Chapter 42 Someone Else Pays the Price
It took Evelyn a while to realize what just happened.
Philip was jealous.
He didn’t want her asking another man for help.
His woman should rely on him and only him.
Evelyn almost laughed.
Finished
She slipped her arms around Philip’s waist, tilted her head up, and teased, “So, what’s this? Do you feel threatened?”
“No,” Philip denied quickly. “I trust you completely.”
His sudden praise made Evelyn feel a little pressured.
Philip wasn’t thrilled about the whole thing, but she planned to follow through with her plan.
She analyzed, “That guy hurt me. Getting mixed up with him again would be plain stupid, don’t you think?”
Not just foolish-downright stupid.
But Evelyn was not that kind of person, and Philip knew it.
Her words eased his heart.
He trusted her.
They hadn’t known each other long, yet every word from her held a quiet warmth, the kind that made a man like him want to entrust her with his heart.
Maybe this was what people called fate,
Evelyn also told him that her wound was on the upper part of her thigh, in a rather awkward spot, not convenient to expose to all.
When she had it treated at the clinic, Quade wasn’t allowed in, which explained why he gave the wrong report later.
The whole thing was a misunderstanding.
Still, she thanked Quade for his concern.
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Finished
Since she was injured, Philip didn’t stay for long. He gave her a few reminders before he left.
The small container of cream he’d given her wouldn’t last until the wound fully healed.
He’d have to go back and get more from his mentor.
Driving his pickup toward the retirement home on the edge of town, Philip found Walter in the yard, playing chess with a neighbor.
When he heard why Philip came, Walter tensed immediately and tried to get up to check Philip’s injuries.
Philip stepped back and said quickly, “It’s not me. It’s for someone else.”
‘The neighbor, setting down a piece on the board, gazed up lazily at him.
Probably for someone special. You wouldn’t come rushing back for medicine otherwise.”
Walter’s face was a mix of excitement and disappointment.
He had been thinking of introducing Evelyn to Philip.
Turns out, both already had someone they liked.
Sigh! Young folks these days are so complicated!
Still, complaints aside, he handed Philip half a box of cream-just enough for three days.
Then Walter added, “This is all I’ve got right now. Bring her here sometime. If I meet her and
like her, I’ll give her more. How about that?”
From the side, the neighbor cut in, “Oh, come on. You just want to meet her. Acting like it’s a deal. That’s not fair.”
Walter shot him a glare. “Careful, or I’ll crush you so badly that you won’t have a single piece
eft on the board!”
When it came to chess, Walter had no real rivals at the retirement home.
Doug Jensen, the neighbor, bugged him for a game every day, hoping to win just once and save his pride.
Hearing Walter’s threat, Doug acted wisely. He kept quiet and studied the board.
With the interrupter handled, Walter turned back to Philip. “I’m saying this for your own good. If the girl’s a great match, you should marry her and have kids. Then I can play with
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Chapter 42 Someone Else Pays the Price
the baby and teach him some holistic medicine.”
Finished
Walter had learned maybe a third of the craft from his senior. If no one took it up after him, those old remedies might really disappear.
Philip didn’t refuse, but he didn’t jump to agree either.
“I’ll talk to her,” he said with a nod.
That was enough to get Walter excited. He slapped Philip on the shoulder. “Then sell it well. Make sure you bring her by. I’ll cook for her myself. If she marries you, she won’t be losing out.”
Doug couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“What does that girl marrying Philip have to do with your cooking? Are you planning to move in with the newlyweds or what? Don’t you dare crash their alone time.”
“Doug, you’re done for,” Walter growled through his teeth.
Doug slapped a hand over his mouth. “Okay, okay—chess, chess. Let’s play.”
Philip ended up stuck there longer than he planned.
Walter wouldn’t let him leave, trying to fish out more details.
Philip kept his mouth clamped.
“You’ll know when you meet her,” he said. “Until then, a little mystery makes the first meeting better.”
Because Evelyn was the kind of girl you couldn’t imagine until you met her.
Getting nowhere, Walter sulked.
After watching Philip drive off, he didn’t even play chess. He shut himself in his room and thought it over.
If the girl wasn’t as good as the Evelyn he liked, should he find a way to break it up and introduce Evelyn to Philip instead?
But Evelyn had a boyfriend too.
If he tried to matchmake, he’d be breaking up two couples.
People say you don’t mess with a marriage.
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Chapter 42 Someone Else Pays the Price
Breaking up one couple is bad enough-breaking up two?
That’s a big project. He’d better think this through.
Finishec
The Schmidt Residence.
Yvonne had sent Victor to both the train and bus stations to look for clues.
Just as Evelyn expected, the ticket scalpers actually gave Victor some leads after he slipped them a little cash.
The problem was, there were too many.
One claimed Alice had gone to Kingstead. Another swore she was hiding in the neighboring city. Someone else insisted she’d slipped out to the countryside called Shady Pines, saying he remembered clearly because she’d bought a ticket on a dirt-cheap bus line.
Which one was true? Maybe all of them were lies.
Yvonne couldn’t decide.
The safest plan was to check each place one by one.
If Alice had gone to another city, she’d need somewhere to stay. That meant she’d likely cross paths with local police, and from there, they might find a real lead.
Of course, Yvonne couldn’t go herself. She had no choice but to send Victor.
Victor didn’t want to go-who in their right mind would want to run around like that?
But for the sake of getting his state ID, he reluctantly agreed. On his way out, he demanded a hundred bucks for travel money, enough to cover good meals and a comfortable ride.
By now, Yvonne had already worn herself out chasing Alice. She’d burned through plenty of energy and a fair amount of cash.
But none of that mattered to her.
If finding Alice cost money, it was worth it.
The money, especially, didn’t bother her at all.
Evelyn knew exactly why. None of it came from Yvonne’s own pocket.
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Finished
Every cent she was spending belonged to Bill Schmidt-Zaid’s father, Evelyn’s grandfather.
It’s easy to be generous when it wasn’t her hard-earned money. No sting, no guilt.
But Evelyn secretly promised herself she would make sure Yvonne paid back every penny of it. And soon.
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Reborn for Love and Revenge
