Chapter 4
“Yes, hello? Mr. LaRoche?”
As soon as she heard Lily say her boss’s name, Violet stopped and turned, raising an eyebrow in question.
“Yes, well, of course, I understand that, but this was an emergency.” Lily’s voice was tight.
Violet stared at Lily wide-eyed, and as the conversation continued, her saucer-like eyes turned into a narrow stare.
“No. You already know I don’t have a habit of calling in at the last minute, Mr. LaRoche, but I am owed two weeks of vacation. I’ve come in at the last minute a number of times to help you out, and like I said, this was an emergency.”
Lily’s jaw dropped as she listened to her boss on the other end of the line. The guy was proving to be a total jerk--not that Lily was surprised.
“No, frankly, I don’t understand. When were you going to inform me of this?” Lily looked at Violet and Lawrence, shaking her head in frustration. “Yes, well, thank you. I’ll be in touch with where you can send my last paycheck. Goodbye.”
Violet’s eyes were wide, and she looked at Lily in disbelief. “You have got to be kidding me! He fired you?”
Nodding, Lily clutched her cell phone. She would have sat down, but her couch--along with all her things--was already on the way to a storage unit. “Yes, he did.”
“Just for taking a day off? He’s awful! You haven’t had a day of vacation since you took time off for Dad’s funeral!” Violet was absolutely livid.
Shaking her head, Lily gave her sister a wry smile. “Well, no. Not exactly. As it turns out, Mr. LaRoche intended to give notice on Monday anyway. He planned to lay me off. Apparently, a niece of his needs a job, and mine seems to be the one she wants.”
For a minute, no one said anything, and then Lawrence broke out into a big smile. “Well, that solves the problem of finding you a new place close by anyway. For now, you can stay with us, and then, once you have a better job, I’ll find you a place close to it. One much nicer than this dump.”
Violet nodded enthusiastically at Lily now too. “Lawrence is right. Now’s your chance to reassess things and start over. We’re going to go on our adventure to Lake Tahoe, take a look at this house of ours, and then you’re going to take some time to relax and enjoy Christmas.”
Violet looked at Lawrence.
“You know what? I just thought of something! We’ve been racking our brains trying to decide what to get you for Christmas anyway. I’m going to get you a plane ticket to Spain so you can spend Christmas with Olivia and her boyfriend!”
Lily took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and swallowed down the tears that were threatening to surface. Violet was right. A vacation in Spain was just what she needed, and some time with her daughter would be lovely. She had no problem staying back in the hotel or doing things on her own on the days Olivia wanted to see her father. Some time by herself in an exotic city sounded heavenly.
She nodded at Violet. “Okay. You’re right. Thank you. That’s quite the gift, and I will pay you back someday, I promise. I would love to spend some time with Olivia. Who knows, maybe I’ll find a job in Spain and decide to stay there.”
A few short hours later, they were flying down the highway on the way to the lawyer’s office in Tahoe City. Violet seemed convinced that if she drove fast enough, they would make it before five, and no matter how often Lily reminded her that Matthew Fox, their esteemed lawyer, had promised he would wait for them, Violet seemed determined to break the sound barrier on their way.
“Did you call Olivia yet?” Violet asked, glancing over at Lily.
“No, not yet. I’ve been too busy clutching the edge of my seat in terror. Could you please slow down just a little, Vi? And for Pete’s sake, keep your eyes on the road!”
Lily could feel the SUV slow slightly as Violet eased her foot from the accelerator. “Okay, fine. How’s that? Better? Now, call Olivia before she heads off to bed. I can’t wait until you share the news with her!”
Violet grinned and switched off the radio. She’d been blasting classic rock until Lily couldn’t think straight. “In fact, put her on speaker, Lily. I want to hear her squeal of excitement when you tell her!”
Lily gave her sister a sideways look, but she was happy to have a reprieve from the music, so she started to dial and switched her phone to speaker. “You should know Olivia well enough to know that she never squeals in excitement. The most I’m hoping for is a ‘Wow, that’s great news, Mom.’”
They listened to the ringing on the other end, and Lily was just about to hang up when her daughter’s familiar voice answered.
“Hello? Mom? Sorry. The reception here isn’t great. I almost missed your call. Is everything all right?”
No, everything was far from all right, Lily wanted to say. In fact, this had been the worst two days of her life--since Scott had told her he was leaving her for a younger woman--but she hoped her life was on an upswing now.
“Yes, everything’s fine, Liv. Well, I mean not everything. I got laid off from my job, kicked out of my apartment, and attacked by a nut job with a knife—all within the last two days—but everything’s good now.”
At the last bit of news, Violet gave her a questioning look. Lily hadn’t had a chance to fill her in on her encounter with the jogger and the hooded young man yet, not to mention the tall cowboy who’d come to their rescue.
“Geez, Mom! That’s terrible. I was just about to head off to bed, but if you want to talk about it, I’m all ears.”
Lily could hear the concern in her daughter’s voice and rushed to reassure her. “No, no. We’ll have plenty of time to talk in a week or so. Everything’s taken care of and sorted now, thanks to your Aunt Violet and her husband. In fact, I have a wonderful surprise for you. Now that I don’t have a job or apartment to hold me back, Violet and Lawrence are buying me a plane ticket to Spain! Just tell me when you’ll be there, and I can meet you as soon as you arrive!”
Just as Lily had predicted, Olivia didn’t squeal with excitement. In fact, for a full thirty seconds, she didn’t say anything at all.
“Oh, well, wow. I mean, uh… Wow. You’re—you’re thinking of going to Spain?”
Olivia did seem speechless, but it wasn’t the kind of speechless Lily had been hoping for.
“Yes, I’m thinking I’ll spend Christmas with you in Spain, Liv. What do you think of that idea?”
“Yeah. Well. Oh boy. I mean, wow, Mom, this is a surprise.”
“You’ve said wow at least four times now. What’s going on, Olivia? If you don’t want me to come, just say so.” Lily struggled to keep her voice from cracking. Was it possible that even her own daughter didn’t want her around?
“No, it’s not that I don’t want you to come, Mom, I promise. I’d love to spend Christmas with you. It’s just that, well, I thought I mentioned that Tommy and I are going to be meeting Dad and Jen in Spain? It would be kind of awkward if you were there, too. Don’t you think?”
“Spain is a big country, Liv. I don’t intend to share a hotel room, or even the same hotel, with your father and his girlfriend. I’m sure there will be plenty of things to keep me busy when you meet up with your father and Jen. Between those times, we’ll go exploring and sightseeing together. I’ve never been to Spain, and it’ll be fun to see a new country with you. Maybe we could even rent an Airbnb together and save some money.”
The more Lily talked about it, the more excited she got again. Violet was right. She wouldn’t need to pay next month’s rent; she could use the money she was saving to treat them all to a fancy house to stay in.
“I mean, that sounds great and all, but see, the thing is, Tommy and I are staying in a villa with Dad and Jen. Dad has it all set up, plus an entire sightseeing itinerary and everything as well. It’s all paid for, Mom. I can’t just cancel on him. I’m so sorry. You understand, don’t you?”
The announcement hit Lily like a sledgehammer. Sure, she’d known her daughter was planning to meet Scott in Spain and spend Christmas with him, but she’d thought they would just be meeting up from time to time. The revelation that the four of them were all staying together for the full week and a half like a cute little family made her physically ill.
“Oh. I didn’t realize,” she let out a nervous laugh. “That would be awkward, wouldn’t it? Well, never mind then. You have a good time, honey. I’m with Aunt Violet right now, and I have to get going. I’ll talk to you when you get back.” Lily hung up quickly and threw her phone back into her purse.
Violet reached over and patted her hand. “Well, that’s a slap in the face. I’m sorry, Lily. I never expected that.”
Lily stared at the floor, disappointment and hurt creeping in like a thick fog.
“No, neither did I.” Lily moaned into her hand. “Although I probably should have. She did seem awfully vague whenever I asked her about the details of her trip.”
For a few minutes, they were both silent.
Then Violet asked, “You didn’t tell her about inheriting a house in Lake Tahoe yet, did you?”
She shook her head and talked into her hands, which cradled her face. “No, I didn’t have a chance. I barely got a chance to process that she wasn’t coming for Christmas before I got slammed with everything else. It all happened so fast.”
“Maybe you should tell her. Maybe the chance to spend Christmas with you in Lake Tahoe would be enough to convince her to forget Spain and her father and come home?”
Lily let loose a derisive snort. “I doubt it, Violet. We haven’t even seen the place yet. With the luck I’ve been having lately, it’s probably some completely rundown eyesore that Dad owes a million dollars in taxes on.”
Violet sighed. “Well, I hope you’re wrong, but I guess we’re going to find out soon. According to my GPS, we’re only five minutes from the lawyer’s office.” She looked over at Lily sympathetically. “You know, I could cancel my trip to Cancun, and we could celebrate Christmas together. It’s too hot there anyway.”
Lily looked up and waved her sister off. “Nonsense. You and Lawrence have been going there every year since you’ve been married. You don’t need to change your plans for me. There’s no need for all of us to be moping around miserable.”
“We only go because Lawrence bought into that stupid time-share. Too bad it’s just a one-bedroom. Let me ask if he can trade up to a bigger place or something. You could come with us! I don’t want you have to spend Christmas alone.”
“No! Stop feeling sorry for me, Vi. Just live your life like normal, and I’ll be fine. I have to figure out what to do with the rest of my life sooner or later anyhow. It’s just a bad bunch of days, and I may as well use the break to make the changes I should have been making a long time ago.”
Violet didn’t have time to argue further because her GPS suddenly commanded her to make a sharp left, and she almost missed the turn. “Stupid lady. She could have warned me sooner,” Violet muttered as she pulled in front of the posh-looking building.
*
“Ah, Mrs. Abernathy, Mrs. McCann, there you are. I’d almost given up on you. Come in and sit down, please.”
Lily glanced at the oversized clock behind the tall, slick-haired man who stood and waved at two plush chairs in front of his desk. It was only five after five. “Sorry we’re late, Mr. Fox. We had a few things come up that delayed our departure,” said Lily, sending a warning look to Violet.
They didn’t need to share any more details with the arrogant young lawyer than necessary.
He gave her a disbelieving look. “Yes, don’t they always? It is Friday, though, and I’m sure we’re all eager to call it a week, so let’s just get right into business, if you don’t mind.”
Violet was perched on the edge of her chair, trying to look as authoritative as she could. “Yes, Mr. Fox. We’d appreciate that. You’ve kept us in the dark on quite a few details so far, and we’d like nothing better than for you to clarify things for us.”
Matthew Fox suddenly leaned back against his oversized office chair, as if he’d suddenly lost all sense of his previous urgency and gave them a patronizing smile. “Unfortunately, I’m not at liberty to share all the details with you, but you will find the answers you’re looking for all in due course. It seems that the two of you were blessed with a father who liked a bit of intrigue and mystery in his life.”
“Yes, it would seem so,” Violet agreed. “Now, you said that the house is in Incline Village, correct?”
Lily gasped. Violet hadn’t mentioned exactly where the house was.
“That’s correct. I have a code you can use to access the property. I would suggest you do so soon, as you have a limited time to either accept or forfeit your inheritance.”
Lily looked at the lawyer, perplexed. “I don’t understand. If our father owned the property outright, why would we need to worry about forfeiture? We’re his only surviving relatives unless, of course, there’s some distant relative lurking in the shadows somewhere. Or does he owe money to someone?”
Matthew Fox looked down at a stack of papers on his desk, and it seemed to Lily that he was purposely avoiding her gaze. Okay, here it comes, she thought. He’s about to drop the bombshell about what we’re going to have to shell out for this supposed inheritance.
Finally, the lawyer looked up and, with a reassuring smile, said, “No, your father doesn’t owe anyone money. Not to my knowledge, anyhow. The property was his, free and clear, and all HOA fees have been paid through the end of next year. Now, if you’d like to head on over there and take a look for yourselves, I’ll meet you there in about an hour or so. That should give you plenty of time to look around and explore on your own.”
Violet was getting up but stopped abruptly. “You’re meeting us there? Why? You didn’t mention that before.”
“Didn’t I?”
Lily hoped that Matthew Fox was a better lawyer than he was a liar.
His face was beet red beneath his fake tan, and he looked extremely uncomfortable. “I actually have a few things I need to button up before I’m at liberty to hand over all the paperwork.”
As Violet was about to protest, he held up his hand.
“Please, no more questions for now, ladies. Go take a look, and I’ll see you there shortly. I’ll be able to answer any questions you have.”
As luck would have it, Violet took a wrong turn, and despite cursing at her GPS and the poor lady who’d lent her voice to the contraption, it took them almost up to the time Matthew Fox was supposed to meet them to find the house.
“Finally! This is the street,” Violet huffed, turning down a street right by the lake.
Lily looked around in awe. “This can’t be right, Vi. These houses are all on the water. There’s no way Dad could have afforded a place here.”
Violet shrugged but kept her hands on the steering wheel. “Well, it’s the address our esteemed lawyer friend gave us, and I’m sick of driving, so no matter what, we’re getting out and stretching our legs. The worst that can happen is someone turns us in for trespassing.”
Violet pulled into a long, wooded driveway and stopped in front of a large, rustic house. Stunned, neither woman spoke nor got out of the car.
“This place has to be worth a million dollars,” Lily said, her voice hushed.
Violet groaned. “The taxes on this place are going to be killer!”
Lily got out and turned to wait for Violet to follow her. “There’s no way, Violet. There’s just no way this belongs to us. There has to be a mistake somewhere.”
They both turned when they heard the crunch of tires coming up the drive behind them.
Violet turned to watch the approaching car. “Well, here’s Mr. Fox already. Clearly, we’re at the right house. Hopefully, he’s ready to give us some answers now.”
The sisters stood together and watched as Matthew Fox walked over to the passenger door and opened it, helping an attractive, mature woman exit.
Lily furrowed her brow. “Do you think he brought his mother?”
Violet crossed her arms over her chest. “She’s too young for that. Maybe he likes older women and it’s his date. He did say he had plans,” Violet murmured.
Lily reached out to take her sister’s hand, shaking. Something was wrong. She could feel it to the core of her bones.
The lawyer had been guiding the woman toward them, holding the crook of her elbow, but as they neared, she shook him off. “Ladies,” said Matthew Fox, “I’d like to introduce you to Mrs. Camellia Johanson. Your sister and the other heir to this property.”