Page 36 of Bitter House

She waves off the suggestion. “Trust me, I have plenty where those came from. There’s no rush. Is there anything we can do for you? Some cleaning maybe? Or distraction? We’re going to see a play in town later and would love for you to join us.”

“Oh, um,” I say, wincing. “We really appreciate the offer, but I have work to catch up on, and we’re still trying to do things little by little around here. It’s so kind of you, though.”

“Once we get the house all set up to our liking, we’ll have you lovely ladies over for dinner,” Cole says, his voice dripping with charm. “How does that sound?”

“You trying to poison us, Cole Warner?” Cate asks, flashing him a wide grin.

“You know I’d never.”

“We’ll let you take the first bite,” Lily says skeptically.

I’m starting to warm up to her.

Jane sighs. “Okay, well, we don’t want to be a bother, but let’s not be strangers, alright? Vera was a very good friend to us, and I know it would be important to her that we take good care of you.” Her eyes linger on me. “We’re just down the street if you need anything, and our phone numbers are on the fridge.”

“Cole has them, too,” Cate says.

“Right,” Jane agrees. “So, if you need anything, know our door is open. Day or night.”

“Most of us don’t sleep well anyway,” Lily says. “Unless there’s a full moon.” She winks.

“We really—” Before I can finish my sentence, we’re interrupted by the sound of the gate opening at the end of the driveway and a black Mercedes pulling up toward the house.

My shoulders tense at the sight of Zach stepping out of his car, his perfectly coiffed head of shiny, blond hair coming into view before his face.

“Friend of yours?” Lily asks under her breath.

“No,” Cole says.

“He’s Vera’s grandson and a realtor. He wants us to sell the house,” I say at the same time.

“You’re not going to do it, are you?” Jane asks, clearly horrified.

“No,” I tell her. “I don’t plan on selling the house any time soon.”

“Greetings, cousin,” Zach calls, his voice uncomfortably formal as he stalks across the yard. He pulls his sunglasses up from his eyes, surveying us carefully. “Been playing in the mud, have we?”

“Zach,” I mutter. “Edna told us you’re not having much luck with your lawyer trying to steal the house from us.”

“More like take back what’s rightfully ours,” he says. Dropping his dark glasses back over his eyes, he digs into his pocket and pulls out his phone. “Since the legal way is going to be such a headache, Mom and I want to make you an offer on the place. Three times more than it’s worth based on my already generous comps. What do you say?” He turns the phone around so I can see the number Aunt Jenn has texted him. It’s likely not a quarter of what Vera left them, but it’s still a ridiculous amount of money.

Every eye in the vicinity is on me, though this decision isn’t solely mine. To my surprise, when I look at Cole, he’s waiting to hear my answer too.

I don’t have to think about it. “I’ve already told you I don’t want to sell this place.” More so now than ever before, I’m positive about that. Even if I wasn’t furious with how Zach and Aunt Jenn are handling this, we can’t let them find what’s in the backyard until we decide what to do about it. “That hasn’t changed.”

His brows pinch together. “You’re being ridiculous. Don’t let your stubbornness cause you to make a stupid decision. You need the money. We both know you do. Vera didn’t leave you a dime. Let us help you. It’s what family does.”

The word family stings like a slap to the face. Zach isn’t foolish. I’m the little girl who didn’t have a family, and he thinks he can use that against me now, prod at my bruises until I give in, but it won’t work.

“You heard the girl,” Lily says, moving to step in front of me. Her voice has taken on the tone of a mother who’s at her wit’s end. She juts her chin up. “Go on now. Vera left the house to Bridget for a reason. It’s hers. She wouldn’t want it sold to someone else—anyone else. This house meant too much to her.”

“Look, lady, I have no idea who you are, but this is between me and Bridget?—”

“And she’s already given an answer.” Lily is a full head shorter than Zach, but from the way she’s looking at him, you’d never know it. She’s formidable. It’s the only way I know to describe her. She’s the type of woman you could easily trick young children into believing is a witch, both because of the wild, wiry gray hair framing her face and because she is clearly the type of person to get things done.

I see why Vera must’ve liked her.

“We won’t make this generous of an offer again,” Zach says, still staring at Lily, though he’s clearly talking to me.

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