Chapter 1 #2
I made the effort to do an annual holiday call. Without it, we never would have spoken.
Tom said, “Your father put you as the second guarantor on the loan.”
“What?” I think I yelled it. “I didn’t sign anything.”
“Looks like your signature here.” He held up a poor-quality copy of a paper full of legalese. “He owed...well, now you owe Dr. Hurst $155,000 and some change.”
Damn you, Dad, for screwing me over. “He forged it. That can’t be legally binding.”
He compared the signature to another page I’d signed a few minutes ago. “Sure looks like your signature. Are you sure you didn’t forget you signed it?”
“How would I forget signing away half of my father’s veterinary practice and making myself a responsible party for the debt?”
“You’ll have to take it to court and argue your case in front of a judge. I’m not a contract attorney, but you can talk to Ben Tilghman up the street. He’s better at this sort of stuff. Of course, he probably wrote the buyout contract to begin with.”
Oh Lordy, no. Not Ben Tilghman.
Mr. Tilghman hated me after my eighth-grade rocket project accidentally set his mailbox on fire and burned down his fence. “No conflict of interest there.” I didn’t try to hide my sarcasm. “There’s got to be someone outside of town that can help me with this.”
“I can ask around for you. Maybe there’s someone if you drive over to Raleigh?”
Raleigh was a little over an hour away. Doable, but irritating. “I don’t have that kind of money sitting around.” I had that much in student loans and twice that in my own mortgage.
The lawyer stared at me.
I blinked back.
“Can I sell the house to pay it off?” I asked.
“As I already said, the house and land belong to Vinny, and he can’t make decisions on the proceeds until he's eighteen. That means the money from a sale would go into the trust for holding.” He cleared his throat.
“Best if you speak to Josh about it. Maybe you two can work something out. You could work for him for a while. We sure do need a new farm vet in town.”
Now I wished I’d agreed to get a bottle of water. “I’m not trained to do rural animal medicine.”
He shrugged, the kind of indifference that made it clear this wasn’t his problem. “You need to pick up Vinny at the elementary school by four today. He’s in after-school care until then. I’ll have Evelyn prepare temporary legal guardian paperwork.”
“Okay.” The word came out thin. “When I pick him up… What do I tell him? Where does he go tonight?”
“He’s been staying with the neighbor, Darlene, for the past three nights. Very kind of her. She’s leaving tomorrow to be with her daughter in Charlotte. To see her first grandchild. She can’t keep him another night.”
I dragged a hand down my face, forcing myself to breathe. “I don’t know how to do this. How do I handle talking to him about losing both his parents?”
He gave me another not-my-problem shrug.
“I assume he’ll go with you to Philadelphia.
You either accept guardianship or the court will appoint someone else.
I strongly advise against letting it reach that point.
” He slid his glasses back on. “You also need to go to the funeral home tomorrow to make decisions about the service and burial. You know, flowers and such.”
I hesitated, then asked, “Is there money set aside for the arrangements? I just want to make sure everything’s handled properly.”
“Yes. The will specifies that savings and retirement accounts will cover the expenses.”
That seemed oddly specific when there wasn’t much in savings.
Dad being dead felt unreal. I expected him to jump into the room with a giant “Gotcha” at any moment.
“They wanted to be buried, not cremated,” the lawyer droned on. “The plots were purchased many years ago. I already posted the obituary in the paper so people will know the memorial is taking place this Saturday. I contacted the Methodist minister who had time at three in the afternoon.”
The rest of our meeting involved many signatures.
On my way to the lawyer’s lobby a man called out, “Wait up, Erika.”
I turned, expecting there to be another packet of papers needing a signature. A strikingly handsome man several inches taller than me, sun-kissed and stylish with dirty-blond hair, wore a perfectly tailored gray suit. He grinned and held out his arms for a hug.
I did a double take. “Knox?”
He pulled me into him and kissed me on the cheek. He smelled of the kind of aftershave that whispered of something luxurious and unforgettable. “You were supposed to text me when you got in.”
“I’ve been busy,” I hedged with the lie because I wasn’t ready yet to see old friends.
“We have to get drinks while you’re in town.”
“Sure…yeah. We need to. I guess you never know when you might need a kissing date.” I tried to force myself to seem happy to see him, even though I had whiplash from my dad’s will.
“I don’t need kissing dates anymore. This isn’t high school.
Everyone knows I’m gay.” He’d almost been outted as a sophomore, before he was ready for everyone to know.
Realizing someone was about to hurt him something awful all those years ago, I claimed we’d been making out on a date the night before.
Periodically, Knox had continued to use me as a shield in school.
And since graduation, he was the only person from town I kept up with.
He said, “I’m so sorry about your parents. My offer to help you with whatever you need while you’re here stands. If you need a place to stay or an errand run, let me know.”
“Thanks. This is a lot.” My phone rang. A sense of familiarity, almost but not quite relief, went through me to see the number. “I’ve got to take this. Can we talk later or get together for coffee? I’m sorry.” I rushed outside to answer, “Hi, Jay.”
“How did it go with the lawyer, babe? Are you still coming back tomorrow? I’m having trouble finding fill-ins to cover your overnights.
” Jay managed the huge veterinary specialty hospital where I worked.
This was about him wanting to avoid actually working a shift as a vet.
He despised doing overnight emergency medicine, which I always found odd for the one who oversaw all the veterinarians.
“You don’t want me back because you miss me?”
“Sure. Your side of the bed is cold.” In other words, we’d missed date night Tuesday. The weight of our relationship gave me the same feeling I'd had since arriving back in Vision. I wanted to run.
“I’ve got some things to work out,” I said vaguely. “Their funeral is on Saturday. I need to stay until then.”
“Saturday?” He exhaled hard into the phone, like I’d personally inconvenienced him. “That’s four nights. You didn’t ask me—you just decided.”
“My father died. I have to.” I hated how defensive I sounded—and worse, how guilty, like I’d disappointed him. Didn’t I deserve at least a shred of sympathy for losing both my father and stepmother?
“This is simple, Erika. You hire someone to clear out the house. You sell the clinic. You show up at the funeral or don’t. You’re not staying there, and we both know it. So who’s even going to notice if you aren’t around?”
“They’ll notice,” I said flatly. I’d notice. Wasn’t a boyfriend supposed to offer to come with you to your father’s funeral?
The truth pressed in, ugly and undeniable. Jay lived in my condo rent-free and treated my personal life like an inconvenience. I’d been waiting for the right moment to kick him out. Having him as my supervising vet made that harder.
“I’ve been given guardianship of my eight-year-old brother.”
“What? You’re not mother material.” His tone hurt.
“What do you mean by that?” I stopped so abruptly on my walk to the car that Tracker ran into me. I whispered to him, “Sorry.”
The dog gave me an offended glare.
Jay continued as if he hadn’t heard me. “There’s got to be someone else to take the kid. Anyone else.”
I wanted to sock Jay in the nose. “There’s only me.”
“I don’t want kids when we’re married. We talked about this, and you agreed. That thing stays there. Maybe put him up for adoption?”
He’s my brother. He’s family. “He’s a child, not a thing. I don’t recall ever talking about kids. Besides, marriage isn’t on the table.”
“Of course it is. You’ll be on staff as an associate starting in a few months and we’ll get hitched next year.”
My lungs locked up like they had earlier. “I don’t think so. We’ve only dated like four months.”
“Seven months, babe.”
Had it been that long? “Do you want to come here and help me sort this out?”
“No.” He huffed like he couldn’t believe I asked it.
“Isn’t that what almost-married people do?”
“I don’t have time for your family shit. One of us has to work. Taxes are coming due for the clinic. The flu and COVID have taken out half the staff. It’s a nightmare. You’re so goddamned independent that even if I did show up, you’d make me miserable for bothering.”
“How is my independence a problem for you?”
“You made it clear you don’t need me there. I’ve tried to be a part of your life. I really have. I even moved in to try to be a part of it.” He went silent.
He moved in a few months ago under the guise of convenience.
Because he wanted us to spend more time together.
But the truth revealed itself slowly, in the quiet creeping way rot spreads beneath floorboards.
He wanted a vantage point. A command post. Somewhere he could watch me, monitor me, bend the shape of my days to his will.
Control—over everything.
I never questioned it at first. I was too worn down from the endless overnight shifts, too hollowed out to see what was happening right in front of me.
Maybe too numb to care. While I worked myself raw just to keep my life afloat, Jay sat back, contributing nothing.
Not a cent toward the bills. Not even after I confronted him about it a few weeks ago.
He wouldn’t even buy his own groceries.
He simply waited, expecting me to provide, to obey, to break.
I hadn’t broken, at least I didn’t think so. I needed out. And here was my moment.
I felt so relieved, and yet also like I was betraying him. Had he made me think like that?
“Sorry,” he muttered, no apology in his voice. “You know I love you, babe. Just find someone to take the kid. Or put it in an orphanage or something.”
“It? An orphanage? He’s my brother!” I yelled into the phone.
There was a pause. “You know I’m joking.
But you’re due back for your overnight on Sunday.
” Jay’s tone darkened, each word sharpened to a blade’s edge as he dropped the boyfriend-act and spoke as my supervisor.
“If you don’t show, you’ll lose your residency.
It’s a three-year contract with limited absences allowed, in case you forgot. If you miss one more day, you’re out.”
I could barely breathe, fearful of disappointing him and terrified I had to. I was just months away from finishing my residency, from being qualified to sit for the specialty exam. I couldn’t lose it all, not now.
He remained silent. Expecting obedience.
When I didn’t reply immediately, I heard the rage in his voice. “Don’t make this difficult. It’s a simple choice: family bullshit or your career. You decide whether you’re smart enough to keep what you’ve worked for.”