“Were you justpretendingyou didn’t know you had a kid?” Dad demanded, glaring at me.
“Michael!” My mother snapped, sending an embarrassed, apologetic look to Mr. Willowby. He seemed unperturbed by the outburst; he merely shifted in his seat and cleared his throat again.
“Now, it can take some time for the taxes to be paid and everything squared with the estate, but the deed to the house is right here. In your case, Connor, all you have to do is sign it, and the house is legally yours.” He set the will down and picked up the deed, sliding it across the table in front of my sister.
“As for you,” Mr. Willowby said, turning his attention to me. “I have a bunch of documents for you to sign for your son’s inheritance.”
Nodding, I absently raked my fingers through my hair. All of Gramps’ calls and insistence that I come home suddenly took on a whole new meaning. He wasn’tjustdoing it because he’d known how I truly felt about Harper.
I ignored Gramps’ sage advice to just come back for years, and it had cost me almost a decade of experiences with my son. All the money in the world couldn’t buy that time back.
Two hours went by, and by the time I was through signing everything I needed to sign and finally leaving the lawyer’s office, my father had already left for work.
“Did Gramps ever mention knowing about Asher?” Mom asked the moment the doors closed behind us and stepped out onto the stone pathway that would take us to the parking lot.
“Not directly. He’s always told me to come home and make amends with Harper, but he never said a thing about Asher.”
“Does Harper know?”
“I doubt it, Mom. She would have said something if she did. She didn’t intentionally hide, she just…”
“Didn’t seek.” She nodded sadly, falling silent with her thoughts. When we’d nearly reached my Jeep, she spoke again. “Maybe he found out some other way and didn’t tell anyone because he didn’t think it was his place?”
A heavy sigh escaped my lips. “I really couldn’t say. Gramps was always a little cryptic. Are you guys hungry?”
My question pulled Connor from her thoughts. “Actually, I have to run an errand. Mind if I borrow the car, Mom?”
“Sure. Is everything okay?” Mom frowned, taking in the slight flush in Connor’s cheeks.
“Yes, I’m just overwhelmed about the whole house thing,” she replied, giving her a quick hug and a kiss.
“Don’t feel pressured to keep it if you don’t want it. You can sell it, or you could rent it out while you finish up school in Halifax. It was kind of him to leave you that in this economy, it’s hard for first time home buyers. Unless you’re a rock star,” she added that last part teasingly, sending me a wink.
“Yeah.” Connor nodded distractedly, her brow furrowing. “I’ll come pick you up later, okay?” We watched her walk away, her feet carrying her quickly across the street to Mom’s car, red hair billowing in the wind beneath her toque. Mom frowned with concern, and even though I’d also picked up on something, I could sense Connor wouldn’t want us to follow her.
My little sister had been carefully guarded and protected her entire life, mostly by our father, who couldn’t stand the thought of anything bad happening to his princess, but also because of me. I had a reputation that had dribbled down to even her peers. Mess with her, and you’d get my wrath—threefold.
Connor liked to figure things out for herself, and she detested being told what to do. She didn’t need to be told what to do…she always did the right thing, anyway.
Right now, she was hurting. She’d been just as close to Gramps, and she was probably struck with the conflicting emotions of inheriting the house he and Nan had lived in since the fifties.
“We should give her a little space,” I said, gently touching Mom’s elbow. “Do you still want to get lunch?”
“Sure, let’s get lobster. Gramps would want it.”
“He sure would,” I chuckled, turning to the passenger door and opening it for her. Once she’d climbed in, I shut her door and walked around, my thoughts ricocheting back to the fact that Gramps had known. He’d left Asher fifty-grand and the Steinway piano.
Before I opened the door, I pulled my phone out of my jacket and texted Harper.What’s your stance on joining my mom and me for lunch? Asher, too, if you’re still picking him up?
It felt like my heart was in my throat with each millisecond that slipped by without a reply. I’d all but given up, about to slide the device back in my jacket, when it pinged with an incoming message.
Sure, I’m just waiting for him at the office now. Where are we meeting?
Opening my door, I slid into the Jeep, still holding my phone with one hand. “Instead of our usual haunt…how do you feel about hitting a different fish and chips place? One in Mahone Bay?”
Mom grinned with elation. “That sounds great.”
“There will be a couple more people joining us, if that’s all right.” I winked, typing out a quick text to let Harper know where to meet us.
