AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Mr. Park, Matt Voeller,” says a new voice through the phone.
Mr. Delancey calls again and Everett brushes the notification away.
“Yeah, hi,” says Everett. “I am calling in regards to my parents’ will, Adam and Beth Lourden. I believe your office has tried to get in contact with me, but uh, I’ve never had the opportunity to review their will and estate after their death.”
There’s a pause. “Yeah, let me pull that up. Would you like to come in to the office and we can go over that?”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible at the moment. Not to be crass, but there’s really only one provision that I’m interested in at the moment, purely for legal reasons. Are you the executor?”
“Yes, is there something specific you’re interested in?”
“Is there anything that happens once I marry?”
There’s a long pause and I don’t breathe for any part of it. Everett dips his elbow down to poke at my arm, trying to loosen my hug. I hadn’t realized I’ve been squeezing the breath out of him.
“Okay, here we go, just got to that section.”
I might throw up. I pray and hope and wish and cross my fingers and manifest every good thing for Everett, my guy.
“Yep, yeah, it looks like your parents left you quite a bit, and there’s a specific property you get once you marry, a little estate and farm in New Hampshire.”
I stand on the footrest and throw my arms around Everett’s neck, kissing his cheek, my heart pounding like fireworks of celebration. I’m too happy to cry. I want to do a dance, but Everett’s standing there in stunned silence.
“But there’s a lot more than that. You inherit basically everything they had, with the exception of some sizable charitable donations.”
“Okay, thank you for letting me know,” Everett says, his voice strained and emotional.
“There are also some letters, I think…” His voice trails off, as if looking for something, then comes back on the line, “We’d like to execute this as soon as possible, when would work for you?”
“Um…” Everett’s not crying, but I can tell it’s all hitting him like a ton of bricks. “I’ll need to get back to you to set that up.”
“Okay, just give us a call when you have a specific date in mind, and we’ll make sure we accommodate you.”
“Thanks so much,” says Everett. The lawyer ends the phone call with a pleasantry and Everett sets his phone on the counter, looking absolutely stunned.
I can’t hold back a giggle, even though I know it’s entirely inappropriate.
“What?” he says gruffly.
“You own a farm,” I say, gripping his good arm and giving him a little shake. “You, Mr. Hot Big City Bodyguard, you own a farm.”
I get that he’s going to need time to process this. I don’t want him to feel pressured to be happy. But I can’t hold back that I’m ecstatic for him. I hope this is the first step in a long road of healing, of getting what he needs in order to reconcile his memory of his parents.
“What if it’s all bought with blood money?” he asks.
“Or what if the blood money is the amounts they set aside for charities?” I counter.
He nods. “I’ll have to find out before I feel anything close to relief.”
“Of course,” I murmur. He looks down at me and I grin at the glimmer of hope I see in his expression.
Mr. Delancey calls again and I know I have to take it this time. Everett passes the phone to me and my hand brushes his. What is it about a gentle hand brush that sets my skin on fire? I can press my whole body to him with calmness and comfort, but the minute there’s a whisper of a touch, I have millions of butterflies in my stomach and my face is flaming.
“You should take that,” says Everett, pressing another kiss to my hair. “Whatever you say, I’ll be okay with,” he promises. “I’m going to go rest on the couch.”
I nod and he leaves me alone in the kitchen.
I answer the phone with confidence, not letting Mr. Delancey get the first word in. “I have it.”
