“Can I help you?” he asks, his voice gruff and to the point.
“Yes, sir. I’m looking for Mr. Theodore Carter and Miss Tatum Carter.”
Theo glances over at me with a raised brow before turning back to the man at the door. “And you are?”
“I’m Aaron Wiley, your mother’s attorney.” Mr. Wiley holds his hand out but Theo ignores it as he turns to me with wide eyes and sets the pistol down on the table next to the door. When he doesn’t move or even look at Mr. Wiley again, I step forward, examining the tall, wiry man.
“You’ll have to forgive us, Mr. Wiley. This week has been a bit of a whirlwind and we weren’t aware that our mother had a lawyer.”
He holds up a finger, nodding his head. “Ah, yes. Your mother did say that would be the case. Mind if I come in so we can talk?”
“Sure.”
As Mr. Wiley steps inside, Theo regains some of his composure and grabs the gun off of the table, tucking it into his waist. He meets my gaze and I roll my eyes but his only response is a stern look meant to shut me up. Not that it’s ever worked.
“Can I get you a cup of coffee, Mr. Wiley?” I ask as he sets his black leather briefcase on the dining room table. He nods.
“That would be nice. Thank you.”
As I retreat into the kitchen, I can feel Theo behind me and I glance over my shoulder, meeting his intense stare.
“Before you ask, I don’t have a clue what he’s here about,” I whisper.
He nods. “I know but why did Mom have a lawyer?”
“Just add it to the list of questions that have been building since her death.”
“This is fucking insanity,” he says under his breath as he grabs our coffee and heads back into the dining room. I pour coffee into a mug for Mr. Wiley and arrange sugar and cream on a tray before carrying both back into the dining room. After setting the tray down on the table, I sit next to Theo and sip my coffee as Mr. Wiley arranges papers in front of him.
“First off, let me just say that I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” Theo and I murmur at the same time.
“I don’t mean to be rude, Mr. Wiley,” Theo says, a frown etched onto his face. “But why are you here?”
“Your mother hired me to handle her estate.”
“Estate?” My voice is filled with shock as I turn to look at Theo, who is as surprised as I am.
“May I?” he asks, holding up a sheet of paper and I nod. He flips it around and lays it down in front of us. The first thing I notice are the words “Last Will and Testament” printed boldly at the top of the page and then I see my mother’s signature at the bottom.
“As soon as I learned of your mother’s death, I started working on this because she stipulated that before either of you received any money, the house needed to be paid off.”
“The house is paid off?” Theo asks, grabbing my hand under the table and I feel hope welling up in my chest.
“As of yesterday afternoon, it is. As soon as you sign everything today, I’ll hand you the deed.”
I clamp my free hand over my mouth, fighting back tears. Yesterday we were so sure that we’d lose the only home we’ve ever known and now, it’s ours for as long as we want it.
“I’m sorry but did you say something about money?” Theo asks, glancing up from our mother’s will. Mr. Wiley nods.
“Yes. As per her will, the two of you will equally split the rest of her estate which amounts to just shy of one million dollars.”
A gasp fills the room and it takes me a moment to realize it slipped out of my own mouth. Theo stares at the dining room table, eyes wide and blank as I turn to Mr. Wiley, uncertain that I heard him correctly.
“I’m going to need you to say that again.”
Mr. Wiley smiles. “In my briefcase, I have a check for each of you in the amount of four hundred ninety nine thousand, two hundred sixty two dollars and fifty cents.”
“Oh my god,” I breathe out as Theo squeezes my hand again and I glance over at him. His gaze is filled with questions.
Where did she get all that money?
Why didn’t she ever tell us?
Who was this woman?
I shake my head, my answer the same for each one and he blows out a breath, dropping his head into his free hand.
“I apologize, Mr. Wiley. We’re just…”
“…fucking shocked,” Theo finishes for me and I can’t stop the giggle that bubbles out of me. Mr. Wiley chuckles, nodding his head.
“I understand. If you’ll point me in the direction of the restroom, I’ll give you two a minute to talk.”
“Through there, first door on your right,” I answer, pointing to the hallway and he nods, pushing out of his chair. When he disappears around the corner, Theo turns to me.
“Where the fuck did she get that kind of money?” he hisses and I shake my head before shrugging. Truth is, I’ve got no idea where our mother, who worked as a receptionist for the last twenty years, made that kind of money.
“Maybe she robbed a bank.”
Theo grins. “Maybe she was an assassin for hire.”
“Hey, that’s a good one and I could totally see that.”
He turns to look at the will in front of us. “Are we accepting blood money?”
“It’s like fifty-fifty.”
“I know I shouldn’t be happy about this but the house is yours now and I don’t have to worry about something happening to you. It was killing me to think about leaving tomorrow and you going back to your apartment.”
“The house is ours.”
He shakes his head. “No. You should have the house, T. And you can finally go to school like you’ve always wanted.”
“Yeah,” I whisper, a smile teasing my lips. My life has been flipped completely on its head in the last week and as much as I would do anything to have my mom back here with me, I’m also so incredibly grateful for everything she’s just done for us.
Chapter Four
Tatum
“I wish you weren’t leaving,” I admit as Theo drives me to work on his way out of town. He was originally supposed to leave this morning but after the shock we got yesterday, neither one of us were quite ready to say good-bye yet. Plus, we had a few new errands to run with those huge checks Mr. Wiley dropped off. Glancing over at me with a frown that matches my own, he nods.
“Believe me, I’m not looking forward to it either.”
Since the moment Theo and I were born, we’ve truly never been alone but it sure feels like as soon as he rolls out of town, I have no one left to turn to. I lived across town from Mom but she was always here if I needed her. She was a constant in my life and never once had I imagined having to live without her. Her death and her absence in my life is a gaping hole. I can feel it with each breath I take in and push out, and I don’t think it will ever be filled. It’s just part of who I am now and I have to learn to live around it.
“Do you have leave saved up?” I ask, hoping he’ll be able to get back home soon. He’s at a shore command right now, which means no deployments so in theory, he should be able to get time off to visit.