by SUE FINEMAN
Anne sighed deeply. “I’ll ask Mary to put her upstairs in one of the guest suites.”
After what she’d heard about Cody’s daughter, Baylee didn’t especially want the woman in the house, but until everyone had been officially notified that Baylee had inherited the house, she had no right to keep anyone out.
Chance returned to the room. “My brother will be here on Friday to provide security, and his wife has agreed to sing a solo at the service. She said she won’t need music.“
Baylee smiled. “That’s nice of them, Chance.”
“Neen sang at Emma’s funeral. She has an unbelievable voice. You’ll like her.”
“I’m sure I will.”
“Thank you, Chance. Please give your brother and sister-in-law my thanks.” Anne turned to Baylee. “Would you be willing to say a few words at the funeral?”
“Sure.” She didn’t know what to say, but as Bay’s only living relative, she should say something.
They walked into Bay’s suite together to find Mary freshening up the bathroom. “Mary,” said Anne, “no one will be staying in these rooms until after Miss Patterson goes through her mother’s personal things.”
“But Miss Wheeler—”
“Miss Wheeler can stay in one of the guest suites upstairs. If that’s not good enough, I’ll book a hotel suite through Friday.”
Mary’s dark eyes flashed at Baylee. “I’ll see about the blue suite upstairs.”
“I’m sure Miss Wheeler will be satisfied there,” Anne said.
Baylee was sure she wouldn’t be satisfied at all, but she didn’t say it.
“Where does Olivia Wheeler live?” Chance asked.
Mary said, “Miss Wheeler lives in New York.”
Baylee cocked her head. “In the apartment my mother owned?”
“The one Mr. Wheeler owned,” said Mary. “He left it to her.”
Again, Baylee didn’t contradict her. Either Olivia had her own apartment or she’d been living in the one listed in Mr. Glaser’s booklet. If that was the case, she’d have to find herself another place to live, because Baylee intended to put it on the market as soon as the estate got through probate.
As soon as Mary left the room, Baylee turned to Anne. “Can you find out if someone has been living in the apartment in New York?”
“Bay hasn’t been there in years. Olivia used to use it occasionally, but I can’t believe she’d move in without telling Bay.”
“Change the locks,” said Chance. “Do it on every property Bay owned. Have it all done right away. It’s a whole lot easier to keep someone out than to try to get them out once they’ve moved in.”
Baylee glanced at Chance. “If Olivia is living in the apartment in New York, I could give her a month to find another place to live.”
“Not a good idea,” said Anne. “If she’s living there, she won’t leave without a fight. Olivia is used to getting her way, which is why she and Bay never got along. She moved in here when Cody was away on business and stayed until Bay told Cody it was her or Olivia. And then she moved back after her first divorce. Cody was furious, but she turned on the tears and he let her stay. She took a trip to Europe and married again, but it didn’t last. No man will put up with her for long. She tried to move back in after Cody died, but Bay wouldn’t let her in.
“Olivia is a manipulator and she expects people to wait on her. And she whines about everything. Nothing is ever good enough to please her.”
“Too bad,” said Baylee. “If she pulls that crap on me, she’s out the door Friday afternoon. I don’t have that kind of patience.”
“I don’t either,” Anne muttered. “If she wasn’t mentioned in the will, I wouldn’t have invited her to the funeral.”
After Anne left, Edwin drove Baylee and Chance to Neiman Marcus to shop. Baylee took a look at one price tag and asked, “Who pays these prices?”
“Rich people, like you,” Chance said with a little smirk.
She elbowed him in the ribs. “Arrogant lawyer.”
“Smart-mouth reporter.”
A woman much better dressed than either of them asked, “May I help you?”
“We need something to wear to my mother’s funeral.”
Baylee tried on black dresses and suits and chose the least expensive suit that fit. Then she picked out everything from the skin out, one nice outfit to make her mother proud. The shoes she chose were butter soft, low-heeled pumps. She felt like a stork in high heels, and they made her feel clumsy.
When Baylee finished in the women’s department, she’d spent over three thousand dollars. On one outfit. It was more than she’d spent on clothes in the past ten years.
Chance asked, “Is that it?”
“No, we need to buy you a suit.”
“I’ll borrow one from Greg.”
“No, you won’t. Consider it payback for paying all my expenses on the way out here.”
He shook his head. “Baylee, you don’t have to—”
“I want to, Chance. You lost all your good clothes, and I can well afford to buy you one outfit.”
“Stubborn woman,” he muttered, but he let her buy him what he needed.
After one more stop for gifts for Chance’s kids, Edwin drove them home. In one morning, Baylee had spent nearly seven thousand dollars.
She must be out of her mind.
Or rich.
<>
Chance hated to leave Baylee alone, but he promised the kids he’d see them today. He and Baylee made love after they came in from the pool last evening and again this morning, and he still wanted her. After things cooled between him and Emma, he’d gone without sex until the day his divorce became final. And then he’d gone without it until he brought Baylee to Houston. Now he couldn’t get enough.
He packed his bags and tossed them in the back of the car with his boxes and the bags of toys he and Baylee had bought for the kids. And then he pulled Baylee into his arms and held her tightly. “I’ll be back late tomorrow afternoon. If Neen and Greg don’t come with me, they’ll be here Friday morning.”
“Okay,” she whispered, and he heard the tears in her voice. She didn’t cry when her mother died, but she was on the verge of crying now. A surge of love and regret lay heavily on his chest. He hated to leave, but he needed to see his kids. After a goodbye kiss, he drove away.
Traffic going out of Houston was heavy, as he expected it to be. It took three hours to get to his mother’s home in Caledonia. The kids raced out to meet the car before he’d set the brake. He opened the door and scooped up Susie, who put a strangle-hold on his neck. Shy little Sarah was next. She was too big to pick up, but she needed a hug, and so did he, so he lifted her and gave her one. And then he pulled his son to him and held him there.
As the oldest and the only boy, Steven blamed himself for letting the killer take his mother out of the house. Chance would give anything to remove that guilt from his son’s slender shoulders.
Steven wasn’t the only one burdened with guilt. Chance owned a good chunk of it himself. He’d advised Melissa Blackburn to testify against her abusive husband, and he’d handled the divorce. He should have known a brutal man like Jack Blackburn would want revenge.
Mom came out the door wearing a huge smile, and he wrapped her in a big hug. Somewhere along the way, she’d grown old. Her hair had turned gray and her sweet face was lined with age, but she was still beautiful to him. She’d brought him out of the crowded orphanage, given him unconditional love, and encouraged him to be his best.
“I’m so glad to see you, Chance. The kids have missed you. We’ve all missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too, Mom.” Watching Baylee’s mother pass away had hit home in ways he hadn’t expected. After he married Emma, he’d pulled away from his family. Now he appreciated them and loved them even more. They’d always been there for him, and never more than when Emma died and left him with three grieving children.
“Me and Grandma made cookies,” said Sarah.
&n
bsp; “You did? What kind?”
“Chocolate chip.”
“Are they good?”
“Of course they’re good,” Mom said. “Sarah is a good cook.”
“I tasted them,” said Susie.
He reached down and wiped a little chocolate off her mouth. “I can see that.”
The girls chattered about swimming with Uncle Bo and riding horses with Aunt Callie, while Steven sat across the room holding Scruffy, his little dog. None of the kids had said anything about Mommy until Susie wound down and Sarah said, “Grandma said your friend’s mommy died.”
“Yes, she did. She got very sick and the doctors couldn’t fix everything that was wrong with her.”
“Did she go to heaven?” Susie asked.
Chance nodded. “I’ll bet she’s with Mommy right now.”
“Isn’t that nice that Mommy has a friend in Heaven?” said Grandma.
“Yeah,” Sarah whispered.
“But you still miss her,” said Chance. “It’s all right, Sarah. We all miss her. She knows that because she’s up in heaven watching over us, with Baylee’s mommy.”
Steven asked, “Do we hafta move back to Tacoma now?”
“No, I thought we’d live here in Texas. Do you like it here?”
Steven shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. I’d like it better if I had my own horse.”
Chance burst out laughing. “Nice try, kid.”
Steven’s smile brought a dimple.
“I bought presents. They’re on the backseat of the car.”
The kids ran out the door, Scruffy on their heels.
“They’re doing better all the time,” said Mom. “Susie talks to Mommy before bed every night, Sarah asks me questions about her mother when no one else is around, and Steven still isn’t saying much, but they’ll be all right. You kids were older when your father died, but you each handled it in a different way, just as your kids are doing now.”
“I know, Mom.” Dad’s death had hit them all hard. He was murdered, shot down by a man who had shot his wife in a fit of rage. Black Jack Blackburn wasn’t the only man to take his anger out on his wife, and he wouldn’t be the last. Baylee was right. Domestic violence had always been a problem, and it probably always would be.
The kids ran inside with the packages, the dog barked, and wrapping paper soon littered the floor.
And Chance’s heart ached with missing Baylee.
<>
Olivia Wheeler arrived that afternoon, and she wasn’t alone. The woman with the multi-blond streaked hair had brought a man with her. Olivia had to be pushing fifty, and the man couldn’t be over twenty-five. Olivia lifted her chin, “Edwin, bring in our bags and put them in the master suite.”
Baylee said, “No. That suite is not available. I haven’t gone through all my mother’s personal things yet. I’m sure you understand, since you lost your father a few years ago.”
Edwin stepped in to help. “I’m sure Miss Patterson will have the rooms cleared out within the week. In the meantime, Mary has prepared the blue suite upstairs for your use. If that’s not adequate, I’ll make a reservation at the hotel at the Galleria.”
Olivia turned on Mary. “You said you’d have the master suite ready for me.”
Mary hung her head.
“It’s not her fault,” said Baylee. “It’s mine. I haven’t been here long enough to do what has to be done with Bay’s personal possessions. We’ll make other arrangements for you after the funeral.”
“We certainly will,” Olivia huffed. “Come, Sal. We’ll go upstairs while Edwin carries in our bags.”
The drivers unpacked Olivia’s bags from the limo and the cab that had followed the limo. They piled the luggage beside the front porch. From the mountain of bags, it looked like Olivia planned to stay forever. Did she really think Bay would leave her this house when she wouldn’t even let her stay here after Cody died?
Edwin stared at the luggage and shook his head.
“You’re not carrying anything upstairs,” said Baylee. Edwin had to be in his sixties or older, and he had no business lugging all that crap upstairs. “Let that muscle-bound boob with her do the lugging.”
“But Miss Wheeler expects—”
“I don’t care what she expects. Leave it where it is.”
The limo driver cleared his throat and presented Baylee with a bill for the ride from the airport. Baylee walked inside and yelled, “Olivia, get your butt down here and pay for your ride. It’s sure as hell not coming out of my pocket.”
“Edwin can pay it,” she called back.
“Either you pay it, or I’ll give the driver your luggage as payment.”
She flew down the stairs with her purse and handed the two drivers several bills. Her brown eyes flashed with anger. Baylee couldn’t believe the woman expected someone else to pay her bills.
Baylee said, “Edwin is helping me this afternoon, so you and your friend will have to carry your own luggage.”
With those words, she and Edwin walked toward Bay’s suite. His eyes sparkled. “Bravo, Miss Patterson. I’ve never known anyone but your mother to stand up to Olivia Wheeler.”
“Then it’s time someone did.” Baylee looked around. “What happened to Mary?”
“She’s probably upstairs trying to placate our guest.”
Baylee wondered if that were possible. In any case, she had other things to do, and if she didn’t keep Edwin busy, he’d throw his back out or have a heart attack from carrying all that crap upstairs.
“How many safes are there in this house, Edwin?”
“Two, one in the master suite and one in the study.”
Did they have the same combination? If so, she could open them both. “It’s time to take inventory.”
Baylee retrieved her camera and opened the safe in Bay’s suite. Edwin found a pad of paper in the desk drawer and took inventory while she snapped pictures and counted money. One hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Baylee put everything but the letters back in the safe and locked it.
Edwin didn’t seem surprised that she knew the combination. He probably assumed Bay had given it to her, and Baylee didn’t tell him any different.
Leaving the boxes of letters on Bay’s desk, they walked into the study and Baylee opened the second safe. She was right. They both had the same combination. This safe was filled with documents – birth and death certificates, marriage and divorce certificates, deeds to various properties, the titles to three vehicles and the airplane, and a copy of Cody’s will. Bay’s will was in there, too, but Baylee didn’t read it. The booklet Charles Glaser had given her pretty much covered it.
Something was missing from the safe. “Edwin, didn’t Cody own any jewelry?”
“Yes, he did, but Miss Patterson gave it to his sons after he passed away.”
“That was nice of her.”
“Yes, it was, but not unexpected. She was a good person.”
Again, Baylee snapped pictures while Edwin listed the contents of the safe. She wanted a witness so Miss Olivia the Whiner didn’t accuse her of stealing anything.
After locking the items back inside the safe, Baylee returned to Bay’s room and found Olivia pawing through the letters. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing? Those letters are addressed to me. They’re private.”
Sal came out of the closet wearing Cody’s fringed suede jacket. “The boots are too big.”
“If you want something of your father’s, take it and go. Now.”
“No need to get huffy, Miss Bay Lee Bitch.”
It was all Baylee could do to hold her temper. She had to live with that witch for two whole days before she had the authority to throw her out the door. And she would throw her out.
Mary served dinner in the dining room. She put Olivia and Sal at one end of the table and Baylee at the other end. Baylee quietly picked up her plate and retreated to the sun porch. Mary had put a little silver bell beside Olivia’s plate, and the bell rang constantly. In spite of that, Baylee c
ouldn’t summon any sympathy for Mary. She’d thrown in with the enemy, and she deserved whatever she got.
<>
Chance helped bathe his kids, then tucked the girls into bed and read them a story. As the oldest, Steven got to stay up a little later. Mom made herself scarce while Chance sat in the living room with Steven. He talked with his son about Uncle Bo’s ranch and about Uncle Greg letting him ride around in his patrol car. And finally, they talked about Steven’s mother. “I don’t want you to blame yourself for what happened, son. If you’d tried to stop the man from taking Mommy, he might have hurt you, too.”
“But I was the man of the house.”
“You have some growing to do before you become a man. Besides, I’m a man, and I don’t think I could have stopped that man from killing your mother. I know you couldn’t have done it.”
They talked for an hour. Chance pulled Steven onto his lap and held him like he’d held him when he was a baby. Steven cried, and Chance had to wipe away his own tears, but by the time he put the boy to bed, they both felt better. Steven had been holding that in since he learned his mother would never be coming home. He had to be given permission to be what he was—a little boy who’d suffered a tragic loss. He was a long way from becoming a man, yet Chance knew this experience would color the rest of his life, as living in the orphanage had colored his own life.
After Chance tucked Steven in and kissed him goodnight, he sat in the kitchen with his mother. “He needed that,” she said. “Greg and Bo have both been working with him, and the counselor helped some, but he needed you to give him permission to be a little boy instead of a man.”
“I should have come sooner.”
“You did what you had to do. I’m sorry about the house, Chance. Did you save anything?”
“Pictures, papers, and a few of Emma’s things for the kids.”
“Can you practice law here?”
“Not until I meet the Texas state requirements, whatever they are. I haven’t had time to check into it yet. In any case, I’ll be starting over.”
“I’ll help with the kids. Everyone in the family will help with the kids.”
Yes, they would. “I love you, Mom.” It was the first time he could remember saying those words to her. He should have said them often, because this woman had given him a whole lot of love and a reason to thrive.