The Halo Series Boxed Set

by Kimberly Knight

  “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,” she 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.

  Numerous books lined a bookshelf wall behind his desk, and all of them were medical related. There was a picture of my mother from when she was younger on his glass desk, and it struck me that it was the only picture I’d seen in the entire house. I stared at it. She looked joyful as she smiled back at whoever was taking the picture. Was it my father? A friend? I didn’t know how old she was in the photo, but she looked cheerful, and that made me feel a little better to know that at some point she’d been happy.

  I just wished I had known her then.

  Sleeping in Avery’s parents’ house was weird. I woke up multiple times during the night scared I would see them standing in the corner watching us. Of course, we didn’t sleep in their room, but still. Avery didn’t sleep much either, and the entire night we were glued to each other as if a monster might crawl out from under the bed.

  In the morning, we went to breakfast and then back to Edna’s to see if the Scotts had any more friends and to let her know we were having the viewing Saturday afternoon. She opened the door, and Avery held a latte from Starbucks for her. “We brought you coffee.”

  Edna smiled and took the hot coffee. “Thank you. This is sweet of you two.”

  “We came to give you an update,” I advised her.

  “Please come in.” She motioned for us to enter and we went to the kitchen table again. “I was wondering what’s been happening, but I wanted to let you two have some time to grieve.”

  “Thank you. We’ve found out quite a bit actually,” Avery stated, and we all sat at the table.

  “Oh?” Edna took a sip of her coffee.

  Avery told Edna about his father’s will and that his parents were being cremated. “Would you be able to let the book club know about the viewing?” he asked her.

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Did they have any other friends?”

  She nodded. “Yes, I know they did, but I don’t know them. Your parents went to a lot of functions and charities.”

  “We can just text everyone in their phones,” I suggested. Did older people text? Surely if they got one, they’d know how to read it.

  “I guess that would be the only way, but I don’t know the passcodes,” Avery replied.

  “Have you tried?” I asked.

  “No.” He shook his head. The phones were turned off and left in the clear bag we got from the coroner.

  I thought for a moment. “I bet your mom’s passcode is your birthday.”

  Avery stared at me for a beat. “I could try it.�
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  “Either way, you can count on me to be there. Just let me know what I should bring,” Edna chimed in.

  “Bring?” Avery asked.

  “Usually there are refreshments and finger foods,” she replied.

  “Really?” he questioned. “So, it’s a party?”

  Edna smiled. “It’s a celebration of life, honey.”

  My gaze turned to Avery. I knew he wouldn’t admit it, but celebrating his father was probably the last thing he wanted to do. Unfortunately, even though people probably didn’t know about him, he would have to put on a brave face and go with it, and I would be by his side every step of the way.

  “You don’t need to bring anything, Edna. We’ll take care of it,” he stated. “Let’s say three o’clock?”

  “I’ll be there,” she replied. “And I’ll let the book club know.”

  “Great. And one more thing,” Avery went on. “We found a safety deposit box key in my mother’s purse. Any idea what could be in it?”

  She frowned. “No, I’m sorry. I have no idea.”

  There was only one way to find out.

  We left Edna’s and went to the closest Chase Bank. As we pulled up, Brooke called me.

  “Hello?” I answered as we sat in the parking lot of the bank.

  “Hey! Where are you?”

  I furrowed my brows in confusion. Why would she be asking me that? “A bank.”

  “Which one? Easton and I will come to you.”

  “Um, what?” I looked over to Avery as he sat patiently in the driver’s seat.

  “We just flew in.”

  My eyes widened. “You what?”

  Avery mouthed, “What?”

  I shrugged.

  “We came to help you guys out. Text me the address, and we’ll be there soon.”

  “You’re here? In Santa Barbara?” I questioned, still confused.

  “Yes, Nic.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Nicole Scott! Hang up the damn phone and text which bank you’re at so Easton can start driving us away from the fucking airport.”

  “Okay, bye.” I hung up the phone and opened my text messages. As I typed which bank we were at, I said, “So, our friends flew here.”

  “Really?” Avery asked.

  “Yep. I had no idea they were coming.”