The Magnolia Sisters (Magnolia Sisters #1) - Michelle Major Page 0,5
“You don’t have any say,” Avery answered. “The gallery belongs to me.”
“He owned the whole block.” Carrie’s voice held no emotion.
Avery’s heart plummeted to her stomach. “Excuse me?”
“All of the buildings on this side of the street.” Carrie squeezed shut her eyes for a moment.
“You have rental income, then? Some kind of cash flow?”
“Things have been tough in Magnolia lately,” Carrie answered, cringing. “Back in the late nineties, people flocked to the town to see Dad paint. He’d give demonstrations of his technique and held workshops and open houses at the gallery and his studio space next door.”
“What does that have to do with your tenants?”
“The town came to rely on the tourism dollars his reputation afforded the local businesses. When people stopped visiting, it impacted that revenue.”
“Are you telling me Magnolia was built on one man’s popularity?”
“The town has plenty of other things to offer, but it became tied to Dad’s legacy. Once that began to falter, so did the town. He felt a great responsibility—”
“Too bad he didn’t feel the same sort of responsibility toward his other two daughters.”
“Yes, well...” Carrie’s blue gaze met Avery’s. “He hasn’t collected rent for several years.”
“What kind of an idiot was your father?” Avery pressed her palm to her forehead.
“He was your father, too,” Carrie countered. It was the first time Avery heard any real emotion in her voice. To her shock, Carrie sounded angry, as if she’d been the one slighted in this whole deal.
“He means nothing to me,” Avery lied. Niall Reed might be a stranger, but his impact on her life couldn’t be denied. “Tell me about the other one. Meredith... What’s her last name?”
“Meredith Ventner.” Carrie’s features went stony. “I didn’t know about her, either.”
“But you know her?”
“We both grew up in Magnolia,” Carrie said with a nod. “She’s a year younger than me.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-eight.”
Avery sucked in a breath. “I turn thirty next month. I’m the oldest.”
A few beats of silence filled the space as they each absorbed that added detail to their new reality.
“Do you have brothers and sisters?” Carrie asked, then frowned. “I mean, besides Meredith and me.”
Avery shook her head.
“Me neither. Meredith is the youngest of three. She has two older brothers.”
“And now two older sisters.”
“She’ll never claim us as family. She likes being angry too much.”
“From where I’m standing, she has good reason. We both do.”
“We all do,” Carrie said. “He never gave any hint that I wasn’t his only child.”
“Did your mom know?” Avery couldn’t help her curiosity.
Carrie wrapped her arms more tightly around her waist. “I’m not sure. She and I haven’t spoken in a while.”
Avery felt her mouth drop open. Her relationship with her mother was tumultuous, but she’d never gone more than a few days without a call or text from Melissa Keller.
“When she divorced my...” Carrie cleared her throat. “Our father,” she amended, “my mom gave me an ultimatum. She thought he was too controlling of both of us and wanted me to leave with her.”
“But you stayed?”
Carrie shrugged. “He needed me.”
“What about now?”
Another shrug, and that brief lift and lowering of Carrie’s shoulder seemed weighted with far more than indecision about calling her mother. Why had Avery thought this trip to Magnolia would be simple?
“I’ve made another appointment with Douglas Damon for tomorrow and left a message for the banker he referred to in the meeting.”
“Julie Martindale,” Carrie supplied, scrunching up her nose when Avery narrowed her eyes. “It’s a small town.”
“Right.”
“How long do you plan to stay?”
“Mr. Damon said it could take a while to settle things. I’m hoping by a while he means a week or two.”
Carrie’s large eyes widened further. “You’ll be here the whole time?”