Chapter Sixteen #3
Mr. Ketchum delivered Piper to the St. Regis and helped her check in.
She was truly out of her element, and her lawyer seemed to notice.
She was thankful to have his help, but she was also dog tired and ready to collapse into a big, white, fluffy bed.
Luckily for her, he was a very observant man and left, telling her that he would call on her in the morning.
She thanked the young man from the front desk, who insisted on helping her to her room, and gave him her last five dollars.
She couldn’t believe the suite—it was practically the size of Agnes’s home.
She didn’t miss the surprise on Mr. Ketchum’s face when she asked for a place to stay, but staying at her grandmother’s apartment was out of the question.
Tomorrow, when she felt fresh, she would call the auctioneer and make plans for selling it.
She turned Agnes’s letter over in her hands.
Piper wanted to read her grandmother’s words, but was also afraid of what she had to say.
Would she treat her with the same coldness that she showed her mother?
Piper remembered her mom saying that Agnes never really had a conversation with her.
She just wrote her off from the start, not giving her a chance.
“It’s now or never, Piper. Stop being a chicken,” she said to herself.
Piper opened the envelope and took a deep breath.
Her grandmother’s handwriting looked so much like her father’s.
Piper could feel her emotions bubbling up, but she was able to choke back her tears.
She needed to read the letter, and then she could break down.
My dear Grand-daughter,
I know that this must all be a shock to you, as we have not had a proper relationship prior.
I’m hoping that you have been able to look past my inadequacies as your grandmother and accept my estate.
If that is the case, you probably have questions.
I hope that this letter will answer a few of them for you.
Others are probably better left unanswered.
First, I must apologize for not being able to care for you after your parents’ deaths.
My dear Andrew was my only child. When he decided to go to Colorado State University to study journalism, I was so pleased.
I believed that he would work here in the city after he got his degree, but I was wrong.
He met your mother and stayed in Colorado.
I was beside myself with grief. I blamed your mother for my sadness, something that I regret to this day.
I didn’t realize how wrong I was. Seeing your mother in the police morgue made me face my flaws only after it was too late to make any amends.
I was so overcome with my grief and shame that I couldn’t face you, a twelve-year-old child who needed me.
I’ve never been able to forgive myself for the way that I just left you in that police station waiting for your aunt.
I didn’t feel that it was my place to contact you after I chose to walk away from you.
Each year that passed, I longed to send you a card or phone you.
I wanted to know about the young woman who grew up without me, but my inept inability to forgive myself stood in my way.
I hope that you were able to find some form of happiness even after such a great loss.
I know that your father would have wanted so much joy for his only daughter.
He would have wanted you to grow and flourish into a kind woman, unlike his mother.
I remember how much in love he sounded whenever he spoke of your mother.
He truly loved her. I know that he would have wanted you to find that kind of love in your life.
Finally, I want to leave you with a little wisdom that I have gleaned from my long, lonely life.
I have pushed everyone that I have loved from my life to protect my pride.
I have regretted that decision for a very long time.
I gave up my son, his wife, and my only granddaughter, in my arrogance.
My life is marred with regret and desolation.
If I am afforded the luxury of leaving you with any advice, it would be to not follow my example.
Blaze your path, my dear Piper. Find love and happiness and fill your life with both, every day.
Fondly,
Your Grandmother, Agnes
Piper put the letter back into the envelope and shoved it into her purse.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about Agnes’ final words to her.
She needed time to process everything that happened to her over the past two days.
It felt more like two months had passed since she walked away from Tag.
All she could think about was showering and sleeping.
When she finally crawled into the massive bed, she thought about calling home.
Piper looked at the clock—it would be about one in the morning back home, too late to call Sunny.
She would call her in the morning to let her know that she was safe.
Piper closed her eyes, expecting to see images of the monster that killed her parents, but she only saw Tag.
Her nightmares took on a new face. Images of Tag lying dead at the bottom of a cliff played through her dreams nightly now.
Her only consolation was that he was alive and well back in Harvest Ridge. For now, that was enough.