Page 87 of Mountain Grump
I really don’t know why they’re all so rotten.
I know every family has its drama. But this group… I don’t think they’ve ever been happy in their life.
Have I ever been happy?
That weight gets heavier, and I finally release my hold of the seat belt to rub at my sternum.
Maybe I haven’t beenhappy, but living on my own for the last decade has definitely been better than living with any of them.
And maybe I’m just not happyyet. But…
I flex my fingers against Ethan’s. I look out the window at the endless beauty below me. I think about my new home and my ribbon and my duck…
I’m going to be happy.
Soon.
“And your cousin?” Ethan’s reminder cuts through my optimism.
“My cousin is a toad.”
Ethan makes a choking sound that almost makes me smile.
“Ralph, my cousin, apparently heard our moms talking about how Grandma’s health wasn’t doing well. And when I was stepping out of the bathroom, he cornered me and told me that he’d kill me if I tried to take what was his.” I shake my head as I say it. It’s true. “I don’t know why he would even think Grandma would leave me anything. I mean, maybe she has some savings stashed away. But I’m pretty sure she’d give it to her weirdo cult friends before she’d give it to anyone in the family. She certainly wouldn’t give it to me.”
“Do they think she has more money than Jack?”
A laugh bubbles out of me. “For sure. None of them have talked to Uncle Jack for probably a decade. Last time I saw him was like four years ago, when he passed through town and took me to lunch. If they ever find out he left me twenty grand, they’ll flip out.”
I didn’t mean to say how much money Uncle Jack left me. But when I glance over, Ethan doesn’t look shocked, so maybe he knew Jack had money.
I clear my throat. “Anyway, this thing you’re bringing me to is the reading of Uncle Jack’s will. And I’m assuming everyone will be there, because they’re a bunch of greedy greed bags. I really hope the will doesn’t say anything about the check. It’s gonna be bad enough when they find out he left me a house. And a truck. And land. I’m also hoping the will doesn’t list out the address, but they’re greedy, not stupid. So I’m sure they’ll find a way to figure it out.” My insides sour at the idea that any of them might show up at my new house. “I know Uncle Jack didn’t live in Lonely all year. So maybe today has something to do with that? Or maybe that place was a rental. Whatever it was, I know he wouldn’t give it to any of them.” I look at Ethan and ask him because I don’t have anyone else to ask. “Do you know where he went when he wasn’t in the mountains?”
“I don’t. He never said.”
“Oh.”
“Do you know for sure that your family will be there today?”
I shake my head. “Not for sure. But pretty much everyone, except my dad and a few other cousins, lives in Vegas. I lived there my whole life too. Until now.”
Ethan makes a humming sound. “If everything is already in your name, do you really have to go?”
It’s a fair question. “Legally, I don’t know if it matters. But Uncle Jack left me a letter specifically asking me to. And he knows I hate all these people as much as he did, so I’m assuming there’s a good reason.”
When Ethan doesn’t reply, I look over at him.
After a moment he speaks. “You’ll point outRalphto me.”
The way he says my cousin’s name lightens some of the earlier heaviness.
I nod. “Promise. I mean, I hope they don’t follow me back to the airport. But if they do, he’s the smarmy-looking one a couple years older than me.”
“No one is following you back to the plane, Tilda. I’m going with you to the lawyer’s office.”
“Oh, you don’t have to?—”
“I was hired to fly you and drive you.”
