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My luck wasn’t just bad, it had been in the toilet for years, ever since my son of a bitch ex had cleaned out my savings for spite. Okay, so I’d threatened him with going to the press with the fact he was a deadbeat dad. He’d deserved it. Unfortunately, I’d underestimated his desire for revenge and his hatred of me.
I dropped to the floor, forced to reach under her bed to try to grab one of the fallen pages. I knew my daughter. She’d have a meltdown if her favorite fairytale about some prince on a majestic horse wasn’t readable. At some point I’d have to burst her bubble that there was no such thing as heroes or knights prepared to slay the dragon.
No matter what the city slicker had believed himself to be.
Even I wasn’t cruel or jaded enough to burst the bubble of a five-year-old. Ugh. I hated my life.
Dealing with a sleazy attorney just bottomed out the entire moment. I could swear I could sense the man’s lewd thoughts.
“Alright, Ms. Logan. I just wanted you to know that given Mr. Cawthorne’s untimely death, it’s quite possible you’ll need to move. I’m putting you on notice.”
I jerked back so quickly that I banged my head on Britta’s bedframe. “What did you say?”
“The ranch is up for sale. My guess is the new owner won’t want interlopers to remain on the property. If all goes well, the sale will go through in a couple of weeks given its likely to be an all-cash offer.”
Hold on. What? Where had this come from?
Interloper? So many horrible words came to the forefront of my mind. I’d adored Walter, the older man treating me as if I was kin to him. He’d allowed me to live in his caretaker’s house for free, as long as I groomed his horses, occasionally giving riding lessons to the kids. He’d told me he had no clue how to handle children, but he’d read to Britta for hours at a time on more than one occasion. I remained in a state of shock from hearing about the man’s death. However, I had a rental agreement Walter had made me sign. He’d told me it had been for my protection.
I tried to pinpoint where I’d put it, my heart racing. It was inside this house somewhere.
“I have a lease agreement, Mr. Barclay. You can’t go evicting me.”
“No, I can’t but if the party who now owns the property for the moment decides to sell, all contracts and agreements will become null and void. You should allow me to take a look at your lease. Maybe I can provide you with some good advice. I’d be happy to spend some quality time with you. We could have dinner.”
Right. The man was a crocodile in cheap suits and nothing more. My skin crawled just thinking about it.
“Thank you but that won’t be necessary. Now, who the hell is this person taking over?” I would give him or her a piece of my mind.
“Walter’s grandson, some guy I’ve never met but he’s a bigwig developer himself. He’ll either want to sell or turn the place into condos. You might want to try and find another place to live just in case.”
Who was he kidding? I couldn’t afford another place to live. I was struggling to make ends meet as it was. Sure, my rent was paid for, but I had electricity and gas, medical bills and paying for the worthless attorney I’d hired to fight my ex, and my little girl had to eat. I didn’t have ten bucks left at the end of a paycheck. Given the economy was down, tips at my second job had sucked over the last few months. At this rate, I’d need to get a third job, only I couldn’t rely on my best friend for childcare forever. I was shaking partly out of anger but mostly from fear. Taking the job at the gas station had been my last resort, and I was drained from the horrible hours.
When Britta came running into the room with a paper airplane in her hand, her buzzing sounds at the top of her lungs, I almost lost it. I’d been through so damn much in the last few years, but I’d refused to cry, instead resorting to anger. Right now, all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball, sobbing like a baby. Unfortunately, other than my best friend, I had no one to wrap their arms around me, telling me everything was going to be okay.
I took the airplane from her, and I was certain my little happy girl was going to burst into tears. I wasn’t certain I could handle a meltdown right now. “Make certain this grandson talks to me, Mr. Barclay. I refuse to be shoved out of here. That’s not what Mr. Cawthorne would have wanted, and you know it.” The man had never liked me. From the first time we’d met, Hank Barclay had been rude, but only when Walter hadn’t been around. Now he wanted to help me? Right. He just wanted to get into my panties. That wasn’t going to happen.
For all I knew, the bastard was lying about the sale. But what if he wasn’t?
I didn’t give him time to object, ending the call and tossing the phone onto Britta’s bed. “Okay, girlie angel. It’s time for you to grab Mr. Unicorn so we can head out.”
“Where are we going again, Mama?”
“Remember, the sleepover at Auntie Megan’s house? You and Ashley are going to make some popcorn balls and watch a movie. It’ll be so much fun.” Of course, Megan wasn’t related to me. She was one of the first people I’d met when I’d moved here some four years before. I’d accidentally stolen her sandwich at the local diner and somehow, we’d been fast friends ever since. Other than Walter, she was the closest thing to family I’d had in a long time.
Britta scrunched up her nose. For five-year-olds, she and Ashley could fight like they were teenagers. They had a love-hate relationship that defied all odds.
“Uh-oh. Are you and Ashley fighting again?”
“She doesn’t like that I prefer to read, Mommy. How can an intelligent girl not want to read about the universe?”
There were far too many times it was easy to forget she was only five years old given her amazing vocabulary. I bit back a laugh since she was being completely serious. “Well, how about this. For tonight, be a little girl. Tomorrow, you can be a nuclear physicist.”
“A what, Mommy?”
It was good to see I could still stump her. That likely wouldn’t be the case in a few short years. “Never mind, angel. Go get Mr. Unicorn and I’ll grab your coat.”
“You’re going to be gone all night, aren’t you?” The hint of sadness in her voice all but broke me every time.
