Page 18 of Bitter House

“How long do you think that will take?”

I rub my lips together, wishing I had a clearer answer. “I’m not sure how long the court stuff will take, but we’re working on getting the house fixed up and dealing with family drama on top of everything else, so it’s all kind of a disaster.”

“Family drama? What do you mean? From Vera?”

“No, just my aunt. Basically, everyone is upset over what they were given in the will, and they’re coming after me over it as if I had anything to do with what Vera chose to do.”

“Yikes. No offense, girl, but your grandma seems like she was trying to start drama with her last act.”

“Honestly, I can’t see Vera caring enough to do that, but maybe. It’s all just a mess.” I huff, running a hand over my face. Until this moment, I’m not sure I realized how stressed this situation has me.

“Do you need me to come up there? I can get a few days off work.”

“Thanks, but I’m okay for now.” I don’t want anyone outside of this messed-up world to see it from the inside, no matter how much I trust Ana. “I think Jenna would lose her mind if we were both out of the office. But I may still take you up on the offer to help move things out of here once I decide what I want to take.”

“Yeah, of course. Name the time and place, and I’m there. And don’t worry about Jenna, okay? She’d handle it. I could bring my laptop with me and work from there. You’re already working remotely and things are going fine, aren’t they?”

“In theory.” Meaning, I have several unread emails waiting for me and haven’t opened my latest spreadsheet since I arrived.

“We could totally make it work, then. We’d just work during the day and pack at night. Teamwork.” She giggles.

“Maybe. I’ll let you know, okay?”

She huffs. “Yeah, for sure. Just promise me you’ll let me know if I can help you, whether it’s from there or from here. You don’t have to do this all on your own. I got you, girl. You know that, right?”

“I do know,” I promise her. “And thank you. Give Teddy and Olivia kisses from me.”

“Will do. They miss you, B. We all do.”

“I miss you guys, too. I promise I’ll be home as soon as I can.” I only hope I can keep that promise.

“Okay, I’ll let you go back to the current soap opera you’re living in.” The sound of water running comes across her line, and I assume she’s rinsing the plate she was just eating off of. “Call me, though, okay? Check in so I know you’re still alive.”

“I will.”

“Love you, lady.”

“Love you.”

I press the button to end the call and place my phone back on the nightstand before crossing the room to get ready for the day. Once I’ve showered and changed, I make my way downstairs, passing Cole’s closed door.

At the bottom of the stairs, a sound catches my attention.

Someone is knocking on the door.

I hesitate at the door, peeking out the window next to it and recognize the face immediately, a groan escaping my lips.

I pull the door open, staring into the face of the realtor from yesterday. “How do you keep getting through the gate?” I demand.

“I have the code.” He flashes me a smile.

“How?” Did Cole lie? He told me he let him in before, not that he’d had a code.

“Someone gave it to me.” Another of those charming smiles that has probably gotten him inside a lot of doors. Not this one. I move my body to block more of the doorway.

“Who would’ve done that? Cole?”

“Not a chance.” The voice comes from behind me, and I glance over my shoulder to find Cole standing in the hallway, hair messy from sleep. He stalks toward me, eyes trained on the man. “Can we help you? We made it clear yesterday you weren’t needed.”

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