Expecting His Secret Heir by Dani Wade Read Free Book Online Page A

sister and Jacob moved on, Sadie smiled over at him. “Looks like it’s you and me together—again.”
    Was that a statement...or a threat?

Five
    â€œI t’s the truth, I tell ya.”
    Sadie couldn’t help but grin at the man before her. Wearing the traditional farmer uniform of overalls, plaid shirt, ball cap and messy white hair, he was a perfect candidate for sitting on a bench in the town square. So were the other two grandfatherly types with him. But he was the talker.
    â€œI think you’re pulling my leg,” Sadie insisted, knowing it would spur him on.
    â€œNo, I would never,” he said with a sincere shake of his head. “But I betcha they’re all in on it. The other cotton industries are pressuring the state to shut us down, because they want the business we’ve always had here. That’s why all of this is happening.”
    She knew old men were prime candidates to become conspiracy theorists. They had too much time to sit around and think and talk and spin events into the way they wanted to see them. So she asked, “But Blackstone Mills has been here since the town started, hasn’t it?”
    â€œAnd still putting out quality product,” one of the other men, Earl, said. “That’s why they have to put us out of business.”
    Well, as much as she’d like to brush them off, the fact that a bomb had exploded here couldn’t be denied. That was deliberate malice, so someone definitely had it in for Blackstone Mills. And the police weren’t talking yet.
    â€œI still don’t understand why anyone would want to put you out of business,” she said, hoping to get more gossip. “Wouldn’t someone local have to be in on this? Have access to the plant?”
    â€œOh, they were,” Mr. Farmer breathed.
    â€œThe other textile companies found someone local to do their dirty work, we’re pretty sure,” Earl said.
    Farmer interrupted, “We heard about all kinds of things. Can’t keep stuff like that secret. Equipment failure and missing shipments. But it was the cotton that was the kicker.”
    Now they were getting somewhere. Sadie forgot about the lines of men behind her, getting loaded up by fellow workers with their safety gear after she’d streamlined the process for them. Zach had introduced her to the lead volunteer then disappeared, which she was grateful for now, because she was pretty sure these old-timers wouldn’t be speaking to her with him around.
    Especially about the damaged cotton crop her landlady had mentioned.
    â€œWhat about the cotton?” she asked, pretending ignorance.
    â€œOh, that Zachary Gatlin boy did it,” Earl said, “though the police said he was innocent.”
    â€œWe aren’t so sure,” Farmer said. “He’s in thick with those Blackstones, so...” He shrugged. “Why they’d want to damage their own business would be a mystery, but then again, there’s a lot about all this that is.”
    Sadie nodded.
    â€œBut he sprayed the cotton, that’s all we know. Either somebody loaded the poison in or he did it himself.”
    â€œNow he’s heading up recovery efforts, so who knows.”
    â€œBut poison the cotton, it did. Took a while, but they managed to get cotton in from elsewhere. Thank goodness, or the mill would have gone under by Christmas, for sure.”
    It was the same story she’d heard from her landlady. Something didn’t add up, though. “Maybe somebody was trying to frame him?” she mused.
    â€œFrame who?”
    The voice from behind her had her stiffening. There was nothing like being caught red-handed talking about someone by the person in question. The men’s wide eyes clued her in to their awareness of Zach’s presence. Too bad she hadn’t been watching them while she was overthinking.
    Quickly, she twisted around. “Zach, there you are. I was wondering what