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He had to have planned it all along. The papers would have reflected the down payment, but maybe she’d just signed where directed. “How did your sisters find out about the money she left you?”
“They saw the necklace and asked Dad about it. He told them.”
Everyone had thrown her under the bus. This was a long-standing disagreement that wouldn’t be easily mended. “And now your grandmother is wanting all the sisters together. It won’t be an easy time.”
She redid her ponytail and shook her head. “They think they’ll do the work and Gram will leave everything to me. But she won’t. And even if she did, I’d make sure they got their part.”
“What happens when they find out the trunk’s contents were left to you alone? They’ll hear about the egg.”
“I’ll split the money with them.”
He wanted to tell her not to give in to their tantrums, but he didn’t want her to think he was like Eric. But until her sisters treated her with respect, he didn’t think she owed them a thing. Not one thin dime.
Thirteen
She had to tell Gram about her birth mother.
As Carly searched the attic with Lucas, that knowledge had crept into her heart. She always tried to be strong—to go it alone because her family depended on her. But she didn’t have the right to do this alone. Gram was intimately involved and deserved to know about it.
Lucas’s deep voice broke into her introspection. “Ready to go downstairs and face your family?”
She forced a smile and wished she could stay here a little longer, but Noah would be ready to nurse and go to bed any minute. Isabelle really must be a baby whisperer. There hadn’t been a peep from him.
She reached for the file folder of papers she’d pulled out of the chest earlier and held it up. “I’m going to tell Gram.”
Lucas’s dark brows rose. “About the egg?”
She shook her head. “Not unless you think I should. It’s just that I know my sisters. When they realize the egg’s value, they’ll be bombarding me to get it appraised and sold. Dillard will be leading the charge.”
“It’s your property,” he reminded her.
He had to know her inner fairness code wouldn’t let herkeep it all to herself. It was too much money for one person anyway. “Once the media gets wind of it, things will turn into a circus. We won’t have the quiet space to investigate her past.”
“Slugs will come crawling out from every rock claiming to be her family in hopes they can get their hands on some of the money.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Ugh. That’s the last thing we need.”
His phone beeped with a message, and he glanced at it. “Vince has a lead on your grandmother’s birth family. He texted me a phone number and address. The woman, Anna Martin, seems to be related to the Balandin family. The documentation is murky. Feel up to a road trip? She’s just up near Savannah. Tybee Island.”
A road trip with Lucas sounded immensely appealing. Getting away from the stony glances and stares of her sisters would be a welcome reprieve. “When?”
“Tomorrow after church? Is Noah a good traveler?”
“He’s a stellar traveler.” It touched her that he realized she wouldn’t want to be gone long from her baby. And she couldn’t be gone long. He nursed about every three hours. “He usually pops off to sleep right away.” A trip to Tybee Island would be a pleasant hour-and-a-half drive along a lazy road. “Too bad we couldn’t go by boat.”
He lifted a brow. “We could. Ryan and I have a boat. We’re so busy we don’t get to use it often, but we keep it ocean ready. Could the baby handle a boat ride?”
“He’s never been on one, but the rumble would probably put him right to sleep.”
“I’ll meet you down at the waterfront at one.”
“I’ll bring lunch.” She started for the steps at the sametime a thin wail filtered to her ears. Noah was hungry and ready for bed.
She’d have a couple of hours to talk with Gram and broach the subject of her birth family. Carly’s palms grew moist at the thought of telling her family about the packet of papers in her hand. At least the egg was safely stowed at the bank and wouldn’t be discovered. That was one secret she could keep a little while longer. The hullabaloo that would ensue at its discovery would echo through the art world.
She paused long enough to stash the file before going down to the living room, where she scooped up Noah, who was red-faced and angry, out of Isabelle’s arms. “He’s ready for a nap.”
Isabelle appeared calm and unruffled by the crying baby. “He didn’t make a peep until just now.”
