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Mr. Philips placed the paper in front of me and my body froze.
“What’s this?” I looked up from the pages, which were clearly not the denial of my inheritance.
My parents exchanged a knowing glance. Their smiles glittered brightly in their gazes. Mama was the first to finally speak. “It’s the paperwork for the business. We’re turning it over to you.”
The air around me cooled. All blood fled my cheeks. I couldn’t tell if I was terrified or excited. I wanted this, didn’t I? I wanted to make this business my own, wanted to restore all the values my grandmother ascribed to. And now, they were simply handing it over to me? Even when I’d failed their little test.
“I don’t understand.” My words tasted foreign in my mouth. I was in such a state of shock, I barely recognized the sound of my own voice.
“Your grandmother wanted you to have the business,” Daddy explained. “She just didn’t want to overwhelm you by giving you everything at once. She saw what Kyle and Vanessa were doing to the company, and she knew your free-spirited and loving nature would be just what the company needed to restore its humanity. The idea was, it would go to us. Then, after some time passed and you proved yourself adept to handle things on your own, you would take it over from there.”
“But, I didn’t do what you asked,” I said. “I screwed everything up.”
Again came that knowing exchange of looks between my parents. Like they knew a secret I did not.
“Well, you did it for the right reasons, maybe,” Mama explained. “Hunter talked to us this afternoon about a few things that bear noting. We didn’t realize how serious you were about...certain things, but it takes a big step in itself to sacrifice so much for what you love.”
Oh, my gosh. I was going to die. Were they talking about Hunter?
“He told us about how Kyle was extorting you in order to get the house,” Daddy said. “You didn’t give in, even though you knew it would cost you everything, and that shows real courage and responsibility.”
I breathed a silent sigh of relief. So, they weren’t talking about Hunter. Though, it didn’t quell the ache that there was something else going on they hadn’t told me about.
“We’re both very proud of how you’ve grown in the past few weeks,” Mama said. “Though, I have a feeling that has very little to do with us and our strategies of tough love. Either way, the business is yours. Your inheritance and the house are all yours, sweetheart.”
Tears pricked the surface of my lids. This was happening. It was really happening. How in hell had Hunter convinced them to do this? How in the world was I going to repay him?
“You still have to sign the paperwork, first,” Mr. Philips said.
“Oh, right!” I wiped the tears now breaking past the edges and quickly signed every marked space. Once the papers were signed, I leaped from my seat and into my parent's arms. “Thank you.”
“Well, we didn’t come empty-handed,” Mama said. “There is someone else outside who wants to see you.”
They moved toward the door, all three disappearing behind it before revealing the man I knew was behind it all along.
“Hunter.” I sighed, his name the closest thing to home on my lips. I threw my arms around his neck. “I don’t know how you did it but thank you.”
“Well, just repay the favor by maybe going easy on my sister at her sentencing hearing,” Hunter said. I pulled back, staring up at him in confusion. “I dropped her off with Flynn before going to see your parents. Her and Kyle are going to plead guilty to setting the fire.”
“They are?” A huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I kept feeling lighter and lighter, like I was about to float away. The only thing tethering me to the ground at this moment was Hunter. “What about Yehven?”
“They released him shortly after,” Hunter explained. “I’m not saying they should get off scot-free. Maybe like some community service type thing until they’re in their eighties.”
I laughed, peppering his chin with kisses. “Whatever you want. It’s yours.”
“In that case,” he said. “I have one more question to ask you.”
He guided me toward one of the chairs, taking the seat next to me and shifting it until we were face to face. My heart pounded at the possibilities. I wasn’t sure how many more surprises my body could take.
“It’s taken me a while to realize that what I thought I wanted was not what I wanted at all,” he said, taking my hand in his. “It was something I thought I needed to do in order to keep my family’s legacy alive. But now, I know there is no greater way to do that than by following my heart.”
His hand dove into his coat pocket, retrieving a small shiny object. It was my grandmother’s ring, the one my grandfather had given her. It went to Mama when she passed, and I never would have imagined she’d part with it in a million years.
But my heart jumped at the sight of it. I withheld the urge to gasp, stifling all outbursts by clamping my lower lip between my teeth.
Oh my God. Was this happening? Was he really doing what I thought he was? With my grandmother’s ring, no less. The very symbol of perfect love in my eyes.
“I love you, Lyndsey Saunders,” Hunter said. “I want you in my life always—however that has to be. Whether it’s here or halfway across the globe, I will follow you to the ends of the earth. Where you are, that is home to me.”
