He chuckled. “Maybe I’m just making sure you still come to visit me.” He studied her for a second, his expressionsoftening. “My God, twenty-five already. I can still remember you zooming around on your tricycle.”
“Mmm.” Evie swallowed the sip of tea she had just taken, smiling. “I went down the stairs on that thing twice before Mom took it away.”
“Yes, I remember that too. Nasty bump on your head the second time,” he chuckled softly. “Your mother was terrified you’d done permanent damage, and you were fortunate that you hadn’t.” He sipped his tea and pulled the envelopes toward him. “I have a last gift from your parents, and a last gift from your godparents, both to be given to you on your twenty-fifth birthday.”
Evie went completely still, and for a moment, all she could hear was her own heartbeat roaring in her ears as she stared at the envelopes. “Last gifts?” She hadn’t seen anything about a last gift in Oscar’s or Della’s wills, and Tommy hadn’t mentioned anything for her beyond a necklace with a locket from Mary and an antique book of Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales from Henry being left for her in their wills. “I don’t understand.”
He passed her the larger envelope. “Your parents left you a vacation house in Winter Harbour, Maine.”
“Fred.” Evie stared at him, not moving to take the envelope from his hand. “That doesn’t make sense. We never vacationed in Maine. I didn’t even know they had a house there.”
“No, they stopped going the year you were born,” he said, gesturing to the envelope. “It sits on a cliff overlooking the ocean, and you know how much your mother worried about you.” It might have been Evie’s imagination, but she thought he was avoiding her eyes.
Opening the envelope, she found the deed in her name, some pictures that looked like they had been recently taken of a large Cape Cod–style house on a cliff overlooking the ocean, as well as several photos of the interior, banking information, and a pamphlet and card from Winter Harbor Coastal Properties.
“It looks beautiful,” Evie murmured, not sure what to think. She’d never been a “let’s go to the beach” kind of girl, preferring cities and historical areas.
Fred nodded. “It’s managed and maintained by a company that rents houses to people who need short-term rentals for vacations or work. The rent it brings in covers all the expenses, pays the bills, and has built up a tidy emergency fund in case something breaks or just needs to be replaced.”
“The information for the rental company is there,” he continued, clearly seeing how confused she was about being left a vacation home she had no ties to. “You can get in touch, arrange a time to take a look, and then you can do what you want with it. You’re under no obligation to keep it, but right now it’s not costing you anything to have, and it’s even bringing in a small amount of extra income.”
“Right.” Evie nodded, carefully putting the paperwork back into the envelope.
“Might I suggest bringing Tommy with you when you go look at it?” Fred seemed a little surprised by Evie’s lack of reaction, and while she didn’t want to seem ungrateful, she really didn’t know what to do with a vacation home she knew she’d probably never use. “I know he has been there several times with his parents before they started going south after Henry’s arthritis started getting bad.”
Evie nodded. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.” Since he’d been there before, maybe he could explain why Della and Oscar had left it to her.
“And from your godparents,” he said as he passed her the second envelope, “a trust totalling three million, twenty-five thousand, six hundred and sixty-four dollars and ninety-six cents. And a letter.”
Evie took the letter, her hands shaking slightly. “Are you serious?”
“Yes,” Fred nodded, smiling faintly at her shock. “Your parents were unaware that they had set it up, but Mary and Henry wanted you to have something from them to help get you started.”
Evie bit the inside of her cheek as tears threatened. She didn’t really need the money; there hadn’t been much left over from Oscar’s or Della’s estates by the time all the debts had been paid, but her salary as Lead Systems Architect, plus what Tommy was paying her to develop HELIX, and the fact that she didn’t have to pay rent or a mortgage since Tommy had gifted her the apartment, meant she was doing quite well on her own. However, three and a quarter million was a lot of money to “get her started,” and she was deeply appreciative and touched that they had gone to the trouble to do that for her.
After she signed off on her and her parents’ accounts with the law firm, closing them out, she said goodbye to Fred and got in her car, staring down at the letter in her hand for a moment, wondering if they were confessing to being her parents. Given the legal documents her mother had given her with her adoption papers, she didn’t think they would, but her heart was still fluttering weirdly as she opened it.
Our Dearest Evelyn,
Happy twenty-fifth birthday! We hope our little gift helps you in some way. By now, Tommy should be in charge of Sloane, and we feel Oscar’s relationship with him is very strained. Oscar has a history of being terrible with money, and we wanted to give you a fair start in life.
Given our ages, it’s unlikely we’ll make it to celebrate your twenty-fifth with you, but please know we are with you in spirit, and whatever you have chosen to do with your life, we are so very proud of you. Watching you grow and become the beautiful young lady we know you are, has been a joyous gift.
Whatever the situation, whatever has happened or changed, please know we love you, and we have from the first time we held you. We lived for the moments we had with you and missed you terribly when we were apart. Tommy has adored you from the moment he laid eyes on you. You were always, in our eyes, a very special part of our family.
Follow your dreams, Evie, and don’t let anyone tell you what you should or shouldn’t be.
We love you.
Aunt Mary and Uncle Henry.
Evie let her tears fall. They never came out and said it, but she knew the last paragraph was a confession of sorts. She had never doubted how much they had cared for her, and this just reinforced everything.
She called the realtor, made an appointment to view the house in Maine next week, and headed back to the Tower. She needed a nap.
Chapter Fifty: Just Do Better
Back in her apartment, she unpacked and threw a load of laundry in the washing machine. Figuring she might as well clear the air with Alex and Tommy, especially since she was sure Tommy was upset that she had met with Thorn first, she sent a message over social media asking them both to come to her apartment for dinner. She decided to confront them at the same time since they had worked together to plan the party.
