17. A New Leaf
CHAPTER 17
A New Leaf
I sla traced random circles on Levi’s chest and tried to keep focused on the moment. He loved her. As impossible as it might seem, he loved her.
Did that somehow balance the scales a little? She couldn’t be a completely trash human being if Levi loved her. He was a wonderful man with too many good qualities to count.
But it seemed she had three people who hated her enough to want to hurt or kill her. Glen. Ed. And whoever shot at her.
Levi squeezed her shoulder and kissed her head. “I can hear the wheels turning again. You want to talk about it while we shower?”
That made her laugh. “If we’re in the shower, we’re not going to get much talking done.”
His chuckle rumbled through her. “I don’t see the problem.”
She kissed his chest and then scrambled to lie on top of him. She stacked her hands on his chest and rested her chin on top. “Okay, let’s talk.”
Levi grinned and placed his hands on her butt. “We’ll see how long I can concentrate.”
She smiled briefly, but it faded. “If there’s a third person who we should be worrying about, I don’t know who it could be. I’ve thought about my dad, but our conversations since that first day have been good. I think if he was trying to have me hurt or killed, there’d be some indication in our talks.”
They’d been talking every day or two, and while the conversations were sometimes awkward or stilted, she was pretty sure her father wasn’t working with a hidden agenda.
Levi brushed his hands over her skin. “I don’t think it’s your dad. He seems very sincere in his desire to get to know you again.”
She was relieved he got the same feelings from their conversations. Going over her past in her mind, she couldn’t find anyone who hated her. Her boss at Future 4 Us had been sad to see her go and had given her a letter of reference in case she went job hunting. She’d also given her an open invitation for a job if she changed her mind.
Alba had laughed out loud when Isla had told her the town where she’d be living was named Phail. They’d traded puns and jokes over the next few days while Isla had been wrapping up her projects.
And they’d made some of those jokes in the hearing of others. Of Ed Pringle?
Maybe. It was hard to remember the details.
What if Glen had somehow found out how Ed had been fired? What if Ed had shared where she’d gone?
What would the creep do for a fee?
Levi squeezed her butt, bringing her attention back to the present. “What is it? What did you figure out?”
“ Figured out might be too strong a phrase. Just a possible connection I hadn’t made before.” But the more she thought about it, the more it seemed possible.
“Don’t make me tickle it out of you.”
She laughed and squirmed against him. “I’m just thinking it through. What if Glen went to Future 4 Us looking for me and heard about the fallout with Ed? What if Glen found Ed and talked him into coming to Vermont?”
Levi frowned. “How would they know where to find you? I thought your boss was the only one who knew where you were headed.”
Isla nodded. “She was, but when I told her the town’s name, she thought it was hilarious. Over the few days, while I was wrapping things up, we made a ton of jokes. She would ask if I was going to Phail. I know I quoted Piper’s town slogan more than once.”
Come to Phail to succeed.
She tapped on Levi’s chest. “While I think Ed is a slime, he can be a charming slime when he wants. He thinks he’s pretty irresistible to the ladies, and he is friends with a lot of the scientists in the lab. I know he kept in touch with several of them. There were lots of snide comments aimed my way about me being the reason he got fired.”
The more she said it out loud, the more possible it seemed. “What if someone told Glen where to find Ed? Maybe they cooked up this plan together. Maybe Glen paid Ed to come up here and harass me, or worse.” If the plan was to take her out of contention for the will, the only thing that would accomplish that definitively was her death.
She watched Levi think it through. “It’s possible.”
“It is. I can see Glen thinking he could get away with it even if Ed’s caught. He’ll just deny it all.” Which people might believe.
“Have you told your father about any of the things that have been happening?”
She shook her head with a sigh. “No. I don’t want him to think I only got in touch with him because I wanted something. I was hoping to build an actual relationship.”
“Might be better to tell him before the police talk to him about Glen.”
Isla dropped her head to her hands. “I suppose. Why is everything such a mess?”
His arms shifted to hold her close. “Not everything. This, this right here, is not a mess. We’re not a mess. And we’re going to figure out the other mess.”
She lifted her head to smile at him. “Thank you.”
One sexy eyebrow shot up. “For what?”
“For not giving up on me when I panic. For believing in me. For loving me despite the wackiness.”
He grinned. “That’s the easy part, Isla. The wackiness isn’t your fault.”
“It sure feels like it is.”
Levi rolled them over and braced his weight on his elbows. “You’re an amazing person, Isla. Life has handed you some crappy circumstances, but you’re still working to make life better for others. It’s not your fault there are some greedy people with weak morals in the world. We’re going to get them. I promise.”
Even though she knew he couldn’t promise any such thing, his words warmed her heart and eased the panic that had gripped her when she’d thought he’d been shot.
She reached up and cupped his face in her hands. “I love you, Levi. And we’re going to figure this out together.”
“Best news I’ve heard all day.” And he set about proving it.
L evi felt helpless as Isla set up the video call with her father. He wanted to fix things for her, wanted to make the call himself. But he wasn’t a jerk and knew she wanted to do those things for herself.
She’d been in a complete panic earlier, but she was more settled now. Resigned was probably the best word. She didn’t want to go outside yet, and she wanted to talk to her father before they called Marcus about her theory.
When her father connected, they chatted for a few moments, but then Isla waved Levi over to sit with her. “Dad, I’d like you to meet Levi Connors. Levi, this is my dad, Reginald Duggan.”
Duggan’s eyes widened, and his eyes roved over Levi. Levi nodded at the screen. “Hello sir, nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you as well. How well do you know my daughter?”
Levi chuckled when Isla gasped. “Dad!”
Instead of getting insulted by the question, Levi looped his arm over the back of Isla’s chair and played with her hair. “I know her pretty well. I’m in love with her.”
“Oh.” Duggan didn’t smile, but he nodded.
Isla’s face was flushed. “Levi’s farm is next to mine. He’s helped me out with a lot of things since I moved here.”
Levi grinned. “She’s helped me too.”
Isla smiled at him. “Actually, he’s helped me with more than issues with the crops. I’ve had some problems here that I haven’t told you about yet.”
Duggan leaned forward with a frown. “What problems? Is it money? Do you need something? Is someone bothering you? Are you okay? How can I help?”
Tears misted in Isla’s eyes before she blinked them away. “Thanks to Levi, I’m mostly okay. We’ve had some bumps and bruises. A few weeks ago, someone damaged a few rungs on my ladder, and I fell, although we’re not sure that was done recently. Then someone sabotaged my car, and we were in a rollover. Today, someone shot at us.”
Duggan slammed his desk, then stood up and yelled. “Nancy, get me on the first flight to Vermont.”
Levi didn’t think anyone was a good enough actor to pull off the fear and outrage Duggan showed. The man sat back down and wiped his face. “Are you alright? Have you had a doctor check you out? Who the hell is doing this to you?”
Isla nodded and wiped her eyes. “We have a great town doctor. We were both lucky.”
“Doesn’t sound lucky to me. Sounds dangerous. Why don’t you come down here for a while? Get yourself out of danger while your police figure it out.”
Isla smiled. “I think I want to stay here and see it through, but I’ll keep that as an option in case we need to leave. But I do have something to ask you about.”
Duggan nodded. “How can I help?”
Isla bit her bottom lip. “Actually, it’s information. Do you think Glen could be behind this?”
The man’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “Glen? Why would he want to hurt you? I sent him to look for you. He knew I wanted to reconnect. Hurting you is the furthest thing from my mind.”
She smiled at her father, and Levi was glad he also believed the man was off the suspect list.
“I know you wouldn’t do that, Dad. But Glen has never liked me. He was thrilled when we had our disagreement.”
Duggan held up a hand and sat back in his chair. His fingers drummed on the desk while he thought things through. It took less than a minute for his eyebrows to furrow. “You think he’s worried about the will? About the money?”
Isla nodded. “It’s just a possibility. Would he be angry that you wanted to find me?”
“Maybe. He tried to talk me out of it at first. Then, when he realized I was determined to follow through, he was happy to agree to be the one to go find out where you lived and worked. I thought having someone you knew would be a good start.”
Then, the man’s face paled. “If you’re right, this is my fault. I sent him after you.”
Isla shook her head. “It’s not your fault at all. If it is Glen, it’s all on him and his greed.”
They heard a knock on his door and saw a woman bring a note to Duggan. He thanked her and looked at the screen. “I’ve got a flight that will get me to Burlington late tonight. I’ll get a hotel and rent a car in the morning. You’ll have to give me your address.”
Isla's eyes were swimming again. “You don’t have to do that. I know you’re busy.”
He shook his head sharply. “I can’t stay here if you’re in danger. I’ll be there tomorrow.”
To give Isla a moment to control her emotions, Levi brought up her theory. “We’re wondering if maybe Hicks has hired someone to do some of the damage. That way, he’s in Texas with an alibi while someone else sabotaged the car.”
Duggan frowned again. “If that rat bastard is behind this, I’ll do everything to get his ass tossed in jail. I’m going to call him and sound him out.”
He picked up the desk phone, but the call went to voicemail, and he left a terse message telling him to return his call.
When he hung up, Levi leaned forward. “It might be better to not mention anything about having spoken with Isla. Let him think you’re still looking, that you don’t know anything about what’s been happening up here.”
It took a few seconds, but finally, Duggan nodded. “Fine. I’ll let him know I’m disappointed by his lack of results.”
That would light a fire under Hicks. If it was all about money, he wouldn’t want to piss off Isla’s father. That could escalate things, which was a good way to cause mistakes.
It was also a good way for people to get hurt.
They chatted for a few more minutes and gave general directions to Phail. Which gave them a few lighter moments. How do I get to Phail? Sounded ridiculous.
When they hung up, Isla sat back and leaned into Levi. “I can’t believe he’s coming up here. I’m nervous, and I shouldn’t be nervous to see my own father.”
“I think it’s perfectly natural to be nervous. You’ve had a major change in your relationship, but it’s a good one. He wants to see you for yourself and help keep you safe.”
She smiled up at him. “I could have avoided all of this if I’d contacted him a few months ago. None of this would have happened.”
Levi kissed her forehead. “Don’t let regrets eat you up. I’m glad some of this happened.”
She grinned and kissed him. “Me too. Okay, I guess we should call Kimi and get her to check out Hopper. And then Marcus to get him up to date. Find out if he thinks our theory is possible.”
Levi nodded. Time to get back to reality and catch these bastards.