A Crowe's Song Read online

  I gave it to him, but before I let go of it, I said, “Don’t do anything with it yet. Let me ask her what she wants me to do with it first. I don’t know if it’s something she carries with her everywhere she goes, and if that’s the case, I can just send it back with the book.”

  “Yeah, that’s true. I was just thinking about someone coming across it before it makes its way to her house. But you’re right, you should—” He practically choked on his words as he stared at the document. Frantic uncertainty painted his expression, which quickly morphed into anger. “You said her name is McKenna?” He lifted his gaze from the paper to my face. “McKenna Richards?”

  “Uh…yeah.” I had no idea where this was going, but I could tell I wasn’t going to like it.

  “Her mom is Rebekah Tisdale?”

  Now I was even more confused. “I guess, if that what it says.”

  His attention moved rapidly between my face and the note in his hand. Then, without warning, he turned toward the desk, slammed the paper down with a harsh thud, and hastily flipped through the contents of the legal folder regarding the lease.

  My head was all over the place. I didn’t understand what any of this was about, and the longer it took him to explain, the more anxious I became. At this point, the outcome couldn’t be good, not with the way he hysterically scanned the documents in the folder.

  “What is it, Dad? Tell me.”

  Just then, he stopped turning the pages and aggressively pointed to something in the text by jabbing his finger on it. When he turned his head toward me, I couldn’t ignore the combination of anger and betrayal that mangled his expression. “Did you talk to this McKenna girl about the resort? Anything about the business side of things?”

  Still, I had no idea where his reaction stemmed from. All I knew was that he demanded answers, and as scared as I was to give them to him, withholding the truth wouldn’t do either of us any good. So I swallowed past the lump in my throat and nodded.

  “What did you tell her?”

  “Uh…basically the history of it—like, why Grandma opened it to begin with and how it’s connected to Chogan.” I took a deep breath, scanning the room in the hope something would come to me, jump out of the air and make sense of this. “She’s the one who suggested doing more marketing or promotions to bring in more business.”

  He barely blinked, and from what I could see, I wasn’t even sure he was breathing. “What did you tell her when she suggested that?”

  “I don’t know, Dad. In a nutshell, I explained that we don’t have the means to do much; not to mention, you aren’t that eager to make any changes around here.” My anxiety continued to climb until I felt like I was coming out of my skin. “Why?”

  “Because your girlfriend’s mom is the new landowner.”

  No. Fucking. Way.

  “That can’t be,” I repeated to myself under my breath. But apparently, I wasn’t as quiet as I thought, because my dad heard it and lit into me some more. I couldn’t comprehend anything; his words were nothing but muffled garble, muted by the static filling my ears.

  I snatched Kenny’s emergency contact form off the desk and read over it again. Then I scanned the document from the folder, the same one my dad continually battered with his finger. Right there, in black in white, on both pieces of paper was one name: Rebekah Tisdale.

  Separately, both names could’ve been common. But together, the likelihood of it being the same person was pretty great. Not to mention, I didn’t think that was a very common spelling of Rebekah.

  The longer I stared at the letters that made up the name of the person who was responsible for the fate of my family’s legacy, the angrier I became. My stomach knotted and flipped. Like a pendulum, I swung between the need to vomit and the urge to hit something.

  One thing was for sure, though: Standing around wouldn’t make it right.

  I had to do something.

  And there was only one thing to do.

  Confront Kenny.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Kenny

  Every day was the same as the last. Which only made me miss Drew and Black Bird that much more. In fact, it began to make me resent my grandfather, even though I knew it wasn’t his fault he needed care.

  Not for the first time today, I went into the living room to lower the TV volume. This was a regular thing we had to do. My grandpa’s mental state seemed to worsen every day. His new thing was turning up the volume, forgetting that he’d already done that five or six times. Personally, I believed it got too loud even for him, but since he was so used to always turning it up, he couldn’t remember to turn it back down. Regardless, Mom and I were constantly going to the living room to lower the volume just so we could hear ourselves think in a different room.

  As soon as I set the remote down—across the room from his recliner—the doorbell rang. Mom was in the kitchen preparing dinner, so I called out that I would get it and then opened the front door.

  It was as if the angels had heard my prayers and delivered him to me.

  Standing on the front stoop was none other than Drew Wheeler in all his smoldering sexiness. However, right after the instant rush of excitement hit, I realized that his expression was off. Rather than share the same eagerness that flooded my system, he appeared to have a little more…fury. Actually, a lot more fury. To be exact, he showed absolutely no sign of enthusiasm whatsoever.

  “Hey,” I said cautiously. Without knowing the reason for his visit or why he appeared to be on the verge of cursing someone out, I had no idea how to react. So, with caution was the safest bet.

  His jaw ticced and gaze narrowed. His brow furrowed, and his nostrils flared. This was a completely different side of Drew that I hadn’t experienced. This was not the same guy I’d spent a week with, given my body to, and thought about every day since I left. I’d seen him tired and annoyed, and once or twice, he seemed a little frustrated. But nothing like this.

  “Come in.” I took a step back and held the door open wider. Leaving him on the front step only made things more awkward, so I figured letting him in might lessen the tension radiating from him. Except I hadn’t take into consideration that I’d just invited a very angry person inside my home. Noticing the weathered diary in his grasp at his side, I tried a different approach. “I thought you were going to mail me the journal; I wasn’t expecting a personal delivery.”

  He handed me the journal and then ran his fingers through his hair. It was slightly longer, even messier than the last time I saw him. And I couldn’t deny that it was definitely sexier. It dragged me into the memories of tugging those locks, begging him to stop licking me, my nerves unable to take one more swipe of his warm tongue. But then his heavy sigh snapped me back to reality.

  “Why’d you do it?”

  I stared at him, waiting for more yet getting nothing. “Do what, Drew?”

  “Buy the land. I told you I was looking into different marketing avenues and strategies. Did you think you could do better? Or did you just decide to hell with me and my family because you have—”

  “What are you talking about?” I cut him off, unable to listen to one more ridiculous question—or, more accurately, accusation. “I didn’t buy anything, especially not land. I’ve told you about how we’ve been struggling to pay for my grandfather’s care, so what in the world would make you think I had money to purchase property?”

  “Because your mom’s name is listed as the new owner on the deed.”

  That made my head spin so much I worried I’d fall over.

  “And the only thing I can think of is that you spent a week listening to me complain about the resort and how we didn’t have the funds to put into marketing, so you decided to swoop in and take advantage of our situation.”

  I waved both hands between us, forcing him to stop talking long enough to gather my thoughts and form better words than are you kidding me. “Drew, stop for a second and ask yourself: How could I have possibly paid for all that land?”

&nb
sp; “I don’t know. I’m not concerned with the how. I’m more worried about the why. I trusted you, McKenna, yet the entire time, you were just pumping me for information about the resort.” The fact that he didn’t call me Kenny was equivalent to a fist in the gut. Or a dagger through the heart. “How could you do it?”

  “Wait a second… You said my mom’s name is on the deed?”

  “Yup—Rebekah Tisdale.”

  That threw me for an even bigger loop. “How do you know what her name is?”

  “Your emergency contact list.”

  I couldn’t even remember what I had done with that after arriving at the resort. Spending every day with Drew made me forget a lot of things. Regardless of how he discovered her name, it didn’t change the fact that he was utterly convinced of what he was saying. And there was only one way to get to the bottom of the accusations.

  “Hey, Mom!” I called out, heading toward the kitchen. But before I made it around the corner, she met me in the hallway.

  Her eyes widened as she glanced over my shoulder, likely noticing the very tall guy behind me. “Everything okay, McKenna?”

  “Do you own any property besides this house?”

  Her eyes narrowed, confusion setting in her brow. “Not that I’m aware of. Why?”

  “Apparently, your name is on the deed to the land that the resort is on.”

  The lines between her brows deepened even more but then let up right before she shook her head. “Are you talking about what was in your grandfather’s will?”

  I turned around to glance at Drew, hoping he could shed some light on this, especially considering how confused my mom and I were. Without more information, we’d end up going in circles all night.

  “I have no idea who owned it before. All I know is what name is listed as the owner now.”

  “Well, I guess then, yeah. Maybe so. But I can’t answer for sure because I don’t have a clue as to what property you’re even talking about. Whatever was in my father’s will all went through the lawyers. To be honest, he could’ve willed me a parakeet and I wouldn’t have a clue.”

  Slowly but surely, things began to fall into place and make a bit of sense in my head. “So the land that Black Bird sits on, the same land that surrounds Crowe’s Lake—and subsequently, Chogan—belonged to my grandfather? How?”

  Just then, as if being summoned, my grandfather shuffled out of the living room and into the hallway with the rest of us. He made it several steps before stopping dead in his tracks. He pierced Drew with the most contemptible stare I’d ever seen. Hatred poured from his eyes, while at the same time, disgust curled his upper lip. All he said was one word. One name. “Andrew.”

  Drew turned to me. I faced him. My mom’s gaze bounced between both of us. I wondered how my grandfather knew him; Drew seemed just as confused, and my mom simply appeared lost in it all.

  “How do you—”

  “You can’t have her!” my grandfather seethed, his frail hands balling into white-knuckled fists at his sides. “I won’t let you take her from me again. Do you hear me?”

  We all stepped forward, creating a human wall in front of the old man.

  “What are you talking about, Dad?” Mom was, without a doubt, the most perplexed of us all, and I had to admit, even Drew and I were mystified. “How do you know him?”

  However, he never took his eyes off Drew, other than to briefly glance at me before turning his attention right back to the guy on my right. “She’s mine.”

  “Who, Grandpa? Who can’t he have? Who’s yours?”

  “You!” The forcefulness of his voice shocked us all. It sounded far too intense to have come from a feeble old man who struggled to pull himself out of his rocker. But once the shock began to fade, it was clear who he was talking about—he pointed directly at me. “I won’t give you up, Emily. I lost you once; I refuse to lose you again. Especially to him. Andrew can’t have you.”

  I became slightly less baffled when he called me by my grandmother’s name. I’d been told my whole life how I was a carbon copy of her, and considering dementia patients tended to confuse loved ones with those from their past, it made sense that he would think I was his late wife. However, when he mentioned Drew again by name, any amount of understanding I had gained by being called Emily vanished, and I once again plummeted into the depths of muddied waters.

  “Dad?” Mom sounded worried, which paired perfectly with the fear painting Drew’s face and the disorientation that left my head spinning. “Who’s Andrew?” she asked cautiously, as if approaching a wild animal. In her defense, Grandpa looked quite crazed and unpredictable.

  Out of nowhere, the gentle old man, who I’d helped with his slippers every morning, lunged at Drew. At first, I assumed he’d fallen forward. It wouldn’t have been the first time. However, as soon as I saw his wrinkled hands encircle Drew’s neck, I knew it was intentional.

  Mom and I scrambled to get Grandpa off Drew, but to our amazement, he put up a good fight. Growling and grunting, he refused to let go. He mumbled a few incoherent things, then said something neither of us thought we’d heard correctly. Then he repeated it. Again. And again.

  “You’re not supposed to be here. You were dead. I watched you die. You were dead. I know, because I made sure of it. I watched the life drain from your shit-stained eyes.” He continued to fight against us while simultaneously attempting to take Drew’s life. “I’ll kill you again to make sure my sweet Emily never ends up with a Crowe.”

  The hairs on my arms stood up as I locked eyes with Drew. Understanding cloaked his wild expression while my mom and I continued to struggle to comprehend anything that had happened in the last five minutes. Suddenly, my grandfather’s grip weakened, and he leaned against my mom for support. Within seconds, we were able to get him away from Drew.

  After that, time seemed to fast-forward in triple speed.

  Drew rolled to the side and clutched his chest, gasping for deep and panicked breaths. I leaned over him and gently rubbed his back to help calm him while trying to grasp what was going on with my grandfather. My mom was frantic. Grandpa was limp, yet his chest moved, so I knew he was still with us, at least for the time being. And Drew seemed to grow more agitated.

  Everything was a blur until the emergency services arrived—which felt like hours, though in reality, I was told it had only taken them two minutes to come. Voices echoed as if we were all in a tunnel with everyone’s words melding together as they bounced off the walls. My sight even dimmed, darkness closing in, making it extremely difficult to see anything in my peripheral vision.

  I sat on the edge of the couch and mindlessly watched while everyone raced around. The paramedics quickly had my grandfather strapped to a stretcher and loaded in the back of the ambulance, and before I knew it, they’d hauled him off to the hospital. I must’ve been out of it enough that one of the firemen who had attended the emergency brigade flashed a light between my eyes and asked me a few questions. Apparently, I answered correctly because he moved along.

  One of the men tended to Drew on the front porch while the other spoke to my frantic mother at the edge of the room. Suddenly, I felt frozen in time, as if life moved on around me while I sat on the couch and stared at Drew through the open front door.

  “I’m going up to the hospital to see what’s going on. Do you want to come with me or stay here?” Mom asked with her purse slung over her shoulder. I didn’t even know she’d finished talking to the fireman—and as I thought that, I realized I had no idea the fire truck was even gone.

  I glanced outside once again, making sure Drew was still there. He was slumped over with his hands in his hair, his face practically in his lap, but at least he hadn’t gone anywhere.

  “McKenna…” Mom snapped, catching my attention once again.

  I was stuck in a perpetual daze and couldn’t seem to find my way out. It took me an extra second or two to remember what she’d said only a moment ago, but it finally came to me. “I’ll stay here, make sure he
’s okay,” I responded, pointing at Drew’s back.

  “All right. Well, call me if you need me. I have no idea how long I’ll be, but I’ll keep you updated along the way. We can sort all of this out when I get back. Okay? I love you.” She kissed my forehead like she had my entire life and then left, leaving the front door wide open.

  Slowly, I made my way to the front porch. I took a seat next to Drew and waited for him to show any sign of life. Finally, he sucked in a deep breath, his back hitching and then deflating with his heavy exhale. Then he turned his head to the side to look at me. Still, though, he didn’t speak. It seemed that we both waited for the other to utter the first word.

  Unable to wait him out any longer, I broke the silence. “Are you okay?”

  He nodded and dropped his attention to the brick step we sat on.

  “I’m really sorry about all that. I have no idea what happened.” I swallowed harshly, feeling as though I were walking on shards of glass rather than having a conversation with someone I knew intimately. “He’s been getting worse and worse—not knowing who we are most of the time, thinking I’m my grandmother. But I’ve never seen him show any sort of aggression, especially not the type of violence displayed today.”

  Instead of responding, Drew stared blankly off into the distance and shook his head.

  “Listen,” I breathed out, turning toward him and holding his bicep with both hands. “I swear, Drew, I didn’t know anything about the deed. I spent the whole time trying to convince you to do more with the resort, so why would I wait until you finally agreed to just turn around and snatch it out from underneath you? It doesn’t make sense.”

  He rubbed his eyes with the pads of his thumb and middle finger, and then pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment. With a loud huff, he dropped his hand and resumed staring across the street. “I don’t even know what to make of all this, Kenny.”

  Thank God. He called me Kenny. That was enough to make me breathe a sigh of relief. It meant I hadn’t completely lost him, and maybe, just maybe, he believed me about the property. All I needed now was to hear him say those words.