26. Blaine #3
Smiling softly, she looked around the house.
“From what my mother told me, your father invited several of the original coven members to live here with him when his health started deteriorating. He was positive it’d be handled quickly and the stories about him say he thought he could will it to happen. ”
“That was my father. He could be a force of nature when he’d wanted something.” It was why we’d butted heads so often. “But his health…”
The prompt got a frown from her but she didn’t drag it out. “He had a heart attack about a year after you disappeared. They thought it was the stress. After the second one, he realized he was going to pass before we found you and he started making plans.”
Planning would’ve made him feel more in control but I couldn’t imagine myself in his shoes.
“My grandmother had been getting psychiatric care at that point but it was decided she couldn’t be left on her own, so she moved in with several coven members who were working on the spell and who could watch over her.
” Something in Serena’s eyes made me think she was barely holding back another apology.
I didn’t need it, though.
She must’ve seen that because she kept going, trying to sound calm and factual. “When he finally passed away, the house was put into a trust for when you came back. The way it’s worded is you or one of your direct heirs. That was added once we realized how long it might take to find you.”
Yeah, I couldn’t just pop up unchanged after ten years and expect humans not to notice.
“That would’ve been hard to plan for.” Henley’s curious mind seemed to be going a thousand miles an hour as he looked around the room like he was actually seeing the whole house. “I’m not sure what I would’ve done.”
Nodding, she looked like she appreciated his understanding. “At first they just left everything as it was but over time they realized they had to preserve as much as they could.”
“And they’d have wanted to put their own touch on the house.” Anyone would’ve done the same. “It’s understandable and under the circumstances I’m grateful anything was saved.”
I wasn’t sure there was anything else they could’ve done in the situation. Leaving things to rot away just to keep it unchanged wouldn’t be practical. It would’ve been traumatic for them to live through too.
“It was.” Squaring her shoulders, she looked more like the head of the coven than the casual woman we’d been talking to.
“Your father showed them the furniture you’d inherited from your mother and some of her favorite pieces.
Those are in the attic along with family papers and pictures.
They’re under a preservation spell and in the same condition as when your father passed. ”
“That much?” I’d hoped but I’d tried to be logical about it. “Thank you.”
“No.” Taking in a slightly shaky breath, she shook her head. “Please don’t. That was the least we could do.”
As I was gathering my thoughts, Henley took over. “You did a wonderful job, but I think you need to take some time to accept that you accomplished your goal. You did it. He’s back.”
So maybe he was feeling more generous now?
Shaking her head, she relaxed back in the seat. “It’s a lot to take in, but there’s still a lot to do, though. I know you must be feeling overwhelmed but there are financial considerations to talk about as well.”
Yes.
At the very least, I needed to know if I had enough money to buy clothes with. Even if they’d saved mine, which they probably had since they knew what size to get me, nothing from my past would work today.
“What does the financial situation look like?” It felt so wrong to ask that. “I know the upkeep on the property must’ve been a lot over the years.”
With as modern as everything looked, there had to have been major work done at some point. Anything could’ve happened to the stock market and just the economy in general in all that time. Fortunes could’ve been made and lost several times over seventy years.
Her pleased grin said I probably didn’t have anything to worry about and it was the first time she looked happy about the situation. “Your personal net worth is just over ten million dollars.”
What?
Henley blinked but went perfectly still.
Serena was so excited she didn’t seem to notice and charged right in with her explanation.
“Yes, over time money was used to repair the house and keep it running. You’ve also made charitable contributions to local organizations based on what your father liked and what he said you would be interested in supporting.
You’ve also got a foundation set up to provide scholarships to local high school students to go to college.
Your father said it was what your mother would’ve wanted. ”
Blinking, I did my best to swallow past the lump in my throat. “She was passionate about it and for a while was on the board of the first community college in the area.” Squeezing Henley’s hand, I took a breath and let it out slowly. “She would’ve loved that.”
And she would’ve loved that I could take care of Henley too.
There was still a rock in my throat I couldn’t seem to budge, but the weight on my shoulders was feeling lighter than it had in days.
I could take care of Henley…no matter what his family did.