Something Old, Something New Read Online Free PDF Page B

out a breath of disgust. “Please. No.”
    Lily didn’t know what to say.
    He shrugged. “I’m broke, Lil. The company shut down my dealership. Between that and the way Colleen has been spending, and the hits I took on the company stock . . .” His eyes were bleak. “We have no place to go, so the girls and I have to move back into my parents’ old place. I drove out and looked at it yesterday. It’s been empty for so long, it’s a mess. Mice nests, snakes. Rotting wood. We’re staying out at a motel on 183 for now.”
    Lily’s first reaction was to whip out her phone and call Bernadine, but something stopped her. Gary talking to Trent might be better. “Have you talked to Trent about this?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œYou should.”
    He shook his head. “A man’s got his pride.”
    â€œAnd this pride is going to clothe and feed your daughters how?”
    The pointed question made him turn away and stare sightlessly off out into the plains.
    Lily waited.
    He finally met her eyes and gave her a soft smile. “You haven’t changed a bit, have you, Fontaine? Always straight to the point.”
    â€œNo sense in messing around.”
    â€œOr putting lipstick on a pig.”
    â€œOr anything else. Talk to Trent, please, Gary. You were best friends. He’ll figure out a way to help you.”
    â€œAnd if I don’t talk to him?”
    â€œThen I will.”
    He sighed and chuckled. “Okay.”
    â€œToday, Gary,” she warned as she walked to her car.
    â€œOkay. Lily. Okay.”
    She gave him a wave before she drove back to the Power Plant like a bat out of hell. Her quick trip to the school had taken longer than she’d planned. First Preston and now the Clarks. She and the Boss Lady were going to have a whole lot to talk about on the flight down to Miami.

Chapter 3
    W hen it was time for Lily and Bernadine to head off to the airport, Trent walked them out to the waiting town car, where the hired driver, Nathan, dressed in a sharp blue suit, stood at the ready. Lily gave Trent a kiss good-bye.
    Bernadine gave him a hug and a humor-filled warning, “Tell folks I expect this place to be still standing when I get back.”
    â€œWith Genevieve on the warpath, that might be hard.”
    Both women responded with puzzled looks.
    â€œYou haven’t heard about the Thrilla in Manila at the Dog this morning? Genevieve knocked Riley smooth out.”
    Lily tried to contain her chuckles but failed.
    â€œWhat?” Bernadine asked, as if maybe she hadn’t heard him correctly.
    â€œOut cold.” He gave them a quick rundown of the morning’s drama, and when he was done, they both sighed.
    â€œOkay,” Bernadine said, shaking her head. “If Riley presses charges and she’s arrested, take care of the bail if she needs help.”
    â€œWill do. Have a safe flight.”
    Lily quipped. “Keep your head down.”
    â€œAnd my dukes up.”
    Nathan closed them in and drove them away.
    T rent went back to his office and used the rest of the morning to pore over the paperwork tied to the new sewer system planned for the spring. The project was necessary if the dream to revitalize the once-thriving Main Street was to be achieved. Presently, the only building from those glory days still standing was the sagging hulk that in the 1880s had been the Henry Adams hotel. There were hopes to revive it, too, someday, but pipes for water and sewage had to be laid first.
    â€œKnock, knock.”
    He looked up to see Rocky standing in the doorway.
    â€œGot a minute?” she asked.
    â€œSure. Come on in.”
    She took a seat.
    Trent waited for her to tell him the reason for her visit, but she remained silent. Wondering if she was waiting on him to begin the conversation, which didn’t make any sense, he asked, “How’d the mess with Riley and Genevieve turn out?”
    â€œSoon