently behaving like a toddler.