Chapter 8
"What happens with the farm?" London asked once they made it back from the repast.
"I need to do some title searching, but the will reading will be soon. I assume all of Lucky's assets will belong to Starlah, but you never know what happens when death occurs. I'm his lawyer, but sometimes, we are the last to know."
"That's terrible."
"I know. Lucky updated it about two years ago, but my paralegal took the lead.
I didn't think much of it until his death.
For now, Wrangler, one of Lucky's long-standing employees, hand-picked by him and Whistle to run things in their absence, will stay on.
It's a temporary fix. I do have a question, though, and don't get offended. "
"Usually, when people tell you not to get offended, whatever they plan to ask is offensive, Logan, but I'm listening." London pursed her lips, waiting with crossed arms.
"You think Swift can stay until she breaks out of whatever she's experiencing?"
"Grief has no timetable, but why would I be offended?"
She also wanted to share that she thought they may have had a moment or two or three right after Starlah had fainted at the church. They then headed to the gravesite but were gone by the time the others arrived.
"Because it's selfish. I just…"
"I know. Feels like you need to have all the answers to get Star through this time. You're their lawyer, even friend, but you're not God. You can't will her back to happiness by creating solutions for her. She'll eventually let you know if it's too much. As for Swift, talk to him."
"I can work out a salary of some sort out of Lucky's escrow account if that helps."
"Nonsense," London replied, rolling her eyes. "But it won't hurt to offer while asking." She looked out the window, her cheeks flushed as she witnessed her son jogging with Chevy and Papa on his heels.
"Just promise me if he agrees, and you see it appears to be too much, that you'll call me and only me. He's already done so much for our family. Honestly, I feel guilty."
"For what?"
"I guess getting sick," London confessed, taking a seat at the dining room table.
They'd spent the first hour putting away leftovers, then placing vases filled with flowers and plants throughout the living room and dining room. Pellum had shown out, proof that Lucky and Creed were loved.
"You couldn't help that shit, London."
"I know, but what about Swift not returning to college after I became well? He's going to school online, but it's not the same. For now, he doesn't mind running the business with his father, but that doesn't make me feel like I didn't rob my son of his own life, Logan. He was great at football."
"Hell yeah, a Heisman Trophy winner in the making."
She rested her head in her hands, fighting back tears when Logan took a seat next to her. Logan wrapped his arms around his sister, rubbing her back. No matter how tough London was, when it came to her children, she was like mush.
"I also want Swift to recognize that there is more to life than being successful financially," she whispered. "I think he hides behind work, Logan."
"Now that's a different complaint." He smiled, particularly because he did as well. He was also the only sibling not to marry and have children.
"But still a real one. What if my cancer is the reason Swift won't give his heart to someone?
It crosses my mind all the time. I'm in remission, but each year, when I have to have an ultrasound or some sort of test to determine I'm still in remission, Swift goes into panic mode.
He's overly attentive, clingy, angry even…
with God, I think. It's all so frustrating. I know my fucking diagnosis did that."
"Maybe." Logan shrugged, wondering why Swift had never brought a girl home to meet the family. They'd see them in passing, mostly when London found them in a closet or running from his dorm room over the years, but he'd never once introduced a woman of interest to his family.
"It is natural to feel panic after your parent has had a life-threatening diagnosis. I'm sure Gianna panics, too."
"She does, more so because she had to be more vigilant about her mammograms. She goes twice a year, but she's definitely a hot commodity.
" London smiled, thinking of her baby girl.
"My Gia is not shy, and she definitely dates.
I think she might even have one that wants to be around for the long haul. "
She grinned even harder, thinking about Trey.
"He's my girlfriend Misty's nephew. He comes around, but Cain doesn't make it easy.
The poor boy can barely speak without stuttering when Cain interrogates him, but Gia pays her daddy in dust." She giggled.
"She finds ways to date in secrecy, so Cain has to wait it out, especially after the way he did Trey.
As for Swift…" She smirked. "It's just a bunch of randoms, and then there's me. "
"You're saying my nephew is in love with his mama?"
"Oh God, no." She waved him off. "I'm saying his love, his need to attend to a woman, starts and stops with me.
That's another reason we agreed to bring him here.
Swift needs space away from us. Being here is also where we met and fell in love.
Is it wrong that I'm thinking about this while Star's suffered a major loss? "
"No, it's you trying to be of help to Lucky's girl while hoping your boy ain't running from his own fears. Just don't play cupid, sis."
Logan winked, waiting for her to reveal her little plan. London didn't have one, but she didn't need one either, based on what she'd witnessed earlier between the two of them.
"How about we just let nature take its own course? No matchmaking." London groaned as her brother pulled her toward his chest once more, and he kissed the top of her head.
"I'm tired. Let me call it a night. My husband's pretending to be asleep, but I know him."
What London didn't say was how Cain had requested pictures anytime she was out and about, catching up with her mother and brothers, or picking up items for the funeral.
If she didn't respond, she had to be careful who she was around when she opened his messages.
The last one was a video of her pleasuring herself to the point where she wondered if Starlah or Swift had heard her.
"Say less, sis, but I did try to warn you that Cain was crazy as hell." She lightly jabbed him in the arm. "Still, I wouldn't trade that nigga for the world when it comes to you though. He's good for you."
"And me, for him. One more thing." She touched Logan's hand. "Creed's baby? That's an entirely different ordeal. The young lady came and introduced herself. Braelyn, I believe. The rabbit hole is getting deeper and deeper. You want me to reach out and see what that's about before I head back home?"
Logan scratched the back of his neck, still uncertain whether this was a ploy to get money or not.
Braelyn approached him too, whispering in his ear as she revealed she was pregnant with Creed's child.
Before she left, he agreed to call her, but he wasn't sure how to approach it without telling her how he really felt.
"I need to set up a DNA test."
"Logan?" she gasped.
London couldn't imagine if Cain's family had challenged the paternity of their children if something had happened to him before they were born.
"Is that necessary?"
"The farm is at stake, and while it would be great to have an extension of Creed around, I have to protect and do what is in Starlah's best interest."
"Understood." London pushed out a frustrated breath, feeling the weight of what those around her were feeling.
Maybe she needed to pull Swift out, and instead of him staying in Pellum, she'd worked on getting Starlah to Cedar Spike to spend time with her aunt. In her eyes, some family was better than no family, and Chevy, while very close to Starlah, couldn't be her entire support system.