“They originally entered the deed as tenancy in common, which Nadine agreed to, so they basically owned it equally. But they changed it a few weeks after to joint tenancy with survivorship.”
A jolt of electricity rushed through my body. I held my hand over my mouth. Fuck, I’d been right. “So it means if something happens to Dad, Karen would rightfully own the house, even though the trust’s funds purchased it.”
“And your father has basically given money to her family. He purchased the house from them, remember?” She scoffed. “They built the house ten years ago, when prices were much lower, and so they still made a nice profit off your father.”
I blinked. No wonder he hadn’t wanted me to ask about this. “Do you think they have any plans to buy more property together?”
“I don’t know, but if they do, your Aunt Nadine will block them. I told her what I found out, and she is livid.”
“Damn. Looks like we’ve stopped Karen in her tracks.” I chuckled. I felt like a detective. “Why do you think Dad is allowing this?”
“I don’t know, Wren.” She freed a long sigh. “I wonder how much he’s drinking?”
“He didn’t seem drunk when I had dinner with him. I mean,he had a few, but nothing out of the ordinary.” And when would I see him again? Would he be mad at me for telling on him? I tightened my lips. “Will Aunt Nadine tell him I ratted him out?”
“No, she won’t say anything unless he comes to her with another property to buy,” Mom said. “And who knows? Maybe this was an isolated incident and we’re making more out of it than there is.”
“I don’t trust Karen, Mom.” I couldn’t put into words why. It was just a feeling I had about her. “And here, she’ll be the mother of my baby brother.” My gut tensed. This implied I might have to deal with her the rest of my life, even if she divorced Dad.
“Let’s not worry about that right now.” Mom tutted. “Anyway, I need to get going. It’s getting late.”
“Sure. I’ll talk to you soon, okay? And let me know if you hear anything else from Aunt Nadine.” I climbed off my bed and paced my room. I wasn’t close to her either. It seemed I’d been distant from all of Dad’s family. I barely knew her or my cousins.
“Bye, Wren. Have a good night. Love you.”
“Love you too. Bye.” I ended the call and peered at the clock on my screen. It was too late to phone Eli. We both had practice in the morning, and he had a full day of football preparations for the next game. Maybe we’d get together after the team dinner.
The next day,we trained concurrently with the football team. We practiced on the field while they were in the dome. Now that it was almost October, it was cooler in the mornings. Almost pleasant.
During our practice, I’d had my ankle taped and worked on dance routines. It didn’t bother me too much, but tumbling was still out of the question. As practice ended, I headed toward the tunnel with Grace. Our coach had us using the visitor lockerroom since the players were here, being bussed to and from the dome.
“So, how are things with Eli?” Grace threw a towel over her shoulder and strolled next to me.
“Great.” Shit, I had yet to tell her the news. We’d both been too busy. “We’re, uh, boyfriends now.”
“Officially?” Squealing, she grabbed my hand and shook it. “I’m so happy for you.” She halted. “Wait, so this means you forgive him, right?”
“Well…” I tilted my head. Had I? Pretty much. “Almost. There’s still a little something nagging at me, but I’m sure it’ll fade.”
She backhanded my shoulder. “Damn it, Wren. Get over it already.” With a huff, she strode inside the tunnel.
As I followed her, a door opened, and someone tugged my arm to the side. “What the?—”
“Shhh…” Eli poked his head out, his hair wet and dripping down his face. “Come here.”
Grace twisted around, eyed us and with a smile, waved.
“What are you doing, Eli?” I ran my gaze over him, his wide, bare chest and down to his athletic shorts and finally, his shower sandals. He’d run over from the shower. But why?
“Come on.” He hauled me through the hallway and into his team’s locker room. “Remember that time in high school when we?—”
“Gave each other blowjobs in the locker room?” The sneaky bastard. My dick jerked in my shorts. “But I need to shower, and all my stuff is in the other locker room.” I scanned the empty lockers, all the gear stowed. The place was pristine, with its rich dark wood and Devil fork emblems on the cabinet surfaces. Their practice must have ended before ours.
“No, it isn’t.” He wagged his brows at me, pulled me to his stall and then pointed at my duffel, resting on the bench seat. “Care to do something a little daring?”
Had Grace contributed to this? She hadn’t seemed surprised. “What do you have in mind?” I planted a hand on my hip.
“Well…” As his eyes darkened, he snatched my hand and led me to a shower stall around the corner from the lockers. “Go on, get in.”
