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Halfway through her second cup, a kind-looking white woman in her early to mid-forties entered the coffee shop. She wasn’t the first new patron since Gloria sat down; Addy’s place was definitely a busy hive of people coming and going. There was something about the searching look on her lined face, plus the massive purse she wore over her shoulder that caught Gloria’s attention, though.
Her hair was blonde, a paler shade than Gloria’s, and everything about her—from the determination in her step as she headed for Gloria’s table coupled with the fitted jacket and pants suit she was wearing, complete with a walkie talkie-looking contraption attached to her hip—convinced Gloria that this was either the mayor of the small town, or her great aunt’s attorney.
She stopped right in front of Gloria.
“Gloria Watson?”
“That’s me.”
The woman sat her giant purse on the table, then stuck out her hand. “Sadie Oliver. I’m the one who wrote you the letter. Your aunt’s lawyer?”
“Yes. I remember.” She accepted the woman’s hand, giving it a polite shake. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Ms. Oliver.”
“Oh, sweetie, you can call me Sadie.” Once she let go of Gloria, Sadie sat in the booth, scooting in so that they were facing each other. “I’m glad you found us. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble.”
Gloria had a bad habit. Sometimes, when she was a little nervous, or didn’t know how to act around someone she just met, she tended to speak without thinking. She would just blurt things out, then realize a second later that maybe she should’ve kept that thought to herself.
That’s what happened right after she said, “Well, I was surprised when a creature jumped in front of my car, and I nearly crashed, but everything was okay after I missed hitting him. Plus, when he took off his mask and proved he was a person, he was kind enough to give me directions here. This is such a quaint cafe,” Gloria added quickly when Sadie’s expression seemed to change. “The pumpkin scones are to die for. I’m glad we met here.”
Despite Gloria complimenting her choice of a meeting spot, Sadie’s face went a little prim. Her lips thinned, her green eyes darkened. “Ah. So you’re the one my hooligan boy nearly ran off the road. I got a buzz from Phil Granger about that.”
Gloria took a second to have another sip of her coffee, then said meekly, “You’re Ethan’s mom?”
The resemblance was kind of there. Same green eyes, same friendly face. Ethan was a redhead, and Sadie was a blonde, but the faces were similar.
Whoops.
Now she felt bad. He’d been apologetic, and she didn’t want to get him in trouble.
“It was an honest mistake,” Gloria said, trying to smooth her slip-up over.
The lawyer wasn’t buying it.
“I am. Natalie’s my niece, too, and I know what the two of them get up to so, believe me, dear, it wasn’t any kind of honest nothing. I’ll be talking to that son of mine when I get home. He knows better than to dart out in the road like that so close gulleyside, even if he was trying to tease his cousin.”
Family troubles. An only child of only children, Gloria didn’t really know about all that and, wisely, decided to stay out of it.
Instead, she said, “I’m sorry. Gulleyside?”
“The side of town near the exit. By the gulley out front.” At Gloria’s blank look, Sadie tried to explain further. “I’m sure you saw it. The big hole that split the road in two?”
“Oh. That thing.”
“That’s right. We call it the gulley, so the houses that way are gulleyside. Cabins like your aunt’s are mountainside—well, I say your aunt’s, but I guess it’s yours now.”
“It said something like that in the letter,” Gloria mentioned carefully.
“That’s right. Only, now that we’ve had the chance to finally get together, I must confess that there was only so much I could put in the letter. So the cabin and the property are yours, no strings attached. Your aunt—”
“Great aunt, right?” Gloria said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just…”
She didn’t know how to finish the statement. Admitting that she didn’t know anything about her Great Aunt Patti until she received the lawyer’s letter didn’t seem right for some reason.
Sadie understood. “Yes. She was your great aunt, and a fine woman. A little set in her ways as I’m sure you’ll see in a moment. Your aunt… she left quite a sum of money behind for you, Gloria.”
Before Gloria could ask what that meant, Sadie tugged her bag closer. She reached in, pulling out a manila folder. A stack of paper was tucked inside. Sadie flipped open the folder, took out the top sheet, then turned it so that the printed page was facing Gloria.
The lawyer pointed at a figure near the middle.
