33. Kristin
33
KRISTIN
“ S upper’s ready!” I shouted as I heaved the chicken casserole out of the oven and slid it onto the stovetop.
My threadbare oven mitt betrayed me, and my thumb slipped through a hole in the stitching. I sucked in a sharp breath as hot glass seared my exposed skin.
“Shit!” I yelped.
The casserole dish slipped from my hands onto the hot mats with a clatter.
“Shit, shit, shit!”
I ripped the oven mitt off my hand and threw it on the counter, diving for the sink to run my finger under a stream of cool water.
Just great.
“You said four swear words!” Zoe chirped from her spot at the table. “That’s a whole dollar in the swear jar ‘cause four quarter makes a dollar!”
Damn the public school system for teaching her pesky skills like math. Or maybe that had been Will?
In that case, damn him too.
“Ky, Hunter, Logan!” I called out as I shut the water off. When I stuck the serving spoon into the herb crumb topping of the casserole, it bubbled up just to taunt me.
Hunter dragged his feet to the kitchen. Kylie at least had the decency to fake a half-hearted smile.
“Where’s Logan?” I asked.
“Sleeping,” Hunter muttered.
“Sleeping?” I glanced at the clock on the stove. “At six o’clock? I don’t think so.”
I hauled ass to the boys’ room and flung the door open. “What the hell, Lo?” I asked, flipping on the lights. When he didn’t stir, I yanked his comforter away. “I called you twice. And besides that, you were supposed to be doing your homework. So, let me ask it again. What the hell?”
“You’re loud,” Logan mumbled, rubbing his bloodshot eyes.
So help me God, if he was hiding alcohol from me…
“You have two seconds to start explaining yourself before I start doling out repercussions for your behavior.”
“Go for it,” he mumbled, shifting onto his side, away from me.
Father, forgive me, for I am about to sin.
I tamped down the urge to unleash court-appointed-legal-guardian hell on him. Instead, I let out a breath. And another…
And another.
And another, over and over until I could see straight.
“Logan,” I said, careful to keep my tone steady. Or at least not deranged. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing.”
“Lo—”
“I said nothing!” he shouted. “Okay? So just drop it.”
“Yeah, I’m not going to drop it,” I said, sitting down on the edge of his bed. “Nice try, though.”
He huffed and shut his eyes again.
“C’mon, Lo,” I said, shaking his arm. “You’re not a kid anymore. I can’t bribe you with brownies to get you to tell me what’s wrong.” Even though that would have been easier. “Did something happen at school?”
“No.”
“Did Hunter piss you off?”
“No.”
“Did Kylie?”
“No.”
“Am I supposed to keep going with the twenty questions or are you going to spare me? I’m hungry.”
He groaned and sat up, swinging his long legs off the end of the bed. “It don’t matter anymore.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” I corrected. “And that’s a lie. Tell me what’s wrong.”
Logan grabbed his phone from under his pillow and shoved it into his pocket. “You said they weren’t having poker night last Monday.”
I nodded.
“Chase texted me when you didn’t show. He said you hadn’t returned anyone’s calls or texts.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. Because, of course . The meddlers couldn’t leave well enough alone. Wasn’t it enough that I lost the one person I thought I could trust with the darkest parts of me? Apparently not, because I lost all my friends, too.
Or at least I thought they were my friends.
“It’s complicated,” I said gently. “They kept some things from me that they should have told me.”
“Does it have to do with why you and Will broke up?”
It hadn’t taken the kids long to figure out what happened when I came home from the staff party early, alone, and crying. I couldn’t give them much of a reason because, truthfully, I didn’t know the reasons myself. I hadn’t talked to Will or anyone.
Not for lack of trying on their part.
Will texted me every day, first thing in the morning. He would send me another text during my lunch break. Usually, he tried to call me when I was driving home from work. Then, there would be another goodnight text.
I was certain the phone company was going to have a conniption after I blocked and unblocked Will’s number over and over again.
The poker club had been equally relentless—not that I should have expected anything less. Thankfully, dodging calls and texts was easier than hiding from Hannah Jane around the inn. Over the last two weeks of work, I had to operate like a fucking ninja to avoid her.
I didn’t know if I’d ever be ready to talk to any of them again, but I certainly wasn’t ready now.
“Yeah, Lo. It did,” I admitted.
He glanced down at his sock-covered feet. “So, like… We’re really not gonna see them again? Any of them?”
Why was this so hard? I pulled my not-so-little brother into a hug. At seventeen he already towered over me. “I love you, kid. That’s never gonna stop. You hear me?”
“Does that mean you don’t want me talkin’ to Steve or Chase?”
I gave him a sympathetic smile and squeezed his arm. “That’s up to you. You’re nearly grown and can decide on your own who you let into your life.”
Logan’s eyebrows darted up in surprise. He paused, waiting a moment to see if I’d retract my statement.
“Even mom and dad?” he asked tentatively.
Just hearing him refer to our parents made me want to curse them. “When you turn eighteen, you can visit them if you decide you want to. I’ll even drive you.”
“Really?”
“Really,” I said. I craned my head out the door and down the hall. Kylie had finished plating dinner, and everyone had already started chowing down. I turned back to Logan. “Now come on, I’m starving.”
“Kris!” Kylie shouted. “Your phone is ringing.”
Probably just Will, I thought to myself.
“It’s not Will!” she yelled.
Logan chuckled and shook his head.
“Damn mind-reading kids,” I muttered as I jogged down the hall and snagged my phone off the countertop. The number didn’t ring a bell, but it was local, so I answered it. “Hello?”
“Hey there,” a male voice answered from the other end. “This is Matt Hoffman calling from Coastal Financial Solutions for Kristin Boyd.”
“Speaking,” I said hesitantly.
Heaven help me if this was another debt collector. They tended to swarm like vultures. Assholes—every single one of them. It was hard as hell to dig yourself out of a pit when people kept throwing dirt on top of you.
“Wonderful!” he said cheerily. “Look, I’m sorry to be calling so late today. We’ve been swamped. I know these plans were supposed to be finalized a week ago, so I do apologize for that delay.”
Um, financial advisor says what? “I’m sorry. Plans? What plans?”
“The five college savings plans.”
“You must have the wrong number.”
“This is Kristin Boyd, right?”
“That’s correct…” I remembered seeing headlines warning about scammers and identity thieves. That didn’t scare me at the moment. I’d love for someone to steal my identity. Maybe I could trade up.
“Right. I just need to confirm some information with you before we make the money transfer. Two million to each account.”
I laughed. What else was I supposed to do? Maybe I had won the lottery despite never playing it. Maybe I’d won a publisher’s clearing house, and there was a camera crew with a giant check outside the door. But I wasn’t that lucky. Never was, never would be.
“You know,” I said. “It’s rude to scam call people at dinner time.” And with those parting words, I hung up.
I filled up a glass with sweet tea before I sat down at the table. When I looked at my phone again, there was a text from Will.
Shit. I forgot to block his number after the last time I almost caved and called him.
Will
Call Matt back. It’s not a joke
What the ever-loving-fuck?
I excused myself from the table and slipped into Kylie and Zoey’s room. Sitting on Zoey’s pink bed sheets, I scrolled through my calls until I found the number for Coastal Financial Solutions.
The call connected almost immediately.
“Um, hi,” I stuttered. “My name is Kristin Boyd. I was, uh…returning a call.”
Matt chuckled. “Thanks for calling me back. Mr. Solomon told me he’d reach out. He said he hadn’t gotten a chance to loop you in about the 529 accounts yet.”
“Yeah, there are a lot of things we haven’t talked about.” Understatement.
“So,” he clipped, getting back to business. “We have the five college savings accounts set up with two million each. For the older two, I’d like to speak to them personally since they’re close to college age, so they’ll be up to speed regarding the available funds.”
Holy shit.
Ten million dollars… I couldn’t even fathom that much money.
“You’ll get a packet of information in the mail talking about how to access the funds for each beneficiary, but it’s pretty cut and dry. Mr. Solomon wanted to see that you and your siblings’ college educations would be completely taken care of. Tuition, books, housing, transportation—the whole nine yards. Between you and me, I told him you’d lose some in penalties because there’d be money left over after, but he insisted there be enough to cover grad school or continued education a few times over.”
I had mentioned to Will once that I liked the idea of getting a Master’s degree someday. That was, if I ever finished my Bachelor’s.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Hoffman, but I can’t accept that.”
The line went silent. Apparently, the guy wasn’t used to people turning down a cool ten million.
Maybe I was a fool to turn it down. That was more money than I could earn in several lifetimes. But I wasn’t going to be bought.
Will couldn’t roll in, throw money around, and pretend like it made everything better. Though, I’m sure hundred-dollar bills made excellent Band-Aids.
“Ms. Boyd, if I may speak frankly…”
“Please.”
“Mr. Solomon warned me that you’d turn it down. I’m not trying to get into a private situation. But if it makes a difference, he started the process of setting up these accounts the second to last weekend in October.”
“Why would that make a…” My voice trailed off as it hit me.
October… The fair… The weekend we all spent at Will’s house.
It had all felt so natural, waking up under the same roof. Lazy weekend mornings with pancakes and crisp fall air. The kids ran around and played outside without me worrying about who was loitering around our trailer. Will and I lounged in the hammock without a care in the world.
He had been working on this for months… and hadn’t told me? Not that I was really surprised given the recent revelations.
Ten million wasn’t girlfriend kind of money. That was long- term, his-and-hers hand towels, vows, rings, and a dog named Spot kind of money.
Oh my God. Will had been fidgety all night before the staff party. Was he going to ? —
I ended the conversation with Will’s financial advisor, then hurried out of the house, leaving Logan and Kylie in charge and promising to be back before bedtime.
I definitely did not drive the speed limit to New Bern. Luckily, it was well outside of Steve and Chase’s jurisdiction.
I felt foolish as I drove my third-hand car past the gated driveways that lined Will’s street. That didn’t bother me, though. I was rolling in a healthy dose of righteous indignation.
What if he wasn’t home? Shit. I hadn’t thought this through.
Lucky for me, his truck was sitting in the driveway. The house was dark, except for a single light on the main floor. He was probably in his bedroom, in the bed we had shared a handful of times.
Leaving home without a coat was a stupid idea. It didn’t matter. The rage inside kept me warm .
Will wanted to see me? Wish granted.
I didn’t bother with the doorbell, opting to work a little anger out by pounding my fist against the thick mahogany door. Locks clicked in quick succession and?—
“Kristin…” My name was out of his mouth as soon as he got the door open.
Will looked—well—terrible. Dark circles hung under his eyes. He had on his wire-rimmed glasses, which I usually loved. But the frames were hiding deep lines around his temples. He wore rumpled sweats and a long-sleeved shirt. Thick salt and pepper scruff shrouded his jaw.
Apparently, he was handling things about as well as I was.
I didn’t look much better. Without poker night or girls’ night, I didn’t have an excuse to get dressed up. My wardrobe had been a depressing, repetitive cycle of work clothes and pajamas. I was still in my ugly Taylor Creek Inn polo and dark green cigarette pants when he opened the door.
Without another word, Will wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. “You’ve gotta be freezing. Where’s your coat?”
He reached around me and pulled the door closed, trapping me between a wall of wood and a wall of man.
My eyes trailed down to the bulge in his gray sweats. Okay, so maybe I was trapped by wood on both fronts.
I was here for business, not pleasure, I told myself. I swallowed my desire to rip off his pants and sink down on that massive cock.
With a deep breath, I fortified my purpose by unleashing some good old-fashioned anger. “Exactly who do you think you are?”
“Uh…”
“You had no right to insert yourself into my family like that,” I shouted, stabbing him in the chest with my finger.
Will stumbled backward. Was he expecting a thank you?
I let a caustic laugh fly into the cathedral ceiling. “You have some nerve thinking you could lie to me about who you really are, then buy me off like that. How dare you!”
“Kristin, I?—”
“You what ? You thought you could throw your money at me, and I’d fall at your feet? Well, spoiler alert! I will go to my grave without a penny to my name before I take anything from you .”
I stared into his eyes, my body trembling. Adrenaline and rancor coursed through my veins like poison draining me of anything good.
Will’s expression told me that he was done listening—which was probably a good thing. He took a step forward, pushing my back into the door. His corded forearms hit the wood on either side of my head with a resounding thud.
I flinched, but he didn’t recoil .
He licked his lips like a predator ready to devour its prey. “Are you done yet?”
“Not even close,” I hissed.
“Then go ahead,” he taunted, pinning me to the door with his hips. “Take it out on me. Give me your best shot.” Hazel eyes—fiery like lava, but sweet as honey—locked on mine. “Because when you’re done yelling at me, it’s gonna be my turn. And I’m gonna tell you that I called Matt about setting up those accounts the day I said that I love you.”
I opened my mouth to argue that we were done and there was no use loving me—present tense, but he beat me to it.
“And before you get snarky with me, I love you, Kristin. So fucking much. I haven’t stopped loving you and being iced out by you is fucking killing me. So, if this is what you need to do to work through how you feel, then bring it on.”
“You should have been a man and told me the damn truth.”
“Be honest. If I had told you the truth on day one, would you have given me the time of day?”
No! Because you’re my boss! The person with the purse strings holds the power.
“Probably not,” I admitted. Hot tears stung my eyes, the pressure building to critical. “But it doesn’t matter. I’m walking away anyway.”
“Kris…” His hoarse whisper cracked as he cupped my cheek.
I choked down a sob that threatened to break free. “You lied to me.”
He absorbed those four words like a gunshot to the chest. Bloody and broken in front of me, Will croaked, “I’m so goddamn sorry, Kris.” He shook his head. “I’m so sorry.” He rested his forehead on mine.
Like a magnet, I latched on to him as tears rolled down my cheeks.
“I can’t even blame Elena,” he said. “It’s on me. ”
I looked down at my feet, squeezing my eyes shut. “You humiliated me. Was I just a joke to you? Were you just trying to see how long you could string me along? I trusted you.”
Without hesitation, Will pulled me into his arms and cradled me against his chest as I sobbed.
Safe. Home. Loved.
Like a rockslide, emotions crashed into me one after the other. My knees buckled and Will took us to the floor, holding me between his knees, whispering I love yous and sweet affirmations as my tears turned to sniffs.
Eventually, my heart rate slowed, and the adrenaline faded.
Will told me everything. His history with Elena; their engagement and breakup; the embezzled funds he was investigating at the inn when we first met. He never mentioned anything about an engagement ring, though.
I didn’t bring up my hunch. Maybe I had been wrong .
“You were so angry that the inn sold.” He sighed and combed his fingers through my hair.
I closed my eyes and tucked my head under his chin, pressing my cheek to his collarbone.
“I was going to tell you everything after our first date, but then you told me about the kids and I—I was selfish. I wanted to meet them, and I was afraid if I told you so soon, you’d run for the hills.”
“You could’ve told me I wasn’t losing my job,” I said, whimpering. “That’s all I needed, Will. I don’t care about your money or your companies.” I paused and quickly added, “I mean, apart from the sticker shock I’m still experiencing after talking to Matt Hoffman.” I looked up at him. “ Ten million? ”
“If you say no to being with me, that’s something I’ll have to live with. But the money is earmarked for college for you and the kids. I don’t want that to be something you ever have to worry about.” He nuzzled against my shoulder .
I probably smelled like industrial laundry detergent and disinfectant spray.
“I know why you’re mad at me,” he continued. “But if you’re still mad at the poker club, please don’t blame them. I told them not to say anything to you. I promised them that I would tell you.”
I sniffed. “I was just starting to fit in. I’d always been this charity case that they pitied. It finally felt like I was standing on my own two feet… That maybe they actually liked me for me—not because I’m still the pathetic girl they met five years ago.” I trailed the pad of my finger down a vein on his wrist. “They all knew this thing, and I had been kept in the dark. I’ve never felt more like an outsider than I did the night of the Christmas party.”
“I’m so sorry,” he said, peppering my temple with kisses.
I cowered away when his eyes darted down to my lips.
He pulled back. “I get it if you’re not ready to make nice with me. But I don’t want you to lose them. I’d never forgive myself if that happened.”
I wouldn’t forgive myself for it either.