Page 16 of Love Over Time

“Now, Tessa, be a good girl and don’t move.” My uncle’s wife, Francesca, tittered at her own joke. “I’m going inside to get your water. It’s time for your medicine. You know how bad your spells can get when we wait too long.” She strolled back to the house, stopping on the way to cut one of the yellow roses. A thorn pricked her finger, and she moaned in pain while she sucked her thumb. With one last glance behind her, toward Mom, she stared at her finger and wiped it on her dark pants.

When Mom got sick, Francesca had been the first one to suggest we send her to a hospice. Now she was here, tending to Mom? What the hell was going on? My gaze darted around the garden. It wasn’t dead, as I thought it’d be. Instead, it had new flower beds and a few lemon trees along the edge of the courtyard. How long had Mom been here? Months? Years?

“Go on, Henry,” Russ said after Francesca disappeared through the sunroom. “I’ll keep watch. But hurry.”

I trudged up to her. In the middle of the garden, she sat in a wheelchair, a blanket draped over her legs. Her eyelids drooped as she jerked her head to keep it against the headrest.

“Mom,” I whispered.

She gasped and covered her mouth with a trembling hand. “James.”

“No. It’s me, Henry.” The roses in her lap fell to the ground when I kneeled beside her. Their fragrance puffed out like dust and surrounded me with Mom’s signature scent. She’d spent so much time in the gardens she always smelled of roses.

“Henry.” Tears spilled down her cheek as she reached for me. I closed my eyes when she stroked my face. Too weak to move, she let her hand fall back on her lap. This was how she’d been the last day I was here, before I left for boarding school.

I took her hands in mine. “If I’d known you were here, I would’ve come sooner. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I left you alone all these years.”

She shook her head wildly, her eyes wide. “Go,” she mumbled. “You can’t be here. It’s not safe. Go.” She pulled her quaking hands away. It was a frail effort, but I let her go. After all this time, she still didn’t want to see me, but there was more to this. The fear in her eyes said this wasn’t just about what she wanted.

“Mom. Tell me the truth. Why do you want me to leave? Is someone threatening you? Why?”

She closed her eyes and moved her head from side to side. Seeing her like this broke my heart into tiny shards. I should’ve come back years ago. I should’ve stayed with her and not run off like some wounded animal. All these years, I’d only thought of my own pain. Mom had been suffering too, alone. The pounding in my chest made it hard to think or hear. All I wanted was to take her away from this place. I hooked my arm behind her knees.

“No,” she screamed.

“Shh. I’m getting you out of here. But you need to keep quiet, or Francesca will call the guards.” She screamed again, so I set her down. Did she really want to stay? “Mom. We need to get you somewhere safe.”

Russ tugged at my arm. “Henry, time to go. Come on. She’s already home. There’s nothing you can do.”

My gaze darted between Russ and Mom. I had to make a decision quick. Dammit. “I’ll come back for you. I promise.”

I raced after Russ back to the tunnel. With my heart pulsing in my throat, I replaced the cover and leaned against the cold steel ladder.

“That’s fucked up what happened to your mom.” Russ laced his arm through the ladder and let himself drop to the ground. “I swear I didn’t know she was at the manor. No one in town knows. I would’ve told you.”

“I know. God, I’m the biggest asshole.”

He patted my arm once. “This isn’t your fault.”

“What do you know about my family’s fortune?”

“After you left, I started working with my dad. The next year, he transferred the construction business to my name. It freaked him out what happened to James, you know. Dad told me your dad never got around to doing a new will after you were born. At least that’s what your uncle said. When your dad…you know…whenithappened, the only will the lawyer had was the one that left everything to your uncle. Of course, your uncle swore he’d take care of you and your mom. Don’t be so angry. He did pay for that fancy school of yours.”

“He didn’t pay for a fucking thing.” I stood still as my heart spewed acid through my veins with every pump. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to squeeze his neck and watch as he puffed the last bit of air from his lungs.

All these years I’d been away, licking my wounds and feeling sorry for myself. Angry for the life my uncle stole from me. Meanwhile, Mom had the worst of it, trapped here at the mercy of Jonathan Cavalier. I wasn’t buying that bullshit that she didn’t want to see me anymore. There’d been real glee in her eyes when she saw me, glee that turned into terror in almost the same breath. Mom was a prisoner here, a prisoner in her own goddamn home.

After finding out my uncle had stolen my inheritance with some bullshit will, I’d been full of rage. I’d come back for revenge. Dad had trusted Jonathan, his own brother, with Mom and me, and Jonathan had betrayed him. He’d sent me away, put Mom in a garden prison, and taken the family fortune for himself. The asshole had even taken Dad’s position as mayor of Paradise Creek.

How had he managed to get control of everything Dad ever had, including Mom? Dad hadn’t been the type to forget to do things, especially when it came to his family. If what Russ said was true, I’d be willing to bet Jonathan destroyed the will where Dad named me the sole beneficiary of his estate.

The law was on his side, even the town. They believed every lie he fed them, just as I had when I was a kid. My heart shrank and squeezed painfully at the thought of Mom spending all these years half-alive. The fortune didn’t matter. All I cared about was setting things right for her.

Killing Jonathan would be doing him a kindness. He deserved much worse. I wanted to see him grovel at Mom’s feet and beg for forgiveness. There was only one way to fix all this goddamn mess, all this injustice. I had to steal everything back from Jonathan Cavalier. Starting with Mom.

I exhaled and wiped my eyes. What I needed was a thief. Nikki’s voice echoed in my mind.

“Now that we’ve established I have skills you could use, tell me about you. What do you want?” she’d said.

---