I felt my eyebrows furrow. That couldn’t be right. At the campground, Joel had said it was nothing big. I tried to recall what, specifically, the car needed. A new distributor cap or something?
My stomach churned with dread. "How major?"
"Worst-case scenario? A new engine."
I stared at him. That couldn't be right. Could it? My gaze narrowed. "Where's the car now?"
"What does it matter? It's not like you can drive it."
"I don't care. I want to know."
He stared at me for a long, tense moment before saying, "What’s up with you, anyway?"
Well, that was rich. "What's up withme?" I gave a bark of laughter. "You'rethe one who's been a total jackass all summer."
Derek's mouth tightened. "What?"
This time, I wasn't going to back down. "You heard me."
"Alright. You really wanna know?" Derek took a slow, deliberate look around. "I show up here, to do you a favor, and I see that asshole out back, wearing no fucking shirt, like he owns the place."
I glanced toward the driveway. I couldn’t help but notice that Derek's car was parked out front, right behind Joel's. And Ialsocouldn’t help but notice that Joel was out of sight, unless Derek had gone looking for him.
I crossed my arms. "Oh yeah? Andhow, exactly, did you see him?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean he's not out front. So what'd you do? Skulk around the yard until you found him?"
"I don't need to skulk. This is part of my job."
"Sure it is."
"So, what is it?" Derek said. "Is he living here now?"
Right.Because I'd always been the kind of girl who invited random guys to shack up with me after knowing them for only a few days.
But I was in no mood to reassure him. "If he is, so what?"
"So, you'd be in violation of the terms."
"Of what? The estate?" I made a scoffing sound. "You're so full of it."
"You sure about that?"
Actually, I wasn't. But lately, I wasn't sure about a lot of things,especiallywhen it came to the estate. Until a few months ago, I hadn't realized there were problems. Now, everything was a problem.
And Derek wasn't helping. I lifted my chin. "If you want to stop me, get a lawyer."
His jaw tightened. "As I keep reminding you, Iamyour lawyer."
"Yeah? Then why don't you act like it?"
"I am. Right now, in fact."
"Oh come on, Derek. You're not workingforme. You're workingagainstme."
"Is that so?" He shook his head. "Have you ever stopped to think that maybe, we'retryingto look out for you?"
