Page 9 of I'll Carry You

“She’s got a kid, too, right? She was telling me about him.”

“Yeah, Colby’s here on the nights she’s working, too.” Laura stiffened, and she added cautiously, “I hope that didn’t make any issues for you, Mr....”

Thank God.He’d used a different last name when booking the cabin. His goal was to stay hidden from the PI the Powells had hired, if possible, but it had worked out with Jen working here, too. “Sutter.” He gave her a taut smile. “And no, the kid didn’t cause any issues.” He leaned back from the counter, feeling the urge to flee. “Any good lunch recommendations? I figured I’d go explore the town a bit.”

“The two best-known places on Main are Bunny’s Café and Yardley’s Pub. Actually, Peter Yardley and Bunny Wagner are both local celebrities around here. Bunny has a quarterly feature inThis Charmed Life’smagazine, and Peter has a new cable television show with the Happy Home Channel that draws huge crowds. He’s got a big baking competition coming up soon, and it’s bringing tons of tourists to the area. You one of them?”

“No, actually.” It surprised Jason that two locals could have such notoriety, but he said nothing. He’d go to Bunny’s. If the Yardley guy was attracting tourists, he wanted to stay away from that. He wanted quiet. Time to think about how to get Mildred to talk to him. He thanked Laura and headed for the door. What sort of name was Bunny’s Café, anyway?

Then again, who named a kid Colby Klein?

Not that Colby Cavanaugh was much better, either. Well, the kid wouldn’t ever know about that last name.

Lucky bastard.

Jason got into his car and looked up Bunny’s, then set the driving directions on. Brandywood had changed a lot since he’d last been here. But it had beentwenty years.

Not that Mom had gotten away with bringing him and Kevin here too often. Jason had been fine with it, though. Most of what he remembered was sitting on the orange carpet in Mildred’s living room, trying to turn up the volume on the old television while Mom and Mildred fought in the kitchen.

He hadn’t wanted Kevin to hear Mom crying.

“You just take those two boys and come back here, you hear? We’ll find a way—”

“I can’t”—a strangled gasp from Mom—“I can’t. It’s not that simple. He controls everything I do. There’s no way he wouldn’t know.”

“Then don’t go back. Stay with me.”

“I can’t be without them, Mom. Not without the boys. And he’ll take them away. You and I can’t compete with his money. He’s got a team of lawyers strong enough to mow down anyone who challenges him . . .”

Mom hadn’t tried to bring them back to Brandywood after that trip. She’d shut herself in her room, closing the door for what felt like months.

Jason could still remember the notes he’d scribbled and shoved under the door. She hadn’t answered a single one.

As he pulled onto Main Street, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He parallel parked into a spot right in front of the café, then checked his phone.

TJ:What the hell are you doing in Brandywood?

Jason:How did you know I was here?

TJ:You pay me to know things. Be careful. You could lead Ned there.

Jason frowned at the phone. He’d thought of that. It was partially why he’d driven instead of flown down here. Harder to track.

Once again, his decision to book the cabin buzzed threateningly in his brain.

He studied the emblem on the steering wheel of his car. Maybe he could talk Mildred into lending him her old car and leave his car covered at the cabin. Even the car felt like a giveaway to his location.

If he could get Mildred to talk to him. She had to have a price. Everyone did. Just because she knew about the kid didn’t mean she knew anything about his grandfather’s will. Only a handful of people knew the details of that document.

He needed Mildred to agree not to tell anyone else about the kid. To never discuss Kevin’s last name with anyone who came knocking. His grandfather had done his best to expunge his mother’s family history from the record, as a matter of privacy. He didn’t want anyone looking into the lowly background of the woman Jason’s father had made himself a fool over.

Mildred showing up at her daughter’s funeral had been horrifying to Thomas. But it had also revealed to Jason how little his grandfather trusted anyone. He’d given Jason the task of removing Mildred rather than risk anyone else learning who the old woman was.

To the rest of the world, Jason’s mother had gone from Martha Price to Monique Sutter—a wealthy socialite from California. Only Kevin and Jason had known about Brandywood.

Stepping onto the street, he walked to the meter and then did an about-face. These weren’t like the meters in the city that took his credit card or worked by phone app. Did he even have a quarter? He looked through his car.

None.Fantastic.