Chapter 3
Via tried to calm her nerves as she walked inside Bennett’s office, Leo following right behind her. Although she’d known Bennett
Pipkin most of her life, she’d only dealt with him once in a professional capacity, and that was when she moved to downtown
Pecan Corner and opened Pawsitive Vibes a year after breaking up with Trevor. Bennett and Earl had been good friends, and
they had a standing lunch appointment every other Tuesday at the Corner Eatery. He was also present at Earl’s funeral and
said the eulogy. Most of the Pecan Corner regulars had attended.
Had Earl told him about possibly combining Pawsitive Vibes and Second Chapter? She had no idea, and when she’d asked Bennett
about Second Chapter’s future, he’d only mentioned probate. The man was always smiling and kind, but there was a sharp legal
mind underneath that head of receding gray hair.
Marge Davenport was seated behind her reception desk as she and Leo approached. She slipped off her purple reading glasses
and smiled.
“Good morning, Via . . .” Her gaze turned to Leo, and her short fingers were suddenly adjusting the chunky, red-bead necklace around her plump neck. “And hello again, Mr. Brewster. Were you able to get into Earl’s apartment?”
Good grief, the woman sounded almost breathless.
“Eventually,” he said.
Via glanced at him. Calm, suave, and completely besotting sixty-four-year-old married Marge. The only inkling of impatience
was in his eyes, the ones Marge couldn’t stop staring at.
“Can you tell Mr. Bennett I’m here?” he asked.
“I’ll be more than happy to show you to his office.” She started to rise from her chair.
Via stepped forward. “I can show him.”
Marge shot her a curt look. “I don’t mind, Via. You can wait here until Bennett and Mr. Brewster have finished their meeting.”
“But I’m attending the meeting.”
Marge looked to Leo for confirmation and he gave her a brusque nod. She sat back down, clearly disappointed.
As he headed down the hallway, she said to Via in a not-so-low voice, “Who knew Earl had such a dreamy nephew?”
“I guess.”
“So you think he’s dreamy too?”
“No, that’s not—I’ve got to go.” Before Marge could say anything else, Via skedaddled down the hall and stopped in front of
Bennett’s door. Leo had found his own way and was already sitting in one of two chairs right across from the lawyer.
“Via.” A smiling Bennett stood up from his chair behind the large desk. “Leo just told me you were joining us.” He smoothed
down his pale blue tie. Unlike Leo’s expensive dark suit, Bennett’s was tan and rumpled. “Have a seat.” He gestured unnecessarily
to the only empty chair, right next to Leo.
She sat, and Leo kept staring straight ahead. Good, she wanted to get down to business too.
Bennett returned to his chair and folded his hands, resting them on the folder in front of him and looking at Leo. “It was quite the challenge finding you.”
“I’m here now,” he said, his tone flat.
Via couldn’t help but glance at him. He’d smoothed down his hair after she’d mussed it, and that had her thinking about how
thick, soft, and sublime it had felt in her hands.
As if he sensed her watching him, he turned her way, arching a perfect, gorgeous eyebrow.
Cheeks flaming, she whipped her head around and looked at Bennett. Grasping for a diversion, she blurted, “Did Earl tell you
about our plan to combine our businesses?”
She could almost feel Leo’s eyes burning into her right now. But she had to know.
Bennett’s slight frown was almost completely covered by his gray, bushy mustache. “He mentioned it,” Bennett said.
Yes! Via moved to the edge of her seat.
Leo frowned. “You told me I inherited the shop and the apartment.”
Bennett nodded. “That is correct. And Via, Earl thought that making Second Chapter and Pawsitive Vibes into one shop was an
excellent idea.”
Via and Leo exchanged a confused look.
“About a month before his heart attack, Earl contacted me,” Bennett explained. “He asked to set up a meeting to change his
twenty-year-old will. He gave me a few particulars about what he wanted addressed.” His gaze shifted to Leo. “Notably to excise
you out of it.”
Leo shifted in his chair, not looking at Via anymore.
“Earl’s wish was for Via to run Second Chapter and eventually own it outright.”
Via sat back in shock. “Own? He said that too?”
Bennett nodded. “He figured since you would be running things when he retired, you might as well have the business. But I
couldn’t pin him down on another meeting date. And then . . .” His expression turned somber. “We all know the rest.”
“So the shop and apartment are still legally mine?” Leo leaned forward.
“Yes. Earl was sincere about changing his will. He just didn’t have the chance to.”
The words were like a brick landing on her chest. “Is there anything we can do to change it now? Since you know what he really
wanted?”
“I’m afraid not.” His tone was sympathetic. “I’m sorry, Via. That’s the law.”
She stilled, her emotions tumbling inside. At least when the will was in probate, she still had a connection to Earl. She
was overseeing Second Chapter, even though she couldn’t go inside. But she protected it nevertheless. His apartment had remained
untouched since his death. His things were still there. His legacy remained.
That legacy was Leo’s now. A man who didn’t know Earl, didn’t appreciate his life’s work. And there was nothing she could
do about it.
The lump in her throat grew. Although she didn’t want to, she looked at Leo again, his gaze on her. She couldn’t read his
expression, but at least he had the grace not to rub it in. For some reason, that made everything worse.
Somehow she managed to stand up and keep her composure. “Thank you for your time, Bennett.”
He nodded. “Of course.”
She left the office, fighting to keep from breaking down.
But the second she stepped foot into the hallway, tears filled her eyes.
She had to keep it together until she got to Pawsitive Vibes.
Only a three-minute walk away, but it might as well be three miles.
She rushed by Marge’s desk and out the door.
She couldn’t bear to listen to the woman fawn over Leo again.
The sidewalk was empty except for a couple of passersby she didn’t recognize. Good. The path to Pawsitive Vibes was clear.
She zoomed past the pharmacy—
“Via!”
Leo. Maybe he was going to rub it in her face after all. She ignored him and kept walking, but his long-legged stride caught
up to her.
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry,” he said.
That made her stop, right in front of Needle Drop Vinyl. He even sounded like he meant it, but she didn’t believe him. She
spun around. “No, you’re not.” At his surprised look she added, “You got what you wanted.”
“I didn’t know he wanted you to have it.”
She glanced away, unable to respond. Her heart squeezed.
“I’m not going to feel bad over my legal inheritance. But . . .” A quick, almost imperceptible flicker of emotion appeared
in his eyes. Then it was gone.
Via inwardly sighed. She didn’t have time for whatever games he was playing, but she did have attention. “Earl ran Second
Chapter for thirty years. All the books in that shop are his personal collection.”
“They must not have meant much to him if he was willing to sell them.”
His comment proved he didn’t know anything about Earl.
“Just the opposite. He enjoyed seeing people who shared his hobby, and he was glad when his books found good homes.” It was something they had bonded over.
She loved every cat that had stayed at the cat café, but she was even happier when they were adopted. “Just . . .”
“Just what?”
“Don’t ruin it, Leo.” Great, now she was fighting tears again. “Please.”
Leo didn’t miss the quiver in Via’s bottom lip. He also refused to acknowledge it. She was looking at him expectantly, as
if she wanted his promise that he would continue Earl’s business. But he couldn’t tell her that. He never made a promise he
didn’t keep.
As soon as he signed the papers, he was calling a Realtor. Or he might try to sell his half of the building himself. He had
enough experience, thanks to his father’s massive and very lucrative real estate conglomerate. The one he was supposed to
be the current president of. The one Constance had taken away from him.
He didn’t want to think about his mother right now, or her misdeeds. So he didn’t. He was well practiced in locking his emotions
away. That included the sympathetic ones he was feeling as Via’s eyes filled with disillusionment.
When he didn’t answer, she turned and walked away.
He thought about going after her again, but what would be the point? He still wasn’t sure why he chased her down to begin
with, other than it now made sense why she was so distrustful of him, so insistent she horn in on his meeting. Not just because
she’d been promised Second Chapter. Because she cared.
That was the difference between them. He couldn’t care about an uncle he never knew and a business he wasn’t interested in.
And if he didn’t get back into Bennett’s office and sign those papers, Constance would get the inheritance.
That was something he did care about, and when Bennett had told him that when he called Leo with the news of his inheritance, it had rattled his cage so hard he sped to Pecan Corner.
Time to get this done. Leo turned and went inside. Bennett met him at the door.
“Is she okay?” he asked, obviously genuinely worried.
Leo nodded, although he didn’t think she was. That wasn’t his fault either.
“Good.” Bennett motioned him inside. “Earl was really fond of her. Said she was like the daughter he never had.”
“He never married?”
“Not that I know of. The man was an enigma, even though we were friends. I was surprised when we drew up his initial will
and he mentioned you.”
“I never got a chance to meet him,” Leo said, not willing to go into particulars.
“That’s too bad.”
He was beginning to agree. That was another thing sticking in his craw—his mother keeping his uncle a secret from him. They