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He left the other men and headed for his truck. Carly needed to search the attic, and it would be faster if he helpedher. He didn’t expect to find the surprise up there, but it was the logical place to start. The rest of the family would question what was happening up there, and he had no easy answers. Hopefully Carly had a ready explanation to offer.
The whole family was a mess, but his own home life had been only marginally better. Ryan was supposed to start the remodel on Monday. It was going to get chaotic with all the sisters there. And the scowling dad. Kyle’s presence hadn’t added anything but more stress to Carly.
He was beginning to see she might have been carrying a heavier load all these years than he’d realized.
Twelve
No one wanted to talk to her, but she had to figure out what was going on.
Carly inhaled the aroma of Noah’s head, then set him on the floor in the living room to roll around on a blanket. Pepper lay just beyond his reach, and the baby squealed and tried to reach for the cat.
Her father was upstairs showering for his trip, and Isabelle had retreated to her bedroom once Dad had managed to arrange for her to finish her classes online. Though that detail had been taken care of, she’d burst into tears when it was clear she would be left here in the care of her grandmother.
Carly grabbed her mug of coffee and settled on the floor beside Noah before staring first at Amelia. “What is going on? No one is talking. Are you mad at me or at each other or both?”
Amelia narrowed her brown eyes at Carly and said nothing. Carly turned to stare at Dillard. Maybe he’d speak up. He had his keys in hand, so she suspected he planned to head back to Jacksonville today.
Emily cleared her throat. “Why are we even here, Carly?The work on the house hasn’t started yet, so there’s nothing for us to help with.”
“Of course there is. We begin by clearing the furniture out of the downstairs, which is where Ryan will begin the remodel. He starts on Monday.” She’d told them all that already, so what was this about?
Amelia crossed her arms. “And how are we supposed to live upstairs? No kitchen for weeks, maybe several months. Nowhere to sit. I’m not needed here, not yet.”
“You can start on the exterior anytime, Amelia. You and Emily can work together and decide on a color scheme. That would include trying on paint colors and doing computer design work. And Emily can direct what changes she wants to see in the house. Doors changed, walls removed, that kind of thing.”
She glanced around the living room with fresh evaluation. The rose wallpaper was worn and peeling in places, the oak floors needed to be refinished, and the layout would likely need to be adjusted to be more conducive to groups staying in the house. The kitchen and dining room definitely needed major overhauls. The thought of handling it alone was overwhelming.
Emily moved restlessly. “What’s the point? You’re going to get everything like always.”
Ah, the real crux of the matter. It always went back to Mom’s will. Carly fingered the platinum cross around her neck. “Gram plans to leave the house to all of us. She plans for the three of us to share in the profit made by the bed-and-breakfast as well.”
“That’s unlikely to amount to much,” Dillard put in. “Bythe time your grandmother pays for the upgrades needed, it will take forever to recoup the costs.”
He wasn’t wrong, and Carly saw both of her sisters harden their expressions. This was going south too fast. “So you plan to walk away and leave all this behind?” She waved her hand around the living room.
“You’re the oldest and the favorite granddaughter,” Emily said. “And you have Noah as well. You’ve been living with Gram and have had plenty of time to sway her to leave you everything.”
Before Carly could answer, the doorbell rang and she spotted Lucas on the porch. She scrambled to her feet and rushed to the entry. She squashed down her emotion and pushed open the screen door. “Come on in.”
His hazel eyes narrowed, and his gaze darted past her to the living room. She was sure he didn’t need an explanation about why she was upset when he saw the tension in the family. He nodded when she gave a slight shake of her head. The last thing she wanted was for him to demand an explanation. It would only make a terrible situation worse.
“I thought I’d come help you move things around in the attic. I had some time.”
A reprieve. At least she wouldn’t have to go back to the living room with fists ready. “That would be great.” Her voice quivered, and she cleared her throat. “I’ll see if Gram will watch Noah. He’ll be awake for another hour or so.”
And she didn’t dare ask one of her sisters to watch him. Their dislike of her was likely to spill over to her baby, harsh as that sounded.
“I’ll watch him.”
She turned toward Isabelle, who stood red-eyed at the bottom of the steps. She’d showered, and her blonde hair was still wet on her shoulders. She’d put tiny gold hoops in the four holes in her ears.
“Are you sure?”
“I like babies. I’ve done a lot of babysitting since I turned thirteen. He’s cute, and it will give me something to do.” Her blue eyes widened as she moved closer to the wide opening from the entry into the living room. “You have a cat? My best friend has one, and they are lit! Mom wouldn’t let me have one, though.”
Carly wanted to ask about her mother, but now wasn’t the time. “His name is Pepper, and Noah loves him. You can come get me if he needs his diaper changed or is crying.”
Isabelle frowned. “I don’t need help changing diapers. That’s the first thing you have to learn as a babysitter. My friends call me a baby whisperer. They never cry for me. Babies are like dogs—they can sense if you like them. It’s all about your energy around them.”
