Chapter 11 #3
She reached across the coffee table and took Nick’s hand.
“I can’t tell you how much I wanted to call after I saw Davis’s obituary.
” Chloe’s expression crumpled in self-recrimination.
“I’m so very, very sorry, Nick. Losing the person you love is the hardest thing in the world.
You and I both know that. And we’ve lived it more than once, don’t you think? ”
Nick’s steely gaze bore into Chloe’s, understanding that she meant the two of them losing each other in addition to losing Brendon and Davis.
Nick sat rigid at my side, barely breathing. I pressed my thigh against his, and when he turned, my heart broke at the hollowed-out look in his eyes. What he’d learned in just one day would be a lot for anyone to digest. Maybe too much.
When Nick still didn’t respond, Chloe released his hand and sat back. “I’m sorry. That was tactless of me, and likely far too soon.”
And still Nick remained quiet.
Chloe gathered herself, her gaze flicking nervously between Nick and me.
“Going back to your earlier question about contacting you, the Parkinson’s just hurried me along, nothing more.
I’m not looking for money or help. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I’ve been doing it most of my life.”
Nick huffed. “Yeah, me too.”
The barb struck home and Chloe flinched. “I suppose I had that coming. But since we’re being honest, there is one thing I’d like to ask you.”
Nick appeared to brace himself and my heart sank, expecting the worst.
Goddammit, Chloe.
“But it’s a hope, not a want,” she quickly clarified. “To be honest, I only thought about it recently, after I knew you were coming down.”
When Nick remained silent, I pressed, “You better spit it out, Chloe.”
She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “I’d like you to have my medical power of attorney. Financial too, if that sits all right with you, being an accountant and all.”
Nick’s face paled, and when my hand found his thigh, he gripped it tightly. This was big. Huge. What the hell was Chloe thinking?
Noting Nick’s reaction, Chloe sighed. “If you say no, I’ll understand. Of course I will. We barely know each other anymore. I just want you to consider it, that’s all. The Parkinson’s will eventually affect my brain, I know that. I’m going to have to trust someone to do what I can’t.”
The small lounge fell silent and I wanted to wrap my arms around Nick whose stunned expression told me he was still reeling from her request.
Chloe saw it too. “I’ve made a mess of this, haven’t I? But the thing is, I’m not getting any younger, and I need to make some decisions while I still can. Austin isn’t wrong when he says my memory isn’t what it used to be. I’m not as bad as he makes out, but I have my days.”
Nick had begun to shake his head. “I don’t get it.” He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again. “Why not Austin? He’s already doing things for you. I don’t even live here. Austin told us a neighbour had called him one day to say he’d seen you—”
“Wandering up the road in my dressing gown?” Chloe’s lips pressed into a thin line and she grunted in disgust. “I was looking for my damn car because it wasn’t in the carport. I bought a new Toyota after Brendon died. His old Holden was way too big.”
“And you went looking in your dressing gown?” Nick’s scepticism showed on his face.
Chloe waved him off. “Don’t you start. I was having my breakfast when I noticed it wasn’t there. I was only going around the block. If I’d been fifty, no one would have blinked an eye.”
I wasn’t so sure of that.
She carried on. “I didn’t know Austin had asked my nosy-pants neighbour to watch out for me, the jackass. I was perfectly fine. I was just checking some kids hadn’t taken it for a joyride and left it down the road.”
“And had they?”
She fired a glare my way. “No. When Austin arrived, he told me he’d moved my car into his three-car garage where it was better protected from the weather.
He said my doctor told him I shouldn’t be driving anymore.
He said we’d discussed it the day before but that I’d clearly forgotten.
” She looked anything but happy about the accusation.
“But that’s not the only time you’ve wandered, according to Austin.” I left the comment hanging.
Chloe’s gaze slid from mine. “So, he told you, did he?” Her back straightened. “Well, so what? I admit my memory lets me down sometimes, but that doesn’t mean I’m in la-la land like Austin seems to think.”
I raised both hands. “I wasn’t suggesting that you were.” When Chloe’s jaw set, I could tell I wasn’t going to get much more from her on the subject, so I changed tack. “Is this why you don’t want Austin having power of attorney?”
She didn’t respond immediately—an answer in itself. Her gaze flicked between us like she was choosing her words carefully, and those Spidey senses that had been tingling since the first time I’d met Austin sparked into life once again.
“Austin means well, but he’s bossy,” she finally replied.
“He’s always had a bit of a chip on his shoulder and he has no patience.
When his marriage broke up shortly after Brendon and I got together, he moved in with us for a while.
” Chloe paused, her gaze slipping to her folded hands in her lap, like she was debating how much to say.
Nick pressed, “I take it things didn’t go well?”
Chloe looked up. “You might say that. It was a disaster. Austin has a forceful personality and he and Brendon clashed. Sometimes it was over me. We got along okay while Austin was still married, but I don’t think he liked the fact Brendon prioritised our relationship above what Austin thought he needed or deserved, and he wasn’t always pleasant to deal with. ”
I felt Nick’s body tense, trying to read between the lines just as I was and not liking any of it.
“You think Austin was jealous?” I probed.
Chloe pursed her lips. “I think he was hurting and angry and at a bit of a loss what to do with himself,” she said circumspectly.
“He’s always felt he deserved more in life.
A prettier wife, a bigger house, a better job, more money—that kind of thing.
When his marriage broke up, all that went out the window. ”
I knew the type well. “So, what happened?”
She sighed. “We made the original offer, thinking Austin would be gone in a couple of months. When he was still here six months later, Brendon drew a line in the sand and told Austin he had four weeks to move out.”
Nick leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “And how did Austin take that?”
Chloe shrugged. “He was gone in two weeks instead of four. The subject was never raised again. After Brendon died, Austin bought another house and met Belinda. They moved in together and seem very happy. We get along reasonably well, but Austin likes to do things his way, and he doesn’t listen to me.
For that reason, I’d rather he didn’t have power of attorney. ”
I thought about the conversation Nick had overheard the day before and wasn’t convinced by Chloe’s offhand dismissal of Austin’s behaviour.
Nick raised a brow my way and I shrugged. “No harm in thinking about it.”
His smile looked strained and he returned his attention to Chloe. “I’ll need a lot more details before I can even consider it. I held Davis’s financial and medical power of attorney until he died, but that only means I understand how complex it can be.”
Chloe’s eyes brightened. “Of course. Anything you need. We could go to the bank now, if you like. I’ll get you printouts of everything. And you could speak to my doctor. I don’t mind.”
“Whoa there.” Nick raised both hands. “One thing at a time. What about Austin?”
She pulled a face. “I’m not telling him anything until you decide what you want to do. Besides, he’s working today, so he won’t even know I went out with you.”
I thought about the nosy neighbour and wasn’t so sure. But what Chloe was asking of Nick and her depiction of Austin were too important to ignore. I knew Nick wouldn’t be cautioned, so I didn’t even try.
“How about Mads takes a quick look around to see if he can find your cell phone first. If not, then we’ll take you to buy another and maybe call into the bank at the same time. If you’re not up to coming with us, you could simply sign-in to your accounts on my laptop.”
“I don’t have the password.” Chloe stuffed her hands back in her lap and looked away. “When I forgot to pay my rates a few months ago, Austin took over my accounts. He changed the password for security reasons.” She shrugged.
Nick’s gaze jerked to mine, then back to Chloe. “And he didn’t give it to you?”
She frowned and looked sideways out the window. “Like I said, my memory isn’t what it was. Austin didn’t want me making mistakes, like double paying or drawing down on the wrong account. It’s . . . safer this way.”
Riiiight. I elbowed Nick gently. I didn’t like the way this was going one little bit, and by the troubled look he returned, Nick didn’t either.
“But Austin doesn’t have power of attorney yet, right?” I clarified.
Her shoulders slouched. “No. But I’ll give it to him if there’s no other option.”
Oh God. No pressure then.