❀ Clark ❀
I was elbow-deep in a busted drainpipe behind a client’s farmhouse when the day decided to shift sideways. Camden and I were halfway through a job, a routine re-piping for an old property on the outskirts of town. The sun was hot, the air thick with humidity, and I was already dreaming about a cold shower and a quiet beer. That was before Joshua Peterson showed up.
"Clark, right?" I looked up from under the sink to find him standing there, Karen’s husband. Tall. Well-dressed. Casual in a way that screamed upper management and golf memberships. I wiped my hands on a rag as a distraction while I composed myself. We had met briefly at Jessica’s dinner, but the man had been quiet and reserved. I hadn’t quite put the pieces together until I saw him. He was the client’s grandson. Bec
