Page 30 of Impressing Brett

“Yes. You’re right. Those men are not good people. I don’t want you to respond to them at all. Ignore them. Got it?”

She nods. “Yes, Sir.”

“Good girl. If messages come in, you show them to me. I’ve contacted some people to help with your father’s will. I’d like to see if we can get a copy. Apparently, he named his partner as the executor of the will. He may or may not be willing to share it with us. If he wants to be difficult, he can drag it out for a long time, trying to get you to return to Indiana.”

“Will I have to? I don’t want to.” She sounds almost petulant, and I can’t blame her. “I don’t even care about the stupid will, and it pisses me off that my father can mess with my life from the grave.”

I set my hand on her shoulder. “I know, Little one. I’m going to see what I can do. I already spoke with a lawyer friend of mine. He said, technically, you shouldn’t have to be present unless the will specifically states you must. There are so many possibilities, though, and it’s hard to know what to believe without seeing the will firsthand.”

She sighs. “Knowing my father, he probably stipulated that I had to be present. Hell, he probably stipulated that I had to marry Max and have three kids in order to inherit. But I already told him I wouldn’t marry that smarmy, gross guy. That’s why I left. I hope he changed his stupid will to leave me out.”

“Since the two of them are hounding you, I suspect we’re looking at one of two scenarios. Either you’re still the beneficiary of the will and your father never changed it, or they’re trying to trick you into believing that to be the case in order to get you to come home.”

She crosses her arms and huffs defiantly. “I won’t go.”

I stroke her shoulder and run my hand up to cup her neck. “I’ll do my best to keep that from happening.”

“Can they make me?” She looks worried, eyes wide.

“If the will identifies you as the beneficiary, and it states that you must be present, it’s possible. But if that ends up being the case, I will go with you. I would never let you out of my sight. Got it?”

Her bottom lip trembles. “You would do that for me?”

I grip her neck tighter and pull her closer so our faces are inches apart. “Lacy, you’re mine. Where you go, I go. There isn’t a single snowball’s chance in hell I would let you go to Indiana alone for any reason, especially not to deal with something this stressful and important, and doubly especially not to face either of these Rutherford assholes. At no point are you going anywhere near either of them without me glued to your side.” Probably armed. But I don’t tell her that.

She takes a deep breath. “Thank you.” Her voice wobbles.

“No need to thank me, Little lamb. I’m your Daddy. It’s what Daddies do.”

“I’m struggling to grasp that.”

“I know you are, but you’ll learn to believe me.” I rise from the stool, take our plates to the sink, and then return to lift her down.

She wraps her arms around me and hugs me tightly. “I can’t believe I’m here. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Little lamb. Always. No more navigating the world alone.” I tip her head back. “Now, I need to go to your apartment building. I want you to stay here, okay?”

She nods.

I lead her to the counter near the refrigerator and open a drawer to pull out a pad of paper. “Can you write down what you want me to find?”

She takes the pen from me and taps her lips. “It’s hard to think of what I want.”

“Tell me where your dolls are. I’ll be sure to find them first.”

“They’re on my bed. And Banana. Please don’t forget Banana.”

“I won’t, Little lamb. How about any jewelry?”

“I don’t really have anything of worth. Could you grab my computer and some clothes for work? Skirts, blouses, shoes, bras…” Her voice trails off. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Of course not. I’ll make sure to get your chargers, too.”

She writes a short list on the paper, though I won’t forget any of it. When she rips it off and hands it to me, she shrugs. “Mostly, I’m just stressed, worrying about the state of things. If you find out there’s no damage and everything’s in good shape, I’ll feel much better.”

“I hope I can return with that report. We’ll see.”

Her phone buzzes on the counter near us, where I plugged it in earlier.

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