I look at all of them in turn. “I love all of you,” I say. “I do. But I know you don’t like me, and I will never change myself in the hopes that you will. And if one day you can accept me as I am, I hope we can rekindle some kind of relationship.”
My mother shakes her head. “You always did insist on marching to the beat of your own drum. I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised.” A pitying look. “We only want what’s was best for you.”
I return the pitying look with a cool smile. “Fortunately,I’mthe one who knows what’s best for me.”
Peter finally looks at me. His jaw is tight and his eyes are flat and he is so certain, so completely and stubbornly certain. I look at my little brother and feel something sad move through me. Once upon a time, he shared his hot chocolate with me when I spilled mine on the floor. Once upon a time he held my hand as we toddled along the grass together, chasing bubbles and butterflies.
I don’t recognize that boy inside this man.
“It was fraud,” he says. Low, almost private, like he’s saying it for the record. “I don’t care what he ruled. I know what this is.”
“Peter,” my father says.
“I know what it is,” Peter shouts, desperate and sharp. Andthen he turns and walks toward the elevator and doesn’t look back.
My mother touches my arm briefly. “We’ll talk soon,” she says, which means we won’t. Then she follows my father down the hall.
I watch them go.
Celia is the last one. She pushes her sunglasses up on her head and looks at me for a moment. And then she crosses the hallway and puts her arms around me.
I stand there for a second, surprised. Then I hug her back. She smells like expensive perfume and spearmint gum and a whiff of alcohol underneath it all.
“You should leave your no-good, cheating husband,” I tell her impulsively. “Get a divorce. Free yourself. You don’t have to live like this.”
She gives me a tired smile. “I’d rather be rich and dead inside than divorced and working for a living.”
“Working for a living isn’t so bad,” I say, lips twitching.
“Easy for you to say.” Her eyes trail appreciatively over Slade. “You get to have the full package.” She takes a sip from her flask and tips it towards me. “No wonder you galloped off into the sunset without a second glance. Enjoy the ride, darling.”
She puts her sunglasses back down and walks toward the elevator.
I watch until the doors close.
Then I stand in the empty hallway of the Topaz Peak County Courthouse and take one long slow breath.
That was more than enough of that for the next several lifetimes.
Slade holds my hand all the way to his truck. And then he wraps me in his arms and gives me tight hug and we just holdon to each other for a moment. As he kisses me softly, I let myself melt into him.
“I feel guilty,” I murmur, when we pull back.
A kiss on my forehead. “Guilty for what?”
“Because Peter was right. Because we got away with it. This started as an arrangement to get that trust fund money. Even if it was just to give it away, the original intention wasn’t pure.”
Slade just smiles. “Your dumbass brother isn’t right about anything. Real estate deals or otherwise.” He cups my jaw. “You want to know the truth? The trust fund gave me an excuse. That’s all it was. An excuse to do what I already wanted to do, which was be with you..”
I smile through my tears at his fierce sincerity. “You barely knew me then.”
“I was crazy about you already,” he says. “From the very start. If I’m being honest…” His thumb moves across my cheekbone, wiping the tear away. “I would have found something else if the trust fund hadn’t existed. I would have found some reason to keep you close because I couldn’t stand the alternative.”
“Which was what?” I manage.
“A life without you in it.”
Chapter 54
