Nathan had stormed out of the conference room after learning we’d also inherited four cats from his father. If we agreed to the inheritance, Derek would arrange to have the cats brought from their foster homes toourhouse. It was the last straw for Nathan and sent him from the room, muttering about how fucked this entire situation was.
“I’m okay.” I forced a smile, but Derek’s frown deepened. I must not have been convincing. “Mostly just in shock. This isn’t at all what I expected.”
“I wish I could have given you a heads-up about what you were walking into but—”
“No, I get it.” I lifted my hand to silence him. “I might not have come here if you’d told me.”
He nodded, assuming as much.
“I always knew you’d make a great lawyer.”
I still remembered the day he approached me in the lunchroom after transferring to Middlebury High School. He’d found me at my lowest point, my loneliest, but he didn’t hesitate when I told him he’d do better sitting somewhere else. He took that seat over and over again, persisting even when I barely gave him anything to work with. He slowly helped me return to a sense of normalcy amid my devastating heartbreak.
“Greatmight be overselling it. But I'll do anything I can to help you.”
“Yeah?”
“Of course,” he said, nodding. “But there’s not much I can do. My hands are tie—”
“There’s something else.” I rushed to speak, relieved to have a sounding board. “I want custody of Molly. My mom is a mess. I’ve been living with them for three months, trying to collect evidence to prove she’s unfit. She wasn’t taking care of her, Derek. Molly deserves better.Ican give her better.”
He ran a hand over his face. “Courts don’t like taking kids from their parents.”
“I know… I know,” I said, my gaze falling to my folded hands on the conference room table. “That’s why… I mean, it will help if I have a house and a business… or more money to show the court I can provide, right?”
“You have to prove you’re the better option,” he agreed. “Not just emotionally, but also materially.”
“Then I’ve gotta stay.”
“I’m sorry.” He sighed. “I know how hard this will be for you. If there’s anything you need, I’m here, all right?”
“Thank you.” It would help to have an ally and friend as I undertook this project.
As soon as I got back to my room at the B&B, I stripped off my clothes and settled into bed to eat takeout and watch daytime soaps. I waited a couple of hours before texting Nathan, making him sweat my decision.
Brenna
I'm going to accept the inheritance.
His reply didn’t take long.
Nathan
Meet me at the house tomorrow at 10 am.
I flopped back on the bed, my breath whooshing out of me. I hoped I wasn’t making a huge mistake.
9
NATHAN
Now
Twenty-four Hart Drive wasuntouched by time.
The unassuming two-story house with gray siding, black shutters, and a bright red door held so many memories. So did the house next door, where Brenna used to live. Aside from the fading red brick, it also matched the house of my memories.
I didn’t understand why my dad never left Middlebury. Maybe he wanted to remain haunted by everything he’d screwed up in his life. I shook my head at the thought before using the key Ellis gave me to enter the house.
