AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hannah nodded, looking at the date. It was after she had stopped by the house, after he found out he was sick.
“‘I, Joel Destin, direct my executor, Hannah Destin Higgins, to pay my enforceable unsecured debts and funeral expenses, the expenses of my last illness, and the expenses of administering my estate.’”
“What does that mean?”
“He’s giving you legal permission to pay for any debts he has incurred, like funeral expenses or medical expenses, as his executor.” Olivia looked back at the document and her eyes widened. “Hannah, he left you everything… ‘I give all my tangible personal property, and all policies and proceeds of insurance covering such property, to my daughter, Hannah.’”
Olivia passed a copy of the house deed to her. “You own his house. You own everything.” Olivia shook the paper. “He has IRAs and stocks.” Olivia kept reading the fancy lawyer terms as Hannah’s head spun with the news.
“Does he have debts? Like, will I have to pay stuff off?” She knew he had a truck, but it wasn’t new. “Maybe there’s a loan against the house?”
“He owns the house outright.” Olivia shook her head. “It has to be worth a lot, too.”
Hannah made a face. “That house is falling apart.”
“The house may be falling apart, but property in that area is worth a lot, now,” Olivia said.
Her father’s place sat on the south hill in a neighborhood that had been gaining in popularity. His ramshackle house stuck out like a sore thumb. “This is all so confusing,” Hannah confessed. “What should I do?”
“Hannah, it’s yours!” Olivia laughed. “You can sell it, live in it, rent it out. Whatever you want to do. You could finally go back to school!”
Hannah tried to take in the information. A lump rose in her throat. She didn’t know why she was about to cry. She didn’t know exactly what she was feeling, but she wasn’t sad.
“I can’t believe he actually gave me everything.”
Olivia continued to explain the process and promised to handle everything. Hannah decided to wait for Emma to come home from school before heading to the house. She picked up the phone to dial Jake’s number, but stopped as the school bus pulled up to the farm.
She intercepted Emma as she headed to the barn. “Hey, how was school?”
Emma shrugged. “Fine.”
She wanted to blurt everything out, but felt equally guilty and giddy at the same time. If everything panned out the way Olivia said it would, they wouldn’t have to worry about having a home ever again. Her eyes stung with gratitude.
“What’s wrong, Mama?”
Hannah started laughing. “Would you like to see where I grew up?”
* * *
Jake went to look at a house that day, too. A two-bedroom, two-bath, ranch at the north end of town. Relatively close to the Boudreau farm, but they’d have to drive. It had a smidge of land, just enough for a horse, and Millie, which at this point was all he felt he could expect. He had already talked to the Gundersons about selling the cows and closing down. It had been a fun ride, and he was pretty sure Victor would’ve been proud of his efforts. But sometimes, in the end, dreams just didn’t pan out.
He would buy this house for Hannah and Emma and him. He would ask her to marry him as soon as he had sealed the deal. The Wilsons already had a few people interested in their place. He needed to settle on something before he had no place to go.
“It’s a really nice layout,” Julia said, standing in the empty living room.
He nodded, looking around. It wasn’t the ranch, but it was enough. He was sure it had potential, maybe with new hardwood floors, or he could finish the basement. “How much, again?”
She handed him the listing. The number was fifty thousand above his price range. “Why did you even show me this place?” he asked, exasperated.
“Because I think they’ll come down, it’s been on the market for a while.”
“How long?”
“Three months,” she said.
Why had it been sitting for so long, in this seller’s market?
“Can I make an offer now?” he asked, thinking of lowballing to get the negotiations started. He still had a sinking feeling they’d refuse what he could afford.
