Read Online Family Tree by Susan Wiggs - Free Book Online Page A

causing his hat with the earflaps to topple. Then he made an obscene gesture while Carl and Ivan guffawed.
    What a bunch of jerks.
    Gordy sidled away and tried to shrug it off, pulling his lips into an uncomfortable smile. Annie already knew that wasn’t going to work either.
    She heaved a sigh and put on her parka. “Come on, dogs,” she said to Clark and Squiggy. “Let’s see if we can get things back on track.” Stepping out into the cold afternoon, she said, “Hey, could somebody give me a hand?”
    The dogs trotted out and sniffed around, lifting legs and shaking off.
    â€œSure,” Degan said, “I’ll give you a hand.” He slapped his gloves together in an exaggerated round of applause. “How’s that?”
    â€œHilarious,” she said. “Seriously, I need some help with the evaporator pans. Gordy, can you come?”
    â€œHell, no, he can’t come.” Degan grabbed the back of Gordy’s collar. “I’m gonna give dipshit here a swirly in the sap tank.”
    â€œDo that and my brother will fire your ass,” she promised, though she had no idea whether that it was true.
    â€œOnly if you tell him,” Degan said, yanking Gordy toward a collection tank full of ice-cold sap. Poor Gordy looked ill.
    â€œWhich I’m about to do,” she retorted.
    â€œYeah, sure.” Degan let go of Gordy, shoving hard enough to send him to his knees.
    Before Annie could breathe a sigh of relief, Degan grabbed her by the arm and pulled her inside the sugarhouse. His fingers dug deep through the down pile of her parka. She gave her arm a twist and tried to pull away, but succeeded only in shedding half her coat. “Cut it out, Degan.”
    â€œI’m here to help, remember?” he said, dropping the jacket on the floor. “You just wanted to get me alone. So here I am.”
    Annie ignored the insinuation. “Oh, good. Then you can haul these barrels outside and load them into the green trailer.”
    â€œWhat’s in it for me?” Before she could reply, he pushed her back against the rough wooden side of the sugarhouse. “Manny told me you never put out for him, but there’s a first time for everything.”
    Really? she thought. Really? She brought her knee up sharply. It was too much to hope she’d nail him in the groin, but he staggered back withthe wind knocked out of him. He doubled over, and when he straightened up, he picked up a bucket of cold, raw sap. “You are so screwed,” he said, and sloshed the contents at Annie. “Maybe that’ll make you sweeter.”
    She tried to jump out of the way. The cold sap soaked her jeans and trickled down into her boots. “Hey,” she said. “That’s about enough, Degan Kerry.”
    â€œI’m just getting started,” he said, taking a stride toward her.
    When she saw the feral glint in his eye, Annie felt fear for the first time. Then the door slammed open, bringing in a gust of cold air.
    â€œIs there a problem here?” Fletcher Wyndham’s voice was not loud, but it seemed to cut a swath through everything. And although it was a question, he didn’t wait for an answer. Fletcher was not bigger than Degan. But he made himself bigger by the way he carried himself. There was something piercing and intimidating in his eyes. “There’s work to be done,” he said.
    â€œYeah? Are you the boss all of a sudden?” Degan tossed his head and brushed past Fletcher, stepping outside. Instead of getting to work, he shoved Gordy toward an open tank beside a tree. “Didn’t I promise you a swirly?”
    Moving with startling quickness, Fletcher crossed to Degan and grabbed him by the back of the pants and the back of the collar. He lifted Degan up and slammed him against the trunk of a tree, looping his belt over a bucket hook.
    â€œYou’re not so hot at listening,” he said.
    â€œWhat