The Inheritance Part VI Read online

  Her dad lugged out an armful of shirts and dropped them in a pile on the floor, picking up one at a time to fold into another box. “Your mom and I have been talking a lot over the past few days.” He gave an almost inaudible sigh and looked over at her mother, who had a ghost of a downturn on the corners of her mouth. “We have the answers now. And no one can heal if we keep this room a shrine. Cassandra . . . has passed.”

  “Besides,” she said, lifting her chin and looking at Maggie, “these clothes are in perfect shape. Someone else could use them. Maybe another teenager who’s in need of them.”

  Maggie’s chest swelled. Despite their current difficulties, they were trying to think of others. Help someone else. “I think that’s a great idea. And speaking of moving forward . . . I need to tell you guys how the meeting went today with Grandpa’s lawyer.” Now or never. “Since the meeting where Robert confessed happened in front of me, Andrew and Bethany, it has been determined—no, I actually insisted that Bethany split the money with me.”

  Both of her parents stopped moving.

  “So that woman won, after all,” her mother muttered, her face falling.

  “Is it really a win? Robert tried to kill her right in front of us. She stood by Grandpa’s side while he went through that hellish cancer treatment and then watched the man she cared about die. She had a shitty childhood with a horrible father, and the one friend she had—me—had abandoned her to her own life. Yes, she got five million dollars out of this. But I see change happening in her, and I think it was the right thing to do. She deserves a fresh start.” Maggie stopped and gulped in air, trying to calm her angry tirade. She hadn’t meant to get so defensive. “Anyway, that’s how I feel about it, and the decision has been made.”

  Her father stared at her for so long she began to squirm. “You’re right. It wasn’t our money or our decision. And while we may not like it, it was your choice. I’m just . . . I’m sad about the house. That was a beautiful place, and . . .” He stopped, sighed.

  “Actually, she insisted I keep the house. Though I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do with it. It’s far too much space for one person.” Maggie leaned back and rested her spine against the cool wall. “But I don’t want to sell it.”

  In truth, she was glad it had worked out this way. It was a huge house—a mansion—but her grandfather had worked hard to earn the money to build it. She didn’t want to let that piece of their history go.

  “Well.” Her mother cleared her throat and went back to folding clothes. “I’m sure you’ll figure out something worthwhile for the home.”

  Maggie nodded. Maybe she could talk to Andrew about it. Would he want to stay with her there? Even if he did, it seemed crazy decadent to live alone, just two people, in such a massive place.

  “Can I take those pictures?” Maggie asked, pointing at the pile. “I wasn’t sure what you’d planned to do with them, but I want some.” On the top was a picture of her and Cassandra in front of the high school—Cassandra’s first day of freshman year. Maggie’s heart gave a bittersweet pang. She reached over and picked up the photo, stroking a finger over her sister’s beautiful face.

  “I’m going to frame some, but maybe we can sort through them. Together,” her mom said, and Maggie heard her voice fading. She looked up and saw tears in the woman’s eyes. “I’m still going to miss her. Every day.”

  “Me too.”

  They finished packing up Cassandra’s room, no one speaking anymore until the boxes were getting taped off.

  “Your mother and I are going to counseling,” her father said. “About Cassandra and our relationship.”

  Maggie looked up from the box top she was folding closed, and blinked. “Really?”

  Her mom nodded then peered over at him. “Our relationship isn’t perfect. We have a lot of issues to work on. But we’re going to try. Even if only to give us a safe space to express our feelings and work through our problems.”

  “I’m glad you guys are going to counseling.” If he was going to try to forgive her mom for cheating, Maggie needed to let them work through it. It would be hard, and she couldn’t deny there were still flare-ups of anger in her belly, but this was their problem to solve. Not hers.

  Her mind shifted to her brother. If only he’d gone to a counselor—to anyone. If only he’d confessed what had happened that night instead of letting everything spiral out of control.

  “We’ll deal with him when the time comes,” her dad said, obviously reading the look on Maggie’s face. “But one thing at a time. Right now, for us, today is about your sister. Oh, and we decided to hold a funeral for her. Because we all need that closure too.”

  Maggie fought back a surge of tears. Her sister’s remains had been found earlier today after an incredible search effort, and she was going to be cremated. It was a good idea to have a funeral for her so everyone could say good-bye, but still, that was going to be hard. “Okay.”

  “Let’s take these boxes downstairs. I have a guy who’s coming to load them into his truck—we’re donating them,” her mom said, pasting on her brave face.

  For once, Maggie didn’t resent her for it. Her mom was trying to muster through and was actually going to face her problems instead of running from them, pretending everything was okay. If it took a false front to get through the situation for a bit, Maggie couldn’t blame her.

  When the last box was downstairs in the kitchen, Maggie paused and stared at the stacks. Her sister’s life, nestled so tidily away.

  No, not true. Her sister might be gone, but she still lived on. Not haunting, but leaving her sweet, fun smile behind with the best of memories.

  Chapter 36

  Maggie had never seen so many people at a funeral.

  Over the last week, word had naturally gotten out through the media frenzy about Cassandra’s case being solved, the inheritance money—the whole shebang. Every dirty detail on what happened that night, on Joel’s murder, pictures of Cassandra . . . all online and on TV for days and days. Her parents had done one massive press release, explaining the current situation and asking people to respect the family’s privacy. And while there had been a few crazy paparazzi stalkers trying to sneak in today, for the most part people had understood. Had given them space.

  Maggie, Bethany and Andrew had reached out to all of Cassandra’s old friends, asking them if they wanted to attend the funeral. It had been grueling, exhausting work, reliving the incidents over and over again on each phone call. But her sister had deserved that respect, as had all of the friends who had lived with the fear and worry about her for eight long, long years.

  They’d all agreed to come.

  The weather was brisk but sunny outside at Lake View Cemetery, a prestigious cemetery where her grandfather rested. Their family mausoleum was near a small lake. The grounds were quiet, the grass frozen solid beneath their feet. But people stayed in peaceful silence as they stood in their places. There were hundreds in attendance, an ocean of black, broken and punctuated by sniffles and tears. Maggie saw teachers from school, some of Cassandra’s old Girl Scouts friends. Even David had come, donned in a black suit and looking somber and heartbroken.

  Maggie tugged her coat a little tighter as the wind picked up, blowing a chilly breeze across the bare flesh of her face and throat. Andrew drew her into his side, brushing a kiss along her brow.

  “Friends and family,” the pastor began in a loud voice, his back to the large stone mausoleum as he surveyed the huge crowd. His brown eyes crinkled in warm concern. “Cassandra Willings was a beautiful young woman who breathed life into everything she touched. She was loved and adored by everyone who met her.”

  As he talked on, Maggie wrapped her arm around Andrew and held him close. Cassandra’s urn was placed right beside her grandpa’s coffin. Though he wasn’t here in body to get the closure, surely his spirit could now be at rest.

  Maggie’s
chest shuddered with a few suppressed sobs she bit back, struggling to keep a neutral face. So much pain here already. Her heart still hurt.

  Andrew tucked her head into his shoulder and wrapped her in his arms. “It’s okay, baby,” he said. “Let it go if you need to.”

  She would, later. When she was alone with him, not in front of everyone. Right now, she wanted to be strong for her sister, her parents. While they’d wanted the funeral, of course, nothing could have prepared them for the reality of burying their daughter. Still, though their faces were etched with years of grief, they kept their backs straight and chins high.

  When the pastor finished speaking, he stepped back so people could slip inside, one family at a time, to say good-bye. Maggie, Andrew and her parents had an endless chain of hugs and kisses. But after what felt like forever, the line finally stopped, and people left to meet them at her grandpa’s house, where they were having a post-funeral gathering for their closest friends and relatives.

  The grounds emptied, and Maggie’s parents slipped inside, stayed for a moment then came out, holding hands. “We’ll see you at Grandpa’s,” her mom said, swiping her free hand under her eyes.

  Maggie hugged them both close, swallowing back her sadness.

  “We love you, honey,” her dad said. Then they left.

  Maggie went in by herself and removed her glove. The mausoleum was spacious, made from flawless stone with a brilliant stained-glass window shining colors across the floor. It was peaceful and quiet. Perfect.

  “Hey, sis,” she said, touching her fingertips to the icy urn. “Okay, I know your spirit isn’t in there, but I don’t know how else to address you.” She gave an awkward laugh. “Um, anyway, I’ve been thinking a lot. And after all this stuff with the inheritance, I’ve decided what I’m going to do. I hope you approve, especially since I got the idea from you.”

  With a quick kiss of her fingertips, she pressed them once more to the urn, then turned to her grandfather. “Grandpa, I know things didn’t turn out the way you wanted them to, but I promise to make you proud. Thank you for believing in me—in all of us—even when we didn’t believe in ourselves. I love you both.”

  Maggie drew in a shaky breath, one after another, until she stopped trembling. “Good-bye.” With that, she exited the mausoleum and took Andrew’s hand.

  “You okay?” he asked, concern filling his ocean eyes. His dark brows were gathered together, and he looked tired too. It made her heart twinge in sadness.

  “I will be.” She squeezed his fingers. “I love you. Thank you for being here with me.”

  “I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” he whispered, shaking his head in admonishment. His cheeks were flushed from standing in the brisk air. “I love you too. I’m so sorry you and your family have had to go through this.”

  They walked in silence to the car then headed out of the cemetery. The drive to her grandpa’s mansion was peaceful—now that they were in the warmth of the car, the sunshine was pleasant.

  “So, I’ve been thinking,” Maggie finally said.

  “What about?” Andrew turned the station to classical music, and violin strains softly filled the air around them.

  “I know what I want to do with Grandpa’s house. It came to me in a dream.”

  Last night, Maggie had had another dream of her sister. But this one was different than any of the ones before. She’d seen her sister and a handful of other teenaged girls wandering around the lush, manicured grounds of the mansion, laughing and arms linked, while Maggie had been standing on the porch, dusting her hands off on an apron. The scent of freshly baked cookies filled the huge house behind her and wafted through the open front door. It was springtime, and pink and white petals from the massive cherry trees along the front drive floated through the air, dusting the grass.

  As she’d watched her sister dancing with the other girls, their laughs sprinkling the air with merriment, the emotion in Maggie’s heart had been one of contentment.

  It had taken her a long time to figure out what it meant, but once it did, she knew it was the right thing.

  “I’m going to make his place in to a rehabilitation home for girls. Those who got kicked out or who ran away and have nowhere to go. Those who need a place to find themselves.”

  They reached a red light, and Andrew turned to her and kissed her knuckles. “That’s a wonderful idea.”

  She swallowed past her nervousness and continued. “I asked Bethany this morning if she wanted to help with it, and she agreed. She sounded very excited about it, actually.” That had eased some of her fears about it. Bethany had burst into happy tears on the phone and said she was eager to do something to help other girls get on the right track earlier than she had.

  Andrew turned down a side street that led to her grandpa’s house. When they were a block from the mansion, he stopped and pulled the car onto the side of the road to park. Then he turned to her. “I’m proud of you. I know this hasn’t been easy, but you’re taking a hard situation and making something positive from it.” His praise warmed every bit of her. “So does that mean . . . you’re planning to stay around here?” he asked. There was a flash of hope in his eyes, but he swallowed, betraying his nervousness.

  She reached up to cup his face, stroke the angles of his jaw. “Yes, I’m staying. I handed in my notice and transferred the rest of my work to my coworkers. And . . . my lease is up next month on my apartment.”

  “Good thing you have a huge mansion you can move into,” he said with a crooked grin, giving her a sexy wink.

  She shrugged and dropped her voice. “It’s big but it’s lonely. And that’s not what I want.”

  He inched a fraction closer. “What do you want?”

  “What do you want?” she countered, suddenly too nervous to be forthright.

  He chuckled, shook his head, then took her mouth in a slow, sensual kiss. Her stomach twisted in pleasure as he drank from her lips. He slid his hand beneath her coat to stroke her belly with his warm fingers right above her beltline. He pulled back from her mouth to stare down into her eyes. “I want you. Just you, nothing else. I love you so much.”

  “I love you too,” she breathed. Her heart was going to explode from all the emotion surging in her right now. She knew people were waiting inside the mansion for her, but they could wait another minute. She needed this moment with Andrew right now.

  “Stay with me,” he said, his thumb swirling along the tender flesh of her stomach, just under her sweater. It sent shivers of delight across her skin. “As long as you want. There’s room in my home for you. And I’ll help you every step of the way with this idea of yours. I think it’s perfect. I know several great lawyers who can help draft up the paperwork to get the business started.”

  She bit her lower lip and nodded. “Thank you. I’d love that.”

  “No, thank you.” Andrew cupped her face and gave another tender kiss, then rained kisses across her face. “And now that I have you again in my life, I’m never going to let you go. You’re stuck with me, Maggie.”

  “I can’t think of a better way to be right now,” she said with a small grin, then silenced him with a kiss.

  Olivia Mayfield has been an unabashed fan of romance since she was a teen, secretly devouring her mom’s Harlequins. She has a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing, as well as a Master’s degree in English, and lives with her family in Ohio. In her free time she loves reading, shopping, wearing absurdly high-heeled boots, cheesecake, karaoke, and harassing her friends. Find her online at oliviamayfield.com.

 

 

 
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