Page 45 of Crash Over Us
He chuckled. “Well, doesn’t really matter anymore, does it?”
“It seems to matter to you. You’ve been holding this grudge for a long time and trying to come at me any chance you get.”
“Dean?” Margot questioned. “Why would you care so much about being in the Coast Guard. You have a successful law practice. I’m so confused right now. I thought you liked being a lawyer.” She sat on a wicker chair, noticeably getting more upset.
“You’re right. I do have a successful practice. But there was a time when I wanted to do something else. Something different than my dad. I had my own plans. My own dream that wasn’t the family business. I wanted to be on the water. But Caleb made sure I didn’t get the slot. I deserved it. I was qualified for it.” He glared at me. “And you took it from me.”
The truth was, we had never openly spoken about the Coast Guard until this moment. I couldn’t believe it was coming out in front of Margot. He admitted it. The jealousy. The grudge. The anger. The years he has whispered in the cops’ ears about me. I’d known he’d put a target on my back, but it wasn’t until now that all my theories and paranoia were confirmed. He had been waiting for years to get back at me for taking the dream he had. He thought it had always been my fault.
“Not true. You’ve had it wrong all this time. That’s sad.”
“Stop it!” Margot jumped up from the wicker. I heard part of the battered chair crack against the jolt. “I’ve known there was bad blood between you two, but this is crazy.” Her eyes cut from Dean to me.
I wanted to explain more to her. On the heels of last night, I couldn’t imagine she wanted to hear it.
We all turned when a big truck pulled up at the marina.
“That’s the drink machine I ordered.” She sighed. “I have to go out there and meet him. This was supposed to be a good thing.” She paused at the screen door. I knew she wanted to say more, only I didn’t know if it was going to be directed at Dean or me.
Quietly, she stepped off the porch and let the door slam behind her.
I growled at him. “Don’t do this to her. Don’t make her lose the money and what she’s trying to build here. She’s finally getting her footing. She’s finally making plans that will work. You have no idea how excited she is about staying. About planning Movies on the Marsh. About having a home for the first time since her mom died.”
Dean started to shove the files into his briefcase. “I’m not the one who took something I shouldn’t have. You can’t blame me for this. You did this to her.”
“I can blame you for hurting her.” I looked over at Margot. She was talking to the drink machine driver.
“Again, not my doing. I uphold the law. I took an oath.”
“Oh give me a fucking break. This isn’t about your moral character. This is about me.”
“Does it really matter?” His eyebrows rose. “You let that woman with the kid pay you. I’m not the one with moral issues.”
I clenched my fists at my sides. Carrie had been a problem from the minute we met her. I never regretted saving Lucas. I regretted staying in the hospital. I regretted going over to her house for dinner. I’d ignored my instincts, and it had cost me. Only, I didn’t know yet what the final price was going to be.
“I need to go. I have another meeting.” Dean had collected the rest of his papers.
“Don’t let me hold you up.” I stood in front of the cottage entrance so he had plenty of room to leave through the porch.
He headed out to leave. There was nothing else to say. I wasn’t going to be able to stop Dean from whatever the next part of his plan was. I had to sit back and wait.
Margot was still working with the driver on the drink machine. I walked over.
“Need any help?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No. I can handle this. I’ve got it.”
He was trying to position it next to the new ice cooler. He was having a hard time getting it level. If it wasn’t on even footing, the drinks wouldn’t dispense properly.
“Hold on. I think I have a solution.” I jogged off to the shed and returned with a one-by- four. I instructed the man to tip the machine forward. I slid the wood beneath the two front legs, and he lowered the machine back down.
He placed the level on top, and we smiled. He laughed. “That will do it. Not permanent, it will keep your drinks from getting stuck.”
“Thank you.” Margot smiled tersely. I knew she wasn’t happy I had jumped in, but he didn’t have a solution for her.
She signed an order receipt, and the drink truck was off the property in a matter of minutes.
I turned to her. “I don’t want to leave like last night.”
