Chapter 9 #4
His words broke off, and I glanced over to see Aunt Ashley making a dramatic throat-cutting gesture beside me.
I burst out laughing.
“I’m gonna go get Ro and Sersh so we can start unpacking the truck,” Cian said, backing slowly out of the kitchen.
“I better go help them,” I said with a sigh. I was so tired I just wanted to drop onto the couch and not move until bedtime, but I knew that it would drive me crazy to leave our stuff in the back of Richie’s truck all night.
“I’ll help,” Aunt Ashley said, following behind me.
We made it outside before the kids, and I got to work unstrapping our various bags.
“I know he likes to make sure nothin’ falls out,” Cian said, grunting as he loosened a strap. “But this is overkill. He used like ten of these.”
“And nothing fell out,” I pointed out logically.
“Ro,” Cian called, ignoring me to pass a bag over the side.
“Wait, that one’s Richie’s,” I said. “Give him this one.”
I passed Saoirse’s bag to Cian.
“Saoirse,” Cian called, tossing her the bag. “Here, take this, too.” He handed her a fishing pole. When the hell had Richie planned on going fishing?
“Cian, that’s Richie’s too,” I said in frustration.
“Yeah?”
“So, why are you taking his stuff out?”
Cian looked at me like I was an idiot. “Because Richie told me if we unloaded the truck not to bother bringin’ his stuff in, that he’d bring it in later,” he said slowly. “And I figured since he drove all the way out to get us, the least we could do was unpack his shit?”
“Unpack his stuff at our house?” I asked, looking for clarification.
“Uh, yeah,” Cian said, handing Aisling and Ronan’s bags to Aunt Ashley. “Guess he’s movin’ in.”
“Good to know,” I replied skeptically.
“Just go with it,” Cian said with a grunt. “I doubt you’ll change his mind.” He tossed Saoirse another bag. “Not sure why you’d even want to.”
I couldn’t argue with his logic.
Everyone was in bed, and Aunt Ashley had gone out to her motorhome for the night when Richie quietly came into my room, closing the door behind him and sliding my desk in front of it. I had a dizzying sense of déjà vu.
“We need a lock,” I said, making him jerk in surprise.
“Thought you were asleep,” he said softly.
“That took longer than you thought,” I replied.
“Yeah, Hank and Rainey were there,” he said as he pulled his shirt off and dropped his jeans to the floor. “It made the fifteen minute conversation I’d planned on stretch into an hour and a half.”
“Went well, then,” I joked.
“It went fine,” he assured me. “They’re glad we’re back. Argued a little about what happens if your aunt has to take guardianship of the kids. My parents said they’ll vouch for you if you need it—they really don’t want us to move.”
“Were they pissed you’re moving in here?” I asked as he climbed into bed beside me.
“Caught that, did you?” he said ruefully.
“Noticed when Cian started unpacking your stuff.”
“You good with that?” he asked.
“Would it matter?”
“Obviously.”
“You wouldn’t argue if I said no?” I prodded.
“Yeah, I probably would,” he said thoughtfully. “But that’s because you love to fucking argue, even though we both want the same thing.”
I huffed in annoyance because I knew he was right.
“We going to argue?” he asked in amusement.
“No,” I shot back.
“Good,” he murmured, pressing his face into my neck. “Because I haven’t touched you in over a week.”
“You could’ve the last two nights,” I pointed out, tipping my head to the side to give him more access.
“I wasn’t gonna fuck you in your aunt’s driveway,” he said with a huff of laughter.
“Your loss,” I said, grinning as he nipped at my neck. “I totally would’ve put out.”
“Good thing one of us had a little restraint,” he said.
My hands roamed, smoothing over his shoulders and back, down to the waistband of his boxers.
We were frantic and nearly silent as we stripped out of our clothes.
It was more than the length of time since we’d last slept together that made us rush, it was the distance that I’d put between us by leaving him behind.
He led, like always, but that night I didn’t argue or fight it, I just didn’t have it in me.
I wanted him to take control. It was a relief, one I recognized and welcomed.
We fell asleep naked, twisted around each other, every part of us touching like we couldn’t get close enough.
As soon as the sun began to rise the next morning, I slipped out of bed and got dressed. When I got downstairs, I found Aunt Ashley at the kitchen table with two disposable coffee cups.
“Borrowed your car this morning,” she said quietly, pushing a coffee toward me. “I needed some caffeine. You couldn’t sleep either?”
“Slept like a baby,” I replied, remembering the rumpled man I’d left in my bed upstairs. “But, I want to find that paperwork,” I replied. By unspoken agreement, we hadn’t even ventured into my mom’s room when we got there the night before, but now it was time.
“Lead the way,” she said as I grabbed my coffee.
“It’s a mess,” I warned as we got to the door.
“It’s okay,” she said gently, setting her hand on my back.
I nodded and swung open the door, refusing to be embarrassed. If I had anything to be embarrassed about, Aunt Ashley did, too. Mom was her sister. Neither of us flinched as we went inside.
“All of the paperwork is in the closet, I think,” I said as Aunt Ashley strode toward the window.
She shoved open the window and immediately cool air spread through the room. “Let’s air things out a bit first,” she said. “Okay?”
“Sure,” I said, following her over to the bed.
I helped her strip the comforter and sheets. While I brought them to the garage and stuffed them in the washing machine, Aunt Ashley grabbed a plastic bag and started rounding up all the liquor and beer bottles.
“I’ll get rid of these,” she said brusquely, stuffing a bottle into the bag. “With the guardianship stuff on the line, you don’t need someone seeing you bringing this shit to recycle it.”
“Thanks,” I said quietly, helping her clean.
By the time she slowed and eventually stopped, the room was mostly clean.
“I probably should’ve done that a long time ago,” I said, looking around in amazement. It had taken us less than half an hour.
“Amanda should’ve done it,” she corrected. “Not your responsibility to clean up her messes.”
I just nodded.
“Closet,” she ordered, pointing. “Show me where to start.”
We sorted through years of paperwork. There were bank statements that were unfortunately too old to know the current state of her accounts, phone bills, utility bills, junk mail, health insurance paperwork, car insurance paperwork, anything and everything that someone could mail in an envelope was stuffed into the closet.
We made piles, saving anything that we thought might be useful and recycling anything that didn’t seem to have any relevance whatsoever.
By the time the kids and Richie came downstairs for breakfast, we’d only made it through a quarter of the closet. It was a nightmare.
Richie took the kids out for doughnuts and brought us a couple when they got back, but we didn’t stop.
He just kissed my head and went back out of the room to keep Ronan and Aisling occupied.
Saoirse wandered in, watched us for a while, and then started helping once she understood the system we’d developed to sort the shit.
Cian took one look at the mess and bailed.
I didn’t blame him. I didn’t want to be there either.
We worked all day. Richie carried five bags filled with paper out to the garage just to get it out of our way.
He also made the kids lunch and brought us each a plate that ended up stale on my mom’s dresser.
We were on a mission, and we’d been working so long already that none of us were willing to stop until we found something useful.
It was around dinner time that Saoirse made a noise in the back of her throat, her eyes intent on the pile of paper sitting in her lap.
“What?” I asked, setting my own pile down.
“I think I found something,” she said, looking up at me. “It has Mom and Dad’s name on it.” She lifted the large envelope. “It’s from an attorney.”
“Bingo,” Aunt Ashley said.
My hands shook as I took the envelope from Saoirse. The first page was just letterhead from a lawyer that I’d never heard of, but behind it was my parents’ will.
I read it, skimming over the legal jargon.
Then I read it again.
The room was silent around me.
I read it a third time.
“Holy shit,” I muttered, handing the will to Aunt Ashley. “Tell me that says what I think it says.”
Saoirse reached out and gripped my hand as Aunt Ashley read through the paperwork. When she lifted her head, breath whooshed out of me.
“If either one of them dies, the kids go to the other parent,” Aunt Ashley said softly. “If both are gone, the kids go to their aunt, Ashley Sanders.” She smiled. “Unless their eldest daughter Aoife Kelly has reached adulthood, in which case guardianship of all children goes to her.”
“Oh my god,” Saoirse whispered.
“You also inherit the house and any other assets,” Aunt Ashley said, shaking the stack of papers. “You, Aoife. To use as you need or split between the kids, however you want to do it.”
“Jesus, Dad,” I whispered, knowing that the will had been his doing. My mom had never planned for a single thing in her life—Dad was the planner. He’d been the one to make sure we were taken care of.
“We still need to find the life insurance papers,” Aunt Ashley said softly. “But let’s take a break, yeah?”
“Can I tell them?” Saoirse asked, her smile so huge it was blinding.
“Just Cian,” I replied. “Ro and Ash have no idea what we’re even doing in here.”
“Got it,” she said, jumping to her feet. She went running out of the room.
“I can’t believe this,” I said. I felt numb.
“You might get a little push back,” Aunt Ashley said, her voice still gentle. “But the will is really straightforward. I can’t see why anyone would try to question it.”
“It feels too easy.”
“Your dad wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”
“Jesus, sometimes I don’t think about him for days,” I said ruefully, scrubbing at my face as my eyes water. “But sometimes I miss him so much.”
“Me too,” she said simply. “He was my best friend, you know? It sucked moving away, but by then your mom was pregnant with you, and they were in their own little world. I was a bit of a third wheel. It was good for me to go somewhere new, start my own life.”
“It must’ve been hard,” I said quietly.
“It was for a while,” she agreed. “But you can get used to anything eventually.”
“Saoirse said you needed me?” Richie asked, coming through the door. “More bags to go out?”
“We found the will,” I replied, getting to my feet.
“And?”
My cheeks hurt from the smile that spread across my face. “Guardianship goes to me.”
Richie’s eyes widened. “No fucking way.”
I nodded.
A second later, I was in his arms and his face pressed against my neck as he swung me in a circle.
“They’re ours.”
“Aisling, give me back my Legos,” Ronan bellowed from outside the room. Stomping feet echoed through the doorway as he chased her through the house.
“They’re ours,” I replied happily.