Tangled Web: A Small Town Romance (The Cortell Brothers Book 6) by Giulia Lagomarsino (an ebook reader txt) 📕

“Callum,” I answered.

“How are you holding up?”

I glanced around my makeshift studio and smiled. “I’ve never been better. Any word on the trust?”

“It’s still being looked at by lawyers.”

“But no one has asked for the body to be exhumed?”

“Barty’s asking. There’s no evidence to suggest that it should be though. Lorelei, I have to ask…is there anything they would find?”

“Not by me.”

“Because you’re too good or because you didn’t do it?”

I sighed, hating that he was even asking. But he knew a secret about my past that would most definitely make him think that I had killed Arlen. He didn’t need to wonder if I did it. I was pretty sure he was already convinced it was me. I was ready to get out of this, and the sooner the better.

“Callum, I can’t believe that you would even have to ask.” He sighed over the line, so I decided that instead of going down this road again, I would just change the subject. “How’s everyone doing at home?”

“Same. Matthew’s parents have been asking about you.”

Panic tore through me for just a moment, before I realized that it was perfectly normal for them to ask about me. We had been best friends. “What did they want to know?”

“They just wanted to know that you were okay out in the real world.”

I huffed out a laugh. It didn’t get any more real than my hometown. People were suffering, and that was where it truly determined how strong you were. It was ironic that Matthew’s parents wanted to know how I was, the person that killed their son. Of course, they didn’t realize it was me.

“And what did you tell them?”

“Well, you know they were confused as hell when you married Arlen, but they figured that you did it to survive. I don’t think they ever believed that you loved him.”

“Thank God Arlen wouldn’t ever have allowed them to be invited to the wedding. They would have seen right through me.”

“Would they? I think a lot of people in town just thought you were drowning and looking for a lifeline.”

“Wasn’t I?”

I loved Callum, but I hated talking to him. He was a reminder of everything bad in my life. He had saved my life, but the longer I stayed in contact with him, the more I could feel my soul draining away. I needed this all to be over, and the sooner that happened, the sooner I could move on with my life.

“So, how do we move forward?”

“I tried reaching out to Oscar. I thought maybe he could convince his brother to back off, but no dice. He knows Bartholomew too well. He knew there was nothing he could say to convince him to drop this whole thing.”

“Oscar was always too good for his family.”

“Lorelei, I can’t stress enough, we need Oscar on our side. Maybe you could give him a call.”

I hated the idea. As much as I hated that family, Oscar was a good kid and I didn’t want to drag him into this mess.

“Fine. I’ll call him.”

“Good. You’re doing okay, though?”

“Yes, I promise. I’m doing fine.”

“Alright, let me know how it goes.”

After hanging up, I scrolled through my phone to Oscar’s number. Taking a deep breath, I got in character and prepared to talk to my step-son.

“Lorelei?”

“Hey, Oscar,” I said gently. “How have you been?”

“I’m okay.” I heard the slight croak in his voice. Oscar knew about his dad’s flaws, but he still wanted his approval. I always felt bad for him, tried to reach out and help whenever I could.

“How’s school?”

He sighed slightly. “It’s not great. I’m having a hard time concentrating.”

I frowned, wondering what I could do to make it better. “Because of your dad?”

“A little.” He paused and I waited for him to speak again, feeling like there was something he wanted to say. “Lorelei, I feel like I never really knew him. I keep thinking he was the man I knew, but I can’t help but wonder if he was different.” Oh, he had no idea. “I mean, he married you, and you’re nothing like him.”

“I think your brother and sister would disagree.”

“Well, they’re nasty people. I never liked them.”

“You know, I think sometimes we never really know who a person is. I think you’re better off remembering what you can about your dad, but focusing on yourself. If you fail out of school, what are you going to do then?”

“It just doesn’t interest me.”

“Is there something else you want to do?”

“Maybe,” he said hesitantly. “Dad would kill me if he were alive.”

I smiled at that. “Well, that’s the great thing, your dad isn’t here to make those decisions for you. This is your life. Do what you want with it.”

“It would mean changing majors.”

“Then do it.”

“But dad already paid for my tuition. He had stipulations…”

“I’ll take care of it.” I really didn’t know if I could, but I would try my hardest. “I’ll make some calls and hopefully have some answers for you soon. But you have to finish out the semester, and if you fail your classes, it’s going to be pretty hard to convince them to let you switch majors.”

I had no idea if that was true or not, but the suggestion seemed to work. We spoke for a few more minutes and then I hung up, smiling to myself. I felt a little better after that conversation, and I didn’t think I would. Sometimes I really surprised myself.

Andrew

I spent the morning digging into the car accident that Lorelei’s fiancé, Murray, was involved in. A single hair was found in the passenger side of the vehicle. I hacked every database I could find, but I came up with nothing. This mystery person wasn’t anywhere that I could find, and I could find anyone. The hair alone didn’t mean that someone had been in the car. Anyone could have left a hair behind. However, there were fresh mud tracks in the passenger side, not to mention the footprints leaving the passenger