She asked, “Do you feel like you can talk now?”
“Yeah.”
“Same.” She hesitated a beat. “Any ideas why Dad put Miranda on his will?”
“He was pissed at me maybe? He’s been giving me crap since I was—what, maybe twenty? He’s kept a growing list of reasons. I got rebellious as a teen, I blew off my perfect GPA, I dropped out of college for the police academy, I followed you and Cameron to Nashville, and I’m not a hoity-toity lawyer like he was. To top it off, I got divorced—the failure of all failures.”
And I didn’t take the shot.
It was the moment his disappointment truly began.
Jules tsked. “Gracious. Yeah that’s a lot of ways to piss Dad off. But I don’t think that’s the reason.”
“Any other ideas then?”
“Yeah, I—I actually have something to confess, and I’m scared you’re going to be mad at me.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“Well, you know Dad and I talked—I mean, really infrequently, but a little here and there.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“I talked to him maybe six weeks ago. He asked how you were doing and if you were seeing anyone and had any marriage prospects on the horizon…”
My pulse kicked up a notch. “And?”
“Well, I told him you were dating someone who I really liked, but I doubted it would go anywhere because you would probably dump her just like you have every girl since Miranda. I told him I felt like you were still in love with her even though you keep on denying it."
“What? Why would you tell him that?” I fought the anger surging up in me.
“I don’t know! I have feltawfulabout it since the meeting. I hope him adding Miranda wasn’t my fault, but I totally feel like it was. He wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t know your relationship status.” Her voice faltered. “I’m so sorry.”
“Wait, so you’re saying you think that was Dad’s convoluted way of helping us get back together?” I shook my head. “I think that’s far-fetched.”
“Is it? Think about it. He knows you’re a cop and don’t make tons of money so he probably figured you wouldn’t take this to court. It’s the perfect scenario for him to devise to his heart’s content.”
“By making sure that what—I get a happily-ever-after?” I scoffed. “I doubt Dad cared that much.”
Jules made a soft humming noise. “Dad did care. He didn’t know how to show it, but he did care. If there is one thing Dad understood, it was never getting over a woman.” She choked up. “Dad never remarried. Never even entertained the thought. Last time we talked, he told me he still pretends to have coffee with Mom every morning. I told him he needed therapy.”
“Wow.”
“I don’t know, Jack. Maybe this was his really screwed-up version of doing something nice.” She sighed. “But I guess we’ll never truly know.” She sighed. “Dad aside—I’m worried about this arrangement with Miranda. Exes are exes for a reason.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know, Jules.”
“Fill me in then.”
I told her everything I knew about Miranda’scurrentsituation. Left the past in the past.
“She needs the money. And I want her to have it. She deserves better than whatever life she’s living right now.”
“So she’s staying at your house then?”
“Upstairs.”
“I do feel bad for her, but it sounds like Miranda is coming out with the better end of the deal here and that’s not fair.” Jules listed, “She’s taking half of the inheritance which should be yours, getting a free place to stay for her and her kid while she waits, and gets to walk away into whatever life she wants after she’s trampled your heart for a second time.”
