Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
WREN
“Ignite the defense!” I shouted, waving my pom-poms in time with my cheering squad while Eli and the defense ran onto the field. There were almost three minutes left in the game, and ASU led by seventeen points. They’d been on fire tonight.
As I turned and quieted to watch the play, I snuck a glance at Grace.
With a wide smile and tucking her pom-poms at her hips, she said, “Eli’s played so well tonight. What, three sacks?”
“Yeah.” My chest swelled as my gaze found him, listening to whatever Nick Penny was telling him. I’d decided not to care what my father did anymore. It wasn’t my business, and I’d been better off staying away from him. Though my therapist might not agree.
The teams lined up to start the play, and U of A snapped the ball, their quarterback stepping backward.
A hole opened in front of him, and Eli tossed an offensive man off him, then rushed the quarterback.
Casey shouted from the bench, cupping his mouth, “Go, Dawson, you’ve got this.”
Eli sped through the men, his enormous frame seeming to bowl them over. As he stretched for the quarterback, the quarterback skipped left, tucked the ball and ran for a gain of three yards, exiting out of bounds and stopping the clock.
“Damn it.” I scoffed and turned to Grace. “What’s next?”
“The defense shuffle.” She chuckled, and we got into formation.
Eli hung his head and lumbered toward Nick.
This routine ended with a series of backflips from me. My ankle had been solid at practice, but I’d taped it just in case. As we went through the motions, I danced into position, dropped my pom-poms and flipped through the air, landing in a split with my arms over my head.
The crowd cheered and chanted, de-fense, over and over.
I glanced at Eli, taking his spot behind the defensive line. Would Nick have Eli pursue the quarterback again? What did they call that—a blitz? I was still learning their plays.
Eli glanced my way, and a wide grin broke out on his face. He gave me a quick salute and crouched, one fist in the grass.
Warmth showered down on my heart. Good God, I loved this man with every fiber of my being. Why was it difficult to tell him? I’d almost said it last night, but it had stuck in my throat. The damn mistrust I still had snuck up on me.
The play started, and the U of A quarterback handed the ball to their running back. As the running back found a hole through ASU’s defense, Eli swooped in, tossing the guy in a circle like a sack of potatoes.
“Woo-hoo! You got ‘em, babe!” I shook my pom-poms over my head.
“Wren, that is not an official ASU cheer.” Grace slapped my ass and smirked. “Go, Eli!”
Our captain gave us a dirty look.
As my gaze met Grace’s, we erupted in a fit of giggles. Who gave a fuck? It was the last game of the regular season.
In the last few seconds of the game, ASU’s kicker took to the field at the twenty-two-yard line. We were about to kick yet another field goal for the win.
We snapped the ball, and our kicker hopped to it and kicked.
I watched with the crowd as the ball soared between the goal posts and the announcer said, “Field goal and game, ASU!”
The stands went insane, with everyone screaming, hopping and jumping over the railings. A flood of people rushed the field, and as I turned, Eli stood next to me, his helmet discarded, his hair dripping and the most charming smile on his face.
“Babe, it was amazing having you here with me this year.” Throwing his arms around my waist, he picked me up. “Kiss me!”
Wrapping my legs around him, I cupped his sweaty cheeks and planted a long kiss on his mouth.
“Oh, my.” Grace and the squad circled us, clapping and whistling.
“Dawson, get a room.” With a cackle, Malik slapped Eli’s shoulder.
As our kiss broke, Eli said, “We will, don’t you worry about that.” He set me down, snatched my hand and led me into the tunnel.
The day before I was to leave for Medford with Eli, I stood in my room packing for my trip.
With finals over, all I had left was to relax in my hometown with Eli beside me.
What would our friends think when they saw us together?
I’d called Ethan a few days ago and told him.
He’d been happy as shit for me. We’d planned on meeting him at the local bar one night.
I’d tried to call my father again, but he never answered or returned my calls.
I didn’t know what to think, but my therapist had directed me to focus on myself.
I couldn’t control other people, but I could control my reaction to them.
And so, this had been my focus while I studied through finals.
Grace had left for Prescott yesterday. At least her home was only a few hours’ drive up north.
As I stuffed my briefs into a corner of my bag, knocking filtered in from the front room. Who the hell was that? I wasn’t expecting Eli. I jogged into the main room and opened the door.
A FedEx courier stood at the entry with a cardboard envelope and an electronic gadget in his hand. “Wren Lewis?”
“Yes?” I fixated on the envelope. Was it some sort of early Christmas present? My heart pattered. Had Eli sent this?
The man handed me the envelope. “Here. Can you sign?” He held the gadget to me with an electronic pen.
“Yeah, sure.” I signed and as he left, I closed the door and mumbled, “What the hell is this?” Stopping at my dinette, I grabbed the tab and pulled, opening the side of it and then spread the sides apart. It was papers. Lots of them. “What the fuck?”
I slipped the papers out and peered at them. The numbering on the sides told me they were legal papers. As I read, my heart sank, and nausea balled in my gut. That fucker. I swallowed hard and willed my pulse to slow. I needed someone to talk me down.
With trembling hands, I slipped my phone from the pocket of my sweats and called Eli.
The phone rang once. “Hey, babe. How are you doing? Is your packing done?”
“Eli?” I asked in a shaky voice. “I’ve um, I have what I think is a change to my father’s trust in my hands.
A FedEx guy just delivered it.” I swallowed the lump in my throat.
I’d seen not only Stuart’s name on it but also Karen’s.
I could understand the new baby being added, but Karen? Was my name still on it?
“Put it down, and don’t you dare look at it until I get there. I’ll be right over.” The call ended.
I stared at the papers. What the hell should I do with it? The top sheet had an arrow Post-It reading, sign here. Did they expect me to be stupid enough to sign it without understanding what it said?
Throwing it on the coffee table, I dropped onto the couch, planted my elbows on my thighs and scrubbed my face. The only thing I could control was my reaction. I’d wait for Eli.
I plucked the remote from the coffee table and turned on the television.
“Wren? Open the door.” The door shook with Eli’s pounding.
Did I even lock it? I jumped off the couch and swung the door open.
“Babe, are you okay?” Eli stepped inside, grabbing my cheeks and inspecting my face. “Did you look at it?”
“No, I waited for you.” I fell into his arms as he spread them wide and melted into his embrace. “I saw Stuart’s name and then I saw Karen’s. That’s as far as I got, and that’s when I called you.” As his big hands brushed my back, I exhaled a ragged breath.
“He could have just added Stuart. We expected that, right?” He freed me, grabbed my hand and led me to the couch. Pointing at the stack of papers, he said, “Is this it?”
“Yes.” I sank into the end of the sofa in a heap, my pulse racing. “I don’t want to read it. I don’t think I could, even if I tried.” As my breath snagged, I said, “What if they removed me?” Did I even give a fuck at this point? Maybe I was better off without them in my life.
“Okay, I’ll read it for you.” He picked it up.
“Your Aunt Nadine is on your side, right? She wouldn’t have removed you from it.
” He sat back on the couch, scanning through the document.
“You’re still in here, but it looks like it’s split between you and Stuart but…
” He pursed his lips. “I think if something happens to your dad, Karen receives the money first, and then you and Stuart will split it.” He scoffed, throwing it onto the coffee table.
“I don’t know, Wren. I’m no lawyer. You should have an attorney decipher this for you. ”
I stared through the room, seeing nothing. “Yeah, sure.” Like I had a fucking attorney in my back pocket. Numbness spread through my body.
“What do you want to do? Do you think your mom knows about this?” He angled toward me. “Wren?” Grabbing my chin, he forced me to look at him. “Let’s call your mom and see what she knows.”
With a nod, I said, “Okay.” Shaking myself from my stupor, I scanned the room. “Where’s my—”
“Here.” Eli plucked my phone from the coffee table. “Put it on speaker, so I can hear the conversation and you don’t have to repeat it.”
“I will.” I called Mom, set the phone on speaker and waited through three rings.
“Hi, Wren. Are you ready for Christmas?” she said in a cheery voice.
“Uh, I don’t know.” I straightened my spine. I had to snap out of it. “Mom, Eli is here, and I have you on speaker. I got a package today. A legal package.”
“Oh?” She clicked her tongue. “What’s he done now?”
“Dad?” My shoulders sagged. She must know already.
“Yes, your dad. He’s the only one who’d do such a thing. What are they? Trust papers?”
“Looks like it. Did you know about it?” I glanced at Eli as he hooked his arm around my shoulders and set his hand on my thigh.
“No, I’ve heard nothing. I can call Aunt Nadine and find out though.” She huffed. “What do they say? Did you read them?”
“I read them, Vicky.” Eli’s forehead wrinkled. “Now, I’m not a lawyer, so I’m not sure what all the terms mean, but it sounds like they’ve changed the trust so the money goes to Karen if something happens to Darren and after that, it’d go equally to Wren and their new baby, Stuart.”