Page 71 of Break Out

“Mother is going to flip.”

“I don’t care what she thinks. I talked to Arthur, and he’s on our side. As are Chet’s parents. We’re going to get married tonight at sunset, with just you all.” She gestures to the three of us. “And of course Thad, Devon, and Chet’s parents. Plus Arthur and Mom, if she wants to come and promises to be on her best behavior.”

“What about the other guests? The reception?” My mind is spinning with all the things that will have to be done now she’s canceling the wedding.

“Maggie is drafting a note that she’ll distribute to all the guests letting them know what’s going on. The reception will still happen. We moved it by a few hours. We’ll take pictures beforehand. While everyone is at cocktail hour, we’ll go to the beach for the ceremony. It’s a bit unorthodox.” Clara shrugs before continuing. “But it’s the best we can do on such short notice. And honestly, Chet and I don’t really care about doing things the right way. After the ceremony, we’ll come back for dinner and all the rest,” Clara explains. Wow, she’s really thought this through. Good for her.

“I think it’s a grand idea,” Bri says, beaming at Clara. “Don’t you, Aubs?” She turns to me.

“Yes, of course.” I take a sip of my coffee. “What do you need from me?”

“Nothing. Chet and I are going to go talk to Mom with his parents. We figured having them there might mean she’ll be on her best behavior and won’t go off the rails.”

“Highly doubtful. But it’s a good idea.” I lean forward in my seat, glancing from one sister to the other. “Do you want me to come too?”

Clara shakes her head. “No, I don’t want her to think we’re ambushing her. It’ll only make her more defensive.”

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what she wants. This is your wedding,” Bri says.

“Except she’s paying for it all,” Clara points out, giving Bri a tight-lipped smile. “I doubt she’s going to be thrilled about all of this. Imagine how it’s going to look.” She rolls her eyes, and I have to pinch my lips together to suppress the laughter that wants to escape.

“But it’s all already paid for, right? If you and Chet offered to pay the extra costs for the changes, what’s she going to do?” Brody asks. “Cut you out of the will?”

“It’s not like there’s anything to inherit,” Bri mumbles.

I blink rapidly. This is the first I’m hearing of this. “What do you mean?”

My sister’s exchange looks before Bri says, “Aubrey, besides the business, which we all know Mom’s share goes to Thad, and the house, there’s nothing left. All our inheritance was spent when Dad got sick.”

“Wait? How did I not know this?” I ask, glancing from sister to sister. What the hell? How did this go on and no one told me. I knew Dad was really sick and tried a bunch of different treatments, but I never stopped to think about how everything was paid for.

“You were in school. You rarely came home. We didn’t want to burden you with it,” Bri whispers.

“Burden me with it? I’m the oldest.” I point to myself. “If anyone shouldn’t want to burden someone, it should be me not wanting to burden you with this information.”

“Drop it, Aubrey,” Clara bites out, and I rear back.

“Does this have anything to do with why Mother got married to Arthur so quickly after Dad died?” I ask. It’s something I’ve always wondered about. I’ve never wanted to ask her or Arthur because it’s not really any of my business, but now, knowing that the inheritance is gone, it’s starting to make sense.

Bri clears her throat before saying, “Well, according to Thad, Mom and Arthur only got married so the family could keep control of the business.” She pauses, taking a deep breath before continuing. “On his death, part of Dad’s ownership reverted to Arthur and the two other partners. I guess it was the original business agreement they came up with, for who knows what reason. Thad thinks Dad assumed that since he was a good ten years younger than any of them, he would outlive them all.”

How the heck does she know this, but I don’t? That’s a question for another time. I need to hear the rest of this story. I wave my hand at her to indicate she should continue.

“Anyway, after he died, Mom and Thad ended up with forty-two percent combined. Arthur and the two other partners own the rest, split evenly between them. This is the part that I don’t understand. But Arthur agreed to marry Mom and give her the percentage she needed so she and Thad could have a majority share. Our guess”—Bri points to herself and Clara—“is that Arthur’s been in love with Mom for years. I remember at Christmas parties he’d always bring her drinks and try to talk to her. Sneak looks at her when he thought no one was watching. I caught them kissing in the kitchen one New Year’s Eve.”

“Seriously?” That’s a crazy story that I have a hard time wrapping my head around. “I mean, Arthur’s so nice. He’s been a great stepdad. I can’t believe he went along with this whole crazy scheme.”

“I think he really cares about her. But I don’t know if she feels the same way. Even if Bri saw them kiss once.” Clara shrugs. “She probably sees it as a business arrangement.”

“How can it be worth it to marry someone you don’t love? I mean, I thought she at least cared about him,” I say.

Bri clears her throat. “I think it’s something she had to sacrifice to keep the business in the family for Thad and whichever of his children takes over.”

After a few moments of silence, Clara says, “I’m sorry we dropped that bombshell on you.”

“I wish I knew all of this before.”

“What would be the point in knowing?” Bri asks. “Not like you could have done anything. You were off doing your own thing.”