For The Love of Easton (For the Love Of #2) - A.M. Hargrove Page 0,41

It’ll be handled and when he goes to prison for assault and battery, you won’t have to deal with him anymore.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“If you want, I’ll pick up Easton, and you can come straight home. Then you won’t have to worry about making that extra stop.”

“That’s great. Thank you, Mom.”

I left work early because I wasn’t getting anything done. I got home and tried to get something accomplished before Easton arrived, but it was useless. It was a beautiful day, so I decided to wait on the front porch. I sat down on one of the chairs and, as I flipped through the emails on my phone, I heard the voice I’d come to despise again.

“Well, look at the princess sitting on her throne.”

Chapter Nineteen

Tristian

I was on the way to pay a visit to my brothers when the phone rang.

“Mr. Baines, it’s Ryan Cooper. I’ve looked at your father’s will from every possible angle. The clause about your being married is firm. There is no feasible way around it. If you aren’t married by the end of this year, everything in the estate will go to the charity your father chose.”

My damn stomach hit the floor and I almost had to pull the car off the road. “You’re sure?”

“Positive. There is nothing that can be done or I would suggest it to you.”

“Fine,” I bit off. “Thanks for checking into it.”

Stanton was in a chair when I arrived. I was so out of it, I couldn’t speak at first.

“You’re going to wear out your shoes if you don’t stop.”

“I’ll buy new ones.”

“Can you tell me what the problem is? I know Mother and Ravina are bitchy, but—”

“It’s not them.” My lips pressed together for a second before I launched into my… complication. “I spoke with the attorney and Dad royally put the screws to me.”

“What do you mean?” I had his full attention now.

“The marriage thing in the will is solid. No way around it. I have to have a Mrs. Baines by the end of the year, or everything in the estate goes to charity.”

His eyes widened, then he grinned. “You’re fucking with me. You had me for a second.”

“Stanton, I am not fucking with you. This is legit.”

He slanted his head. “I don’t get it. The company has never been better. Business is soaring. Why now?”

“No idea. I was going to ask you. And why me? You should be the one going through this.”

“Me?”

“Yes, dammit. You’re the oldest.”

My brother grabbed his crutch and went to stand. As I attempted to assist him, his hand shot out. “I’ve got this. I’m getting stronger by the day and therapy is helping.” I was proud of his progress as I watched. “Tris, Dad was extremely proud of how much you built your business on your own, so I get why he left you in charge. He always told me I was too reckless in my personal life and we often had words over it. But I’m baffled over the marriage part.”

My brother and I stared at each other. Then he snapped his fingers. “Heirs.”

“What?” I stupidly asked.

“Dad used to get after me about serious relationships because I was only with women for the sex. He knew it and said it was disappointing. Maybe he thought you were different.”

A spiteful laugh came out of me. “I’m not. Maybe if Dad had married a loving woman, we both would’ve been different. The last thing I want is to have kids. Every time that thought enters my mind, all I can think of is how we were raised and what an awful life it was. I didn’t remotely enjoy life until I left this family, sorry to say.”

“I get it. Mother didn’t make it easy on us.”

“Why the fuck did Dad marry her?”

Stanton moved in front of me. “You honestly don’t know?”

“No, or I wouldn’t be asking.”

“He loved her, hard as that pill is to swallow.”

Was my brother still on pain meds? How could anyone love that iceberg of a woman?

“Dad and I talked a lot, and I mean about everything. The family, you, Mother. He told me he fell so hard for her the first time they met, he had trouble functioning. He knew how she was toward us. She never wanted kids. He was the one who did. She made him promise we’d go to boarding school and have nannies. He kept the promise. He regretted that he was away so much because she never spent time with us, but as