Her Summer with the Marine: A Donovan Brothers Novel (Entangled Bliss) Read Free

matter anymore. It wasn’t often a man got the chance to so easily buy out his competitor, but he’d gotten lucky with a stock when he’d invested his hazard pay. He now had enough money to buy McDermott’s and, really, her dad was too sick to run it. Finn had known that when he’d set up shop here. No one talked about it, but everyone could see Mark was slipping. Finn hated that Ellie’s dad had had a full-fledged episode that took him totally out of the game, but he’d known the day was coming when Mark would not be able to run McDermott’s.
    Still, if Ellie wouldn’t sell, and he had to share the town’s clients, he’d have to use that investment income to make up for the shortfall his business would endure every month. Eventually that money would run out, and he’d be broke. A few months after that he’d be bankrupt.
    His jaw hardened. He was getting that funeral home from her.

Chapter Two
    “Mom?” Finn called.
    Nothing.
    His heart thumped as fear stiffened his muscles. He clicked on the light in the brown brick house he’d bought a few months ago. He hadn’t just returned to Harmony Hills to start a business. He was on a mission.
    He’d finally persuaded his mom to leave his abusive father. In the past few weeks, her increased happiness and decreased fear had warmed his heart and given him the hope that maybe they could salvage at least part of their family. But his dad was a schemer. Just because he hadn’t immediately tried to talk her home, that didn’t mean he’d let her go without a fight. What if his father had decided to come after her tonight? What if she was already gone?
    “Mom!”
    “I’m in here.”
    He spun around and found her sitting in the dark family room beside the open-floor-plan kitchen. His heart galloped in his chest. His ragged breaths actually hurt.
    Strolling over, he steadied his heart and slowed his breathing. He sat on the arm of one of the two peanut-colored leather sofas that faced each other in front of the fireplace. “So, why are you sitting in the dark?”
    She shrugged. “I didn’t really want to turn on the lights yet.”
    He chuckled. “The sun is just about down.” He waited a beat before he added, “You know, it’s not a problem if you turn on a light.”
    “Your dad hated high electric bills—” She shrugged again. “And working in your office I’ve seen how little money came in last month. I know McDermott’s is getting a lot of the business.”
    He slid to the cushion part of the sofa and smiled across the coffee table at her. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
    “Maybe I should.”
    “Every company takes a little time to get off the ground.” Once his mom was more stable, he intended to tell her about his plan to buy McDermott’s. But he couldn’t until he was sure she was strong enough to resist his greedy, sweet-talking father, a man who wouldn’t hesitate to lure her home and then use her safety as a weapon to extort whatever he wanted from Finn.
    “You keep telling me to trust you, but I don’t see how I can when the funeral home operates at a loss.”
    “We’re only in our first year—”
    “And I’m your mother. Maybe I shouldn’t take a salary?”
    “Mom, I’m fine. I have a plan. You’re just going to need to trust me.”
    “I trust you. But I can’t…” She cleared her throat. “I can’t stay here forever. You’re a single guy. You should have your privacy.”
    Ah. So that’s what was bothering her. “Of course you won’t stay here forever. As soon as things click, I’ll raise your salary and you can get an apartment.”
    “That would be nice.” She glanced down. “But your dad—”
    He sucked in a breath, knowing what was coming.
    “—won’t be happy if he thinks I’m moving on. If I’d spoken up years ago, he might have handled my moving out better.”
    Or his father might have beaten her to death instead of just to within an inch of her life.
    But that was something she didn’t need