her grandfather, but he was like a car with the accelerator stuck. “Terry owned property and stocks worth almost two hundred million,” he continued. “We can’t find Darrin, but there’s a rumor that he found somebody to forge a new will.”
“Why would he do that?” Esther asked. “Oh,” she said after a few seconds. “He doesn’t know I’ve got Mama’s, unless Mr. Cameron told him.”
“Exactly. Hopefully, Cameron didn’t have a chance to tell him,” the old man said. He sighed. “My poor little girl. She never had much sense about men. Except for your father. I’m sorry I never gave him a chance, girl, sorry I fouled everything up for him.”
“You didn’t know him,” Esther said, her eyes worried as they were riveted to Butch’s hard, blank features.
“You have to understand. Your mother was wild even as a teenager. Her mother tried so hard.” He sighed. “She was a good woman. She never knew how to handle Terry. Neither did I. I suppose we didn’t want to face the fact that she had psychological issues, not until it was far too late. By then, we couldn’t convince her that she needed a psychologist.”
Esther stared at him. “Psychologist,” she echoed.
“Yes. She had an addiction to men. We didn’t realize that such things existed. I suppose my wife and I were stuck in the Dark Ages. We moved to Jamaica and lived out in the sticks, where we didn’t have much contact with the modern world.”
“Isn’t it dangerous over there?”
“No more so than here,” he said simply. “My family has owned the house there for four generations. We have bananas and cashew nuts and all sorts of tropical fruit. You and your husband should come over and stay with me for a while. You’d love it.”
“That would be hard. Butch works for the wildlife service,” she said.
“I’d forgotten. Well, he won’t need to work once the will’s through probate. Speaking of which, you have to come with me to Aspen,” her grandfather added. “And don’t worry about Darrin. I brought two bodyguards with me. One drives, the other rides shotgun.” His eyes, so like her mother’s, were like blue flames. “Nobody’s hurting my granddaughter.”
“Darrin had a contact on the police force . . .”
“Not anymore,” her grandfather said. “And most of his cronies are facing prosecution for various and sundry crimes. I’ve had two investigators on the job. One of them’s like a shark. He never quits.”
Esther was unsettled. Butch still hadn’t said a word. And customers were starting to come in.
“I have to go back to work,” Esther said. “I’ll talk to my boss about getting off. When do you want me to go with you?”
“Tomorrow. Let’s get this thing settled. Are you coming with us?” he asked Butch.
Butch just stared at him blankly.
“We’ll talk about that tonight,” Esther said quickly. “Are you staying in town?”
“Yes, at the motel.” He named it. “I’ll give you my cell phone number before I leave here. Now. Since you’re working here, I assume that the food must be excellent.” He smiled at her. “So what do you recommend?”
* * *
Butch excused himself to go back to work after a meal with stilted conversation. He’d had the shock of his life. He didn’t know what to do. He’d expected to live with Esther and have their child grow up in his cabin, the two of them making ends meet, but frugally. And she was wearing a ring that was worth more than every penny he’d make for the rest of his life. He was shellshocked.
“Try not to let this ruin your marriage,” the old man said to Butch before he left. “I know it’s a shock. But it’s not Esther’s fault. She can’t help the circumstances of her birth. She loves you. She’s carrying your child. Don’t turn your back on her over money, son,” he said gently. “It’s so unimportant in the scheme of things.”
“Unimportant if you have it,” Butch said.
“My wife’s parents were caretakers,” the old man said. “We had our own hard time when she found out what I was worth. It took me months, but I finally convinced her that she’d be happier with me and the money than she would all by herself.”
Butch couldn’t find the words. He just looked at the other man.
“Give it time,” he advised. “It’s like a fresh wound right now. Let it heal for a day or two and then take another look at your situation. It really boils down to this. Is your pride