Page 16 of Impressing Brett

When I look back at her, her face is pale. She’s gripping the edge of the island. Her knuckles are white. Jesus.

“Lacy?” I reach over and set my hand over one of hers. “What’s wrong?”

She closes her eyes. “They won’t fucking leave me alone,” she grits out.

“Who?” I sit up straighter. Is someone fucking with her?

“My father’s partner and his son.”

“Why are they calling you?” The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

She’s still staring at her purse. “I don’t know exactly. They want me to come to Indiana. And I’m not fucking doing it. Not ever.”

She is viciously angry. Her entire body is stiff.

I rise to my feet, grab her around the waist, and lift her into my arms. I need to know more, and we’re not doing it on the stools at the kitchen island. I carry her to the living room and lower myself onto my favorite recliner, settling her on my lap sideways.

I don’t fucking care if it’s inappropriate or not right now. I need answers. “Tell me about them.”

“My father’s partner? His son?” She lets out a sardonic laugh that makes my spine crawl.

“They’re lawyers, right?”

She gives another deep laugh laced with not one ounce of humor. “You know those billboards you see on the side of the highway that advertise a law office that will help you win compensation for an accident or some shit you know you don’t really deserve because you weren’t actually injured?”

I swallow hard and nod.

“That’s what my father and his partner do. Did. Whatever. And his son joined them, too.”

I furrow my brow. “Do you think they pursue cases illegally?”

She shrugs. “Not exactly. I suspect they operate barely above the law. My father wanted me to become a lawyer and join them like his partner’s son.” She shudders as she draws her knees up and wraps her arms around her shins. Her feet nestle between my thighs.

I rub her back. “Have they been harassing you, Little lamb?” I want to help her relax. She seems to like it when I Daddy her whether or not she understands it.

“That’s an understatement.”

“Why do they want you to go back there? Do you know?”

“Something about the reading of the will. I know that’s just a ploy though. I don’t need to be there for the reading of my father’s fucking will. He cut me out of it ten years ago. I’m sure he left everything to his partner. I don’t give a single fuck. I don’t want his money. I have my own.” She shivers.

She is so very bitter and angry. It’s palpable in the room.

I process everything she’s said before I speak. “Is it possible he didn’t cut you out of the will?”

She looks at me. “Unlikely. Besides, I don’t care.”

“You might not care, but if you’re the named beneficiary of your father’s estate, you might not have a choice but to face it and deal with it.”

Her jaw drops open. “Are you serious? Could they force me to come to fucking Indiana?”

“I’m not sure force is the right word, Lacy. But it might be tidier if you dealt with it in person. How about if I make some calls and look into it, okay?”

She slowly nods.

Now I understand why she hasn’t been sleeping and why she’s so distraught. I suspect there’s more, but I don’t want to make her face it any longer this morning. She needs more sleep. She was doing so well while I was Daddying her.

“How about we ignore the phone for a while? It’s not going anywhere. Let’s do something fun this morning. After lunch, if you want, we can listen to some of the messages together, and I’ll help you figure out what’s going on. How does that sound?”

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