“That’s a relief,” I said. “So where are we going for dinner?”
Thomas said, “That’s for us to find out.”
Ash looked at me and raised his eyebrows up. “I smell there’s more than a tasty dinner on the menu, bro.”
“Of course, little one,” Thomas said with mock stoicism. “We don’t have much time to solve the first clue so we’re going to kill two birds with one stone with this one.”
“Come on,” Seb said. “Time’s a wasting.”
With that, we headed out the door of my new bedroom, down the hall, down the stairs to the foyer where Ash, Thomas, and Seb quickly wrapped themselves in nice stylish coats. They looked so handsome like models, I felt lucky to be seen with them.
“We’re taking my car,” Seb said.
“Going together?” I asked.
“Of course,” Seb said. “Just because we’re working separately on finding the clues of Dad’s will, we will still eat together as a family. Since we’re here together, we’re not casting anyone out.”
I smiled. I loved it when Seb acted so bossy and authoritative. I had to admit I was drawn to his bad boy side, just as I was drawn to Thomas’ intellect and arrogance, and Ash’s cockiness. “That’s good,” I said. “I was beginning to think you guys weren’t brothers…”
“Ha!” Ash said. “That wouldn’t be the first time someone accused us of that.”
Chapter 9
Seb
I drove down the dark road that led out of Keystone Manor into the main hub of our small town. Majestic. It was as if the town grew up around the Manor just to accommodate its residents. The town provided all necessary conveniences, like a grocery store, a gas station, a diner, a hospital, some boutique stores, and a hardware store/post office.
Keystone Manor had been built in Majestic on many acres of unincorporated land. Just the wilderness and forests surrounded the area, ideal for a wealthy industrialist to settle down and build his dream home away from big city life. One might credit the Keystones as founders of Majestic, but Dad never referred to our ancestry that way. He didn’t care for politics like that. He was just glad other people had settled in at Majestic to help make the place more livable, less remote.
I remembered when Dad would take me into town when I was just a toddler, before Ash and Thomas was old enough to go. Dad was like a carefree man when he would proudly display me everywhere in town. “Meet my son, Sebastian,” he used to say to people he knew. “He’s already got such a headstrong disposition on him. If he’s set on something, you bet he’ll get it done. This one is a natural born leader.”
Back then, I was proud to be with Dad, walking around town as if I owned it. Dad had a big presence about him. Everyone we met seemed to be impressed by him. It made me feel proud to be around him, proud to be his son, and proud to be a man like my father when I noticed how the entire town loved him.
I didn’t know exactly when I started turning against my father. I didn’t even know why I started feeling as though he was letting down the family, but somehow my feelings about being his son changed.
“Dad’s clue had something to do with his childhood,” I said. “Fond memories. Happier times.”
“Do you think it meant our childhoods?” Ash asked suddenly.
Thomas actually smiled. “For a doofus, you can be bright sometimes.” He turned around from the passenger seat to look at Ash and me. “Yeah, I do think Dad’s happier memories of childhood had to do with our childhood.”
“Dad spent time with each of us when we were kids,” I said. “I know he was always there when we needed him.”
“Yeah,” Thomas said. “Dad was there more than Mom when we were little. He would take me out fishing or to get some ice cream at the store.”
“Now looking back as a grown up,” I said, “Where did Dad find the time to spend with us when he was building and running an empire like Keystone?”
“Because he loved you boys so much, he would make the time for you,” Kaley said. “You know, I never had a father. It was just my mom and me being shuffled off from one place or another. In my dreams I only wished I had a father who would have taken care of my mother and me. You guys have no idea how good you had it.”
Kaley was right, but I didn’t want to admit it. Kaley also didn’t know the other half of it…Mom’s side of the story. Of course she thought Dad was the generous benefactor that he portrayed himself to be to everyone else.
Kaley didn’t know about Mom’s forced abortion of a child after me. She also didn’t know how Dad had stopped sleeping with Mom shortly after I was born, which made Mom worried that he was having an affair.
I thought through the years of pain and anguish Mom must have gone through, married to a man who didn’t love her. Because of her low self-esteem, she took to drinking, and when she was drunk, she would confide in me, her darling little boy how miserable she was.
The more I thought about it, the angrier I got.
“Hey,” Ash shouted from the back seat, “you’re driving way too fast! Coming from a speed demon, that’s damn fast.”
“Yeah, let up, lead foot,” Thomas said.
I slowed down a little, just as Kaley said, “How about we just eat at Majestic Café?”
Thomas said, “Sounds good.”
“Yeah,” Ash said, “I like something homemade right now.”
“Everything there is homemade,” Kaley said. “I know because I worked there.”
Ash cozied up to her on the back bench seat, saying, “I remembered, back when you had to make extra cash so you could buy us Christmas gifts. I remembered how freaking sexy you looked, wearing that pink waitress outfit. That dress molded to your figure like it was a second skin. Every time I saw you in it, I’d get a boner so hard…”
“Ash,” Kaley said, “One more week, and you can talk as dirty as you want to me, but right now…”
Ash sighed and then reluctantly moved his hands off Kaley.
“Guys,” he said to me and Thomas. “This is killing me. The part about not being romantic with Kaley. What was that damn provision for? To make us celibate? Tell me you guys aren’t having as hard a time trying to follow that damn provision as I am?”
Thomas didn’t say anything, but kept his face blank like a master poker player. He would never admit to losing control of his emotions in front of Ash…unless he was with Kaley, the only person he had ever let his guard down with.
I chuckled and played it cool, “As much as I want to be with Kaley,” I said, “I’m not about to blow my inheritance just because I couldn’t control myself for a short time. Like Kaley said, it’s just one week. I could play this waiting game as long as it takes. After all, I’ve gone for two years without calling or contacting Kaley.”
“That’s because you thought she cheated on you. You were angry at her, felt betrayed by her so you didn’t want anything to do with her,” Ash said. “Now it’s different. Now you know there’s nothing to hold back on…”