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“You really look pale, honey.” She sipped her tea. “I can schedule you a spray tan with Miriam if you want. And maybe a haircut too? Or perhaps we should just make it a whole spa day for you.”
I swallowed the bile creeping up the back of my throat. This wasn’t an unusual request from my mother. For her, one of the most important things was outer beauty. And I had not been taking care of myself lately.
“I don’t want a spray tan,” I said, my voice lifeless.
My mother took another sip of tea. Her already high eyebrows arched even further. “Oh, you’ve been through it, I get it. But maybe starting to clean yourself up a bit will make you feel better.”
I shook my head. Her mouth turned down sharply at the corners. “You know what else might help?”
I looked at her, not even caring what she was going to say. I was already exhausted.
“Money.”
My hands tightened around the hot mug. My mother set her tea down, then crossed her legs and leaned toward me. “I know Charlie wasn’t a wealthy man, baby. He always struggled to pay the bills, and I can’t imagine it got any better after he couldn’t work.”
My lungs tightened so it was hard to draw in air, as if she was sucking up all the oxygen in the room.
She sighed. “One thing he did have though, was this land.” She glanced at the one window in the living room. The window that had been shattered by a brick not that long ago. I remembered the horror I’d felt, not just from the attack, but from knowing I’d have to figure out a way to fix it. Because she was right. Dad didn’t have much money. I was working more though. I was surviving.
She turned back to me. “I imagine it’s yours now.”
I didn’t respond. She already knew the answer. Everything Dad had went to me.
“Funerals ain’t cheap, I know.” Her mouth tightened and I glanced away. I tried not to think of it, but it was a bill looming over my head. Maybe I wasn’t surviving as well as I thought.
Her face fell in something that might be pity. “It must be so overwhelming. Having all this property to care for and bills to pay.” She sighed again. “I just couldn’t leave my little girl in a situation like that. I had to come help.”
My brows knit together. “Help?”
She nodded. “That’s why I came. I knew you’d need some support. Luckily…” A small smile crept onto her lips, though I think she was trying to hide it. “My boyfriend is a real estate agent. He’s so talented. He could have this land sold and money in your pocket in a week.”
I blinked, letting her words sink in. “Sold?”
“Oh, it seems like a lot, but trust me, we’d take on all the responsibility and burden. Keeping up land like this takes time and money. It would be so much easier for you if you didn’t have to deal with it on top of everything else.”
My mouth suddenly went dry. Tea sloshed over the side of the mug as my hands shook. I set it down on the coffee table. “I’m not selling this land,” I said, my voice small, but growing firmer.
My mother waved a hand dismissively. “We’d take care of that for you. All you’d have to do is sign a few papers and you’ll be set. We can talk numbers later, but trust me, honey, the amount of money you could get for this place would make your eyes bulge.”
I stood up suddenly, making her jump. I balled my hands into fists at my sides, my face hot. “I’m not selling this land. No one is selling this land.”
She glared at me as if I’d cussed at her. Her mouth tightened. “I can give you some time to think about it.”
I shook my head. “No.” I was finding my voice now. “I don’t want you to do anything but leave my house.”
Her mouth opened as if I’d told her to go fuck off. Part of me wished I had. “You do not talk to me like that,” she snapped.
Heat surged as pure rage lit my blood on fire. “This is my home. I can speak to you however I want to.”
Her eyes narrowed. She reached over, picking up her mug and taking a slow sip of tea. “Calm down, dear. Pissed isn’t a good look for you.”
My skin prickled. I wanted to slap her and, for a moment, I seriously considered it. But I was better than that.
“I personally know a sergeant in the police department. One call and I’ll have you physically removed from this property.”
She barked out a shrill, humorless laugh. “Are you seriously threatening to call the cops on me?”
“I will if you don’t leave.”
