“The nerve of that bitch!”
Knowing how Pixie felt about cursing, he was glad the kids were already in bed. “I don’t like having her around just waiting to cause more trouble,” Brogan said, “so I might have to deal with Brian just to get some things settled.”
With a deep sigh, Erin said, “Not long after you took guardianship of Shayna, Ruth showed up here, too. She demanded payment for the short time she’d kept her own granddaughter.”
Brogan stiffened. “I hope you refused her.”
“I told her to go to hell, actually. Not very professional of me, but I was acting as Connie’s friend, not her lawyer.”
“Good.”
“The thing is, she said she found some of Connie’s papers at the house.”
Brogan closed his eyes. Not once had he considered that possibility. “There were more papers?”
“It’s possible, Brogan. I’m sorry.” Erin sighed her frustration. “Sometimes when Connie was lonely or disappointed, or if she was just looking at Shayna and worrying about her future, she’d write long notes. After she died and I went through her house, I found some under a couch cushion, one stuck on the refrigerator with a magnet, and another on her nightstand. I didn’t search through all her things because that wouldn’t have been right, but as she’d told me to do, I gathered up everything that was noticeable, as well as her important papers from her desk drawer.”
“There were probably others,” Brogan mused aloud.
“I’m guessing there were. Connie was obsessed with the idea of Shayna having family.”
“Because she knew what it was to be alone.”
Hurriedly, Erin said, “She always considered you her brother. I know things weren’t great between the two of you—”
“My fault.” God, if he could have that time to do over …
“No,” Erin denied. “Connie rightfully blamed her parents. She was so proud of you, Brogan. You were her hero.”
Everything in him seemed to clamp down painfully. “I’m no one’s hero.”
“Bull. You’re Shayna’s hero, and don’t you forget it. Keep her away from Brian and Ruth. Do whatever you have to, okay?”
“They’ll never touch her.” Now that he’d seen what a good life Shayna could have, he wasn’t about to let her settle for anything else. “That reminds me. I’ll need an updated will, right?”
“Absolutely.”
“Could you put it together for me? Everything Connie had plus my own accounts. It should all go to Shayna.”
“Sure. I’ll need you to fill out some paperwork, but I can get that out to you soon. The thing is, Shayna will still need a contingency guardian. Otherwise, if something happened to you, she could go back to Ruth and Brian.”
“Never.”
“Then you need to think about who you’d want for her guardian.”
Pixie nudged him, smiled, and raised her hand.
In that moment, he knew he loved her. God, he loved her so much it almost hurt.
“Brogan?” Erin said. “Did I lose you?”
“No.” He put his arm around Pixie and held her close to his side. “Pixie will be the guardian.”
“Excellent! I don’t mind saying, that’s exactly what I hoped for, and I know it’s what Connie would have wanted, too.” There was some jostling, and then Erin said, “Here’s Brian’s number. Are you ready?”
“Sure.”
She read it off, and Brogan frowned. “That’s the number I have, but no one is answering.”
