Chapter 35
Happy ever after – when everyone gets what they want even Old Man Mercury
Several months later
Mercy
“Hello! Is anyone home?” I holler as I enter Uncle Mercury’s house.
Uncle Mercury is usually sitting in his ratty armchair when I arrive home. But he’s nowhere to be seen. Neither is whoever is supposed to be watching him today.
I dig my phone out. I have a schedule of which gossip gal is watching Mercury when in here somewhere.
“We’re out back,” Gibson shouts.
What is he doing here? Granted Gibson lives here now with me and Mercury, but he wasn’t supposed to be home today. He had ‘band stuff’ to do. Whatever that means.
I open the back door to find Gibson waiting for me.
I push up on my toes to kiss him. “Hi, guitar man.”
“Hey, sassy girl,” he whispers against my lips.
“Are you going to kiss all day?” Uncle Mercury asks and we pull apart.
“Hi, Uncle Mercury. How was your day? Speaking of days, what are you doing home?” I ask Gibson.
He smiles. “We have a surprise for you.”
“The two of you have a surprise for me?” I ask and he nods. “Oh boy. I hope it isn’t how you ‘accidentally’ caused a hole in the side of the house again.”
Gibson rolls his eyes. “It was an accident and it wasn’t a hole. Just a little dent in the wall.”
It was a hole. I really didn’t think I needed to make a rule about playing baseball in the house.
“Come on,” Uncle Mercury orders. “I ain’t got all day.”
“Oh yeah? What do you need to do, Mercury? Got a hot date later? Who is it? Cayenne or Feather?”
He scowls at me. “I’m not dating those women.”
I waggle my eyebrows. “They beg to differ.”
“Follow me,” he orders.
I hurry to him when he reaches the stairs off the back patio. He shoos me away.
“I can walk stairs. I’m not an invalid.”
Uncle Mercury will be on his death bed and claiming he’s not an invalid. I ignore him and grasp his elbow to steady him as he maneuvers the three steps down to the yard.
He starts off across the lawn and that’s when I see it.
“There’s a tiny house in the back yard!” I exclaim.
Gibson wraps an arm around my shoulders. “What do you think?”
“It’s cute. Is it for us?” I rub my hands together. “This is exciting. I can’t wait to look inside.”
“Don’t you go stealing my home, Mercy,” Mercury grumbles.
“Your home? You have a home.” I indicate the house behind us.
He points to the tiny house with his cane. “This is mine.”
“Everyone needs to slow down. How did this tiny house get here? Why is Uncle Mercury moving out of his home?”
“The tiny house was delivered today. It’s not ready to use yet. The builders estimate it’ll be finished and ready for use in two to three weeks,” Gibson explains.
“But I thought you were prepping to build a studio in the back yard.” The concrete slabs he had poured are supposed to be for his studio.
“I don’t need a studio.”
“You tricked me?”
He grins. “I tricked you.”
“But why is Uncle Mercury saying the tiny house is his home? He already has a home.”
“The house is yours,” Mercury says.
I try to find some patience. We’ve been arguing over who owns the house for months. I say it’s his. He doesn’t agree.
“As long as you’re alive the house is yours,” I start.
He smirks. “Not any longer.”
I narrow my eyes on him. “What did you do?”
He waves his cane at Gibson. “Not me. Your boyfriend.”
I switch my glare to Gibson. “What did you do?”
He grasps my hand and pulls me forward. “Why don’t we check out Mercury’s new house first?”
Sneaky bastard. He knows I hate fighting in front of my uncle since Mercury doesn’t hesitate to give his opinion. And he tends to agree with Gibson more often than not. The two men are always ganging up on me.
“Fine,” I mutter and march to the tiny house. I open the door and help Mercury inside before scanning the area.
“This is the living room slash kitchen dining area,” Gibson explains. “To the left is the bathroom. On the opposite side is the bedroom. There’s even a small washing area.”
I snort. “Because Uncle Mercury does so much laundry.”
“Why would I do laundry when I’ve got an able-bodied niece to do it for me?” Mercury asks.
My uncle is perfectly cable of doing everything by himself unless it involves washing clothes, cleaning dishes, or cooking meals. Anytime one of those activities comes up, he’s suddenly unable to stand and his bones ache.
“What do you think?” Gibson asks.
“It’s adorable. It’s perfect for us.”
He tweaks my nose. “Nice try. We’re living in the big house, sassy girl.”
“My show is on,” Uncle Mercury announces. “I’ll meet you back at the house.”
I hurry to help him but he shoos me away. “I can walk.”
I help him out of the door anyway and then watch as he maneuvers the path to the house. Only once he’s climbed the three stairs and entered the house do I turn around to confront Gibson.
I plant my fists on my hips. “What the hell is going on?”
He steps toward me but I hold up my hand. “Stop. You are not using your charm on me today, guitar man.”
He winks. “But you admit I’m charming.”
“I admit I’m going to use the plot of land I picked out to bury you in if you don’t explain yourself soon.”
“Uncle Mercury wants you to have his house.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” I mumble.
“But you don’t want his house because you don’t want him to think you’re taking care of him for money.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “I’m not taking care of him for some reward.”
“I know, sassy girl. You hide a soft heart underneath your sass.”
“What’s your point?” I ask since I’m not discussing having a soft heart.
“I want you to have Mercury’s house, he wants you to have his house, and I know you want the house.”
“You know everything, do you?”
“I know this is the first place you’ve ever felt you had a home.” He steps closer. “It’s the same for me. This is the first home I’ve had in over a decade. I don’t want to lose it.”
“What did you do?”
“I solved the problem. I bought the house from Mercury. And Mercury bought this tiny house.”
“Mercury sold you his house?”
“Technically, he sold it to you since it’ll be in your name.”
“I can’t afford a mortgage. I’m barely handling the payments for the garage as it is.”
Gibson palms my neck and squeezes. “Mercury doesn’t want you to repay the money he gave you for the garage.”
“I don’t accept charity.”
“It’s not charity. Mercury wants you to have the money.” He kisses my forehead. “He doesn’t have any other relatives. And he feels bad for never contacting your mother. He feels guilty he didn’t help you when you were growing up.”
“It wasn’t his responsibility.”
“He feels otherwise.”
My eyes itch and I glance away. Uncle Mercury hasn’t come out and said it but I know he wishes he’d been there for me when I was a child. It means the world to me to know he wishes he could have shared the burden with me.
“You want to thank him for all he’s done for you? This is the way.”
My brow furrows. “By accepting his money?”
“Yes.”
I blow out a breath. “Fine.”
“You’ll accept the arrangement?”
He doesn’t wait for me to respond before melding his lips to mine. A spark ignites in my belly when we touch. It always does. I hope it always will.
“I love you, sassy girl.”
“And I love you, guitar man.”
There’s a knock on the door. “Uncle Mercury says no having sex in his house,” Indigo shouts through the door.
I groan and bury my face in Gibson’s shoulder. “What is she doing here?”
“I’m your bestie! Of course, I’m here.”
Gibson sighs. “Leia saw the tiny house being delivered and phoned to find out what’s happened. And then the gossip gals showed up. Things kind of snowballed from there.”
I chuckle. “Living in Winter Falls will never be boring.”
Gibson pinches my chin and lifts my head up. “Life with you will never be boring. I love you.”
“I’ll never get tired of hearing those words.”
“Good since I plan to tell you I love you on a daily basis.”
Thanks for reading! You rock. Pun intended.
The Cash the Sinners series continues with Jett and Aurora’s story. Aurora sure dropped up a bomb when she showed up pregnant. No one saw that coming. But Jett refuses to have children. What now? Will Aurora raise this child alone? Read How to Catch a Rockstar to find out.