“Mommy said you have a weenus and I have a wagina.”
“Is that so?”
“Yep. Boys have those. Weenuses. Will you show me yours? Cuz I never saw one before.”
English’s jaw hit the floor. “Easton! That is not nice and remember what I told you.”
“You mean never ever show my pirate parts?”
“Yes, that’s right. And if you are never to show yours, what does that mean?”
“Mr. Trishan can’t show his either.” She bit off another piece of cookie as if it didn’t faze her a bit. I’d had no idea kids asked these things. Then the best part came when she added, “Boys don’t have boobies either. Isn’t that right, Mommy?”
“I give up.” English’s hands went up in the air in surrender as I laughed. One bonus was—this kid was definitely entertaining as hell.
“Hey, Tristian, did you hear what I said?” My brother’s voice brought me out of the past and back to the present.
“Uh, sorry. Can you repeat it?”
“Where the hell were you? You had a dazed expression on your face. Almost like you got hit with several hundred volts.”
Interesting. It was close to how I felt. “Yeah, I sort of wandered off. I’m back now. So how is Landry coming along?”
“He’s great. I’m impressed with him. We’re doing video meetings together, and I’m letting him handle more and more each day. He surprised me.”
“How so?”
“I never took him for such a serious one,” Stanton said. “He’s focused and determined to do it right the first time.” A chuckle followed his statement. “Dad would’ve been proud of him.”
“Have you told him that?”
“Not yet, but I plan to. He’s toe-dipping right now, but when he’s halfway in, I’ll let him know.”
“Stanton, tell him now. Out of all of us, you were the closest to Dad. I would’ve loved to have known how Dad really felt about me. I always thought he was indifferent and hated the fact I went out on my own. Landry needs the encouragement.”
“You’re right. I’ll tell him tomorrow. Honestly, he’s made me proud. I used to think all he was interested in was partying. But my mind has made a one-eighty on that.”
I rubbed my chin, deep in thought. “When Mom called to tell me about the accident, the last thing I wanted was to come here. This place was never welcoming. It hadn’t felt like home in so long. But things are different now. Knowing how you and Dad changed the company and realizing our relationship is better because of it, I look forward to these visits.”
“And to think we wasted all those years.”
I tapped his shoulder. “That’s over. No more wasting time.”
He grimaced as he changed positions. “Can you help me up? I need to move around some.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I’m supposed to get out of bed often. This makes my back ache and my ass sore.” He waved a hand across the bed.
“Is it the mattress? We can change it.”
“No. It’s lying around like this.”
I helped him swing his leg to the side and then pulled him up using his good arm. He’d had surgery on the other shoulder, and the leg, along with sewing up a ruptured spleen and some other internal stuff. His age and his physical state had put him in a better survival category. He also worked every day with the therapist and was getting stronger.
“Walk me to the bathroom, please.”
I left him in there with a crutch, but I was worried he’d fall or something. When he emerged, he said, “I can’t wait to take a full-body shower without this cast.”
That hadn’t crossed my mind. My skin itched at the thought.
“Stop it. My leg has itched for several weeks now.”
“I feel for you, man.”
He stood, leaning on the crutch. “I never thought I’d appreciate standing so much.” He frowned but it took on a sorrowful tone. “I’ll never forgive myself for speeding that night.”
“Stanton, don’t go there. It was an accident.”
“No, it wasn’t. If I hadn’t been so careless, Dad would still be alive.”
Maybe if he talked this out it would help. “Can you remember all the details of that night?”
“Most of them.” His head hung as he gazed at the floor. “We’d gone to that breakfast meeting. We did a stupid coin toss on who would drive.” A rueful chuckle escaped from him. “If only that coin had only picked him and not me. Anyway, we were on the way home, and you know how I love driving fast. I thought nothing of it until we came around a curve and the car didn’t respond like it should have. Then I spun out of control and the rest you know.”
My ears perked up. “Wait a minute. What do you mean the car didn’t respond like it should have?”
“I don’t know. It was sluggish on the turn. It felt stiff or something.”
Stanton loved fast cars, and he drove them that way. He currently owned a Porsche, but in the past had owned a Ferrari, a Lamborghini, and a Bugatti. I was simple when it came to cars—functionality was more my speed. Give me an SUV any day of the week and I’d be a happy man.
“Sluggish as in it wouldn’t turn?”
“As in the power steering didn’t feel right. It was fine when we left the meeting, but the further away we got, the stiffer it became.”
It made me think someone had tampered with it. “The car is totaled, but I’m going to see where it ended up.”
“Why?”
“A hunch. That’s all.” I’d keep my suspicions to myself until there was something concrete to share. “I need to go have a chat with Mom and Ravina.”
“Yeah, how’s that going?”
“Ravina has yet to get a job. I believe she thinks this is all a joke.”
“You do realize you’ll have a difficult time of evicting her?”
“Not the plan. I’ll take all her money away, including what she gets from the trust.”
Stanton sputtered. “Holy shit, Tris. Can you do that?”
“You bet I can. Oh, and did I tell you I fired Sherman?”
Another choking sputter came out of him. “What the hell! How did you manage that? Better yet, why?”
“The man was robbing us blind.” I sat down again and told Stanton, “I went over everything Sherman had been billing us for and it was four times what it should’ve been. He’s been living off us for too long. Dad never ordered anything in the will that says you can’t run the company. I am the executor, but Sherman lied about too many things. After having two other highly qualified attorneys review the will, there was nothing of the sort in there. You can run the company without me at all. I am the trustee though. Mom was given a percentage of the wealth and the ability to live here for however long she wants. Ravina can go to work in the company if she wants, but she’s shown zero initiative.” It totally pissed me off that her actions were so selfishly driven.
“Why do you think Sherman did it?”
“Mom. He and Mother are thick and probably have been having a relationship for years.”