Chapter 13
Justice shifted in her seat, fingers curling around her warm mug. The familiar scent of her tea drifted upward, but she barely noticed. Her gaze wandered to the view of familiar stretches of trees and pasture, where the late afternoon sun slanted long shadows over the land.
Tyler sat in a chair next to her on the back porch.
He hadn’t asked more about what she’d dealt with today, but he seemed to be waiting patiently.
She pondered how much she should say. The story of her family wasn’t a secret, not around here, but putting it into words meant sharing pieces of herself she didn’t offer lightly.
Before she could sort through the tangled knot in her chest, Tyler spoke with a low and steady voice. “Justice, you don’t have to tell me anything you’re not comfortable with.”
Her head jerked up in surprise, and she met his gaze. Concern was there, yes, but not pressure. Just quiet patience.
“No,” she murmured, shaking her head. “It’s not that. Honestly, there’s not much I can say that folks around here don’t already know. It’s just…” She hesitated, lifting a shoulder. “I didn’t want to assume you wanted to know all the details.”
“If it has anything to do with you,” he said, his voice gentle but sure, “I’d like to know.” He lifted his hands in an open gesture, palms up. “I have nowhere to be. I’m all yours.”
That made her laugh, and she eased back into the chair, comforted by the warmth in his voice and the sincerity in his eyes.
“I was born and raised here. So were my parents. And their parents before them. Our family has been part of this land since the early settlers arrived. My grandparents had a house right in town where they raised their two boys. My dad, Jack, and his younger brother, Jordy.”
She paused, as if picturing them as boys running through the streets of a much smaller town, when life might’ve felt simpler.
“My grandfather ran an auto repair business. Did real well, too. It was the only shop around back then. My dad joined him after his stint in the Army. He was a Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic in the motor pool, so it was a natural fit.” Her lips curved with affection.
“Granddad would’ve loved for both his sons to take over the business, but he always said he just wanted them happy. ”
Her voice dropped, tinged with dry humor. “Only, the problem with Jordy was… he didn’t really want to work at anything.”
Tyler let out a chuckle and shook his head. “I’ve known a few people like that.”
She smiled, but the amusement faded quickly.
“Jordy tried working at the garage in high school but hated the manual labor. He decided he wanted to go to college. That lasted only one semester, then he came home. Granddad put him in the office, thinking maybe he’d be motivated to work there.
But Jordy didn’t like the paperwork either.
Got bored. There were even whispers that he’d been skimming money. ”
That made Tyler’s brow lift, and he shook his head. “Damn.”
She looked around, drawing strength from the view again, where the fields rolled gently in the distance.
“Almost thirty years ago, Charlie sold these ten acres to my parents. They wanted to build out here and have some space, some quiet. Dad said he wanted me to have room to run and breathe. To grow up surrounded by something good.”
Tyler glanced toward the land outside, then back at her. “It’s a great place. Peaceful.”
A soft smile touched her lips. “Yeah. I was only a few years old, so my memories are all of this place.” She glanced at him and laughed. “I remember seeing you occasionally when you’d visit with your parents. But you were a teenager, and I was still in elementary school.”
His eyes widened, then he shook his head, a blush covering his cheeks.
“Don’t feel bad.” She chuckled. “I don’t know any teenage boy who would pay attention to a little girl still playing with dolls!
” She held his gaze, then sadness crept into her thoughts.
“After you joined the Army, and especially after your parents passed away, we always kept our distance when you were visiting. We didn’t want to interrupt any time you had with your grandparents.
And I had the flu when your grandmother died, so I stayed away then, too. ”
“I’m just sorry I never discovered your hugs back then,” he said, his eyes twinkling.
She nodded, then forced her gaze to the mountains in the distance before she did something impetuous, like throw herself into his arms.
After a moment, she shook her head to clear the random thoughts, remembering she had been in the middle of her family story.
Clearing her throat, she continued, “About fifteen years ago, Jordy and his wife, Debbie, who’s as lazy and entitled as he is, got tired of renting in town and wanted to buy a house.
McClay’s Mechanics was doing really well by then, but Jordy wasn’t working there and hadn’t for years.
He did one job after another but never stuck with anything very long.
But instead of saving or working toward a house, they asked Granddad to give them their inheritance early. ”
She exhaled, frustration and sorrow threading through her words.
“Granddad and my dad both tried to talk him out of it. Told him that if he took it early, then when Granddad passed, everything else would go to Dad. No second helping. No redo. But Jordy didn’t care.
He thought a lump sum would fix everything.
That it’d solve all his money problems.”
Tyler leaned forward slightly, listening intently. “It’s not unheard of to give part of an inheritance early… but that only works if the person understands the trade-off. A business isn’t a bank account. It keeps living and growing. You can’t cash out and still expect to hold a stake.”
Justice met his gaze, her eyes reflecting both weariness and strength.
“Exactly. But Jordy didn’t care about that.
He just wanted what he thought was his, without doing anything to earn it.
But Granddad had everything spelled out crystal clear in case Jordy tried anything.
He made sure papers were signed at the time and are with his attorney. ”
“I take it, it didn’t go as Jordy planned.”
“Bingo,” Justice said with a dry laugh, her eyes lighting with sarcastic amusement. “If Jordy and Debbie had invested wisely, they would’ve been okay. But of course, they didn’t. Jordy and Debbie managed to burn through that money in about ten years.”
She paused and rolled her eyes before adding, “He doesn’t have a huge gambling addiction…
well, maybe he does. He doesn’t go to Vegas or anything, but he loses just enough every month to make a difference.
And that’s not counting the rest of their reckless spending.
They bought a house in a fancy neighborhood, trying to live like they were country club-worthy.
Neither one could keep a job longer than a year. ”
Tyler didn’t interrupt. He didn’t offer sympathy or judgment, just watched her with the quiet, steady attention that made her feel seen.
After a moment, he said, “I take it this is where your uncle starts becoming a problem again.”
She nodded slowly, her expression sobering. “When Granddad passed eight years ago, he made sure his Will was exactly as it had been spelled out to everyone. It broke his heart, but he knew how Jordy was. He couldn’t risk leaving things up to chance.”
Her voice softened as she continued, “It clearly stated that Jordy had received his inheritance in a lump sum already. Jordy got nothing except a few pieces of family furniture. That was it. By then, Granddad had already signed the auto shop over to Dad, making him the sole owner. A few years later, Dad asked me to come on as a partner, and I didn’t hesitate. So McClay Mechanics is his and mine.”
She looked around her cozy backyard, feeling anchored.
“My grandparents’ house in town went to me.
Granddad left it in my name. My cousin no longer lived here, so he received a cash inheritance equivalent to the value of the house at that time.
I lived there for a while, but when Mom got sick, I moved back here to help care for her.
After she passed, Dad told me I could stay as long as I wanted.
By then, I’d grown to love being back in my childhood home with all this beauty just outside the door.
So I sold the house in town, and that money became my nest egg. ”
She puffed out her cheeks and blew out a breath, her eyes briefly closing.
“Then the inevitable happened. Jordy and Debbie couldn’t keep up with their mortgage.
Lost the house. Lost the golf course membership.
Went crawling to their lawyer to see if they could somehow force Dad to share his inheritance. ”
“And I’m guessing they were told there was nothing that could be done,” Tyler said.
Justice gave a slow nod. “Exactly. The lawyer reminded them they’d already received their inheritance and had been warned that was all they’d ever get. But now…”
She lifted her eyes to his, a spark of anger there, mixed with exhaustion.
“Now they’re showing up with emotional appeals.
Calling, texting, cornering Dad at the shop, acting like they’ve been wronged.
Conveniently forgetting the money they already squandered.
Jordy’s not the brightest bulb, but he’s slippery.
And Debbie? Mama always said she was mean as a snake with a toothache. ”
Tyler arched a brow. “They're trying to stir up drama?”
“Oh yeah,” she said, lips twitching with dry humor. “Tried to threaten Dad by saying they’d tell people how unfairly Jordy was treated. Dad just shrugged. Everyone around here knows how things went down. Jordy got his cut and blew it.”
Tyler’s jaw tensed slightly. “You mentioned a cousin?”