Page 66 of Hale Damage
“Our businesses don’t even sound remotely competitive with each other,” Perri points out. “So what was the conflict?”
“First of all, there was a land dispute. Harold Carlisle purchased a hundred acres, and part of what he said he owned overlapped with some Hale land. Or what our familythoughtwas Hale land,” I say withan arched eyebrow. “Turns out, about half our lemon grove was planted over the property line.”
Perri’s lips part. “We had taken over part of someone else’s land?”
I nod. “Not in a nefarious way though. The previous owner of that land was an old man who rarely left his house. Apparently, he allowed our great-great-great-great-grandfather to plant there in exchange for our family bringing him groceries and such from town. That deal was made before his son Albert was even born.”
“So Albert would have been our great-great-great-grandfather?” Perri asks.
“Correct. Anyway, he knew nothing of the deal and thought the land belonged to us. This was all in the late 1800s, and they didn’t exactly have computerized county records back then.”
“Well, it seems dumb to be fighting over an old land dispute from over a century ago,” Perri replies with a frown.
“If that was all that happened, then yes,” Helix adds. “But there was more to the story.”
As he takes over, I rise and pour myself a couple fingers of scotch, but I can still hear his voice clearly. “Some old maps were found that proved the ownership of that parcel truly belonged to the Carlisles, so our family had to cut down a lot of lemon trees. Albert wasn’t happy about it, but he complied.”
Sitting down, I see Helix push his glasses up his nose as he continues the tale. “On a side note, Harold Carlisle had a son named Thomas who was in his twenties, and Albert Hale had a daughter named Helen who was a little younger.”
“Ohhh, I’m sensing a Romeo and Juliet situation,” Perri muses.
My brother grimaces. “Not exactly. Albert and old man Carlisle didn’t exactly get along, but they’d called somewhat of a polite truce. Then one night, out of nowhere, Thomas Carlisle—that’s the son—set the Hale lavender fields and remaining citrus groves on fire. Burned up every fucking thing, including the Hale family home.”
“What? Why?” my sister gasps. “They got their land, so why would he do that?”
“No one knows,” I answer, “but a family friend of Albert’s saw Thomas fleeing from the scene. Young Helen was inside the house, butshe was rescued by the friend. What no one knew before then was that she was pregnant.”
Jordie, Perri, and Nicolette’s eyes are all round as saucers. “Was it Thomas’s baby?” Nicolette asks.
“That was the suspicion,” I answer. “Though no one knows for sure because Thomas was found and killed soon after that. Being an unwed mother was a pretty fucking big deal back then, so maybe he was trying to cover his ass. Some speculate maybe it wasn’t consensual between him and Helen, so that’s why he did it. To get rid of the evidence.” The disgust is evident in my tone. “She did end up losing the baby that night.”
“Oh my god,” Jordie says, covering her mouth with her hand. “Poor Helen. Did she ever say what happened or who the baby belonged to?”
I shake my head. “She never spoke again after losing the child, and she was sent to live at a sanitarium.”
“No wonder we hate them,” Perri says angrily. “So what happened after that?”
“The Carlisles left the U.S. and went back to Australia,” Phoenix answers. “Clearly the land thing was a mistake on our part, but Albert rectified it, so I have no idea why Thomas escalated the situation like that. It almost bankrupted our family’s business, and it took years to recoup the losses of all those raw materials.”
Helix’s face creases into a bitter scowl. “But the Carlisles still think they were somehow wronged and occasionally try to sabotage us. In the 1980s someone made an anonymous tip that Hale Cosmetics was testing on animals.” His voice grows even angrier as he lifts one finger in the air. “Which we haveneverdone. Not even when other companies started doing it back in the 1930s.”
“And the Carlisles are the ones who falsely reported it?” Nicolette asks her husband.
He shrugs. “That was before I was born, but Dad said he heard rumors it was them.”
Perri crosses her arms over her chest. “Well, all the Carlisles can go suck an egg. We don’t want them here. And I hope every one of them stubs their pinky toe on the coffee table in the middle of the night.”
We all chuckle at her response, and I lift my half-empty glass in atoast. “Hear, hear.” I take a slow sip and frown at the screen. “Why aren’t any of you having a drink?”
“Uh, because it’s lunchtime here, Rem,” Phoenix points out.
“Well damn, guess I’m drinking alone,” I say with a roguish smile, over my glass before I drain the contents down my throat.
On my screen, Helix drapes his arm around his wife’s shoulders, toying with one of the dark curls that’s escaped her bun. Dr. Nicolette Hale is a gorgeous woman. She seems to be kind of a prude, but there’s a certain naughtiness hiding just beneath her glasses, lab coat, and messy updos. Good for Helix for finding his perfect match.
He clears his throat. “So, Nic and I have something to share.” My brother looks down at her as everyone freezes in anticipation, and the look they share is one of pure, unfiltered love. When he faces the camera again, he’s all smiles. “We’re going to be parents.”
Mass chaos ensues. Everyone is talking at once, Perri is crying, and Jordie is waving her hands in front of her eyes like her dam is about to burst at any second. When everyone finally settles down, Phoenix leans toward his camera with a huge grin on his face.
