Page 70 of An Endless Memory

“You can attend to the baby,” Linda said with a stiff tone. “I don’t have long, but I don’t want to rush what I have to tell you.”

Lily exchanged a worried glance with me. I gave her an encouraging smile. We were doing nothing to make Linda think we weren’t a real couple. She went to the bedroom.

“Have a seat while I get Cali something to eat.” I gestured to the recliner. Cali tucked her hand into mine. “Want some toast, boss lady?” That earned me a smile.

By the time I was done making toast and Cali was at the table where we could see her, Lily was in the living room with Linda. Kellan was strapped into his bouncy chair and willing to wait a few minutes before he nursed.

I sat next to Lily on the couch. I took her hand in mine. The gesture wasn’t for show. She was tense, her mouth set in a line. She should be as content and relaxed as she’d been in bed next to me.

Linda glanced at us both. She folded her hands. “Before you were born, I was married to someone else. Darren is my second marriage.”

Lily straightened. “Really?”

I was mildly surprised, but Lily hadn’t known?

Linda nodded. “I thought it was true love. Quick and impulsive but pure.” Sadness infused her eyes, and she looked older than her sixty-some years. “On my end, maybe. He just saw an easy life. The oil boom was happening, and we had wells on our land. Both Weston and I drove new cars. I didn’t have loans from college. He thought he was getting a free ride.”

“I’m so sorry, Aunt Linda.”

I was, too, but I could see where this was going. Linda had been deeply hurt by this man, used, and she’d make sure that didn’t happen to Lily or her siblings. It was why she was in charge of the trust and not her brother.

“When I learned the real reason why he married me”—she squeezed her hands into fists—“I was devastated. I can’t describe the pain. And the divorce.” Her laugh was full of scorn. “We spent so much money fighting him. In the end, I had to pay him spousal support. For years. If his bad decision didn’t cut his life short, I’d probably still be paying it.” She made a disgusted sound. “He had a good lawyer. Poor Darren had an ironclad prenup slapped in front of him as soon as he proposed.”

Lily’s fingers twisted around mine.

“This isn’t easy.” She circled her hand like she was talking about everything around her. “Having to decide if the man you married really loves you. But I will. No one will take advantage of a Duke again. And since you left that worthless piece of trash, you are a Duke again.”

I didn’t want to like Linda when she had so much influence on her niece, but the way she spoke about Carter put us on the same side.

“I’m a Knight now. You were ready to kick me out,” Lily said flatly. “All because I wasn’t married.”

Linda’s features tightened. “Like I said, this isn’t easy. I was tempted to call your bluff that day in the office, but I thought worst-case scenario, it gave you time to move.”

“You didn’t believe me?”

That had made two of us that day when I first heard about Lily’s situation.

Linda nodded. “Not at first, but here you both are. After all I went through, and all my divorce put my parents through, my mother trusted me with this legacy. She knew West and I would do our best to make sure you all are seriously happy before we sign off. Do I want my share of the inheritance?” Her laugh was barely more than a breath. “It’d make retirement more comfortable, but I take my duty seriously. Both your father and I do.”

“Lily shouldn’t have had to worry about being homeless.” My tone was harsh, but I didn’t care. Lily gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. “Now we have to stress that you’ll kick her out again because I’m not here enough.”

Linda lifted her chin. “I acknowledge this is just as hard for you. But if you’re truly in love, then I can live with you having to rush the wedding.”

Rush the wedding. Lily’s grip would’ve been painful for a lesser man. I was losing feeling in my fingertips.

I couldn’t move in permanently, but I had to do what I could to put Lily’s mind at ease after her aunt’s visit. “I trust you won’t hold it against us that I run a business three hours away, and this transition might take longer as I’m entering my busy season.”

Linda didn’t respond right away. Lily’s grip grew impossibly harder.

“You can trust that I’m not looking at that alone.” She sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. “I really do want you happy, Lily. You were always such a precocious child, and I know West worries about all of you.”

“I appreciate that,” Lily said rigidly. “As long as you appreciate the pressure this puts on me. On our relationship.”

On our fake marriage. What Linda said made sense, it made her the guardian in her eyes, but Lily and her siblings shouldn’t have had constraints on any inheritance left behind. It created a lot of stress for the recipients.

“I do respect what you’re going through. I was glad to see Eliot open the door.” She smiled, and it softened her features. A whole different woman. “You two look happy.”

“We are,” I said without hesitation.

---