An Endless Memory (Oil Knights #5)

Chapter 1

One

Eliot

“Push it hard, Wilder. Just get down in there.”

My brother was on his hands and knees. He aimed his glare up at me. “Not helping, Eliot.”

I grinned. “It’s a dryer vent. Don’t let it beat you. Mind over matter.”

“I like it better when you’re cranky,” he muttered and continued working on the dryer we promised his wife, Sutton, we’d install in the clinic. The expansion of her clinic hadn’t stopped. Instead of the two-room, one-veterinarian clinic she’d opened, she now had four exam rooms and three veterinarians under her.

It was Saturday, but the newest vet tech Sutton hired arrived earlier. I heard her cooing to the two cats and one dog being held for monitoring over the weekend.

“Fucking finally,” Wilder grumbled and groaned as he backed out from behind the dryer, still on all fours.

“You gonna be okay crawling around on the ground with those babies?”

That earned me another glare. “I’ll be fine. I can tell them what a jackass their uncle is.”

“You’ll have to be more specific.” We had two other brothers and a brother-in-law.

He gave me a dubious look. “No. I won’t.”

I chuckled. “What else do you have on your honey-do list?”

He rose, cutting his groan off and giving me a warning glare. I did my best to appear innocent.

“I need to change a couple of light fixtures and then she wanted the garage rearranged so Doc Julio can load his equipment and pull the trailer out easier.”

Doc Julio was the large-animal vet. From what Wilder said, the guy preferred to be outside and working all day. If he had to work on anything furry without cloven hoofs, he got cranky.

“Is the new girl working with him?”

Wilder adjusted his grungy ball cap and shook his head. “No. The plan was the new hire would work with him, but Lily just had a baby. Sutton asked the other techs if one of them wanted to work outside the clinic more, so they made a rotation schedule.”

“All that to hire the new girl?” Sutton was known to go out of her way for her employees, but she was already rearranging work schedules for someone brand new?

“Lily was going to vet school and dropped out. So Sutton’s getting a highly knowledgeable tech.”

“A vet school dropout?” A knowledgeable tech was one thing. A high-maintenance hire right before having twins was another.

He shrugged. “I don’t know the reasons. Sutton clicked with her.”

Whatever. It was my business to keep the ranch going so Wilder got his inheritance payouts. He’d been in house-husband bliss since he’d quit his job, moved to Crocus Valley, North Dakota, and dove into helping Sutton expand her veterinary clinic.

I was here to lend a hand or moral support. And because weekends in a big empty house were starting to wear on me.

“How’s Sutton? For real this time.” I’d asked before, and he’d given me the standard “fine” answer, but there was an edge to him I hadn’t seen since he’d gone through the divorce with Sutton.

They were remarried, and she was expecting. He should be elated, and it wasn’t this dryer stressing him out.

A muscle jumped in his jaw. “The doctor mentioned bed rest at the last appointment. Her blood pressure is starting to creep up.”

“What’s that mean?”

“To keep herself and the babies healthy, she’ll have to park it in bed until she delivers. No work.”

“Shit.”

He nodded, his Adam’s apple working. “I’m just worried, you know?”

I didn’t. “I can believe it.”

“It’s not just her physical health and the twins. She’d be stuck in bed watching TV and…” He drew his brows together. “Well, if you knew how she grew up, that’s going to be hard for her. She had very little parental attention and was left home alone a lot.”

“Damn.” Now that he mentioned it, I only met Sutton’s parents at their first wedding and now Sutton was due with twins in four months. I didn’t recall another visit from them. As if I’d know. I lived three hours west, across the border in Montana.

Frustration at being so far removed from my family welled up. When our father died, he’d tied me and my three brothers to that damn place. Only my sister had been free, but he’d shit all over her in the will and trust.

Everything worked out for her, and my brothers had found loopholes to get out of their inheritance stipulations without losing out on the money. They all settled in Crocus Valley too. But I was the ranch manager. I had to be there full-time—morning, noon, and night. My vacations were visiting my siblings, nieces, and nephews. They would come out to the ranch and help a few times a year to meet the demands of the inheritance, but those visits were decreasing as their families grew larger. My sister and all three of my sisters-in-law were pregnant too.

I was starting to feel left out.

Who was I kidding? I’d felt that way for a long time.

“I gotta run out to the truck,” Wilder said, giving me a break from the path my thoughts took. It wasn’t like I could change things.

“I’m gonna grab a drink while you do that.”

Sutton had added a nice break room with the expansion, and all the employees kept it stocked with snacks.

“Just keep the door shut. They have a repeat-offender Dalmatian in the back. He’s a wily fucker and he’ll go straight for the break room and get the fridge open before you know it.”

“Repeat offender?”

“The owners swear he’s not acting right, he’s been puking, insists the clinic keep him overnight for observation. There’s never anything wrong. Now, they’ve been dropping him off on Fridays. Sutton thinks he’s too much dog for them, but they won’t admit it. She’s afraid they’re going to euthanize him.”

I winced. I could get weary of the cattle and horse-breeding operations, really fucking tired of the daily grind, but I didn’t envy Sutton for a lot of aspects of her job. “That sucks.”

“Yeah. He is a handful. The techs have been working on training him, but he’s only a year old.”

“Still a puppy.” A puppy that needed a job, not to be cooped up all weekend. All our ranch dogs over the years had been the same.

Wilder and I left the new laundry room. He broke away to go out the back door where he was parked outside the garage. I continued down the hall to the break room.

There was a plastic container of thick frosted cookies on the table. Since it was the weekend, could I assume those were open season?

I went to the water jug that kept water at the perfect cold temperature and got a small cup. The jug glugged as water poured out. I should get one of these for the shop.

A skittering of claws on tile sounded down the hall. The new tech must’ve taken the Dalmatian out for a bathroom break?—

“Bug! Dang it!” a woman called from the hallway.

Somewhere in the building, a squeal pierced the air. A blur of white and black charged into the break room. A leash trailed behind him on the floor. “Hey, boy.”

The dog charged the table, bodysurfed the top with his upper body and knocked the cookies to the floor. I started for the dog when a blur in blue jeans and a gray scrub top rushed in. This must be Lily.

“Bug! No.” She dove for the leash, but the dog spun around and hunkered the front of his body down. His mouth lolled open like he thought it was a great game they were playing.

Lily straightened, her back to me. The top of her head wouldn’t reach my chin, but the jeans she wore molded around a nice, round ass.

She stuffed her hand into her scrub pocket and then held it out. “Sit,” she commanded, a treat sitting on her palm.

Bug ignored her and spun around instead, his claws skating across the floor.

“Bug, sit .”

He tried to race around me, but I scooped up the leash and held tight. Bug darted away and damn near yanked my arm off when I stopped him. He was a strong dog.

When Lily turned, I was faced with wide indigo eyes surrounded by dark lashes. She had equally dark circles under her eyes, but they didn’t detract from her loveliness. Her hair was cut short, and it puffed into a halo around her head. She looked like a coked-out pixie.

“Thanks.” She was out of breath.

When she pushed her hair off her face, my gaze was drawn to her chest and— shit . “Um…”

“I’ll take him from here.” She held her hand out, her expression no-nonsense with flushed cheeks and wild hair.

“You have, uh…” I kept my gaze firmly on her face. Should I tell her? Pretend I didn’t see anything? Would she want to know? Wilder had said she’d just had a baby.

A squall sounded again from somewhere in the building. Was that baby here ?

“I can take him,” she said firmly.

“Sure. Yeah.” I handed the leash over. I’d keep my mouth shut.

The dog nosed at the cookies on the floor. The lid had popped open when they hit the floor.

“Bug.” She sighed.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ll clean them up.”

She barely spared me a glance. “Thanks. Can you make sure to keep the door closed after I leave?”

“Mommy.” A little blond girl was in the doorway. “Kellan’s crying.” When her eyes landed on the dog, she gasped and grinned. “A Dalmatian!”

Bug lifted his head, his tail wagging. Cookie crumbs fell off his chin.

“Not now, Cali. Can you go sit with Kellan until I get in there?”

The girl’s wide brown eyes pinned her mom, and she pointed at Lily’s chest. “You’re leaking.”

“What?” Lily looked down. She stiffened. She folded an arm across the wet spots. “Cali, please go wait with Kellan.”

Bug lunged against the leash. His tail was going wild. He was so interested in Cali he’d run her over if he had a chance.

Lily needed help. A lot of it.

“I can put Bug back in his kennel,” I offered.

Lily didn’t look at me. Her neck was as red as her face had been when she’d chased Bug. “No, it’s fine. I got it under control.”

Bug barked, and we all jumped. The crying grew louder.

“How about I help with the baby? I’ve got plenty of nieces and nephews. Cali can boss me around and tattle to Wilder if I do something wrong.”

Cali grinned, showing off two missing front teeth.

Lily peered at me from the corner of her eye. She was half turned, keeping the wet spots over each breast as hidden as possible. “No, really. That’s fine. I’ve got it.” Bug strained against his leash and coughed. He was going to choke himself out.

“Follow me,” Cali said, beaming. She marched out of the room.

Lily side-eyed me. “Cali, come back, please. Bug will trash the office.”

“I can get the baby or the dog.”

Alarm lit her eyes, too close to panic for my liking. She must be worried for her kids and her job.

“How ’bout I get the baby and comfort him until you kennel Bug? Honestly—I’ll keep the door open—except the break room one—and Cali can watch me like a hawk. We can come find you.”

“Are you coming?” Cali called from partway down the hall.

I looked at Lily.

She danced sideways when Bug lunged for the cookies again. “Yes. Okay. I’ll only be a minute.”

I dipped my head. This had to be nerve-racking for her. I was a strange guy with her kids, but she might be afraid of losing her job if she lost the dog again and Wilder witnessed it. I was fairly sure she wouldn’t, but I wasn’t the new employee.

I stepped into the hallway. “Lead the way, boss lady,” I said to Cali.

I left Lily to handle Bug, though she could’ve used help with that too. Something about the undercurrent of defensiveness made me think she wouldn’t ask for it.

Cali skipped to the offices. Her pigtails bounced. Her hair was a lot lighter than her mom’s. The crying got louder the closer we got to the office door.

Inside, I found a baby strapped in his carrier in a stroller with a red, angry face and wild hair that was as dark as his mom’s. His little hands were balled into tight fists. “Goddam—dang, he’s a fresh one, ain’t he?” Little Kellan couldn’t even be two months old.

Cali giggled. “He cries a lot.”

I unbuckled the baby from his straps and lifted him. His bottom was soggy, and judging from the state of Lily’s shirt, he was probably hungry. I cradled him in my left arm. “Where’s his diaper bag?”

Cali dug out a backpack from behind a desk.

“Wanna dig out a diaper and wipes to have ready for your mom? Maybe a new outfit?”

She nodded and retrieved them for me. She also tugged out a plastic pad and proudly brandished it.

I took them from her and set them on the desk so they’d be ready for Lily. Kellan cried and squirmed. The dampness from his butt seeped through my sleeve. “I’m Eliot Knight, by the way.”

I was awarded with her toothless grin. “Cali Wilson—wait. Mommy changed it to Duke.”

Kellan kept crying, so I gently swayed from side to side. Cali hadn’t produced fresh clothing. “Is there another outfit in that magic backpack?”

Cali yanked out a tan onesie. It flopped open to reveal what I’d guess was a milk crust. She wrinkled her nose. “Ew.”

“Maybe there’s another?”

“Nopers,” she sang.

There was a fresh diaper waiting for him. That would be enough. They couldn’t live far away.

Kellan quieted to steady whimpers, warning me he’d blow again. “Okay, champ. Let’s clean up the break room until your mom can feed you. Coming along, boss lady?”

She followed me down the hall. “Mommy feeds him with her boobs.”

The last thing I needed to be thinking about was Lily’s boobs when I was holding her new baby.

We approached the door to the holding area, where we could hear movement and the occasional command from Lily.

“Mo-om,” Cali called through the door. “We have Kellan.”

“Uh, just wait a minute, please,” came Lily’s harried reply.

We went into the break room, and I shut the door.

“Think we can find a broom?” I squatted and picked the empty cookie container up. Kellan started crying again, a start-and-stop wail that was different from his five-alarm beller earlier.

Wilder opened the door and poked his head in. “What the—” His gaze landed on Cali, then the baby in my arms. He swung his attention back to Cali. “Hi. Cali, right? Your mom told me about you.”

She scooted closer to me. Suddenly, she was shy as could be.

“This is indeed Cali,” I explained. “She’s in charge, and this is Lily’s son, Kellan.”

“We have different moms,” Cali informed us.

Both Wilder and I blinked at her, unsure how to respond.

I was the first to recover. “Cool.” Was the dad different or the same? None of my business, but I was curious. Wilder said Lily was a single mom. “Wilder and I have the same mom and dad, but I’m the better brother.”

Wilder narrowed his eyes at me. “Better at lying maybe. I’m gonna go check on Lily.”

Lily came to a stop behind Wilder, her gaze wide, taking us all in, finally landing on me, then dropping to her son. “I can take him.”

She scooted around Wilder. She wore a different gray scrub top, but there were faint disks of moisture soaking through.

I handed Kellan over. His volume decreased, and he turned his face into her chest.

“We have everything to change his diaper ready to go in the office. His clothes are damp,” I said.

“The extra was dirty,” Cali announced. Loudly.

Lily’s shoulders drooped. “Oh, right. I have to wash that. Come on, Cali.” She led her daughter out and stopped right outside the door. “I’ll be in the office for a little while.”

Cali peeked around her. “Feeding Kellan with her boobs.”

Lily briefly shut her eyes and sucked in a breath. When she opened them again, she looked at my chest. “Thanks.” Then she was gone, closing the door behind her.

Wilder and I stared at the door for a moment.

“Be right back.” Wilder disappeared. When he returned, he had a broom and dustpan. He scanned the mess. “I take it you didn’t shut the door?”

“No, but I met Bug the Dalmatian.”

He grunted. “He’s a lot of dog.”

“I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself to Lily.”

“Yeah, she’s…got her hands full.”

She was a cute disaster but a woman who had to juggle a lot of responsibilities. Just the type I stayed far away from.

Lily

It’d been two days since my milk letdown in front of the hottest man I’d ever set eyes on and the mortification was only starting to wane. I’d started wearing two breast pads in my bra to keep from having another accident. Not only had I looked incompetent at my job—again—I presented like a walking calamity.

I hadn’t even been walking. I’d been running after Bug, and I hadn’t even been able to catch him. Mr. Melt My Granny Panties Off had to do it.

I was cleaning out the holding cages when my boss appeared at my side. Her long blonde braid was wrapped around her head. She always appeared so calm and serene. I’d hear cats screaming from her exam room, and she’d walk out nonplussed. As for the cat, it’d have gotten its shots, its ears swabbed, mite treatment rubbed in those ears, and a rectal temp taken. Sutton didn’t need people catching dogs for her.

Someday, I’d have my shit together.

“Can I talk to you for a minute, Lily?”

Her voice might be sweet, but tears pricked the backs of my eyes. I was going to get fired. All weekend, I’d cared for Bug and the other furry guests that were stuck until Monday, but the one time I’d messed up, there’d been witnesses. Her husband and, judging from the resemblance, one of his brothers.

The better-looking brother, if I had to say so. I wouldn’t ever speak my thoughts out loud. Wilder was handsome enough. Ruggedly hot, if I were into that kind of thing. But I wasn’t. Carter, my ex-husband, had ruined good-looking men for me.

Wilder’s brother could get a girl out of her man-hating era. He could help a girl forget she was about to lose the job she’d moved to another state for in order to have a fresh start. Back to the beginning, so to speak.

The beginning of another end.

I inhaled until the pressure of the tears ebbed. “Sure, I have a minute. I just finished.”

I checked the time. The daycare was militant about picking up the kids before they closed, which, of course, I understood. If only their closing time wasn’t right when my shift ended. Finding another daycare was on my to-do list, but that list was massive, and my evenings were dominated by tiny beings. And the daycare was wonderful.

Damn.

“Will I make you late?” Sutton asked.

“No. No, not at all.” I wasn’t telling my boss I had to leave. I was the new girl.

Her shrewd gaze didn’t ease. “Is there anything I can help with? Wilder told me about the issue with Bug over the weekend.”

“I had it under control.” I would’ve. Eventually. “He got away when I was locking the door to the fenced-off area, but the cookies were the only casualty.” They’d been stale by Saturday anyway. I’d tried one. So had Cali. We both ate the cookies anyway.

“Bug is a special case.” She sounded resigned.

He would continue to be a special case. He was a good dog, energetic, but he wasn’t aggressive or fearful and he tolerated kids and other animals really well. He needed space and something to do, and if he wasn’t busy, he needed the piss run out of him three times a day. His family wasn’t able to provide any of that.

She folded her hands over her belly. “Wilder said you had your kids here.”

Panic pressed against my chest walls. “Is that a problem? I’m so sorry, I should’ve asked. At my last job, we were allowed to and I didn’t think?—”

She waved her hands and shook her head. “No, it’s absolutely fine, and I know you know what animals they should and shouldn’t be around. But you can let me know if the weekends are too much right now.”

The tears were threatening to return. They were almost a constant these days. Everything was too much, but that wasn’t Sutton’s problem. She’d been nothing but generous and she was continuing to blow me away. How long before she got sick of making adjustments for me? “No, it’s fine.”

She lifted her brows. “You barely got a maternity leave. If you need more time off?—”

“No.” I almost shouted. “No. It’s fine.” Nothing was fine. I needed the paycheck. I had most of the vet school education but not the job. My student loans were staggering and all mine. If I hadn’t been able to move into my grandma’s old house, I’d still be living with my parents. They’d done so much for me. I’d needed their help, but if I couldn’t survive a month at a new job while living on my own, what did that mean about me? “I’m good. It gets us out of the house for the weekend.”

Her expression was dubious. “Okay,” she said slowly, like she didn’t believe a word I said. Probably because I was lying. “Please know I understand. You can come to me if there are any issues. I know you just lost your grandma.”

I didn’t win the battle against the tears. I swiped at my eyes. My grandma hadn’t been aware of much during her last months, or it would’ve killed her to know I had gotten divorced before Kellan was born. She loved Cali and that I’d had a family when the rest of my siblings were single with no kids. “I miss her.”

Sympathy filled her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Thank you. Being in her house with all her things helps.” Having a fully furnished house also kept my parents and brothers and sisters from worrying about me. “I really appreciate you taking a chance on me. I’m sorry about Bug.”

“You did well with him. He’s…a lot.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “You have to go, right? Doesn’t your daycare close soon?”

It closed five minutes ago. I’d get charged ten dollars for every five minutes I was late. “Yes. Soon.”

“Gosh, I’m sorry. Go. I’ll get the wash going.”

Normally, I’d be horrified she had to clean up after me, but I had to get to the daycare. “Thank you.”

“And don’t forget Friday is the party. It’s for family and coworkers in case I get bed-rested during one of my OB visits and miss all the summer festivities. No need to bring anything but the kids.”

“Is that the party you’re throwing here?”

“No, Friday is at my place. The open house for our clients will be here.” She shrugged. “We like an excuse to grill and visit.”

What was that like? My family sometimes gathered for a major holiday. Not often enough.

Relieved I hadn’t upset my boss, I filed the party details away for later. I didn’t run out of the room, but once I was free from her sight, I scurried as fast as possible. The daycare was a quick drive, but another ten dollars was tacked on before I arrived. I hurried to the door and knocked, waiting for Wanda to answer.

Wanda ran an in-home daycare, and she’d been recommended by my coworkers. It was a miracle I even found a spot for a baby. Sutton had hired me two weeks before I gave birth. I had taken a scant six weeks off, but part of that had included Grandma’s funeral, relocating, and finding childcare and getting Cali enrolled in school.

I was exhausted.

Cali opened the door and beamed at me. Wanda was behind her. She already had Kellan loaded in his carrier and his diaper bag packed.

“I don’t close at the clinic the rest of the week,” I said by way of apology and explanation. I’d been late three times last week.

Wanda smiled. “How about we give you a month to adjust before late fees set in?”

“I can’t let you do that.” Yet it’d be awesome. Everyone was doing so much for me. I had to take care of myself. I’d relied on my ex-husband and had been left with little more than debt. “I know about the time issue, and I’m late.”

“It’s only a month.” Wanda handed over the car seat. “If this is going to be a regular thing, you’ll be paying enough after that. Give yourself some time to adjust.”

Wasn’t that what Sutton had basically talked to me about? I didn’t have the luxury to adjust. Two kids depended on me to keep it together, and since their father had chosen not to, I was stuck.

Wanda’s kindness burrowed into my stress, easing a small part of it. “Thank you,” I said, my words thick. She shouldn’t have to waive her fees because my life was a mess.

“No worries. I know how it is.”

I didn’t say anything, but Wanda had three grown kids and a husband who seemed to adore her and supported the daycare from what I’d seen. I hadn’t known a supportive husband or one who thought the moon and earth revolved around me. “See you tomorrow.”

She might regret the month of no extra fees. The rest of the week, I’d be at her door the minute she opened in the morning. I would dump the kids on her and run to work. I might not be paying ten dollars for every five minutes I was late to daycare, but I’d be showing up to work five to ten minutes late instead. If there were limits to how understanding my boss could be, I might, unfortunately, find them.

I hated to lose Wanda, but I’d have to find a new daycare. I couldn’t risk my job, and I couldn’t hemorrhage money because of my hours.

I hefted the diaper bag over my shoulder and gripped the car seat.

Cali slipped her hand into my free one. “What’s for dinner?”

“Uh…sandwiches?”

She groaned. “Always samwiches.”

“I know.”

Grandma’s house was five miles out of town. Technically, her address was Coal Haven and all her land was in Coal Haven, which was nine miles from Crocus Valley. She’d be dismayed I worked in Crocus Valley instead of in the town she loved, but there weren’t many other vet clinics in the area. The only other vet clinic was run by a notorious womanizer, and I’d already been there and done that with someone like him and had the newborn and divorce papers to show for it.

It didn’t matter if I worked in Coal Haven or Crocus Valley. The cost of living in either one was cheaper than in a bigger town.

I coasted down the long drive that had grass poking between the wheel divots. It needed more gravel, but that went way down my growing list of shit to get done. Cats darted in the door I kept cracked in the barn. The barn cats were half-feral. Later this summer, I’d trap them and take advantage of the employee discount for neutering and spaying.

The proud farmhouse sat in an L of trees that were three rows of pine, ash, and bushy lilacs. I barely registered them blooming. It was early June and they were my favorite blossoms. Grandma’s too. She couldn’t enjoy them this year; I should be.

A month had passed, but my dad said it was no issue if I moved into her house. Grandma had told me she was leaving me the house and the forty acres it sat on. The rest of the land and property would be split among my siblings. My dad’s sole sibling hadn’t had any kids. We assumed Aunt Linda would get the money from the estate. My parents were doing well enough since my dad was the CEO of King Oil in Billings.

Go home and be dependent on your parents like you were with me. My ex’s words were poison.

I got closer and noticed a silver car parked by the garage. It was vaguely familiar. I pulled into the detached garage. By the time I got out, my aunt Linda was hovering by the silver car, her face pinched. Her husband, Darren, got out from the driver’s seat. I didn’t expect them to visit this soon after I’d moved in. Or ever.

“Hi.” Aunt Linda and I had never been close, but there was no animosity between us. She hadn’t seemed to know what to do in a house bustling with six kids, and Darren just ignored us.

She smiled, but the tension around her eyes remained. The fine material of her skirt wrapped around her legs in the wind. All my life, she’d worn floral dresses and put her hair back in a twist. “We need to talk.”

Another person tracked me down to talk? Was she worried like my boss was? Did she feel bad that she lived in town and hadn’t stopped in yet?

“Sure.” I got Kellan’s baby carrier out. Cali crawled out the same door and hid behind my legs. “Come inside.”

I led them to the side door that faced the garage. Inside, the smell of Grandma’s lavender perfume still lingered, bringing comfort. The main difference was there were no longer the savory scents of a delicious meal cooking or the sweet smell of a fresh pie or cookies. If life slowed down, I’d make some cookies with Cali.

I’d have to get a little more sleep before I could tackle a real meal.

Just being home caused the fatigue to settle heavily on my shoulders as if my body sensed a bed nearby. I didn’t sleep in Grandma’s bed. Her mattress was older than me, and the guest bedrooms were less worn. I had moved into one and squashed the bassinet in the corner. Cali often slept with me, too, until she got used to her own room. As if my sleep wasn’t terrible already. To top it off, I often ended up in the second guest room to keep Kellan from waking up Cali.

“Have a seat.” I carried Kellan through the laundry area and the small dining room to the living room and sat on the couch to unbuckle him. Pressure was building in my boobs. I hoped whatever my aunt and uncle needed to talk about was over by the time he needed to eat.

Cali sat next to me, scooting right into my side.

Aunt Linda hovered under the plaster archway that separated the living room from the dining room. If I could ever afford to remodel the house, I’d open up the wall between the dining room and equally small kitchen so everything wasn’t so compartmentalized.

My grandma’s cat, Pebbles, sauntered by Linda. My aunt’s face softened when she looked at the cat. She loved the old kitty, but Darren hadn’t wanted to take Pebbles. So the cat had stayed. She was mine.

Honestly, Pebbles had made the move easier. My ex had gotten our dog and cat in the divorce since they’d been his before we married. He’d thrown a fit about my corn snake, Flakes, when I’d moved in and had gladly given him up—along with the kids. He’d made it clear he’d ship Flakes on my dime to my parents. My dad took Flakes on another trip, and the snake was in Grandma’s old room.

Pebbles jumped on the arm of the couch and curled up.

“Come on,” Darren said, guiding his wife with a hand on her back. He held an old-fashioned leather briefcase in his hand. “Let’s get this over with.” He let her sit on the threadbare recliner that was probably older than Grandma’s mattress.

“What’s going on?” I propped Kellan against my shoulder and patted his back.

Everything was fine. It had to be. I’d gone through enough, right?

“I’m just going to come out and say it,” Linda said, fanning her hand over her dyed-brunette hair. She swallowed hard and my anxiety grew until I wanted to squirm off the couch.

Whatever it is, make it go away!

“I’m the executor of my mother’s estate.” She licked her lips. “And it’s come to my attention that while yes, you get the house…” She closed her eyes. “She made a trust. With stipulations.”

“A trust?” Grandma hadn’t mentioned one.

Darren huffed. “Yes. It stipulates that you have to be married for at least a year between when she passes and when you can fully inherit the house. Otherwise, we—Linda—controls the estate.”

A nervous giggle left me. “Right. Married.”

They both stared at me, no humor in their expression. I barely registered Cali tickling Kellan. My world was narrowing on my aunt and uncle’s serious expressions.

“No,” Darren said. “I’m afraid Annie had it in her head that including marriage parameters in her will was a good thing.”

Annie Duke had been a fierce romantic, but this sounded ridiculous. And highly inconvenient.

It couldn’t be legal. “She wasn’t in her right mind?—”

“She did this years ago,” Aunt Linda said hoarsely. “She was healthy, and well, she probably thought it wouldn’t be an issue, especially with you and Carter.”

My laughter came out like a hyena. Pebbles’ expression turned alarmed. Carter would’ve crapped himself in public and rolled in it before he entertained the notion of moving to the town where I’d been born. But he would’ve gladly sold the house and funneled the money into his mismanaged vet clinic.

“Why would she even think it was a good idea in the first place?” My voice was pitching up. My ex’s voice filtered through my head. Come on, don’t overreact. The hit of anger was swift.

Kellan let out a cry as if he sensed my stress. Darren flinched. Pebbles scurried off.

Linda folded her hands. “She, uh, apparently liked the story West told her about his old boss.”

West was my dad. Weston Duke. He’d taken over King Oil in Billings for the previous CEO and owner, Gentry King. I’d met the man, but what story would he have that inspired my grandma to screw me and my siblings over? They were all single and now I was too.

“Gentry King’s late wife left a trust for each kid, but they couldn’t access the money until they’d been married for a year and it had to happen before they turned thirty. In their case, it was a trust fund. In this case, the land and all her properties are included in the trust.”

“But I’m thirty, and I’m the youngest.”

Darren’s scowl deepened. “Annie gave a time period of six years before the trust lifts and we can sell.”

“It’s actually seven,” Linda clarified. “Whoever marries last will need to do it before the six-year mark so they can have a year. Then we sell. And donate all the money.”

Everything my grandparents had worked their entire lives for would be gone? If I didn’t marry? The good news was that I had six years.

But I needed the house now .

My steady breathing quickened. Any faster and I’d hyperventilate. I didn’t have the spare income for rent. I’d have to quit a job I adored and move to Billings to live with my parents— again . That wasn’t the end of the world, but it’d be the end of me as Lily Duke, trying to prove she wasn’t incompetent. A large part of my pride died. Carter claimed I couldn’t do anything without my family.

“Is this necessary?” I croaked.

“We are going to enforce the trust,” Darren stressed. “It’s what Annie wanted.”

Linda glanced at Darren. She looked almost as hopeless as I felt. Darren had been Mr. Ambivalent my entire life but now he was dedicated to carrying out my grandma’s wishes?

“We’ll give you until the end of the month,” Linda said gently.

Shock made me sit forward. I switched Kellan to my other shoulder. He was already rooting around, accidentally headbutting me. He’d start crying to get fed soon. “The end of the month? For what?”

“To find a new place.” She pursed her lips. Whatever bad news she was telling me, at least it wasn’t easy for her. “You need to move out…unless you’re married by then.” She exchanged a look with Darren. He gave her an encouraging nod. “It’s in the papers that couples need to reside on the land or property for that first year. So if you’re dating and you want to fast-track the nuptials…” She spread her hands before dropping them limply to her lap.

I’d have to move out within a month? My parents would be faced with moving me for the third time in less than a year. Instead of moving forward as an adult and single mom, I was sliding back. “C-can I have some time before you talk to Mom and Dad?” I groaned. “You have to tell everyone else, don’t you?”

Linda hesitated and exchanged a glance with Darren. “I have some time yet before I’m required to inform everyone. I’ll give you that time before we both have to deal with the stipulations of the trust getting out. I’m not exactly looking forward to ruining everyone’s day. Thanks to my mother, I’ll be the bad guy until this is over.”

Their expressions weren’t wavering. There was sympathy but no leeway. I’d have to find a husband in a few weeks, or I was losing this house.