“Yeah,well, you’ve always been the only man I need,” Declan said. “I’ll think aboutthat job offer. Thanks.”
Ashtook his phone out to order pizza, scrolling through the app until he came totheir regular order. “You want anything else tonight?”
Declanshook his head. “Just company.”
“Companyit is,” Ash said, hitting order. “Pizza in forty.”
Pizzawould solve everything for now. For the rest, well…
Ashwould be there for Declan, and Declan would be there for Ash. That was how it’dalways been.
ChapterThree
Declanre-read the strange letter he’d found in his mailbox this morning, sure he wasmisunderstanding something, or that it was a scam or a mistake.
Hedidhave a great uncle called Marvin, and the guy was probably dead by now, but…
Whywould he leave anything to Declan? Declan remembered him from his teenage yearsas aloof, distant, kind of the black sheep of the family.
He’dlived out in the middle of nowhere.
Apparently,the middle of nowhere was actually called Hope Springs, which was part of whatwas making this feel like a scam. Nowhere could possibly be calledHopeSprings. It was too cute.
Onthe other hand, if he reallydidhave an inheritance waiting for him, hekind of needed to know about it. What if it was millions of dollars? What if itwas the life change he’d been looking for?
Whatif, for once, this was the universe taking care of him?
Thatwould have been a nice change.
Aquick Google told Declan that the law firm the letter was supposed to be fromdid exist. It was small, with a one-page website that had a few phone numbersand a map to the office.
Whichappeared to be located in Hope Springs, a small town four hours away.
Soit was a real place?
Itsure as hellsoundedmade up.
Allthe same, if the law firm was real, then it’d only take a phone call to verifywhether or not this was a mistake. And it wasn’t as if Declan had anythingbetter to do with his day, now that he was gainfully unemployed.
Hepulled his phone out of his pocket and tapped the number in, hesitating withhis thumb over the call button.
Whatif itwasreal, and his entire life was about to change?
Therewas really only one way to find out.
Hehit call and held the phone up to his ear, suddenly hyper-aware of hisheartbeat. He couldn’t put his finger on what was making him nervous, exactly,but his stomach was tied up in knots.
“Fletcherand Williams Legal Services, Sue Fletcher speaking,” a woman’s voice answered.
Awoman apparently called Sue Fletcher, which was the same person who’d signedthe letter.
Crap.
Maybethiswasreal.
“Uh,hi,” Declan said, unprepared for this. “I, uh… I’ve got a letter here from you.Umm. My name’s Declan Cooper…”
“Oh,yes, I remember sending it! You’re Marv’s nephew.”
