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He seems relieved to get off the subject of Clint’s body. His fingers fumble over the briefcase and then he appears to decideagainst opening it. I frown, watching something I can’t recognize pass over his face.
“Clint left everything to you,” he says, eyes averted.
I feel something finally—disbelief. “What?”
He keeps glancing over the room like he’s guilty. “Um…Clint left you Garrison Ranch, the portion that belonged to him, and all the money in his account to you.”
My jaw is slack. It takes me a full minute to get control of myself and formulate my thoughts.
“Clint hated me,” I whisper. “There’s no way he left me shit.”
I didn’t mean for the words to come out so harshly, but right now I have no filter. Jay releases an uncomfortable sigh and leans back, steepling his fingers.
“I can’t tell you why, but I can tell you it’s true.”
My mind whirls and all I can think about is last night when Clint got angry because I didn’t obey him fast enough. I glance down, noticing I still have a little mark where he gripped my wrist to push me down onto the bed.
My eyelids are sticky when I blink. Nothing makes sense.
“I can handle all the paperwork for you,” he says.
It feels like he’s a million miles away. I nod and he’s saying something I can barely process. He tells me the Garrison brothers, Avery and Thomas, will likely contest the will. But I shouldn’t worry because he’ll handle the case. I don’t have to do a thing but show up in court when he tells me to. My head keeps nodding and at one point he puts paper down in front of me and I sign it without reading a word.
This has to be a cruel trick from the universe.
There’s no way my cheating, abusive husband is gone and I'm conveniently left with his ranch and all his money.
He asks me a few more questions I can’t remember and he says he’s sorry for my loss. He means it, Jay is a good man, not like Clint. Before he goes, he takes my hand and asks me if I’ll bealright if he leaves me alone. My mouth is so dry I can’t answer so I just nod hard.
I stand at the foot of the stairs and listen while his car drives off. Then I tiptoe around the house and feel how still it is. Dust sparkles in the evening sun that splits through the blinds. Horses nicker in the field. I can hear the birds trill from the marsh on the other side of the road.
This house is mine.
Clint will never desecrate it with his sharp voice or loud footfalls again.
I stand there frozen for what feels like forever before I remember dinner is still cooking. Anger pours through me and I stride to the kitchen. Wrapping my hand in a towel, I yank the half done chicken out and pile it on the stove. I’m not fucking making dinner for anyone tonight. They can feed themselves.
Everyone can fuck off and leave me alone for one night of peace.
The bottle of whiskey I poured from last night sits on the counter. I grab it and the shot glass beside it. Unwashed. I bring it to my lips and push my tongue inside, cleaning up the half dried bit of whiskey. The guilt from meeting Gerard Sovereign is gone.
Last night I was afraid.
Today I’m free.
No one comes in for dinner because I never ring the bell. Surely they heard the news already. If they haven’t, they’ll figure out soon enough.
Whiskey in hand, I go upstairs to our bed and take the painted mare from the drawer. She stares at me with dark eyes, perpetually in motion. Forever on the run.
I take a shot. I’m twenty-one years old, I’ve been married since I was eighteen. It’s only been four years, but it feels likeI wasted eons. Today I’m going to drink until the emptiness is gone and tomorrow I’ll figure this mess out.
I push myself up against the headboard, whiskey between my knees.
What do I do now?
I could try getting laid by someone who cares if I finish or not.
A wry smile twists my lips. My hands shake as I pour another glass and shoot it. It burns like fire again and again until I’ve had so much I’m worried I won’t be able to stand. Half the bottle is gone when I finally roll it onto the empty side of the bed. My head spins as I peel myself from the bed and wobble to the silk slip hanging behind the door.
