Hit after hit, Avery’s smile grew. So did mine. I hoped that swinging the bat would allow him to temporarily forget why we were here. If I could have, I would’ve taken his pain away, but I had a feeling that this wouldn’t be our only trip to Santa Barbara. I just hoped it wasn’t to go to court and fight some unknown person for what Avery’s mother had left him. That thought reminded me that I had a mystery key in my handbag, but seeing my husband’s smiling face stopped me from bringing it up. I wasn’t sure if he’d be pissed, and I couldn’t take that moment of joy away from him. Still, I hated keeping a secret from him, even if it was small.
“That felt good,” Avery stated as he came up to where I stood behind the batting cage, watching him.
I smiled. “Good.”
He wrapped a sweaty arm across my shoulders, and we started to walk toward the car. “You know, the beach is about a block away. You wanna take an evening stroll in the sand before I feast on your pink taco?”
I giggled. “I’d love to do both.”
We got into the car, and then Avery drove us to the beach. After parking, we got out of the car and walked to the sand. There was a slight breeze, and the temperature had dropped a few degrees. It was still nice though. Not humid, not cold, but perfect, and the complete opposite of New York City this time of year.
If only all of this were under better circumstances.
I woke up to a text from Easton: How’s it going?
I stared at the text, not sure what to reply. My mother really did love me, and I wasn’t able to tell her goodbye. My father was even worse than I thought he was because he’d prevented my mother from doing anything.
Me: Mom left a will. We have to wait to see if my father had one. It must be filed with the court within thirty days by the trustee, whoever the fuck that is. But first, we’re planning the funeral today.
Easton: Let me know if you need anything. We’re all here for you.
Me: Thank you, and I know you all are.
Nic was still sleeping, so I crawled out of bed, took a leak, and then came back. Not wanting to face reality, I climbed back into the bed and snuggled close to my wife. My lips brushed against her neck, working my way down to the top of her bare shoulder.
“Mmmm,” she moaned. “It’s like our honeymoon all over again.”
I grinned against her skin. “Yeah, it is, and you’re naked,” I pointed out.
“What are you going to do about it?”
Reaching down, I ran my fingers between the lips of her pussy, feeling her arousal as it coated my fingers. “You’re already ready for me?”
She moaned her response and spread her legs. Without hesitation, I flung the covers off of us and positioned myself behind her, slid my bottom arm under her neck and lifted her leg slightly as I sank into my wife. Our mouths moved together as though we were starving for each other. My thrusts quickened as I held her open, not wasting any time as we both raced for the orgasms we were chasing. Nic panted as our mouths stayed together and I began kneading her breast, feeling her rock hard nipple as I rubbed the peak. Her hand went between her legs, and I broke our kiss to see that she’d started to rub her clit.
“Fuck,” I groaned.
I rocked into her, feeling her fingers rubbing the side of my cock with each thrust as she circled her clit. As I picked up speed, the hand that was rubbing her clit wrapped around my neck and held on. I took over, working her clit with my fingers and kneading her breast with the other hand that was still under her. Nic brought her mouth to mine again, and my hips slowed for only a moment while I savored the taste of my wife.
Nic broke our mouths apart as she panted in pleasure, and I began thrusting hard again. She turned more onto her side, and I held onto her butt cheek, pumping and groaning as I got closer and closer to coming. Sex with Nicole was a high I never wanted to come down from. She was made for me. Every fucking inch.
“I’m close,” I groaned.
“Me, too,” Nic panted.
“Hold on, baby,” I instructed.
Right away, Nic grabbed the side of the bed as I ran my hands over every inch of her. My mouth was on her skin, kissing her neck, her shoulder, anything I could reach. I was in a frenzy, wanting to consume every delicious inch of my wife. She turned onto her back slightly and reached down to her clit, rubbing in circles to match my thrusts.
Nic shook, her orgasm squeezing my dick, and I lost myself in her, spilling my seed deep inside her. As we came down from our climaxes, we kissed, her arms around my neck and me on top of her.
“I love you,” I told her against her lips. “More than anything.”
“I love you too. More than yesterday.”
“I have something to tell you,” Nicole stated as we ate breakfast at a local diner.
“Okay?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t be mad.”
I tilted my head slightly and glared. “Nic …”
“It’s not bad, but I didn’t want to tell you last night.”
I sighed. “Nic …”
“Promise you won’t be mad?”
How could I promise her that? “Yeah.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
“When you were sleeping yesterday”—she grabbed what looked like a key out of her purse—“I found this in your mom’s closet. I think it’s a key for a safety deposit box at Chase because there was a slip of paper with the box number.”
I grabbed it from her. “Chase?”
“You know, the bank.”
I stared at the silver key for another moment. “Should we go see if it opens one?”
“We can do that after we figure out the funeral situation. That should be our priority today.”
“Right,” I agreed. “So, do you think we should do a double funeral?”
“As opposed to what?” Nic took a bite of omelet.
“Well, I’ve been thinking …”
“You have?” She arched a brow.
I took a sip of my coffee. “Kinda hard not to.”
“True.”
“So anyway, I was thinking that we get them cremated and have a viewing of the urns at their house. Edna can tell her book club or something.”
“If that’s what you want to do, I fully support you.” We ate more of our breakfast and then Nic asked, “What are you going to do with their ashes?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged around a mouthful of bacon.
“We have time to think about that.”
“Yeah,” I agreed.
But what was I going to do with their ashes? What the hell did people do with their families ashes? Spread them? Keep them? Bury them? What did I want to do with them? I knew I wanted to throw my father over a cliff, but my luck he had a will that stated to spread his ashes at Angels Stadium.
Hell. No.
I would never grant him the satisfaction of being laid to rest at one of his favorite places. But my mother? I wanted to take her to New York and spread her in a garden in my backyard. I didn’t have a garden, but I’d make one just so I could have her close.
Sliding out of the booth, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, seeing that it was a Beverly Hills number. “Hello?”
“Mr. Scott?”
“Yes?”
“I’m Andrea Johnston, an attorney in Beverly Hills.”
“Okay?” I questioned as Nic and I walked out of the building and toward the rental car.
“I was advised by your father’s office manager that he’s passed.”
“Yes,” I replied, and slid into the car. “And my mother.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Thank you.”
“I was calling because your father had a will.” My eyes cut toward Nicole, and she furrowed her brows in question. Fuck. “Would it be possible for you to come in and meet with me?”
“Yes, but it needs to be soon. I’m in California, but heading back to New York where I live on Sunday.”
“I can meet now,” s
he advised.
“My wife and I can be there in about two hours. We’re coming from Santa Barbara.”
“I’ll let my secretary know.”
Andrea gave me her address, and I hung up the phone before turning to Nic. “My father had a will.”
“Shit,” she breathed.
“I guess it’s better to know now before we go to the funeral home.”
“Yeah,” Nic agreed with a slight nod. She reached over and grabbed my knee, giving it a squeeze as I put the address for Andrea’s office into the GPS. “I’m sorry all of this is happening.”
“Would have eventually, right?”
“Not like this.”
I put the car into reverse and pulled out of the parking spot. “I know. At least now I can show you where I grew up.”
“We’re going there?”
“Well, we’re driving through on the way to Beverly Hills, but on the way back, if we have time, we’ll stop in Ventura.” I turned the car in the direction of the highway.
“Beverly Hills? Like 90210 Beverly Hills?”
I chuckled. “Yeah.”
“Like Rodeo Drive Beverly Hills?”
My grin widened. “Yeah, baby.”
“There’s not enough days to do everything I want to do in this state.”
“There’s always next year.”
“Unless we have a baby.”
My gaze cut to her. “People travel with babies.”
“I’m not traveling with a newborn.” Nicole crossed her arms over her chest.
“Then we’ll come back when we can take the little one to Disneyland.”
“You just want to go to Disney.” She chuckled.
“Maybe. It is the most magical place on Earth.”
“The Bahamas was better.”
I laughed. “Touché.”
Two hours later, we were pulling into Ms. Johnston’s garage at her building.
“Your dad drove all this way to his practice daily?”
I shrugged. “When we lived in Ventura, we were closer. I have no idea what he did since moving to Santa Barbara. Maybe he only worked a few days a week?”
“I would hate to drive all this way daily.”
“You’d get good audiobook time in.”
“True.”
Once we were up in Ms. Johnston’s office, we sat in the waiting room like we had in Slade’s office. This one was fancier with floor to ceiling windows and what looked to be expensive art on the wall. If I had to see one more attorney, I might lose my mind, and that just might be the case depending on what my father’s will said.
“Mr. Scott?” a lady with short brown hair said, coming from around a corner.
“Avery’s fine.” I stood.
She stuck out her hand. “I’m Andrea Johnston.”
We shook hands. “This is my wife, Nicole.”
“Pleasure.” She nodded her greeting. “Right this way.”
Nicole and I followed her into her corner office and sat in the chairs in front of her desk. “Again, I’m sorry to hear about your parents,” Ms. Johnston stated. “Your father’s office manager had a copy of his will and contacted me yesterday. It’s just tragic.”
I smiled tightly. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t know him that well, but this town is small, and he had a reputation for being one of the best plastic surgeons in California.”
I almost snorted at her comment. He might be the best at changing people’s appearances, but he wasn’t the best father. He never played catch with me. Never told me I played well. Never rewarded me when I hit a home run. It was always: “You can do better.” “You were dropping your shoulder. Keep it up and follow through with your swing.” “You can run faster than that.” Blah. Blah. Blah. I didn’t reply to Andrea because I wasn’t going to confirm or deny anything about that man.
“So,” Ms. Johnston continued as she grabbed a manila folder from the corner of her desk—just like Slade had done. “This is going to be short and to the point.”
I blinked, not understanding what that meant. How could it be short? They had a lot of property and money.
“Your father prepared his will fifteen years ago.”
“Okay …”
“He bequeathed everything to your mother.”
“But, she was in the accident, too,” Nicole reminded her.
“And that was why I called you. You’re next of kin, Avery. That means you’re the beneficiary now.”
“My mom had a will too,” I stated.
“Oh?” Ms. Johnston cocked her head to the side.
“She left me her half of everything.”
“Oh.” Ms. Johnston exhaled, understanding. “Then everything comes full circle more or less. You inherit it all.”
Was it that simple? I couldn’t believe my father hadn’t updated his will to make sure I didn’t get a dime. Hell, I couldn’t believe he hadn’t changed his will the moment he wrote me off when I’d opened Halo with Easton. I’m sure he assumed he’d have a long life to live.
We all thought that until there wasn’t any time left.
After we left Ms. Johnston’s office, I drove Nic down Rodeo Drive. The coroner’s office had called and asked me if I’d decided what to do with my parents, which prompted us to head back to Santa Barbara right away and go to the funeral home. We picked out urns and called it a day.
How was this my life? I wanted to start having a family, not bury them.
“I’m going to wash the sheets,” Nicole stated, setting her purse on the kitchen island. Now that we knew the house was mine, Nic and I had checked out of the hotel and decided to stay in the place where my parents once lived. It still felt weird when we entered the lifeless house—probably because all the white gave it a hospital feel. “We can stay in one of the guest rooms since I don’t think you want to sleep in the same bed your parents did, right?”
I knew it was silly, but I really didn’t. It was weird enough being in a house that I knew my father would have never welcomed me into. “Yeah, I don’t want to.”
“Okay. I’ll be doing that.”
“All right. I’m going to … What the hell am I going to do?”
Nic wrapped her arms around me. “You can help me. Or maybe play bocce ball?”
“Bocce ball?”
“There’s a court in the backyard.”
“There is?”
“Yep.”
“Oh.” I paused, thinking. “Yeah, I’ll check it out.” It wasn’t that I didn’t want to help Nic with stripping the sheets from the beds—okay, maybe it was. I hadn’t been upstairs yet, and I wasn’t sure I was ready.
When I stepped into the backyard, I saw my mother—not her exactly, but her presence. Perfectly trimmed shrubs of dark pink azaleas lined the far end of the yard, and the little I remembered about my mother was that she loved azaleas. I remembered she had them in both the front and the backyard at the house in Ventura. Seeing the colorful bushes put me slightly at ease. I wouldn’t say I felt at home, but I didn’t feel as though I was trespassing anymore. My mother had wanted me. She’d actually wanted me, and my father didn’t.
Fuck. Him.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
Easton: How’s it going?
Instead of texting back, I decided to call him while I walked around the yard, enjoying the fresh air and the sun.
“Hey,” Easton answered.
“Hey. Figured I’d call and give you an update.”
“Cool. I’m just leaving Halo.”
“So, it’s still standing?”
“Of course it is.” I heard him chuckle on the other end, and I smiled. That joke never got old for me.
“Good. I’ll be back Monday.”
“Are you sure?”
I sat in a lounge chair by the pool. “Yeah. Doesn’t look like I’ll have to deal with probate now.”
“So, your dad didn’t have a will?”
“No, he did.”
“Oh?”
“He left
everything to my mom, and since they died together, it transferred to me.”
“I bet he’s kicking himself now.”
“Probably,” I agreed and smiled. I actually smiled at the thought of my father down in hell, angry and pissed that I’d won. It had never been a competition, but knowing I was getting everything he never wanted me to have made me feel good. He deserved it for keeping my mother away from me.
“But don’t you need time to deal with all their stuff and the house and shit?”
“I was thinking of just coming back home for a few weeks and then flying back out here and dealing with it. Nic needs to return to work.”
“Whatever you need to do, you know I have your back.”
“Thanks.” I nodded to myself. “Nic and I are staying here tonight.”
“At their house?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s it like?”
“White.”
“White?”
“Everything inside is white: furniture, walls, cabinets. I’ve yet to go upstairs, but I’m sure that’s all white too.”
“Weird. Is it close to the beach?”
I looked over to where the view of the ocean was. “No, but you can see it from their backyard.”
“Nice.” We were silent for a beat, then Easton spoke again. “Hopefully your dad doesn’t haunt you tonight.”
I chuckled and rolled my eyes. “He probably will. Nic said there are three guest rooms, so we’re staying in one of those until Sunday. Hopefully not sleeping in his bed won’t piss him off more.” I couldn’t believe we were talking as though my dad was still here. Maybe he was and his spirit hadn’t crossed over yet. If he did haunt me tonight, I’d give him a piece of my mind for keeping my mother from me.
“Yeah, let’s hope,” Easton agreed. “I gotta run now though. Need to get home—”
“Yeah.” I stood. “I’ll call you Sunday when I get in.”
“Yeah. Cool.”
We said our goodbyes, and instead of trying to figure out how to play bocce ball by myself, I went upstairs, figuring it was time if I was going to be sleeping there. Nic was still stripping all the beds. I went to help her but stopped when I saw the door to what looked like my father’s office opened.
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