Page 3 of Spiritwarrior

The town was small, really small. Would she even be able to make a living there?

“As I stated, there is no money that comes with your inheritance, but the business could present a good investment for you, or you could sell the property. Of course, you don’t have to decide what you want to do right now—think it over.” Mr. Keates picked up a thick yellow envelope, sliding the letter Marty had left her inside before he closed it and handed it to her.

Sophie stared at the envelope for a full minute before shaking her head.

The lawyer kept holding the envelope mid-air. “I understand, from your reaction to Mr. Meyer’s death, that you were estranged from your father. In my line of work, I’ve seen family members have to deal with their emotions toward the deceased and their inheritance before. Normally, they take the inheritance as payback for the hurt they feel they had to endure from the deceased. There have also been a few, like yourself, who refuse to take anything.

“My best advice to you is not to cut off your nose to spite your face. Mr. Meyers is dead. He’s not going to know if you accepted the inheritance or not. Your opportunity to pay him back for the way he treated your mother is gone. The only one who will be hurt will be you if you refuse. I don’t know your financial situation”—Mr. Keates’ gaze lowered to skim over the clothes she was wearing then returned to her eyes—“but I want you to think of your future instead of dwelling on the past before you make your decision.” He was right, much as she hated to admitit. She hated Marty so much she wanted to award the person who killed him a medal.

How many restraining orders had her mother taken out over the years since she found the courage to leave him? Her mother and stepfather had lived in fear that Marty would find them and one of his unscrupulous contacts would kill them. It was only when they constantly moved and Karter had gone no contact with his relatives that they had found a measure of peace.

At the thought of her mother and what she had gone through over the years, she reconsidered accepting the restaurant. Her mother’s health wasn’t the best, yet she was working every day at a job she hated just to keep a roof over her and Karter’s heads. Karter worked as well, but their constant moving had limited their job choices.

Resigning herself to the fact that she was going to accept her inheritance if she was ever going to further herself to get to the point where she could make a big difference in her parents’ lives, she reached out and took the envelope.

Mr. Keates’ sympathy shone out of his eyes. “It might not seem like it now, but you made the right decision.”

Sophie stared at the envelope. Then why did she feel like she had just sold her soul?

“While I do think you made the right decision, I want to give you a warning. The police found out while investigating your father’s death that he was involved in a counterfeit ring in Kentucky, spanning to Ohio, perhaps even further to other states. The investigation is ongoing. Perhaps it would be safer for you to sell the business rather than moving to Treepoint.”

“You think the police will be investigatingme?” Sophie gave the lawyer an unconcerned look. “Let them. I haven’t seen my father since I was eleven years old.”

“I’m not worried about the police. I’m more concerned, and so is the Sheriff in Treepoint, that if your father did haveaccomplices, they may assume you know where the counterfeit money came from.”

“I don’t.”

“I don’t believe you do,” he hastily assured her. “I just want to make you aware of the situation while you make your decision to keep or sell the restaurant.”

Holding the envelope, Sophie rose to her feet. “I appreciate the warning. I’ll make sure to keep that in mind. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He smiled. “If I can be of any further assistance, please let me know.”

“I will.”

She left the lawyer’s office and made her way to the parking lot while calling her mom to make sure she was home before driving to her parents’ house.

As she pulled in in front of their rental home, she saw her stepfather’s car was there also.

After knocking on the door, she waited patiently for it to be opened. Then, after she gave her mother the hand signal in the camera that it was safe, her mother opened the door with a beaming smile.

“I thought you were working this morning?” her mother said, pulling her close for a hug.

“I don’t go in until two. I need to talk with you.”

“About what?” Her mother gave her a concerned glance as they sat down on the plain green couch.

“Yesterday, I received a letter from Marty’s lawyer.”

Her mother tensed, and Karter, who was stepping into the living room from the bedroom, stopped in his tracks, his face paling.

“Marty knows we’re in Arizona?”

“He must have, or the lawyer wouldn’t have been able to find me.”

Karter moved further into the living room to sit down on a chair facing the couch and buried his face in his hands in dejection.

“We don’t have enough money to move. We’re barely scraping by as it is. What are we going to do?”

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