For The Love of Easton (For the Love Of #2) - A.M. Hargrove Page 0,21
Good Lord, the woman was smashed.
“I came to see you, Easy Bear,” Stacey answered, but it sounded more like ‘Eeshybur.’
“Why are you on the floor?”
Stacey held up a finger. “Good question.”
Easton looked at me and said, “Mommy, I’m back under the rainbow. Can I eat? I’m hungry.”
“Sure. How about some spaghetti?”
“Okay. Is that what Aunt Stacey Bear had?”
“Yesh, I did, and it was delish.” She was still lying on the floor and hadn’t bothered to get up.
Then the front door opened and my parents walked in. Stacey yelled, “Mr. and Mrs. Bridges. I’m so happy to shee you.” She waved from the floor.
They sort of gaped at her, then glanced at me. I mouthed, “Don’t ask.”
“Mimi! Boppy!” Easton ran to my parents and Dad swung her high in the air.
“Looks like someone is feeling better,” he said.
“I’m under the rainbow again.” She patted his cheeks. “I don’t think Aunt Stacey Bear is though.”
I couldn’t stop the laugh that burst out of me. But it stopped when the doorbell rang. Easton ran to open it and before any of us could stop her, she swung it open to reveal Stuart standing on the porch.
How in the world had he found my house? I’d never given him my address.
That brought drunk Stacey to her feet, stumbling toward him, and shouting, “What the hell are you doing here, you, you girlfriend-beater?”
And that was when the party started.
Chapter Nine
Tristian
Why the hell did I feel guilty? I had done nothing wrong except refuse to join the family business. My interests were in photography and I’d made my choice years ago. Besides, my siblings could handle the family business ventures, which were entangled in the depths of politics and other investments that meant nothing to me. I’d found my calling and didn’t care what my mother said. So, back to the guilt. Why was I bothered by it?
The question plagued me for days. I visited my family in the hospital each day, sat with both of them, as no one else went except for Landry. My brother clung to life and I prayed he’d survive. The news for my father was grave. He wasn’t expected to survive. They called my mother, yet she still didn’t come. Her matter-of-fact and chilly response when he passed came as no surprise.
Funeral arrangements were set. I phoned Beck, informing him of the situation. He was most kind and understanding. “Do you still want to proceed with the travel plans?”
The trip was my salvation. “Absolutely. It will be the perfect distraction and couldn’t come at a better time.”
“You sure? Your family may need you.”
They might, but too bad. “They’ll be fine.”
At the funeral, men I hadn’t seen in years approached me with greetings about how good it was for me to be back home and how they looked forward to working with me. I kept my mouth shut. They’d find out soon enough how wrong they were when I returned to my own life. Weirdly, no one mentioned my brother, or even asked about him, though he’d turned the corner and was improving.
With the house finally emptied of guests, the family attorney, Sherman Anthony, called us together in my father’s office for a meeting. We sat as he read my father’s will and when he named me as the sole inheritor, I froze.
All the attention was focused on me. Inhaling, I asked the question that begged an answer. “Why me? Stanton is the oldest.”
“You’re the one he designated. However, it does come with one caveat. You have to be married in order to inherit.”
The breath I’d been holding eased out as I smiled in relief. “As you can see, I’m very single and intend to remain that way. Therefore, it has to pass to Stanton.”
“Tristian, you don’t understand. If you don’t inherit, the entire estate will be donated to a charity your father designated and no one in the family will benefit.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
My sister stood and shouted, “How absurd. Why would Dad do such a crazy thing?”
Sherman spread his hands. “I don’t know. I did my best to change his mind, but he insisted upon it.”
I fumed. It made no sense at all. “One, I’m not the oldest, and two, I haven’t been around here in years.”
Sherman leaned forward and said, “It doesn’t matter. As I said, your father insisted upon this. Your brother is still in the hospital, but when he’s released, you’ll want to discuss it with him. He may know more of the why behind it.”