Worth More Than Money

by Lexy Timms

  What a great actress. Really. She could get an Oscar nomination for what she pulled.

  I started looking around the garage for things I could fix the outside of the car with. But the more I looked, the angrier I became. Shit. I’d have to take the damn thing into town to get supplies. Or at least take pictures of it to show around. I didn’t want to interact with these people. I wanted to get out of there as fast as I could. But even though I’d dodged a bullet with ‘little miss innocent’ Michelle and I hated Stillsville more than ever, the fact remained that I still had a job to do. I could call my lawyer in the morning with advice on how to proceed, but in the meantime I had to keep my head in the game.

  Sell Anton’s house. Fix the car. Get home.

  I took pictures of the car and took them into town. I was very careful with the people I approached. I grabbed the tools I would need and the supplies required to fix the paint. I bought things to smooth out the scratches and scrapes and some solution to help with the rust underneath the carriage of the car. I even priced out the tires that sat on the damn thing so I could order them from the next town over.

  Working through the night on that thing, I kept it up until it wasn’t simply purring like a kitten, but also glistening like it had just come off the factory train.

  At least I had the power to fix one screwed-up aspect of my life.

  I wiped the sweat from my brow as the sun rose to beckon the next day in. Friday morning, and Michelle was nowhere in sight. That didn’t sit right with me, but the thought of her did remind me of a phone call I had to make.

  So I wiped off my hands, closed up the garage, and dug out my phone.

  “Good morning, Mr. MacDonald.”

  “Hey there, Brett. Got another issue for you,” I said.

  “I know that tone of voice.”

  “I’m sure you do.”

  “You really need to stop traveling down this road with women.”

  “Trust me, I know that as well. So let me give you the rundown of the situation. I have been sleeping with this woman. And I got a little caught up.”

  “No protection, got it,” he said.

  “She told me she was on birth control and kept asserting that even after she told me she was pregnant.”

  “Has she been to the doctor?”

  “According to her, no. Also, according to her, the town doctor was the one that called her on it and said to come see him. Said she couldn’t be more than a couple of months along. But we all know how that goes. Nothing’s solidified—”

  “Until it’s on paper, yes,” Brett said. “Do you want my advice?”

  “The first thing I want is to legally demand a paternity test.”

  “Has she come at your money like the last one?” he asked.

  “Not yet, but she will. They always do. And I want to be ready when she does. I also want an ironclad custody agreement drawn up.”

  “So there is a chance this child could be yours.”

  “Yes. And if it is, I need to be prepared to do what I did with those twins.”

  “You really know how to pick them, Mr. MacDonald.”

  “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that,” I said. “Do you have any advice outside of what I’ve already asked?”

  “Are you in touch with this woman? Because you know I’ll have to deliver these papers formally to her.”

  “I’m not yet. Like I said, all I have to do is sit back and wait,” I said.

  “Or I could track her down. The sooner we can get all of this recorded and on paper, the sooner we can get the agreement signed and in action.”

  “Court-ordered paternity test, then we’ll discuss how much I’m willing to pay her for the child.”

  “And you’re sure this is what she’ll want?” he asked.

  “It’s what they always want, Brett. Come on. If she’s not carrying my child, it’s done. If she is carrying my child, there’s no fucking way that kid is growing up in Stillsville or wherever the hell she’s run off to. I can provide that child a better life than some twenty-something year old girl with no Bachelor’s degree, no job, and no future.”

  “This is where I keep my mouth shut.”

  “And do as you’re told, yes,” I said.

  “Sure you don’t want me to track her down? Serve her the papers myself like we did with the last one?”

  I bit down onto the inside of my cheek as I gazed out over the shithole town I kept getting dragged back to.

  “I’m sure,” I said. “If it’s necessary, I’ll find her.”

  “I’ll get started on the documents, Mr. MacDonald.”

  “Thanks.”

  Chapter 4

  Michelle

  The bus smelled terrible and with every stop we made I had to get off and throw up. Between the eighteen hours of bumping along highways and stopping at out-of-the-way truck stops, I was more than relieved to be home. Which was a first actually, considering I’d never ever felt that way. I mean, it wasn’t home. Williston was simply where I grew up. It had never felt much like a home, especially after I’d left it while at Andy’s side. That man had been my ticket out of this hellish place, but now I chastised myself for ever leaving.

  Had I done what my mother told me to do and stayed put to accept my fate, I wouldn’t be in the situation I was in now.

  I wasn’t exactly excited to be returning, but it was better than staying in Stillsville and running into Gray. And Andy. And Cecily. And Brad. And everyone else in that shitty place. But as the bus came to a stop in the middle of the town I grew up in, I could already hear my mother’s voice. Mocking me for running home so quickly. Mocking me for getting pregnant. Mocking me for thinking I was better than her for getting a two-year degree and leaving with a man, only to return in the same shape she had found herself in when she was my age.

  Pregnant, jobless, with no man to speak of in sight.

  I could already hear her snide laughter.

  Nothing about what I was walking into was not going to suck. But it was going to suck less than sticking around Stillsville and waiting for Gray to show up and make me feel less than human. Part of me hoped I’d never see that man again. That he’d drive himself straight off a damn cliff.

  And the rest of me simmered and stewed inside the crevices of my broken heart.

  As I stepped off the bus, I felt the last of my life hit the rocky bottom I was lying on. Beaten, battered, bruised, and broken. Lying there, trying to catch my breath. I felt defeated, depressed, and hopeless. But one thing was for certain. This time, I’d do things right. This time, I’d get a job and do everything I could to stick with it. This time, I’d apply for the governmental help I was entitled to instead of finding it to be a shameful thing to be on. I’d save back money and turn my sights on my child instead of using men to try and fill the hole in my heart.

  I’d be honest with myself instead of inflating myself with lies of a grand future.

  It seems I had been far too willing to rearrange my life on someone else’s terms for far too long. I left home because Andy asked me to. Then I let him treat me like crap and kick me out. Gray came along and insisted I stay with him, so I did. Not that I didn’t appreciate his help when he gave it, but it was always on his terms and I was always expected to comply. But no more. As I walked the streets of my hometown, passing diners and restaurants and shops I never thought I’d see again, I made myself a promise.

  I’d live my life on my own terms, and my terms only.

  My child deserved at least that from me.

  It was time to take charge of my life. For the sake of my child. My hand fell to my stomach mindlessly as I walked through the tepid streets of Williston. At least the sun wasn’t as hot in my hometown. I still couldn’t believe I had a child growing inside of me. An entire human being my body would expand and make room for. It was terrifying and amazing all at the same time.

  I found myself wondering if my child would look like Gray.

  An hour and a half later, I s
tood in the driveway of my childhood home. A little two-story house that had definitely seen better days. I was shocked when I didn’t see my mother’s car in the driveway. It didn’t look like anyone was home. I walked up to the porch and fished around for the spare key, then let myself in before shutting the door behind me.

  The air conditioning soothed my sweating skin as I leaned heavily against the closed door.

  “Mom?”

  My ears perked up at the voice.

  “Nick!?” I exclaimed.

  “Wait, Michelle. Is that you?”

  I watched my brother come around the corner and tears flooded my vision. I dropped everything to the floor and took off down the hallway, launching myself into his arms. Oh my gosh. My brother was home.

  My brother was no longer deployed.

  “Nick!”

  “Holy shit. Michelle. What the hell are you doing back here? I thought you were in Illinois.”

  “I just got back in. I hated it there,” I said breathlessly.

  Tears poured onto his shoulder and I clung to my brother with all my might.

  “When did you get back?” I asked, as my eyes looked up to meet his.

  “A couple of days ago. Been helping Mom around the house.”

  I wrapped my legs around him as he carried me over to the couch.

  “Why haven’t you come home to see us?” I asked.

  “This mission ran very, very long. And in between the stints we did, I couldn’t come home. Not until the job was done. You know how it goes.”

  “But not like this. It’s the longest one you’ve ever done. I thought you were—”

  “No news is good news, remember?” he asked.

  “It’s still shitty,” I said, as he sat down.

  I slid off his lap before he pulled my feet over his legs. Nick had been in the military ever since he was eighteen. Shipped off, went to basic, trained hard, and never looked back. My older brother by three years, and stacked with muscle that made all the women in the town swoon over him. Older women. Younger women. Girls in high school just coming into their own. He was the bachelor of our town, and he drowned in dates whenever he came back from his missions and deployments.

  “Have you gotten bigger?” I asked. “I didn’t even think that was possible.”

  “Probably,” Nick said with a chuckle. “Weight lifting is the only way to burn stress out there sometimes.”

  “So, what are you doing back here? I mean, besides being on leave,” I said. “Usually you dip in for a few days before jetting off to somewhere like Germany or France.”

  “I’m actually asking for a discharge.”

  “A discharge? Why?” I asked. “You love the military. You wanted to go career the last time we talked.”

  “A lot changes in two years,” he said.

  His eyes grew far-off and my broken heart shattered into a million pieces. I took his hand within mine and brought it to my lips, ripping him from his trance. He grinned at me before he cleared his throat, but I saw the tears glistening in his eyes. I could tell the last two years hadn’t been kind to my brother, and it made me sick.

  At least, I thought that was what rolled my stomach with sickness.

  “I’ve seen enough,” Nick said. “I haven’t taken a break from being a soldier in damn near ten years. I think it’s time to get back to the real world. To find something else to do with my life.”

  “Then it sounds like you and I are in the same boat.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m back here trying to figure out something to do with my life as well,” I said. “What do you think you’ll do?”

  “I don’t know. I was hoping coming home would help me figure out my next move. Seems like you’ve had the same idea.”

  “Yeah,” I said with a snicker. “Seems like it.”

  “What happened in Illinois, Michelle?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You have that same far-off stare in your eye,” he said.

  “I haven’t been to war, Nick. I just went to Stillsville.”

  “Doesn’t mean it hasn’t impacted you, sis. Talk to your big brother. Maybe we can help each other out.”

  I squeezed his hand and sat back, drawing in a deep breath.

  “I left with a guy,” I said. “Andy. He had a job at the oil fields, then he lost it. He asked me to go with him, and like an idiot, I agreed. We headed back to his hometown of Stillsville, Illinois. A smaller, more annoying version of Williston, if you can believe it.”

  “Sounds like an utter hellhole,” Nick said with a grin.

  “Just about. Anyway, I made it work for a little while, then we split up and things went south very quickly. I couldn’t keep a job in a town of maybe two thousand people, so I came back home. Broken-hearted and penniless, practically.”

  “What a luxury you two have, coming home and sitting on my couch.”

  Nick’s face hardened and I cringed at the sound of my mother’s voice.

  “Hey, Mom,” Nick said.

  “You gonna say anything, Michelle?” my mother asked.

  I turned around and saw her standing in the doorway, her mouth tight and her eyes narrowed. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the frame, the sarcasm thick from her lips to her toes. I closed my eyes, and sighed, wondering if I had already made another mistake with my life.

  But once I opened my gaze and looked at Nick, I knew I hadn’t. Coming home to him had been the greatest joy of the past two years of my life.

  Well, except for my time with Gray. Sort of.

  I didn’t really know where any of that stood with me any longer.

  Chapter 5

  Grayson

  “This is Grayson.”

  “Mr. MacDonald. It’s Mr. Angier.”

  I pulled the phone away from my ear and took a look at the number.

  “To what do I owe this call?” I asked.

  “Well, it’s about an offer,” Mr. Angier said. “The non-profit just sent in their offer, and it’s an above-market-value bid on the property.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “Yep. You’re asking for three hundred thousand, and they’ve offered three fifty.”

  “Why offer more? That doesn’t make sense for a non-profit,” I said.

  “They really want the property, and they wanted to make sure they beat out any other bids you might have had. If I may be so bold, you’d be an idiot to not take this offer.”

  “Well, you can’t be so bold in the future, so keep that in mind,” I said.

  “My apologies, Mr. MacDonald. But all you need to do is accept the offer and I can do everything else. You can be on the next flight home, and notaries as well as scanners can do the rest.”

  “I’ll think about it and get back with you,” I said.

  “But Mr. Mac—”

  I hung up the phone before that weasel of a man could get another word in edgewise. I looked around Anton’s house and took it all in as a sigh fell from my lips. It should have been easy to accept an offer like that. To accept and leave Stillsville behind for good, like I had back in high school. So why the hell did it annoy me that Mr. Angier was pushing that offer? It was a great offer! It gave Anton’s estate more money to donate to charities. Or to donate to the community. Or to purchase more properties to give away.

  I could buy Michelle a place with it.

  I shook the thought away as quickly as it hit my mind. What the hell was wrong with me? That woman didn’t mean shit to me any longer. I had no idea what she was trying to pull by telling me she was pregnant, skirting around behind my back, then leaving Stillsville. She was all over the map, and the last thing I needed to do was sink myself further into the image she portrayed of herself.

  Because that image wasn’t accurate.

  But even though I didn’t want to admit it to myself, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. About where she had gone or what she was going to do now. Even after what she did to me, my mind still rac
ed to her. My heart still sped up at the thought of her. My cock still throbbed at the phantom scent of her.

  The car.

  I had to finish fixing the Chevy.

  But really, the only thing left to do on it was the tires. A tow truck had already come and towed it away, and the delivery of the tires in the morning to the shop would culminate the small journey I had traveled in order to restore it. Glass would be replaced, the paint and the dents I smoothed over would be buffed and shining. Then, the tires would get put on and everything would be good as new again.

  Unfortunately, I didn’t feel good as new again.

  As I stood there, staring into the empty garage, I had no idea why the hell I’d made it such a big deal. Why I felt the precipice and the culmination of who I was and the man I had grown into hinged on fixing up a damn car. Anton was dead. He had no idea what I was doing to his Chevy. And even if he did, it wasn’t like his ghost could joyride around in it. The car was nothing but a damn distraction to keep me from thinking about the bullshit this town had brought back down on my shoulders.

  In the form of Michelle.

  But now that it was done, I either had to find another distraction. Or I had to go home. So why the hell was I still floundering with that decision?

  I pulled my cell phone from my pocket as I gazed into the empty garage. No more floundering. No more idiotic tactics. No more dreaming. I had a billion-dollar wine business I was neglecting for a woman that didn’t even exist. A woman who wasn’t even in town anymore. A woman who probably wasn’t carrying anyone’s child.

  It was time for me to go home.

  “Mr. Angier speaking.”

  “It’s Grayson,” I said.

  “What can I do for you?”

  “I was shitty and short with you earlier, and I apologize. With this being the last sliver of Anton’s estate, I’m a little on edge,” I said.

  “I understand, Mr. MacDonald. Really, I do.”

  “I’m sure. So, I wanted to call and tell you to accept their offer.”

  “You’ve made a very wise decision,” he said. “Will you be including the furnishings as well?”

  “Yes. For free, since they made such a hefty offer. Everything in the house, in the guesthouse, and in the garage stays. They can do with it what they need.”