crazy.”
“What does Greg say?” Amy held the door open and we walked out into the soft evening air.
“Well, after we got the letter saying the project had been kicked out of the funding pool and we could reapply, I think he was all for getting some press on the area. Then Frank told me to ignore the letter, but now he’s gone, so I’m not sure what I’m going to do.” I narrowed my eyes as I watched my friend adjust her tote for the walk back home. “Why did you ask about Greg’s feelings?”
“If you guys are a long-term couple, eventually, that’s his home too. In fact, it’s his home now anyway because he’s living there. He should have a say.” She grinned at me as we headed down the sidewalk toward her apartment over the bike rental shop. “Of course, if you got married, it would be his house too.”
“No, it’s mine. It came into the relationship before the marriage so it’s separate property.” I rolled my shoulders, because I was getting pretty tight talking about all this marriage stuff. “You forget, I used to do California family law.”
“But you’d want to share, wouldn’t you?”
Amy’s question haunted me as I walked home. Would I want to share? Would I put Greg’s name on a house I inherited free and clear and cash flowed to any repairs or remodeling? I’d been married before; actually, both of us had. I didn’t want the finances to get in the way of the relationship. And, with the Miss Emily Fund—my personal name for the large inheritance my friend had left me when she passed—I didn’t need Greg’s financial assistance.
When I looked at Amy and Justin, and even Aunt Jackie and Harrold’s upcoming wedding plans, I saw the planning for the event, not the mingling of financial lives. Did this mean I was no longer my aunt’s beneficiary? Had we added her to the ownership documents last year like we’d talked about? I’d wanted to protect her at the time, but now, I was wondering if doing that had threatened my own situation. If Aunt Jackie passed first, would Harrold be my new partner? I needed to talk to both Greg and Aunt Jackie to see what the expectations were. I didn’t care about the money per se, but I needed to know where I stood, and protect my future self’s nest egg.
Staring out on the ocean as I walked home, I wondered if I was just being my usual literal self. Did I need to trust that the people in my life had my best intentions at heart? Or should I actually talk to them about my fears? This would be a most uncomfortable discussion, so I wanted to choose the former and just trust.
Trust, but verify. It had been my boss’s favorite saying at the law office.
I resigned myself to having the conversations. It would be foolish not to, and I would be kicking myself if I didn’t do it and something went wrong. I put away the fears and worries until tomorrow. But before I relaxed, I put two notes in my planner: Talk to Greg. Talk to Jackie.
Then I called Emma, and we went out to the back porch with a book and a bottle of beer. The wedding decorations were off my to-do list, thanks to Amy, and it was time to celebrate.
* * * *
The next morning, Greg had come and gone without me even noticing. Which meant the investigation was keeping him busy. I made a note to take him coffee and muffins when Deek came in for his shift. It was Toby’s day to work, but with the murder, I knew he’d probably have called Deek in to cover because he would have gotten additional hours from Greg. I knew where I stood in Toby’s eyes. Coffee, Books, and More was definitely his second job.
I took Emma for a run, then filled my travel mug and headed into town. There weren’t a lot of people up and about at a few minutes before six. Most of the businesses, besides Diamond Lille’s, wouldn’t open until ten. But as I passed by a small gallery owned by a group of artists, there was one woman out on the small café table sketching in her pad. I’d met her at one of the Business-to-Business meetings. Tia something. She drank coffee from a Diamond Lille’s travel mug and frowned as I walked up. “Good morning. Lovely day to sketch.”
“It