Page 6 of Finding Hayes
“Holy shit. That place is huge. Who did he leave all the land to?”
“Also me,” I said, as I cleared my throat.
His eyes widened. “Wow. That land is on the water. It’s got to be worth a couple million dollars.”
“Correct. I’m a little stunned.” I reached for a french fry and popped it into my mouth, because I was still processing what the probate attorney had shared with me.
“Well, you two were always close. You kept in touch with him all these years?” he asked, as if he couldn’t believe that Abe had left me more money than one could imagine.
“Of course.”
“How often did you talk to him?”
“What’s with all the questions?” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“I’m just saying… you left this town in your rearview, and the man left you a fucking fortune. From what I’ve heard, you only visited a couple of times in all the years since you left, and one of those times was for Lily’s funeral.”
“That doesn’t make you a rocket scientist. Of course, I came for her funeral. They were family to me. And for the record,ole judgy one… I spoke to Abe every single day after Lily passed away. I used to talk to them both twice a week up until she went into the hospital. I taught them how to FaceTime.”
He looked stunned, as if it were unimaginable to believe that I’d make that effort. For someone I loved.
“You talked to him every single day?” he asked, his voice harsh and laced with doubt.
“I don’t know if it’s more offensive that you didn’t seem to believe me at first, or that you seem like you're angry now that you believe it’s true. Who the hell do you think you are?”
He just shook his head. “I guess I’m just stunned, seeing as you made zero effort to keep in touch with me.”
“Well, I had my reasons, right? I don’t know why you’resurprised that I didn’t make an effort to keep in touch with you.”
“I just assumed you left everyone from your past behind. Apparently, I was wrong.”
Was he seriously trying to guilt me?
He had some nerve. “Anyhow, there you go. I inherited more money than I’ll ever know what to do with. Are you done with your questions?”
“So, what’s the problem? You made it sound like a bad day. Seems like a pretty epic day to me.”
“Oh, really? I lost a man who meant the world to me, and you think I’m happy about it?”
“For fuck’s sake, Sav. That’s not what I meant. He passed away over a week ago. You and Ruby were acting like the sky was falling when I walked in. I thought something bad happened today.”
I sighed. “Well, there’s a loophole in this inheritance, and it’s sort of a big one.”
“Let me guess. You have to stick around for a week to get everything listed for sale so you can get the hell out of town and go roll around naked in your millions?”
Well, this is an interesting plot twist.
“Funny, you should take it there. Clearly, that one time you saw me naked really made an impression.” I waggled my brows because I couldn’t help myself.
“I never saw you naked.”
“You did, too.”
“Savannah.”
“Hayes.”
“I never saw you naked.”
