Abrupt Changes: A Second Chance Romance (O-Town Book 3) by Karen Renee (comprehension books .TXT) 📕

weeks ago, an ambulance was here, and cops until all hours.”

I reached backward and growled. “Back inside, Raegan. Now.”

When I no longer felt the cool air, I stalked toward Hipps until he ran into the railing of the porch. “Listen up, asshole. Penny Connelly lost one daughter, and if I hadn’t been here last night, she’d probably have lost another but wouldn’t know fuck-all about it until right about now when she found Raegan missing. So, to hell with your interrupted sleep. You’re a sorry-ass excuse for a human being since you don’t care if anyone was fuckin’ hurt over here or not.”

“This is assault.”

I grinned. “Should you find it necessary to call the police, feel free, but any cop worth his salt will see right through your self-centered bullshit.”

He stared at me while his chest heaved with his breathing.

I continued. “Now, the next time you think to knock on Penny’s door, you damn sure better do it because you’re being friendly and concerned about her well-being after having her sleep interrupted. Because I know her sleep’s more important than yours.”

The jackass glared at me.

I tipped my head toward the sidewalk. “I believe you were leaving? Or filing a police report, but whichever it is, you need to damn well do it off this property.”

He narrowed his eyes at me for a few beats before he half-waddled down the steps and away from the house.

Shaking my head, I sighed and opened the door to the house. Raegan was just inside the hallway with her cell phone to her ear.

Whoever she was speaking to, she didn’t even notice me come inside. A bad feeling crept up my spine.

“Trey, I’m sorry, but the day of Wynnie’s services were a blur. I know I saw an outrageously large floral wreath. I don’t know if it was from you or not. I didn’t check cards and stuff. The—”

She paused. From the set of her jaw, I had no doubt he’d interrupted her because she clenched her jaw that way anytime I did it.

Her chest rose and fell with her deep breath. “Trey. You’re an only child, so you won’t get this until one of your parents passes away but losing someone you’re so close to is the hardest thing you’ll ever go through. So, no. I didn’t check every fucking arrangement. If you hadn’t interrupted me, you’d know the funeral home gave us a listing of all the people who sent flowers. I’ve been more than a little busy lately to go through that yet.”

A skeptical look crossed her face while she listened.

“Thank you for your condolences, Trey. Now, I need to go.”

She jabbed at her phone, and it was all I could do not to snatch the thing out of her hand.

As I stood there with my arms folded on my chest, I struggled to get my temper in check.

She looked up, surprised to see me.

“He called about his flowers? Seriously?”

Her shoulders hunched like she would shrug, but then she shook her head. “He’s... materialistic, Clint. Though I’ve only noticed it recently.”

“Recently?”

She looked at me. “Like in the last nine months, maybe? Or maybe when I filed... no that’s not right. I filed for divorce a long damn time ago.”

I jerked my head toward the bedroom. “Let’s talk about this behind closed doors, babe.”

The latching of the door sent Raegan into a tizzy. “What’s the big idea, Clint? We have to talk about my ex-husband behind closed doors? Why?”

“Because your mother doesn’t need to hear this.”

She rolled her eyes, but I let it slide. “Who cares if he wants to know if I saw the damn flowers he sent?”

I shook my head. “Anybody else call you just to find out if you got their floral arrangement?”

The anger seeped out of her face.

“Yeah. Now, I find it strange that you married well, but the divorce goes down just weeks before shit hits the fan with your sister.”

She shook her head. “Trey has no connection to that. And clearly, you need to use a dictionary.”

“Explain.”

Her brows shot up. “Your definition of married well and my definition of married well are two different things.”

I couldn’t hide my impatience when I sighed. “One more time, hotshot. Explain.”

“It’s former-hotshot but marrying well isn’t marrying for money. Marrying well is actually staying married.”

That was a great answer, but we needed to stay focused. “Still, you made out well in the settlement.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Not sure if you’ve left Orlando in the past nine years, but in New York, it’s eat or be eaten, whether it’s advertising, divorce, or anything else. Hell if I wasn’t going to get what I deserved, since that asshole cheated on me, not once but multiple times.”

My eyebrow cocked, and I wanted to kick myself. Signaling I knew about the cheating wasn’t my intention.

Her eyes narrowed. “But then you knew that. Hell, you probably pulled my financials.”

I shook my head. “No, but the settlement was public record. Your lawyer should’ve protected you better in that regard.”

She sighed. “I still don’t think Trey has anything to do with Wynnie.”

“What about the stuff that’s happened to you?”

“He’s in New York,” she argued.

“Raegan, cash buys all sorts of services.”

She rolled her eyes again. “I know that, Clint, but why—”

I stepped into her space. “He’s got almost four million good reasons to come after you.”

Her head reared back. “That’s crazy.”

My eyes widened. “You know people kill for far less. Do you have a will? Have you updated it since the divorce? My guess is that you were ‘so done’ with lawyers at that point. Am I right?”

Her lips pressed into a thin line. I fought off gloating because that would infuriate her like nothing else.

“You’re right.” She sat on the bed. “Should I call him back?”

“No,” I said, sterner than I intended.

Her eyes were questioning, so I sat down next to her.

“Listen, you call him back, then what? You gonna ask him outright if he has something to do with that? First, he’s not gonna