AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Is it the medical bills?” Easton pressed.
“I spent it,” Loretta said. “At the clinic, I met some children undergoing chemo. Lucy wants to be a doctor. Ramon and Dante want to serve in the military. They’re so young, have so much life ahead. I don’t want them or their families to worry about anything except beating this disease.”
“Loretta—”
“Don’t you dare scold me, Harris Carter. You said that was my account to do as I see fit.”
“They’re all your accounts, honey. Everything we have is yours.” Harris’s voice was scratchy as he spoke.
“Easton, I’ll pay you back,” she said. “I didn’t realize you were the one replenishing the account. We have overdraft protection tied to another account. I thought it was coming from there.”
“No, Mama. We’ll help as many kids as you want.”
“What if these people are taking advantage of you?” Drew slid over next to his mother.
“They aren’t. Ramon reminds me so much of you.” She brushed his hair back. “He wants to play baseball.”
“I hope you didn’t encourage that,” Drew muttered.
“That’s why you want to keep the money Easton had saved,” I said.
“We could help so many people,” she said softly. “I don’t have much time left, but I’d feel better knowing something was being done when I’m gone.”
“Don’t talk like that,” Harris choked out.
“I’ve accepted I’m going to die and made my peace with it. That doesn’t mean I have to stop living.”
My eyes stung, and Easton turned away toward the windows. After the scare with Ruby, death was too close to my soul. I couldn’t bear the idea of losing Loretta. My heart was breaking for Easton.
“We’ll figure out a way to extract the money and use it any way you want,” Harris said.
Drew tensed, but eventually put his arm around his mother. “I’ll do what I can to make sure nobody finds it.” Then he looked at me with utter contempt and added, “Nobody.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
Easton
“What doyou know about your brother’s computer skills?”
Daniel leaned forward and placed his arms on Muriella’s desk.
“That whenever there’s something technical I can’t do, I call him.” I propped an ankle on my knee.
“He writes software too. There’s EXODUS that he wrote for you.” Mulaney scratched her temple. “Remember he wanted Carter Energy to use some sort of program he wrote to keep up with leases. All I recall is your dad vetoed it.”
I wrapped my arms around my leg as she stirred a vague memory. “I’d forgotten about that, but EXODUS is pure genius. There’s no way I’d have functioned as efficiently as I have without it.”
“How close are the two of you?”
What was with the inquisition? “Close.”
Daniel tapped the glass surface of the desk. “My people have traced who set up the LLC.”
“Then why the hell are we talking about Drew?” I dropped my foot to the floor, irritated.
“He did it.” Mulaney slumped in her chair and stared at Daniel as if willing his words not to be true.
“No.” The denial was out before I thought about it. He was my brother. My friend. My blood. While he wasn’t perfect, he wouldn’t implode our family legacy.
