Chapter 23 Camryn
Chapter twenty-three
Camryn
The day of my mother’s funeral is overcast and snowing. So different from the bright afternoon sun that shone down during my sister’s funeral. This day is dark and depressing, much like the woman we’re burying.
There’s no one here other than me, Barrett, Sydney, the brothers, and their women.
Barrett asked me why we were having a funeral, and I couldn’t give him an answer.
There’s no love lost for my parents, but I needed closure somehow.
I needed to put the people who failed me and my sister in every way imaginable behind me.
I gave Sydney the choice. I wasn’t going to make her sit through her second funeral in three months, but she insisted on coming today.
She said, “I don’t care about saying goodbye to her, Aunt Cam. But I love you, and when you love someone, you stand next to them when they need you.”
Sydney told me when the men came into her room, after knocking me out, they put a disgusting-smelling rag over her face, and she passed out before they took her from the house. After hearing that, I wanted to dig them up from wherever Liam had buried them just so I could shoot them my damn self.
Liam handled the police for us. He told them that they were there for a meeting with my father about some real estate opportunity, and walked into the house just as my mom pointed the gun at her head and shot herself.
It was ruled a murder–suicide, and since Liam has contacts everywhere, the police closed the case without further investigation.
I don’t know all the particulars, but Barrett said it was handled, so I trusted him and didn’t ask any questions.
That’s definitely something new for me, but I trust Barrett wholly and completely, not only with Syd, but with me, too.
“Ready to go, kiddo?” I ask my niece as my mother’s casket is being lowered into the ground.
“Yeah,” she replies, and I lock eyes with Barrett over her head.
“I love you,” he mouths.
I smile and mouth back, “I love you, too.”
There isn’t going to be a dinner, but we do have an appointment with my father’s attorney to go over my parents’ wills at his office.
When we pull up, Freya and Ozzy get out of her car, and the five of us make our way into the building.
The receptionist leads all of us back to his office. When she opens the door, he stands and comes around the desk, holding out his hand to me.
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Mr. Kline says. “He was a good man.”
“He really wasn’t,” I reply without thinking, but I don’t correct myself. What’s the point? My father was a horrible, evil man, and the world is better off without him in it. I don’t need to keep up pretenses anymore.
Mr. Kline clears his throat, visibly uncomfortable. “Right. Well, please have a seat.” He waves at the two chairs in front of us, and Barrett and I sit down while Syd, Ozzy, and Freya have a seat on the couch.
“Freya is my attorney. She’s here to answer anything I don’t understand,” I tell Mr. Kline.
“Good, good,” he says. “It’s pretty straightforward.
I just need your bank account information.
Your parents set it up so, at the time of their deaths, everything would go into an estate and be auctioned off.
You will have immediate access to their bank accounts, and the money will be transferred to you once the auction is complete. ”
He hands me a couple pieces of paper that essentially say what he just told me, and I hand them to Freya.
She looks them over, nods, then looks at me. “We’ll hire estate liquidators to handle the auction so my client can take this time to grieve.”
Mr. Kline tilts his head in her direction, and I have to hold back my snort. The only person’s death I grieve is my sister’s. I meant it when I told my mother she could rot in hell. And that goes double for my father.
“Very good. I just need a couple signatures and your banking information, then you can be on your way,” Mr. Kline tells us. He hands Freya a card for the company that is in charge of the estate sale, and we leave the office in less than fifteen minutes.
When we get outside, I turn to Barrett. “Where to now?”
He looks at Syd, then back to me. “Well, I was thinking we could take a little road trip.”
I look at my niece, and she’s wearing a matching expression of confusion.
“You told me how much you liked New York during Christmastime. The ice skating, the tree, all the decorations. So, I booked us a couple rooms for three nights in the city. We can eat our weight in pizza and bagels, and you can show me around some more.”
Syd’s mouth widens into a huge smile. “How many record stores can we go into?”
“As many as you want,” Barrett answers. “And I did you one better than that. You know that band you like? Velvet Static?”
Syd nods.
“They’re playing at a little theater in the city tomorrow night, and I got us tickets.”
A squeal that I’ve never heard before comes out of Syd’s mouth, and she throws her arms around Barrett’s middle. “Seriously? Oh my God! I can’t wait. Thanks, Dad.”
He chuckles and kisses the top of her head. “You got it, kid.”
“I hope you bought earplugs for us,” I say, smiling at my two favorite people.
“Oh, I absolutely did,” he replies with a laugh.
Ozzy and Freya are standing next to their car when I turn around. The couple walks up to us, and Ozzy shakes Barrett’s hand while Freya gives me a hug.
“I’ll call the estate company and make all the arrangements. You don’t have to worry about anything, okay?”
“Thank you, Freya. It means a lot that you’re taking care of this. I don’t want to even see that money.”
“You’re going to have to decide what you want to do with it. It’s yours now, whether you like it or not.”
I exhale a tension-filled breath. “I know.”
“Hey,” she says, squeezing my hand. “You don’t have to think about it right now. Go enjoy New York with your family. This can all wait until you get back.”
I look over at Barrett, who has his arm around Syd’s shoulder. “That’s exactly what I plan to do.”
“She asleep?” Barrett asks me when I shut the door dividing Syd’s hotel room from ours.
“Out like a light,” I tell him. “You did good with those concert tickets. I think this is going to be the highlight of her year, if not decade.” I let out a small laugh as Barrett preens a bit, sitting on the bed.
“I’m kind of an awesome dad.”
I walk up between his spread thighs, leaning down before I place my mouth close to his. “You’re kind of an awesome everything,” I say, then brush my lips against his.
“Mmm, baby. You know what this mouth does to me,” he says and moves his hand to cup my backside. “And this ass. I really fucking like these tight jeans on you.” He squeezes my flesh for good measure. “How about a nice bath? I’ll wash your back if you wash mine.”
“Sounds perfect.”
Barrett stands from the bed, walks to the bathroom, and opens the door. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
When I peek inside, he’s already filled the tub, complete with bubbles and a glass of wine sitting on the edge of the huge soaking tub.
“Obviously, we weren’t in the place to use this last time we were here, but there was no way in hell I was going to pass up the opportunity this go around,” he says, looping his arm around my waist.
I lean up and press my lips to his. “And this time, I’m sharing a room with you instead of Syd.”
“God, last time we were here, and you were drinking wine on that little couch, I wanted to taste it on your lips so fucking bad. I think that’s one of the first conversations that lasted more than five minutes without us fighting.”
I laugh. “Probably.”
“I’m glad you don’t find reasons to get mad at me anymore. I much prefer this side of you.”
“Oh yeah? What side is that?”
“The one that lets me kiss you.” He presses his lips to mine for a quick, deep kiss. “The one that lets me hold you. And I really like the side of you that lets me eat your pussy any time I want.”
A bark of laughter escapes me before Barrett claims my mouth and presses my body into his hard length.
“You’re wearing way too many clothes,” he says, lifting my shirt over my head. My bra is next, then he kneels in front of me, sliding my jeans and panties down my legs.
“I like you on your knees for me,” I tell him with a small smile.
“Well, it does make it easier to do this.” Barrett leans forward and runs his tongue through my center.
“Fuck,” I hiss out and grab his hair. Barrett uses his thumbs to spread my lips and licks at me furiously. Way too soon for him to make me come, he pulls away and stands, kissing me deeply.
“God, you taste so fucking good, baby. But I promised you a bath, and if I keep licking your pussy, I’m going to bend you over the counter and it’s going to get cold.”
“We can refill it. I’ll take that orgasm now.” I reach up to try to capture his lips, but he steps back.
“Nope. Bath first, orgasms second.”
“Orgasms…as in plural?”
“Obviously.” He tilts the corner of his lips up with a dirty promise in his eyes.
Barrett holds my hand as I step into the bath, and then he quickly removes his clothes, sliding into the tub behind me.
“I’m remodeling Tanya’s bathroom. We’re definitely putting in a bigger tub,” he says when I relax back into him.
“Maybe we should look for a house to buy. I am a multimillionaire now,” I say with a small, caustic laugh. How I got the money is far from funny, though.
“I’m not buying a house with that asshole’s money, baby. I have more than enough saved up.”
“I don’t think I could stomach it either. I was thinking I should put some of it away for Syd’s college or something.”
“Got plenty for that, too.”
“Really?” Barrett and I have never talked about finances.
When we first moved in together, he told me he had rent and bills covered, which is all well and good.
But buying a house and college tuition are something else entirely.
It was never my business, so I didn’t ask, but I’m surprised by his statement.
“Pup, I lived in the clubhouse. I haven’t had to pay rent or bills in over a decade—until we moved in together. Trust me, I have a nice little nest egg that’s been collecting interest for years. We’re more than good on that front.”
“Maybe I’ll become a lady of leisure, then,” I tell him, humor lacing my tone.
“You can do whatever makes you happy. As long as it includes me, I’m good.”
“I have been thinking about what to do with that money since I found out I was getting it yesterday.”
“Yeah? What have you come up with? I know I said I can buy us a house, but if you want to buy a yacht or something, I wouldn’t say no.” He laughs behind me, the movement causing the water to splash around us a bit.
“I was thinking of donating it. He did awful things to get it, so I want to give it back to the people like my sister, whom he had a hand in hurting.”
Barrett kisses the back of my head. “That sounds like a great idea, sweetheart. You could do a lot of good with it.”
“And…I was thinking of funding the art therapy program that Lucy was talking about. The woman who runs the shelter in town wants to start one, but doesn’t have the funding yet.
I figured I could help her get it up and running, then maybe I’d go back to school and get a degree in therapy like Charlie’s doing.
I love art, and I want to help people. This way I’m able to kind of meld both of those worlds together. ”
“You’ve thought about this a lot.”
I nod. “I have. It’s going to be a lot of work, but I really think it will be worth it in the end. I liked teaching fine, but I want to do more. Plus, I was teaching more for Syd’s benefit than mine. We always had the same schedule, and I got paid enough to stay close to her.”
“Like I said, baby, as long as I’m included in your future, I’ll support anything you decide to do one hundred percent.”
“I love you, Barrett.”
“I love you, too, babe. Now give me that mouth.”
I turn my head, and Barrett kisses me with so much love and passion it makes my heart stutter.
This is the last man on the planet that I thought would make me feel this way. The last man I thought would bury himself so deep into my soul that I hardly remember what life was like before he firmly planted himself there.
I reach behind me, wrapping my hands around his hard cock that’s poking me in the back, and I begin stroking him under the water.
“Now, about those orgasms.”