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Delta's lips thin. "Can I come in?"
"Of course." I step back and wave her inside. "I was wondering when you would come by for a tour."
"I'm not here to view the property, baby. I'm here because I got a text message asking me to meet here."
I look at her curiously. "Who asked you to meet them here?"
She shakes her head. "I didn’t know the number. It just told me to be at your door two minutes ago."
"Huh. That's super suspicious." I squint. "Is it possible that whoever sent you that message doesn't know that I’ve moved? It's not exactly common knowledge outside our immediate family."
Aunt Delta checks her phone and shrugs. "Could be. Should we walk over to the trailer?"
"I don't really have any idea who is sending secret messages. If I did, I'd send them a text telling them where to meet me." I shrug. "Let's go outside and check."
I open the door and follow Delta out onto the porch. The sound of gravel crunching under tires makes me look left. I see an ostentatiously lifted white truck coming down the lane.
My stomach drops. I can tell from here that it's Bishop driving his truck. What the hell is he doing here?
Grabbing Delta's arm, I still her and jerk my chin toward the truck. She raises her eyebrows, but says nothing.
Bishop pulls to stop before the cabin and gets out. Delta scowls at him, one hand going to her hip in a gesture that I know all too well. She's pissed.
Bishop smiles at Delta as he strolls into the yard. He avoids my gaze, which only makes my queasiness increase.
"Miss Delta," he says, stopping when he's just a few feet away. He cuts a look at me. "Pearl. I heard you moved from a friend at my construction company."
"What are you doing, young man?" Delta pops off. "I thought I was clear as day when I asked you to leave my property. There's no call for you to be running around, hiding who you are just to get an invitation."
"I did it for you. For both of you. I can't just sit by and watch you be taken in by that con man," he says, spreading his hands.
"Who?" I ask, my tone frigid. "Give us a name, Bishop. Nobody here is interested in your made-up hooey."
Bishop puts his hands behind his back and smiles. "You should know by now, Pearl. You've been shacked up with the man for months."
Delta licks her lips and looks at me. "You mean River?" she asks.
"The very same," Bishop says, solemn as a grave. "It's time you two knew what River has been up to. See, he targeted you, Pearl."
"What are you talking about?"
He grins like a gator sizing up his prey. "Your man has sold you down the river. He’s been scheming to get your land before he even started dating you. Bragged about how you were going to inherit it. And then he told me and my boss that the property was about to fall into arrears with the government. He's been scheming on this since the first day you met, probably."
My mouth opens to defend River, but Bishop's words are still reverberating through my skull. I open and close my mouth a few times, trying to figure out if what he's saying could possibly be true.
It doesn't sound like something River would do. Then again, I don't really know River, do I? I only met him a few months ago...
Delta lifts her chin and eyes Bishop. "And what do you want, Bishop?”
The smile slips from his face. "What do you mean, what do I want? It's life changing stuff!"
“Why are you telling us about this?” I ask, finding my voice. “What do you get out of it?”
“Just the pleasure of ruining your boyfriend’s life.” He grins.
My stomach flip-flops. This is way worse than I imagined when I first saw my aunt frowning.
Delta lurches forward, sweeping both hands at Bishop. "Get off of my land. Pearl doesn't want you back. She can do better." She flicks her hands again. "Go on."
