AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Where would Lucy start? The drinking and smoking, the loud music, and that lack of decorum she showed whenever her brother burst into a place; the list went on and on.
“Don’t be absurd. You are my brother. I’m not embarrassed by you, believe me. Why would I be? We grew up together. You’ve always been there for me, made me laugh.”
“Taught you how to fish and hunt…” He added, digging for another can of beer.
Lucy rolled her eyes. Another unwanted memory. People in her circles did not exactly spend their time fishing and hunting, especially not as a means for food. “And that,” she agreed, nonetheless.
“Are you happy now?”
This caught Lucy off guard.
“Are you kidding? Look around,” she said, opening her arms wide to demonstrate her wealth.
Barney frowned. “There was this old pal of mine, Bill. You remember, Bill, don’t you? Anyways, we were in the Marines together, always went hunting together, drank beer, and sat around a campfire most Saturdays. You know, talking, laughing and just living life. And then Bill inherited his dad’s farm, worth a couple of mil. He suddenly wouldn't talk to me anymore.” He sighed deeply, his voice laced with sadness, his mighty hand squeezing the beer can. “You think you know someone until money comes into play, and then you realize you ain’t known shit.” His eyes were on Lucy.
She felt the guilt trickle all over her skin. Emotional moments were a no-no. After the death of her husband, who she had loved dearly, she just hadn’t wanted to be that sort of person any longer. Barney had already stirred up enough emotional memories for today.
She knew a hug would soothe her brother right at this moment, and maybe a word or two about how he was still important to her, but each time she tried to say something she’d think back to the reason she invited him over. Family therapy was not it.
Barney stared at her, eagerly anticipating her next words. His head dropped when she said, “I think we should have some breakfast now.”
“Alright. I’m starving anyway.”
She took the beer from his hand and smiled when he turned off the blaring music and rolled up the windows to his truck.
For a brief moment, she just stood there, staring at her brother. He had barely arrived and had already tried to bring back deeply buried childhood memories. If she was not careful, her whole plan could backfire big time, bring down the wrong woman under this roof. It would take all of the inner strength she had left to prevent that from happening, but with a billion dollars on the line, she was certain that she would find a way to come out on top one way or another.
“It’s nice to be here, little sis,” he said as they walked back up to the house.
“Thanks for coming,” she smiled, and this time, it almost seemed genuine to her as well.
The week with Barney was rather uneventful. But that was most likely due to Ava working more than usual and Benjamin taking her out for dinner. She did hear the staff gossip a lot about Lucy and her struggles with Barney. Which was actually kind of nice, as it took Lucy’s focus away from her for a little while.
The dinners with Benjamin were neither great nor terrible. They would talk about shallow things and eat. Have a glass of wine, drive home. The most disturbing fact about these dinners was how used they both got to being called Mr. and Mrs. Radcliff.
One time, they were waiting for their table to be set up and when the waiter finally called out for the “Radcliffs,” Benjamin and Ava both turned around as if they had been married for years. To top things off, the waiter then made Benjamin a compliment about his beautiful wife, which he accepted with a grateful smile and a - “She is, isn’t she?” Ava remembered the happy, warm sensation his words had had on her, as if it had just happened a few minutes ago.
It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and Ava sat by the pool of the mansion, deep in thought, when she heard a deep voice ask, “Hey there, Ava was it?”
She looked up to find Barney. He pushed his bulk over onto the folding chair, but not before dragging it closer to her. The chair creaked when he balanced himself on it.
“That’s me,” she replied.
“I don’t think you and I have gotten to know each other yet.”
Ava braced herself. Lucy probably sent him to get under her skin.I won’t let them get to me.
“I don’t think we have.”
“Good thing I’m here now,” he smiled. “Last time I saw my nephew, he was going out with some dull-witted super model. Didn’t know that Russia wasn’t part of Europe.” He laughed and looked at her for a response but blurted his next set of words before she could even think.
“But you, there’s something about you.” He narrowed his eyes and took off his baseball cap, revealing a mass of deep black hair, sprinkled with grey. He fixed his eyes on her as if trying to figure out what that something was.
“Something about me, hmm?”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah, yeah. Uh—what I mean is, you two seem like a good match to me.”
Ava raised an eyebrow.
