8. Nolan
8
NOLAN
I stare at my grandfather’s will, my brain swirling with confusion. I’ve never seen this one before. It’s dated 2004, the year he died, and demands that everything be left to Ralph Thorne, my dad’s older brother.
What the hell is this?
And why does Aurora have it?
I look at her, my confusion deepening when I see the guilt on her face, tears shining in her eyes.
“Aurora, what is this?”
She lets out a sob. “I’m so sorry.”
Wordlessly, I reach for her bag, still laying on the floor. It’s stuffed full of documents about the farm—plans, drawings, photographs, old family letters.
“Where did you get all this?” I ask, shaking my head like it will help to order my thoughts. “Why do you have it?”
“I haven’t been honest with you, Nolan. I never meant for you to find out this way.” She takes a shaky step toward me. “I-I’m not really a journalist. I don’t work for the Crave County Gazette.”
There’s a buzzing noise growing in my ears as she talks. It feels like I’ve walked into a weird dream that I can’t find my way out of.
“Aurora, what are you talking about?”
She sniffs, wiping her eyes. “I work for a lawyer called Liz Hamilton. She sent me here to gather information for our client.”
I stare at her for a long time, unable to speak. Suddenly, it all makes sense. The guilty looks. All her questions about the farm’s history.
“Who’s your client?” I ask, even though I already have a pretty good idea.
“Samuel Thorne.”
The sound of my cousin’s name makes my fists clench. Samuel Thorne is the biggest conman in Crave County, always trying to make a quick buck, not caring who he hurts in the process. He’s a fucking disgrace to the family. And now he thinks he can come after my farm?
“Let me get this straight,” I say, my throat burning. “You’re here to see if my cousin has a claim on this land?”
Aurora nods, her voice shaky with emotion. “K-kind of, yes. Liz is the one who will build the case, but she sent me to do some background research. Samuel b-believes the land legally belonged to his dad, Ralph.”
Seeing her cry is like a punch to the gut. Rudolph is sniffing at her legs, whimpering, but I can’t bring myself to comfort her. I feel like the ground has opened up beneath me, and I’m tumbling down, down, down…
“He doesn’t have a claim,” I say fiercely, trying to keep my breathing under control. “He’s a damn con artist. Always has been.” Then, before Aurora can reply, I storm down the hallway and into my bedroom, yanking the closet doors open. Tucked in the back is a safe full of my dad’s most important documents. I open it and find what I’m looking for immediately, carrying it back into the living room.
“This is my grandpa’s will,” I say, holding it out to her. “It leaves everything to my dad, Abe.” She takes it, scanning it as I continue. “Grandpa cut Ralph out of the will on purpose. He was a drunk and a gambler. He’d have sold the farm in an instant and bet every dime on horses and whiskey.”
Aurora bites her lip, eyes sad as she hands the will back to me. “This is dated 2002. The will Samuel presented is from 2004, which would make this one invalid.”
Blood drains from my body. The buzzing noise is louder than ever.
“You’re saying you think he really does have a claim?”
“I don’t know. I’m just a paralegal, not a lawyer, but…it’s possible.” She presses her lips together, her face pale. “I’m so sorry, Nolan. I’ve been looking for something that will disprove his claim, but I c-can’t find anything.” She takes a deep, quivering breath. “You can fight this. Liz is a good lawyer, but you can hire a better one. And I’ll help you. I’ll do everything I can.”
The thought of Samuel getting his hands on this land makes me see red. Everything my dad worked for. All gone. The farm, my home, my brother’s home…fuck, he’d probably rip it all up and sell the land off to developers. Turn it into a damn strip mall or something.
Over my dead body.
But beneath the rage, another emotion is spreading through me, cold and heavy.
Betrayal.
Aurora lied to me. All this time, she was here to find intel that would help Samuel take the farm away from me. I trusted her. I let Aurora in and showed her every part of me. Now I don’t know what to believe.
“Was any of this real?” I ask her, my voice hollow. “Us?”
Aurora’s face crumples. She takes a step toward me, lifting her arms like she’s about to hug me, but she seems to think better of it, limbs hanging awkwardly at her sides. “Yes, Nolan. All of it was real. I hated lying to you. I never should have done it, and I’m so, so sorry.”
Her words sound honest, but there’s something I can’t get out of my head.
“What was the plan?” I ask her hoarsely.
“What do you mean?”
“When the roads cleared, what were you going to do?” I look at her, my gaze fixed on her red-rimmed eyes. It feels like a fist is squeezing my heart, threatening to tear it apart. “Were you planning to just leave? Go back to Denver and tell your boss everything you found? Never see me again?”
Aurora closes her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I…I was going to tell you everything first. So you’d be prepared. And then…yes, I was going to leave. Not because I wanted to, but because…because I knew I’d messed up too badly for you to forgive me.” She opens her eyes, the sadness in them making me wince. “You’ll be better off without me, Nolan. I’ve broken your trust in the w-worst way, and all I can say is that I am so incredibly sorry.”
I nod, but can’t bring myself to speak. It’s like a blizzard in my head. Roaring, scattered thoughts slip away before I can catch them. I need to be alone. Aurora’s revelations have shaken me up like a damn snow globe, and no matter how much I want to wrap her in my arms and pretend nothing is wrong, there’s a lot for me to process first.
“I’m gonna take a walk,” I tell her, rubbing a hand over my beard. “Need some time to think all this over.”
“Of course.” Aurora wraps her arms around herself, taking a step back. “Take all the time you need. I’ll get out of your hair as soon as the roads are plowed. And I’ll do everything I can to disprove Samuel’s case once I’m back in Denver.”
The thought of Aurora leaving makes me feel ten times worse than anything else she just told me. She might think she’s doing me a favor by “getting out of my hair”, but I can’t think of anything worse than never seeing her again.
Fuck, I should tell her that.
I should say it right now.
But I can’t find the words. My head is too much of a mess.
“Will you be okay here by yourself for a little while?” I ask instead.
“Yes. I’ll be fine.”
She’s putting on a brave face, but it doesn’t stop me feeling like shit as I stride past her and walk out the door into the snowy morning. My heart is heavier than a mountain as I head through the trees toward the farm. As I approach the frozen lake, I hear the deep rumble of an engine nearby. A bright yellow snowplow is clearing the road outside the farm, its blade scraping against the asphalt. Soon enough, it will reach my cabin, and the last thing keeping Aurora with me will be gone.
My stomach churning, I cross the bridge and lose myself in the Christmas trees, finally stopping to sit at the base of a large fir. It looks just like the one Aurora picked out, the one we decorated together before dancing to Frank Sinatra and kissing in front of the fire. It was only yesterday, but it feels like a lifetime ago as I bury my head in my hands and let out a deep sigh, wondering how the best Christmas of my life went so wrong.