A renewed sense of dread settled over me.Whatever that envelope contained, it couldn’t be good.
Chapter 69
I snuck a quick glance at the soggy envelope. Joel was holding it loose at his side, still unopened.
I just prayed it stayed that way.
With growing despair, I watched my aunt walk toward the stairway. My heart was racing, and I wanted to holler out, "Come back!"
Aunt Gina was a bundle of energy. She'd be the perfect distraction for what I desperately wanted to do – sneak off with that envelope and see what it contained.
Yes, it would be intrusive, unethical, and a whole bunch of other things, but I was beyond caring. And besides, I was part of the foundation. Whatever the envelope contained, I should've been informed.
This had to be Derek's doing, which meant, of course, that the envelope was a proverbial bomb, waiting to explode.
Stalling for time, I turned to Joel and explained that Aunt Gina's early arrival had caught me by surprise. I finished by saying, "So anyway, sorry I didn't call to warn you. I guess I should've, huh?"
"It's alright." He eyed me with obvious concern. "Hey, don't look so worried. It's not a big deal."
I swallowed. "I look worried?"
I wasn't worried. I was terrified. But it had nothing to do with the change in my aunt's schedule.
All day, I'd envisioned telling Joel about Derek's threat. And all day, I'd imagined Joel's response. Joel was fearless. There was no way he'd back off just because Derek had waved some photos in my face and made mouth noises about knowing some prosecutor.
After all, if Joel had any sense of self-preservation, he wouldn't've been fighting at all, especially with it being illegal. I recalled our conversation from just a few days earlier. He'd actually mentioned fighting again if the money ran low.
Seriously, what on Earth was he thinking? That he could fly under the radar and not get caught? My shoulders sagged. Who knows, maybe he could've. But not anymore, because Derek wouldn't let that happen.
Joel asked, "Are you feeling okay?"
I gave a little jump. "What?
He reached for my hand. "You're shaking."
Distracted, I murmured, "Am I?"
Trying to keep it together, I gazed into Joel's eyes and wondered what would happen if the worst-case scenario played out. I envisioned him in jail – or worse, in prison, surrounded by enemies seeking revenge.
At the thought, I wanted to cry. Instead, I forced a smile. The smile felt funny, like my face was a lot smarter than I was. Somehow, I managed to say, "I'm just a little cold. You know, from the rain."
It wasn't even a lie. The house was warm, but for some reason, I felt chilled to the bone.
He pulled me close and whispered into my hair. "You want me to make a fire?"
The offer was a lifeline, and I decided to grab it while I had the chance. I nodded against his soggy shirt. "If you're sure you don't mind, that would be great."
He pulled back and said, "What do you have, like three fireplaces? Pick your favorite, and I'll get one going."
In what I hoped was a casual gesture, I tugged the envelope from his hand and said, "How about the family room?"
When he looked down at the envelope, I added, "I'll just set this aside to dry off." Before he could argue, I turned away and began walking toward the kitchen. I called over my shoulder, "I'll grab us some hot chocolate or something. Meet you by the fire?"
Without waiting for his answer, I hustled to the kitchen and filled the tea kettle with water. I placed it on the stove and turned the burner to its highest setting.
The hot chocolate was my excuse, but the thing I really wanted was the boiling water. The envelope had a normal seal, and I'd seen plenty of movies. A good dose of steam would loosen the glue easily, right?
Unfortunately, I never found out. The water hadn't even begun to boil when Joel's voice broke into my murky thoughts. "Want me to get that?"
