By the time they were finished, it was coming up on four o’clock.His mind was full, and he was sure that Sen was still as overwhelmed as she had been.But she was polite in thanking him for his help.The next thing he talked to her about was filing her name on everything that she had.He said he could do that for her as soon as next week.She was fine with that.
“The next thing you should do is fill out a will.You have a lot of things that need to be done with your newfound wealth, and you don’t want to leave it to just anyone.I’d get on that soon so that it’s taken care of.”She asked him if she had to leave it all to her mother.“No.There is nothing that says you have to leave it to a relative at all.You can leave your money to whomever you wish.Is there something to do with your mother that you don’t want to include her in your will?Something that I should be looking out for?”
“I don’t know why that popped into my head like it did.It was as if you said that I needed a will, and I thought of her knocking me off for my money.”She shook her head.“I’m sorry.She’s never beaten me before, but that’s a great deal of money that wasn’t left to her.And I’m going to not tell her either.But if she were to find out…”
“You just have to be careful.”She nodded, and he was more worried for her than he was before.“I’d not tell her if I were you.You don’t have to tell her anything other than you were left the house andsome money to make sure that it’s kept up with.If she finds out, then deal with that when it happens.”
“I will and thank you again for your help today.I might still have questions, but for now, I think I got it.I’ll just have to take it one day at a time.”She smiled at him, and he felt that overwhelming need to protect her again.“I’ll call you if I have any questions for sure.Thanks again.”
As he made his way home, he wanted to go by Ivan’s house and see if he smelled funny to him again.The last time he’d been around her, Ivan said he smelled of sunshine or something along those lines.It was weird how he wanted this woman in his life but knew that she wasn’t his mate.Time would tell, he supposed.But he was going to get the two of them together.
~*~
“I think you should allow me to live in the house with you.That way, I can keep track of you.”Her mom had been hounding her all evening about the house and money she told her that she got.“I’m going to put the money on my house so that I can borrow against it to buy me something bigger.I’ve always wanted a bigger house than your uncle and his wife.”
“His name is Robert, and her name is Cindy.Please get it right.”Her head was beginning to hurt worse, and it had all to do with her mother.“I told you everything that I know.And no, you’re not living with me in the house.You have one, stay there.I want to live in the house alone and enjoy my solitude.”
“Why are you so selfish all the time?It’s just a little house, and you should want to take care of me.I took care of you when you were little.”She explained to her for the fifth time that she’d been taken care of by nannies and had been in boarding school when it was time for her to go to school.“Well, I had to be there when you got home, didn’t I?It wasn’t always nannies and fun times for me, you know.”
“No, you got to claim a daughter that you had nothing to do with until I was older.”Her mother didn’t like that, and she found that she didn’t care.“I’m going to be moving into the house over the next couple of weeks.After that, I’m going to make sure that I live alone for the rest of my life and work to make that happen.I don’t want you as a roommate.I have enough going on without you right up in my face all the time.”
“Well, aren’t you a selfish bitch.I see how you are.You get yourself some money and a house, and you’re suddenly too good to hang out with your own mother.I’m guessing that Robert left you secure in the house, too, didn’t he?Did he tell you to change the locks on the house?I have a key, you know.I got it once when he wasn’t aware.Fat lot of good it did me.They were forever home and never went anywhere, so I could get in.That’s just selfish of them, too.They had that nice place and wouldn’t allow me to live there with them either.”
“You hated Aunt Cindy.Why on earth would you want to live there with them?”She said she got bored living alone.“Well, you’re going to have to get used to it because you’re not living with me.And I’ve already had the locks changed before I left the attorney’s office.He suggested it because I didn’t know who had keys.”
“Selfish is all you’ve ever been, all your life.I don’t even know why I bother with you anymore.You never want to take me out.”She pointed out that she had money now to burn.“But you should be treating me to those things.I’m your mother, aren’t I?”
“Yes, you are.But I’m an adult now and need my own privacy.I like my own company too.So live in your house, and I’ll live in mine.It’s the way it should be.”Mother huffed and stomped her foot.“That won’t do you a bit of good.I’ve made up my mind, and I’m going to stick to it.You have your own money from the estate.Enjoy it while it lasts.”
“Then you’ll allow me to live with you.”She said that she was never living with her.“Why not?Damn it, Sen, you never were a good daughter to me.I just want you to allow me to live with you so that we can have fun together.”
“You want me to spend my money on you, and I have to keep it for taxes and such in owning a new to me home.”She told her that she’d never paid taxes.“Then how are you living in that house without getting into trouble?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t care so long as I can do it.You should find yourself a nice, rich husband and have him take care of the taxes so that you and I can have mother-daughter dates.That would be fun, wouldn’t it?”She said that she didn’t want to find a rich husband.“With your all right looks, it shouldn’t take much to find yourself one.”
“It’s time for you to leave now.”Her mother said she’d only just gotten there.“You’ve been here too long.I’ve had enough of you picking at me, and it’s time you left.I have to go to work tomorrow, so I don’t want to see you for the rest of the week.Go do whatever you want with your money and leave me alone.”
“Well, I never.”She could feel a headache coming on and didn’t want to deal with it with her mother.“You might call me up one of these days, and I won’t want to have anything to do with you.See how that will make you feel.”
“I’ll take my chances.”As soon as her mother left, she put the chain on the door.If she convinced the landlord that she was able to get in again, she wanted something to slow her down.To think that she’d been feeling bad because her mother had been left out of the will, but for the ten grand that she’d gotten from the estate.“She’s the one who his selfish.I’ve never been around anyone like her in my life.I hope she doesn’t want to have fun with me again.”
Her uncle and aunt had died just a little over a month ago.Her uncle had had a massive heart attack and died when he plowed into the back of a bunch of cars while driving, and that had killed her aunt by nearly decapitating her in the process.Since they were organ donors, they had come to the hospital with life support on them so that they could donate their organs and eyes.They had saved six people with that, and three people were now able to see because of the donation.
Her mother had known for two weeks that they’d been in the accident and hadn’t told her.She acted like it was no big deal for her to have had to pull the plug, her words, not Sen’s, because she was tired of waiting on him to die.If that didn’t make her mother selfish, she didn’t know what did.There were days when she wished she were Uncle Roberts and Aunt Cindy’s daughter rather than her mother’s.
Going to lie down on her bed, she thought of moving.She could well afford to leave everything behind when she moved into the bigger house, but she had a few things that she wanted to keep.Not much.More than likely stuff that would fit in her car to take over.Since the other house was furnished, all she had to do was figure out what she wanted to keep and get rid of.She didn’t think that there would be all that much that she didn’t want, as they had very nice tastes in what they had around the house.
After taking a nap, she did feel better.Tomorrow, she was going to finish packing up her things to go to the other house and donate the rest of her things here.She could have gone right to the house to stay, but she wanted to make sure that the paperwork had been filed so that it was all hers.Devlin said he’d call her when it was filed away so that she’d not have to worry about it.The deeds to the rest of the property were going to be filed as well.
As if he knew she was thinking about talking to him, her cell phone rang, and it was him.He told her that not only had things been filed for her, but her bank account had been set up in her name.He also made sure that the insurance policies that were in her name were ready to be cashed out as well.
“I’ve made it so that the bank is aware that you don’t want your mother to be able to get into your accounts.She’s not even to know that you have an account at the same bank that your aunt and uncle had one.”She told him that it was a brilliant idea.“I take it she’s tried that with your accounts before.”
“My uncle’s too.He told her that he was going to have her arrested if she tried that again.I don’t know whether he ever called the police on her or not, but he seemed really pissed off at the time.Even though she had no right to be upset, she didn’t speak to him for months afterwards.She doesn’t understand boundaries.She either doesn’t understand or doesn’t care.I’ve never figured that out yet.”He asked her if she had any questions.“I believe you answered them all for today.I’m going to go tothe new house in the morning.I’ve decided that I can afford to donate all the things that I don’t want here.”
“We have a charity that we buy up old and used furniture to have around for when people have a house fire or something along those lines.If you’re going to donate it anyway, why not donate it to that?”She told him he could have everything, as the house she was getting was furnished.“Yes, it is.And while I haven’t seen the house, I’m betting that it’s in good shape for you to live in right away.”
“That’s what I’m thinking as well.That it’ll be just the way they left it.”She had a terrible thought of them dying and just realizing that they’d not be back anymore.“They were the greatest family I’ve ever had.I’m going to miss them so much.I wish I could have seen them one more time.Just so that I could tell them that I loved them once more.”
