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Matt chuckles and steps back. “Remind me next time I start a new relationship to do it while she’s at school.”
“I’m not letting you start any new relationships, buster.” I freeze as my words sink in. That sounds like commitment. I wait for the panic to close in around me, but it’s strangely absent.
Matt’s eyes glow, burning into my soul. “That works for me.”
Chapter 25
NICA
I drive Dad’s little yellow Porsche to the airport to pick up my brother. The forty-minute drive seems to take forever, but I arrive way too early. Following the signs to arrivals—also the departures lane at the tiny airport—I park at the curb. Two other cars idle nearby, and a few people pull their luggage across the road to the terminal. The sun pours down through the car’s open top, warming my head and shoulders.
A uniformed security guard ambles to my passenger door and puts two fingers to his ball cap in a lazy salute. “This is the loading zone. I have to tell you that, and if anyone asks, I told you to move on. Nice car.”
I chuckle. “Thanks. Busy day?”
We both look around the nearly empty sidewalk and road. He shrugs. “About average. When the flight from Seattle arrives, you’ll see tens of cars here. Is that the flight you’re looking for?”
I nod. “My brother is coming via SeaTac.”
“If it gets too crowded, you’ll have to move, but late Monday mornings aren’t usually too crazy. People leave on the earlier flights, and not so much inbound at this time of day.” He asks a few questions about the Porsche, and I answer as well as I can. Finally, he taps the roll bar. “As I said, if anyone asks, I told you to move. Have a nice day.”
“Thanks, you, too.” I lean my head back, enjoying the warm sun on my face. The locals seem to think eighty-three is too hot, but it’s perfect in my opinion. I play with the radio then flip through my phone while I wait. A plane lands on the runway just beyond the small terminal, and I check my airline app. That’s John’s flight. A half-dozen cars drive up and park along the curb before and behind me.
Ten minutes later, a dozen or so people exit the terminal. Trunks pop open, people greet their family. My half-brother strides out of the building, a young woman hurrying behind him. They both drag small suitcases. I jump out of the car and wave. “I didn’t know Maddie was coming, too! The back seat is kinda tight.” That’s an understatement. I’m not sure even a tiny woman like Maddie will fit.
John waves a set of keys at me as he strides past the car, his eyes scanning the short-term parking lot beyond me. “I’m not riding with you. I’ll meet you at the Ranch.”
“Good to see you, too,” I mutter.
Maddie drops the handle of her purple leopard skin suitcase and throws her arms around me, air-kissing both cheeks. “Nica!”
“Where’s he going?” I release Maddie and turn to watch John march across the road.
“He’s getting the other Porsche. Destiny left it in the parking lot. She was trying to sell it.” Maddie pulls the passenger door open and jams her suitcase over the seat. Without waiting for a reply, she climbs in and shuts the door.
I run around the car and get in. “She tried to sell Dad’s car?”
Maddie shrugs. “She posted it on Craigslist but didn’t think about how she was going to deal with the rest. Not like the Land Rover.”
“Wait, what? She sold the Land Rover? I was wondering where it went.”
Maddie nods as she scrolls through something on her phone. “She’s been selling a lot of things since Dad got sick. John says she discovered the prenup doesn’t leave her with much.”
I stop at the highway and turn to stare at my half-sister. “Prenup? Is she divorcing Dad already?”
A car honks behind me, and I jerk in surprise, glancing at the rearview mirror. John, driving the red 911, gives me a dirty look. Waving, I check the road, then pull out.
“Yeah,” Maddie continues, still scrolling. “She decided he’s too old, she said. Like she didn’t know that when she married him.” She shakes her head, eyes still glued to the screen. “Anyway, once she realized the prenup gives her nothing if she leaves him in less than a year, she started selling anything she could get her hands on. You should see the Bel Air house. It’s been gutted.”
A hot surge of anger flows through me, followed by a cold trickle of reason. I’m not too surprised by Destiny’s desertion. We didn’t expect the marriage to last—that’s the whole point of a prenup. But three months? I guess Dad’s stroke really drove home the age difference. “How’d John get the keys to the Porsche?”
She shrugs. “He said something about spares in the safe. I guess Dad never gave Destiny the combo.”
“Mr. Stevens isn’t going to let her get away with selling Dad’s stuff, is he?” I hit the accelerator as we leave Redmond behind and roar down Highway 24 toward Rotheberg. The red Porsche, guided by John’s stable, careful hand, falls behind.
“I dunno. You’d have to ask John. I wasn’t involved in all the lawyer talk.” She holds up her phone. “Have you seen this kid who sings about pizza? It’s hilarious.”
I let Maddie’s monologue about her favorite videos drift over me like ocean spray while I consider this new development. If Destiny is divorcing Dad, surely that means she no longer controls who has access to him.
