He balked and stepped back.
“Maureen was the loveliest of people.” Miss Bobbie rerouted the conversation in record time, not even giving him a chance to process what she had just said. She pushed her purple glasses back into her fluff of white hair, then wiped her eyes with an embroidered handkerchief. She pulled Brock in for a bear hug, her grip incredibly strong for a woman of a certain age, and he held his breath against her onslaught of powdery perfume. “We’ll all miss her terribly.”
Miss Bobbie released him, and he tried not to cough.
“Thank you, Bobbie Jean.” Aidan stepped up to Brock’s side and clapped him soundly on the back. “We appreciate your thoughtful words.”
She readjusted her glasses, perched them on her nose, and smoothed her coiffed hair. If Brock wasn’t mistaken, her cheeks had turned a peculiar shade of pink.
“Well.” She sighed dramatically and eyed Aidan like he was a piece of candy. “I’m just speaking from the heart.”
Brock silently groaned. Miss Bobbie was actually flirting with his father.
“If you’d excuse us, Bobbie Jean.” Aidan steered Brock away from the overly sympathetic woman. “Brockton and I have some personal matters to discuss.”
“Oh, of course.” She planted one hand on her chest. “I wouldn’t dream of overstaying my welcome.”
Yeah, right.
Brock ducked his head to hide his smile. Only Miss Bobbie would act as though she’d been invited out to a party and not to a funeral. But her words echoed loudly in his mind, so loudly they drowned out his own thoughts.
Seeing how you don’t seem to care about another man kissing her.
She could only mean one thing, and it wasn’t like Miss Bobbie to insinuate or spread rumors without probable cause, at least not without having a general knowledge of the absolute truth. All of which caused his mind to spin with damning possibilities.
When she toddled away through the sand, Aidan turned to him. “I thought maybe now would be a good time to discuss Yaya’s will.”
Brock cast one long, regretful look at Juliette. Adrienne and Vivianne surrounded her, all three of them flashing lit-from-within smiles. He would have to find time to talk to her later. Maybe hedge the conversation about her kissing another guy, because that was definitely uncharted territory between them.
“Brock?” His father’s concerned voice splintered through his head.
“Right. The will,” Brock repeated. “You mean the beach house?”
It was really the only thing left to discuss. Her money had been divided evenly between the two of them. And her actual home had been left in Aidan’s care. The only possession of worth remaining was the beach house and its surrounding property.
Aidan nodded and pulled his coat tighter around him. “Originally, you and I had sixty days to reconcile.”
Leave it to Yaya to give them an ultimatum even after her death.
“Or else the beach house would be turned over to the town,” Brock added, swallowing hard. He couldn’t imagine losing it, not like that. It was one thing to battle his father. It was something else entirely to take on a town council. “But we’re good now?”
“We’re good now.” Aidan smiled warmly. “The beach house is yours. It always meant more to you than it did to me. I know you’ll take good care of it.”
They stood together in silence and stared at the fire spitting orange sparks into the night. The wind was gentle and carried the smoke away from them and out to sea. Crashing waves sounded over the crackling of the fire. He glanced over at his father, who was illuminated in the bright glow. It was interesting how he could see their similarities so clearly now.
“Why did you want to sell the property and build that huge strand of condos, anyway?”
“Honestly? For the money.” Aidan shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat. “I didn’t realize you had such an attachment to the place because I never did.”
“What do you mean?” Brock toed the sand between them. “I thought you grew up here.”
“I did. Just not in the beach house.”
Brock frowned.
“I grew up in the house on Mermaid Avenue.” The house Yaya lived in after his grandfather passed away.
“But I thought the beach house had been in the family for years?” Brock asked.
