He smiled.
“Then you’ll haveto specialize in not biting.”
I left his office lighter than I’d walked in. Driving back toward the mountains, I kept thinking about Dad’s words. Build something with it. Megan would sell everything to the highest bidder. I wanted something that lasted.
When I pulled into the cabin’s driveway, Jack was there chopping wood. He eyed the folder in my hands.
“So, you bulletproof now?”
“Pretty much,” I said. “Dad set everything up. Megan’s got no legal ground.”
Jack grinned, wiping sweat from his brow.
“Good, because those people cameby again while you were gone. I told them to back off. Didn’t like the look they gave me, though.”
“They’ll be back,” I said. “Megan doesn’t quit.”
Jack nodded slowly.
“Then don’t you quit either.”
That night, I spread the documents on the table, studying every line until the words blurred. It felt like preparing for a mission. Supplies ready, objectives clear, threats identified. The army had drilled me for combat zones, but the battlefield now was my own bloodline.
