Path of Destruction (Broken Heartland, #2)(32)

“That town is beyond worthless. Seventy percent of it is still rubble. I’ve had most of the insurance claims delayed by a buddy of mine at Countywide. It will be bulldozed and turned into strip malls before those people can blink.”

What the hell? Hayden stepped around the wall blocking him from his dad’s sight.

“Wow. Pops would be so proud, Dad. Really.” He could feel his blood pressure rising and the need to hit something made itself known.

“Just a minute,” Kevin Prescott said to his son, giving him a palm-up gesture for hold on.

Hayden was familiar with it. It was the “you aren’t worth my time right now” signal he’d been receiving for most of his life.

“Yes. Richie, I’m on it. Have I ever let you down?” His dad laughed his fake ‘running for office’ laugh before disconnecting the call. “Now. What can I do for you son?”

“I don’t know, Dad. Grow a conscience, maybe? How about a soul? You think they sell those where you shop?”

His dad scoffed. “What’s got you up on your high horse today?”

Hayden shook his head. “Do you ever even think about what would happen to our family if you got caught? I mean, seriously think about it.”

Kevin Prescott laughed again, more genuinely this time. “Hayden, I’m going to impart some valuable wisdom on you right now. You ready?”

Hayden glared at the man he was ashamed to share DNA with.

“Here it is. Life is what you make it. Either you go after what you want or you watch it slip through your hands while you cry like a little girl. Which would you prefer?”

“I’d prefer to get what I want without screwing anyone over. Pops had a good life, plenty of money, and yet he managed to keep his pride and dignity intact. How about you, Dad? Which decade do you think you left your integrity in?”

His dad side-eyed him. “This about a girl, son? Because let me tell you, they’re a dime a dozen. If Nickelson’s daughter has you all worked up, drop her. There are plenty of fish in the sea.”

Hayden briefly recalled something his grandmother had said during one of her episodes. “Yeah? Like you dropped Penny Haverty? Wait, it’s Penny Cooper now, right? Did you drop her, Dad? Or was it the other way around? ‘Cause the way I heard it—”

“I don’t give a goddamn what you heard. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stop asking questions and avoid mentioning that family’s name in this house.”

Hayden didn’t miss that his father’s bravado was completely diminished. “And if I don’t?”

His dad smirked, but the lines around his eyes remained. “If you don’t, you might not like what you find out.”

“Whatever. Have you seen Gran?”

His dad glared at him. “No. I haven’t. Did you lose her again?”

Hayden nearly growled. He was seventeen. He played varsity sports and had made rebuilding the town his dad wanted to bulldoze a full-time job. But yeah, he would be the only one in this house that gave a damn.

“I’ll find her,” he bit out through a clenched jaw. “And by the way, I hope prison stripes are flattering on you, Dad.”

Hayden headed upstairs to check the guest room and see if his grandma had wondered back in there. The rustling noise coming from his dad’s office made him nervous. He had just heard his dad telling someone not to threaten him after all.

He pulled the door open as gingerly as he could, careful to not make much noise. What he saw surprised and confused him.

“Gran? Looking for something?”

His grandmother looked up from the papers she been filing through, eyes wide and startled. “I-I was looking for Kevin’s birth certificate. He needs it to start preschool.”

Hayden sighed and walked around the desk. His dad’s book full of bets and debts was wide open. Thank God his grandma wasn’t of sound mind or that would’ve been a major catastrophe. He closed the book and reached out an arm to lead her back to her room.

“It’s okay, Gran. I’ll take care of it.”

She smiled with watery eyes and let him lead her out. “Thanks, Hayden. You’re such a good boy.”

It wasn’t until after he’d tucked her safely into her room with some hot tea that he realized how odd it was that she’d called him by name. If she thought his dad was preschool age, how did she reconcile his existence?

He was still trying to work out the many mysteries of the mentally ill mind when he was putting his dad’s books back in the safe. A book from the previous year fell open and Hayden’s eyes landed on familiar name.

Mason.

Brad Mason, Ella Jane’s dad, was listed several times. Out of curiosity, Hayden flipped through several months’ worth of pages.

Brad Mason was a gambling man, and not a particularly successful one. He’d win a little and then lose big, bigger than big. In just the short period of time Hayden flipped through, he’d lost more money than Hayden suspected the lawn care business made in a year. No wonder he’d been so touchy about keeping Hayden away from his daughter. He probably didn’t want her to know he’d gambled her future away.

Just as he was locking the safe, his cell phone rang, startling him. He was relieved to see Cameron’s face on the screen.

He didn’t mind hearing about her latest family drama. He practically looked forward to it. It would be a much-needed reprieve from his own.