Finding Love in Forgotten Cove (Island County Series Book 1) (16 page)

I didn’t feel right sleeping in my father’s bedroom, and by the looks of it when I arrived, he hadn’t either. He’d taken over the spare bedroom upstairs across from the master. A little reminder that nothing was the same after I’d left.

Shoving the comforter off, I sat up and reached for my pink terrycloth robe on the end of my bed. I slipped the soft robe over my shoulders and examined myself in the mirror. My hair was so tangled the only thing that would help it was a huge glob of conditioner in my morning shower and that would have to wait. Plus, it was a reminder of a night I wouldn’t ever want to forget.

Making my way to the kitchen, the wonderful smell of blueberry muffins and coffee sank into my body. He’d just taken the muffins out of the oven.

“You bake?”

“Among other things.”

With a potholder on his hand, he began removing the muffins like a pro. He looked adorably hot. Two words I didn’t know could coexist—yet they did. His messy, blond hair shared the same traits as mine from a night well done. He was shirtless with only his jeans on. It was a wonderful look, and I wished he could manage it all the time. Maybe I could make that a new rule. I wandered over to him and he kissed me, his lips lingering long enough to make my insides ignite. I glanced at the wall clock and laughed.

“I only have an hour before I have to be at school.”

“That’ll give us enough time to eat our muffins and drink our coffee.” He wore an almost sardonic grin, and I knew I had more in store than food and drink this fine morning.

If I was lucky.

And I wasn’t.

The doorbell rang, taking me by complete surprise. I looked at Mason and he shook his head. “I doubt anyone even knows I’m here.”

“That makes two of us. Maybe one of the girls left something.”

“Should I hide?” he teased.

“Nah. This’ll give ‘em something talk about for a week or two.”

He kissed me again, and I wandered toward the front door, peeking out the window and not seeing anyone.

I opened the door and complete horror washed over me it. I was staring at my estranged Aunt Lou. She was my father’s one and only sister. The last time he saw her was when my mother was still alive, and that was only because my mother made him meet her for coffee when we landed in the state of Texas for a vacation. That might’ve been one of the few things my father held a grudge about.

“So the only way I could track you down is to show up on your poor, dead father’s doorstep. He would be so disappointed, but I’m sure he’d expect no less from you.”

The sting wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been considering the source. There was a reason my father and uncle had little contact with Lou Perkins. From a young age of maybe three or four, or so the story goes, she had a way of blaming others for all of life’s problems, whether it was a hangnail, a parent’s death or a sixth divorce, it was always someone else’s fault and she enjoyed making those someone else’s’ pay. I didn’t know her enough to know one way or another if the stories were true, but I’d continued to keep my distance. Toxic family was worse than no family or at least that was my parents’ motto and I kind of stuck with it.

I glanced behind me, relieved to see Mason walking toward us. He’d managed to pull a sweatshirt over his head and wore a concerned expression as he approached.

“I didn’t know you were trying to find me,” I said, puzzled by her frustration.

“Don’t give me that. I’ve left four messages a day for the last couple months.”

“I haven’t gotten any messages,” I said quietly.

“So now you’ve taken up the hobby of lying. Figures. You know, you killed your father. He died of heartbreak.”

“Honestly, I haven’t received any messages.” I ignored her second statement altogether, but it certainly lent credibility to my dad’s philosophy about his sister. The truth was that drinking killed my father, but it was truly none of this woman’s business. It never had been and never would be. I’d rather stand and take abuse than tarnish my dad’s good name.

“It doesn’t matter now. I’ve finally found you, and it’s about time you give me what’s owed,” she continued.

“Wait one minute. You can’t come charging onto this property and speak to someone like that. How do you know you even have the right phone number?” Mason asked.

I was relieved with his voice of reason in such a charged moment because all I wanted to do was throw her off the property and maybe kick her on the way.

My aunt repeated the number she’d apparently been calling endlessly and Mason smiled, squeezing my shoulder.

“Well, that’s your problem. You’re off a digit. You’ve been leaving your messages with a stranger.”

My aunt’s narrow lips tightened even more, and I looked deep into her eyes, wondering if there was even one similarity between her and my dad. I couldn’t pick out one. She had eyes so dark I couldn’t even see pupils, and her narrow nose looked extremely persnickety to compliment her tight, greying bun.

“What is it I can do for you?” I asked, unsure of her sudden interest in this part of the family.

“I’m glad you asked.” She started searching in her oversized tote, digging around and shoving things aside, until she gripped what she wanted. “I’d like a copy of your father’s will. I’m owed something and I want to ensure it’s taken care of.”

I gave her a quizzical look as I took the folded sheets of paper from her. I’d been planning on sending out the notifications to my aunt and cousins whom my father specifically disinherited. If she was expecting something from the estate, she was going to be gravely disappointed.

“Go ahead. Open it up.”

I unfolded the papers and saw a copy of a check.

“That’s a copy of a check I sent him two years ago, and then the one underneath is a copy of one I sent him last year.”

My heart clenched. Why would these checks be made out to my father?

“He needed money so I loaned him what he needed. Twice. He knew he couldn’t count on you so…”

My head spun with this information. Why in the world would my father borrow money from a woman he despised? The amounts that he borrowed weren’t that much, but they’d be enough to get Aunt Lou to track me down. The first check was for five thousand dollars and the second for three thousand.

My parents’ house was paid for so the amount from Aunt Lou wasn’t to cover a mortgage payment, but I’m sure there were plenty of expenses that popped up, especially once he no longer worked, but why wouldn’t he come to me if he’d been in need?

“I’d like a check within the week. My address is on the bottom. I’ve also added expenses for having to come up here more than once to try to find you. I expect to be paid all of it.”

I stared at her and swallowed down the sadness and anger that coated my mind and body. My father needed me and I wasn’t there for him. Instead, he turned to a woman he never trusted and didn’t consider family, but maybe that was why he reached out. He didn’t want to be judged.

I let out a sigh and put my hand on the doorframe.

“Aunt Lou, I will hand this over to our attorney. The estate hasn’t closed, but I’ll be sure to have him look at this.”

“That won’t do. I want my money within the week. I need it, and I expect it.”

“I’ll do my best,” I tried again.

“If you think you can swindle me—”

“That’s not what she’s saying, but as executor of her father’s estate, there are protocols she must follow. If there’s nothing else, we ask that you leave the property.”

“You might want to look at that third sheet of paper, Victoria. If I don’t get my money, I’ll take the house. You mark my words.” She spun on her heels and marched down the steps.

I closed the door, but my hands were shaking as I tried to comprehend what just happened. Mason turned the pages to the third sheet and read it over.

“Can she take the house?” I muttered.

He narrowed his eyes and kept reading.

“I’d say it’s weak at best. She’s not on the deed and while this is an attempt at a contract, I’d be willing to bet most of the legalese would be struck down in a court. Send this over to your attorney as soon as you can.”

“I’m the attorney. The estate attorney that my dad hired to draw up the will has long since retired. I’ve been handling everything myself to save money. Obviously, not as well as I thought.”

“You’re doing great. No one can predict the long, lost relatives who pop up. But it never fails.” Mason rubbed his jaw and handed me the papers back.

“She and my dad never got along. Once he moved out of the house, he actually never spoke to my aunt until my mom made him. Neither did his brother. It’s hard for me to reconcile my dad reaching out to her for anything, let alone money. I really can’t wrap my head around it.”

“Do you talk to your uncle?”

“I do every once in a while. He’s in London. He works for a company that transferred him there six or seven years ago. I never told him about my dad’s drinking, and I certainly never told Aunt Lou. I didn’t want people to think of him in a different way.”

“His brother might know. Your dad might’ve thought he was good at hiding it, but it often comes out in ways no one expects.”

“Possibly.” I let out a sigh. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“My mom’s an attorney. I can have her take a look at everything, if you’d like.”

“Really? She wouldn’t mind? Maybe you should ask her before volunteering her services?”

“Nah. It’ll be fine. The sooner the better to get this wrapped up, and if she is owed money, let’s get it figured out.”

“According to the checks, she is. But I’ll look over his statements and see if he cashed the checks. The idea that she could take the house…”

A chill went up my spine.

“Don’t let your mind go there. We’ll get this solved. Don’t let it worry you. Just think of the beautiful day ahead of you, and I’ll get in contact with my mom.”

I nodded and even though they were only words, I felt immensely better, and for the first time in my adult life, I let my guard down. I had someone to catch me if I fell, and right now, it seemed as if I were tumbling down a sinkhole.

“Dude, why do you keep looking at me?” Brendan asked Delilah far louder than he needed to.

Several students snickered and Delilah’s face turned bright red. Class had barely started, and by the looks of it, things were off to a smashing start. The end of summer school was definitely nearing.

“I’m not,” she mumbled, but it was too late, the damage had already been done.

Brendan smiled, enjoying the attention.

The truth of the matter was that Brendan loved the attention Delilah showered on him. Unfortunately, he liked the power of what he could do with it more. I recognized the signs from my own relationship with Tanner. The fact that I’m seeing it in high school speaks volumes as to the state of Tanner’s mind.

Apparently my little chat with Delilah hadn’t really swayed her from focusing on Brendan, but I understood. At that age, it felt like the end of the world if the person you liked didn’t feel the same way. Actually, at any age that feeling was horrible.

“Brendan, why don’t you kick off the class for last night’s reading about Susan B. Anthony and her successful fight to end suffrage. What does the term suffrage mean and what happened in 1920?”

He shrugged his shoulders and replied, “Susan B. Anthony helped people suffering in 1920.”

My brow rose and the class erupted into laughter, and this time it was Brendan’s turn to light up.

“Not quite.”

Delilah’s hand shot up, and I was grateful that at least that part of our talk had gotten through. She no longer acted as if history wasn’t important to her. I nodded and Delilah began.

“She helped pave the way for women’s voting rights. She died in 1906, but she’s definitely one of the women who helped contribute to the passing of our nineteenth amendment to the constitution in 1920.”

“Nice work.”

I knew Brendan hadn’t done the reading. He was the only one who hadn’t turned in his homework. It wasn’t that I’d wanted to target him, but seeing him do that to Delilah didn’t sit well.

“I wanted to talk to you guys about a little challenge. As a class, your average grade is a B-, which means that a few students are struggling a little more than others. I’d love to see every single student get a B or higher so I wanted to provide an incentive. If we can lift the class average to a solid B, I’ll treat everyone to pizza and ice cream at Marina Park on our last day of school and you won’t have any assignments to turn in the last two days prior.”

There was an immediate charge in the room as the students rallied behind this goal.

“In order to achieve this, I’ve divided everyone into groups, and once a week, we’ll split off into our small groups and work on the topics that were more challenging for that week, whether it’s memorization or terminology, this will hopefully get everyone on the same page.”

I caught Brendan giving Delilah a glance when she wasn’t looking, and I realized there was far more at work than Delilah liking Brendan. It wasn’t one-sided, but the way Brendan was going about it wasn’t healthy in the slightest.