Page 169 of Salvage Him
Thirty
Brooklyn
The memorial servicefor Paul turned out odd. I felt bad. No one who attended liked him except for his business manager. His bills were paidinfull.
His mother faked a few words of kindness, but her heart wasn'tinit.
She flew back to New Jersey the next day and said she'd be contacting a lawyer. It didn't matter. Paul left me withnothingtoo.
I figured it was the reason he wanted me back. So I wouldn’t find out about his moneyproblems.
The death was ruled anaccident.
I kept Paul's final words a secret from everyone exceptHarrison.
I was discharged from the hospital a few dayslater.
I didn't mind the warehouse, but Harrison said it wasn't conducive to a proper recovery. He failed to mention until later how he destroyed the place when I didn't come to him. We ended up in Justin'sguesthouse.
Seth moved to the mainhouse.
Our little crew was a strange family, but I loved having everyonearoundme.
Abbiestayed,too.
Ihealedfast.
When the cast came off, I was ready tomoveon.
Getting on with my life meant figuring out what to do with thehouse.
"Let's go see the house," I blurted out one morning as we sat around Justin's kitchen eatingbreakfast.
The guys all turned and lookedatme.
"You sure?" Harrisonasked.
"Yeah. I know we have to sell it. I just want see the finished product first. We put a lot of work into that house.“ They all exchanged looks. "Guys, I'llbefine."
The all gave me areassuringnod.
Harrison drove us over and parked in the driveway. He put the car in park, got out, and went around the front of the car to helpmeout.
We stopped on the walkway in front of the house, hand in hand. We looked from one side of the house to theother.
My gaze ran over the top of the second floor; the white stone looked gray, wet from the recent rain. The dark wood awning over the front door made the outsidewarmer.
Harrison had suggested it, and I never asked Paulaboutit.
"It's beautiful," I said as we walkedunderneathit.
Harrison grinned as he unlockedthedoor.
He stood totheside.
I stepped into thefoyer.
The hardwood floors were beautiful. You could see clear into the back of the house. The built-in shelving and desk in the study matched the deep rich stain of the woodfloors.
