Read Online A Simple Twist of Fate by Helenkay Dimon - Free Book Online

about them, all thanks to a vendetta passed down from her father. Her biggest target was Callen, but none of them was spared from the information she collected and the battle she waged to regain ownership of Shadow Hill, the property her family lost after Charlie’s cons.
    Her father lost his reputation, his money, his property and his wife when Charlie conned the town, or that was the theory. Declan and Leah discovered that her father had been Charlie’s original grifter partner and it nearly destroyed her. Even now, more than a month later, seeing her father, having him snub her in public and refuse to speak with her in private, had the power to reduce her to a pile of crushed and broken pieces.
    Leah had come to Shadow Hill and apologized to all of them. They accepted it without question even before she professed her love for Declan. No one knew better than the sons of Charlie Hanover that the sins of the father shouldn’t pass to the children.
    Still, at the mere suggestion of those dark days now, Leah nibbled on her bottom lip and squirmed in her chair. Just the latest sign of discomfort over her role in it all.
    “I’ve been itching to look into Sophie’s past myself,” Cal said. “Only the fact of how much I hate that kind of underhanded shit stopped me. Well, that and Beck asking me not to.”
    Beck could only shake his head. “Don’t start with your worries again. I got it handled.”
    The clock on the wall counted off the seconds with a series of ticks. When the number hit double digits, Leah finally glanced up at Callen. “I’ve apologized for the search I ran on you back then, for all those years. For the private investigator I hired.”
    He nodded. “I know. We’re good.”
    Despite not wanting to hurt Leah, Beck wasn’t quite as ready to let the subject drop. Leah’s investigating tendencies should be over.
    Anger welled inside him, ready to spill over, even as he remembered the internet search on Sophie sitting in his browser history. Ignoring the hypocrisy, he pushed on. “We’re not talking about Callen. We’re talking about Sophie. You investigated her even after I asked all of you to back off? One could argue you’re a bit rusty on the whole ‘learn my lesson’ concept.”
    “Beck—”
    Leah held up a hand as if to stop Callen’s defense. “This was weeks ago. Sophie was here all the time and her story about cleaning for your grandmother and feeling like she had to keep doing that,
without pay
, until the house was sold, sounded fishy.”
    “Because it is,” Callen said.
    Even Beck had to concede that point. “No argument here.”
    “Then you understand. I didn’t really have a choice.” Color rushed into Leah’s cheeks as her hands flew around to mirror her animated comments. The ones that grew louder with each word she spoke. “And she mentioned Tom yesterday, so that took two seconds to ferret out. All I had to do was look at her address and double-check my memory of who lived there.”
    Beck didn’t like that at all. “Sophie talked about this guy Tom in what context?”
    “As her landlord.” Leah lifted her chin. “But understand this because I am very serious: I like Sophie and want to get to know her better. And I really like her with you.”
    Beck didn’t like where this crazy train was headed. “Hey, wait a minute. I didn’t say—”
    “But I will not apologize for caring about you guys and for not wanting someone else to take advantage of you. I don’t think that’s who Sophie is. I think she needs a friend and wants to feel safe here, and we should give that to her.”
    Callen shrugged. “God knows we have the room.”
    “If it turns out I’m wrong and Sophie is not who I think she is, and that she’s really here to hurt you guys, I will take care of her. I won’t need to call in the menfolk because there will be nowhere for her to hide from me.”
    A crackle and snap followed the beat of silence after Leah’s words. A few seconds passed before