Chapter 3
Chapter Three
WEST
W ho the fuck is she, and why was his arm wrapped around her? As soon as I entered the room, my gaze was immediately drawn to her, but Rich, as he refers to himself, dragged her behind him, which infuriated me.
Based on his demeanor, I believe he bears a strong resemblance to his father, yet he harbors animosity toward him. I suppose I can be a dick, and I'd like to think I'm nothing like the Haven men. Willa, his sister, hadn't explicitly stated that she wouldn't attend the funeral, but her silence said it all.
“We’re fucking adults,” Rich says, flicking through the papers of the trust and will.
Jack and Teddy had gotten everyone to take a breath and sit down. We’re all now at the kitchen island except for Teddy. She is making everyone tea. I hate tea, but when she places the cup in front of me, I take a sip. I haven’t said a word to her because I don’t trust myself. I’ve never had this type of reaction to another human being.
“So what does this mean?” Willa asks. She’s quiet and soft-spoken, reminding me more of my mom.
“You need a guardian until you both graduate,” Jack speaks up, filling in for me. He lays out more of the details. I thoroughly reviewed all the paperwork during the flight. I also forwarded it to some of the top lawyers for review.
As they go back and forth, I watch Teddy. Her name is rather fitting, with her chocolate-colored, wavy hair cascading around her, and her large brown eyes accentuating her beauty. Her curves and full cheeks give her an exceptionally soft appearance. Yes, she looks rather cuddly.
Where the fuck did that thought come from? I want to punch myself in the dick. I don’t need to be thinking about this girl this way. I’m pretty sure she is dating Rich, who is my nephew. Not to mention who knows how old she is. What the hell is wrong with me?
“Here you go.” Teddy sets a plate down next to the warm cup of tea that has cookies on it. I manage to get out a thanks as I breathe in her sweet honey smell. I clench my fist as she hands one over to Rich. Then she takes a seat between the twins.
“So you're going to stay here?” Willa speaks again.
“What about Eden?” Rich asks. “Can’t she handle this?” He waves at the papers.
“Who is Eden?” I ask. I haven’t seen that name anywhere.
“My mom,” Teddy answers before anyone else can. “We live in the guesthouse, and she kind of runs the estate.”
“Karl was gone most of the time,” Rich fills in, not bothering to call him Dad or Father, for that matter. Each one of his little comments about Karl let me know that my brother hadn’t changed a bit since I left.
“Gone permanently now,” Willa whispers out, her eyes going wide before she puts her hand over her mouth, not having meant to say that out loud. Rich barks a laugh.
My focus is on Teddy, who just informed me that she pretty much lives here. Where I’m about to live. That sounds like torture. Are they sneaking into each other's rooms? I’ll have to put a stop to that. I don't care if they're both adults. It won’t be occurring here, or anywhere else for that matter.
“You’re fine, Willa.” Teddy leans over to her, wrapping an arm around her. “Gallows humor can hit the spot when you need it to.” Willa nods her head but keeps her hand over her mouth.
“I highly doubt this Eden would be permitted, but I will of course look into things,” Jack says. He never leaves a stone unturned. Both because he’s thorough and nosy as fuck. I can't say that I despise his gossip, nor that I ever actively seek it out. He expresses it freely when we are alone, which is typically the case. I’m not big on leaving my home. But here I fucking am, back on Lighthouse Landing.
Jack starts going back and forth with Rich about a few things. I'm sure I should be paying attention to things like the start of school and the date of graduation. That should be the big question. Then I can get the hell out of here.
Instead, I pull out my phone and reach out to one of my contacts. Theodora and Eden aren’t very common names. It should be simple enough to track down everything about them. I don’t miss the curious glances Jack keeps giving me, but I ignore them.
"So this means you're moving in here?" Teddy inquires, eliciting silence from everyone.
“It seems so.”
“I don’t like this,” Rich half-growls. That makes two of us. I can see Willa grow tense, but Teddy only remains curious.
"If you're thinking that I'm like him, you're mistaken. There is a reason I left this island and never returned.”
“We’ll see about that.” Rich pushes back from the kitchen island. “Karl was a good liar.” What can I say to that? Nothing, because as much as the little shit is annoying me, he’s not wrong. “Come on, guys.” He motions for Teddy and Willa to get up. They do.
Does she always do as he tells her? Irritation gnaws at me, tightening my throat. My entire body begins to tense, and I experience a sensation akin to that of a rubber band that is about to snap. That's the last thing I want to do at this moment. Not when I told them seconds ago I wasn’t the same as Karl.
“You can’t take a random girl up to your room if that’s what you think you’re doing,” I cut in.
“I’m going to Willa’s room,” Teddy challenges before Rich can. He was about to, but she beat him to it. Teddy slips her arm into Willa’s. “Come on.” She tugs Willa along. Rich lingers behind.
“He spoke about you,” Rich says when the girls leave the kitchen.
“Is that girl your girlfriend?” I ask my own question.
“Teddy isn’t your business,” he snaps out. I grind my back teeth, reminding myself he’s a protective brother and only just lost his father. Also stopping myself from saying the words that are on the tip of my tongue: She will be.
“I don’t care what my brother had to say about me.”
“He fucking hated you. When he got drunk, your name was always pouring out of him.”
“I haven’t spoken to him in over a decade.” I'm at a loss as to why Karl would harbor hatred toward me.
I’d never done anything to his spoiled, abusive ass. If he treated his kids the way he treated me, I can get why Rich is worked up. I’d flown into a few rages over my mother toward my father. I knew that I harbored a part of that within me, and I'm sure Rich does too. Fortunately, what I’ve seen so far of him, he uses it to protect the ones he loves and not hurt them.
“It gives me a ray of hope that since he hated you, you might be different.” With that, he exits the room, following after the girls.
“Well,” Jack sighs. “I wasn’t sure what to expect, but seeing a younger version of you was rather interesting.”
I run my hand down my face. I need sleep, but I know I won’t find it. My life is in chaos, the structure I need stripped away. I hate the sensation of being out of control. It brings me back to, ironically, here.
“I hate this place.”
“So you’ve told me. You’ve been mumbling it every five minutes since we landed.“ Is it the same? Jack rises from his chair to explore the surroundings. “They said there is a staff. This Eden. I’ll have?—"
“I already have someone on it.” I interrupt him.
“Of course you do.” Jack's smirk irritates me. Typically I ignore them.
“What does that mean?”
“You’re on edge, that’s all.” He opens one of the fridges. It’s industrial-sized.
“They have updated, but a lot of it remains the same.” My eyes linger on the windows that line one whole wall of the kitchen. There is a stone porch that lets you see out to the ocean. Mom loved eating breakfast out there.
How can a place hold some of my sweetest memories from my childhood as well as my worst nightmares?