39. Chapter 39
Chapter 39
Roxie
I went straight to the lawyer’s office after I finished up with my clients. I’m early, but Lennox wouldn’t let me help with whatever they were doing. When I called to see if I could come in today instead of tomorrow, the lawyer agreed to see me.
Waiting in the office gives me too much time to think. I never thought a job accepted out of desperation would turn into a future I never thought possible. Yet here I am, all because of Lennox. It’s like one chapter—one very bleak chapter—is closing while another opens. This one is filled with so much love and hope that I want to read it as fast as I possibly can while also taking it slow so I can savor it.
“Ms. Moore?” an older gentleman calls from the office door.
I walk to him and shake his hand. “That’s me.”
Once we’re both seated, he pulls out a notepad and looks at me. “My name’s Chris. Tell me what’s going on.”
“Well, I have two completely separate things. First, I need to see about setting up a business in conjunction with our medical practice in Bluebell Falls. I’m not sure if a business deal or something more, like renting the space, along with setting up my own business would be the best option. ”
“That’s simple enough. I think setting up your own business would be the most beneficial for you. We can have everything set up and registered once you give me all the information, and then we can talk to the doctor and see what his terms are. Then, it’s just getting that all written up in a contract, and you’re good to go.” He jots down notes as he explains everything, and I’m kind of shocked by how simple it all is.
“Easy enough,” I say.
“What’s the other thing?”
“I need to see if it’s possible to look into my … background, I guess, and see if there’s something hidden from me, like money.” God, that sounds so stupid. I don’t know how to explain this.
He tilts his head as he taps his pen on the paper. “Do you mean see if you have a trust or inheritance?”
“Yes!” I say with a little too much enthusiasm.
“It may take some digging, especially if you’re unaware of it. If I can have you leave some details with me, that would be great, and I can start looking into that today. I don’t have a timeline on that, unfortunately, but the business contracts will be done at the end of the week.”
I nod and proceed to answer all his questions. I’m not super hopeful as I walk out of the building, which means I need to come up with a plan B.
I’ll have to worry about it later because now I have to pick up Ivy.
Lennox did something extreme. I knew it the second he blocked me from that side of the house before I left to go to the lawyer’s office. Now, I’m driving back with Ivy as she talks a mile a minute, trying to figure out what his plan is. My earlier distraction with my lawyer is gone.
I mean, how much could Lennox really accomplish in half a day?
Walking through the front door, we’re greeted by each of the Huttons and their partners. They stand in a line in front of our hallway, and Ivy doesn’t seem to notice how strange this all is because she bounds up to each one and asks them about random things she’s learned while spending time with them. Lennox walks over to me and stands next to me with his hands in his pockets.
“What did you do?’ I ask in a harsh whisper.
He smirks but doesn’t say a word.
Once Ivy’s made the rounds, they part like the Red Sea, directing her to her room. The squeal is deafening, but it’s so damn happy that my feet take me to her before I realize I’m moving.
What I find chokes me up so much that I can’t see through the tears flooding my vision.
“Oh my gosh, Mommy, do you see this?!” Ivy throws herself on the beanbag chair in the corner.
I wipe my eyes to really take everything in. There’s a brand-new bed, where the headboard looks like the front of a monster truck. There’s new bedding that matches. One wall has a chair rail, but the bottom half is bookshelves filled with books. That’s where the reading corner with the beanbag chair is. The other corner has every monster truck you can find, along with a few playsets that are the largest things I’ve ever seen. How they not only got all this done but also found all of this in a small town is beyond me. But I’m grateful nonetheless .
“We thought you needed a more permanent room since you’re staying. I hope we got it right,” Lennox says from the doorway.
I look behind him at the smiles on everyone’s faces as they watch Ivy explore her new room. They took what was one of the scariest moments in my life and turned it into one of the biggest bright points. They all went above and beyond for people who aren’t even their family, and if I aspire to be anything in my life, it’s to be like them. Their endless support and love are things I’ll continue to strive for every single day.
Staying is the right decision. If my mind wasn’t made up already, this would seal the deal. I want to raise Ivy around these people, have them be her family to show her how one should really work. The example they’ve set, that Lennox has set, has changed me to my core, and I can’t see myself anywhere else.
“It’s the greatest, most incwedible room of all time! How’s you make this giant monster truck?” Ivy asks, bouncing on her bed, holding on to the headboard.
“Ives, let’s not jump. We don’t want to break it,” I say.
“Jump away, Ivy. I built that; you won’t break it,” Rina says from behind Lennox.
Shock. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it sure as shit wasn’t Rina building my daughter a custom piece of furniture in half a day. I mean, how the fuck did she even make this happen?
She must see me trying to calculate it all in my head and failing miserably.
“I had the base bed done for another project. All I had to do was customize it. Gotta say, the monster truck might be my favorite,” she muses.
“Holy shit, you guys are… I have no words,” I murmur .
“Hey, Pixie, why don’t you hang out in here? We need to talk to your mom for a minute, okay?” Lennox grabs my hand and pulls me out the door. Everyone follows us to the living room, where I can barely keep my emotions in check.
“I don’t have words to thank you. This is above and beyond,” I say with a watery chuckle.
“It was our pleasure.” Ledger wraps his arms around Ainsley.
“So, I got some stuff to make family dinner. We can talk about what happened with your meeting and maybe come up with a plan?” Lennox suddenly looks unsure.
Nodding, I plop down onto the couch. The day is catching up to me. I had that twenty-minute soak in the tub to really feel everything that happened, but I’ve pushed it down since. Now, it’s bubbling to the top without my consent.
Arlo starts grabbing dining room chairs and setting them up in the living room as everyone finds a seat.
“What do we know?” Oakley asks as he takes a seat.
“Umm, not a whole lot new. He asked me a bunch of questions and said he would look into things, like an inheritance or a trust, to the best of his ability.”
“Okay, that’s good. I didn’t think of that, but we wouldn’t have access to that even if we knew to look for it,” Arlo says.
“So, I’m not sure how much of a plan we can really come up with.” So many highs and lows today are wearing me out faster than I want.
“Let’s come up with a plan for each scenario. When you have a solid answer, we can push through with said plan and not have to wait any longer,” Ainsley says .
“Well, if we don’t find anything, I’m confronting them. This needs to end, and it may be the only way to finalize the fact that I’m done playing their games.”
“Like hell you are,” Lennox growls.
“Let’s not jump to conclusions. When we were cleaning up, I found this.” Arlo holds up a credit card. “This gives us enough evidence to grab him and hold him for the break-in. You don’t need to confront him if he’s locked up.”
I grab it, seeing Greg’s name imbedded in the card. “But Pam would still be out there.”
“True, but I have a feeling Greg doesn’t hold a lot of loyalty, so he might turn on her. I can call my contact in Rosedale to help me now that we have concrete evidence,” Arlo says.
“And what if the lawyer finds something?” Lennox asks. “I don’t know what it means if he does find some hidden fund.”
“I’m not sure either. I didn’t give him details as to why I needed it, but I’m also not sure he can help if he does find something.” Talking about this shows how little I really have.
“Well—” Lennox is cut off by my phone ringing.
I pick it up to see the lawyer calling me. Flashing it to the group so they can see, I answer on the third ring.
“This is Roxie.” I listen as he talks, blood draining from my face with each word. I add in the occasional “uh-huh” and “yes” where needed, but the news of this has my mind blank.
“Thanks. I’ll, umm, get back to you with how to proceed. Thank you so much.” I hang up and stare at the phone in my hand.
“Rox?” Lennox’s soft voice pulls my attention away .
“Umm, he found something,” I croak before clearing my throat. “There’s a trust. My mom put it into place when my dad died. He put two of his best friends as trustees. I’ve only met them a couple of times when I was really little, but I vaguely remember their names.”
“Holy shit,” Rina says.
“This makes a lot more sense,” Oakley adds.
“Okay, so we still have the option of arresting Greg since we have the evidence.” Arlo’s sheriff head is firmly on.
“The lawyer said he’s filing a restraining order. He was curious about why someone wouldn’t know they had a trust, and when he found mine untouched, he contacted the trustees. They filled him in on Greg and Pam and set up a meeting for all of us.” I can hear the disbelief in my voice. So many years of pain and worry. Stressing about when they’ll show up next and pounding my head into the wall trying to figure out what they wanted. Without the help of this family, I would have never known about the trust. We would have been running forever.
“Why can’t we hit them with both? I’m not trying to rely on a restraining order that can be violated in a minute. I trust Arlo to arrive here quickly if he does violate it, but you shouldn’t have to be looking over your shoulder every day,” Lennox says.
“I agree. Both is the best option. Did he say how long the restraining order would take?” Arlo asks.
“He said tomorrow. I think he’s putting a rush on things.” I don’t even think about the money that’ll cost me because I’m still in shock at having an actual trust. It’s making me think that maybe Greg and Pam were not my parents’ first choice to raise me, but somewhere along the way, things got lost in translation. Easy to do when dealing with an orphaned child.
“When’s the call with the trustees?” Lennox asks .
“Tomorrow,” I whisper. Things are moving quickly, and I feel frozen.
“Good. That’s really good, Boss Lady,” he says, using the nickname that will inevitably pull me from my overthinking.
“I don’t know what to expect.”
“That’s okay. I’ll be here if you want me to be. Hell, we’ll all be here if you want.” Lennox waves his hand around the room.
Nods meet my eyes. They want to figure this out for me as much as I do. But I know I’ve taken up too much of their time already. They spent all day creating the perfect distraction and home for Ivy, and that’s more than I could ever ask of them.
“Think on it. You don’t need to make a decision right this second.”
Nodding, I try to calm my swirling thoughts. There’s too much in there, and I can’t pinpoint what I’m feeling.
“I’m going to check on Pixie and then start family dinner.” Lennox leans over, pressing a kiss to my lips before getting up and checking on our girl.