Page 6 of Our Lips Are Sealed
“He made an offer on a penthouse condo for me in Port Michaelson, and I figured I’ll live there until Viv is out of the house for good.”
Her heart plummeted. “You want us to leave Haven?”
“It’s time, don’t you think?”
No, she did not think it was time.
“What was all that bullshit you fed me the other day about Ben buying Simone a new house in Port Michaelson and taking Selah with him when they left?” she asked, close to hysterics. “You said we would move into the main house when they were gone.”
Simone and her family should have left years ago when Ben changed Selah’s name and acknowledged the boy as his son. They had no reason to keep their connection to the Fairweathers a secret any longer, while Rebecca continued to have no choice in the matter. Constantly warned to keep a low profile for Charlie’s sake, and for the sake of Fairweather Holdings, at least until the buyout was complete, she had done exactly that, being a good sport and never complaining.
Much.
Promises had been made, and she’d endured all they asked to secure the prize Charlie dangled endlessly in front of her.
The thing she wanted most in the world.
Haven House.
Since the day she arrived, this place belonged to her, and her to it. All she had to do was wait the rest of them out. And she had been doing just that, quietly living in the cottage for God knows how long.
“I guess I was a little off when I talked to Trevor the other day because apparently, Ben gifted Simone Haven House back when she married Devon. Fairweather Holdings handles the financing of it, but essentially the place is hers. They just didn’t tell anyone,” he replied. “Anyway, long story short, the house over in Port Michaelson isn’t for Simone. It’s for you.”
Not believing what she was hearing, Rebecca shook her head while the walls around them expanded in steady contractions. It was as if the cottage had become a living thing, breathing on its own with the power of her rage. “But I thought you said Ben bought us a penthouse condo?”
“No, he boughtmea penthouse condo.”
Rebecca couldn’t help it. She laughed at him.
Same ole’ Charlie, out the door and on his way whenever a good run was ahead. He played at the poker tables that way, losing big most nights.
“Predictable,” she grunted. “Well, you just go on then, and I’ll be here, waiting with bated breath for your return.”
“The house is in a great area of Port Michaelson, right by the tiki bar we always go to,” he kept on like he was serious. “You know the one by the gun range?”
Their friends from Pensacola owned several businesses in Port Michaelson, with the gun range being one of them. Whenever Charlie got in too deep during their private poker tournaments, it was Rebecca who worked off his debts at the range.
“I’m not leaving.”
“It’s a two-bedroom in a subdivision with a pool and a workout room. Maybe you could use it and finally get back in shape.”
Rebecca let out a sigh. “I have three children, Charlie. What am I going to do with a two-bedroom house?” She rolled her eyes. “Get the idea out of your head. The kids and I are not leaving.”
“But Laura Jean is leaving.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
He escaped to the kitchen like a dog with its tail between its legs. Rebecca followed, the walls rolling with her, cracking at the sheetrock as they went. When she came upon him with his head in the fridge, likely digging for a beer, the movement halted, rippling in slow waves from ceiling to floor.
“Laura Jean wants to take Tobias to live with them,” Charlie said. “She thinks she can heal the little shit with all her mumbo jumbo.”
Rebecca slapped a palm on the counter to steady herself. The meds were mixing with Charlie’s present, knocking her off balance, which had probably been his plan all along. “Tobias isn’t going anywhere.”
“Why do you care?” He pulled a beer out and turned to face her. “You can’t stand the kid.”
“I said no.”
Charlie popped the cap on the beer and took a swig. “Well, it doesn’t matter what you say. The kids were part of the deal. Tobias will go with Laura Jean, and CeCe will stay here with Simone.”
