AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Read it and figure it out. That’s why I called you.”
Tynan was the one with the degree in business. Although both of us were naturally intelligent, he was the legal mind. If my father had issues, he should have called Ty, not me. The minute I opened the second letter I understood why he’d dumped this on my shoulders.
“When did you get these?”
Several letters from Social Security, the last was the most current.
“A week, maybe two,” he muttered from his throne.
I stood in the living room entrance reading them with several words standing out.
Wife. Salary. Money owed.
“What’s it say?”
“You didn’t read them?”
“Not really.”
“You owe money from when they paid benefits for me and Ty. Thirty grand, Pop. You didn’t think this was important enough to pay some attention to?”
“I don’t owe them shit. They gave you the money. I never asked for it. You and Ty can pay it back.”
We could. I likely would handle it because...
I closed my eyes, shaking my head. “You never divorced her?”
His eyes shot up to me, stormy and brutal. “She left. What difference would it have made?”
“Thirty thousand is a lot ofdifference.”
“That’s their mistake which is why I want you to handle it. She doesn’t live here. She left. Her money shouldn’t matter with what they gave you and Tynan.”
“It matters when she’s still yourwife. You should have divorced her.”
“Well I didn’t. Just handle it, won’t you?”
I wasn’t in the mood to argue. Not about a wife he both loved and hated so much he’d never moved on with his life. Not about a woman who’d walked out on her sons for who fucking knows why.
“I’ll handle it.”
“Good.”
His eyes cut to mine then moved back to the TV. Conversation over. I didn’t bother saying goodbye, just folded the letters, shoved them in my pocket, and left. Our mother was alive and well.
Obviously financially stable if Social Security wanted money back from our father for benefits Ty and I had received years ago. I didn’t give a damn about her or the money. The problem was Ty would. That was why our father had called me. I wasn’t sure I could keep this from Tynan, or if I should, which was an entirely different issue I had to figure out.
This morning I woke up feeling off and wasn’t sure why but being gut punched with thoughts about my mother would explain the issue. I didn’t believe in weird shit like that but I did know the way I was feeling had to be attributed to something.
Uneasy energy settled into my body and had me craving a distraction. I wasn’t prepared to deal with this shit concerning my mother and the distraction I was seeking wasn’t going to be the gym like it normally would have been. Today, I wanted her…
ChapterThree
Keiris.
“Are you serious? Why didn’t you call me?” My girl Dreeya swiped the caramel and hazelnut latte I’d prepared and pointed to the glass display. “Let me get a danish too.”
I slid the door open and snagged her one with a gloved hand and dropped it in a craft paper sandwich bag to hand over. She moved to the side and I glanced at Logan, a college student who worked the day shift. “I’m taking a break. I’ll jump in if it gets busy.” Morning and lunch were our busiest times. It was well after five so she would be fine on her own. If not, I’d help out.
