Page 170 of The Billion Heirs Boxed Set
“What’s that? I will make it happen.”
She sets her small hand on my bicep. “You can’t make this happen. Only I can.”
I give her my best grin. I can definitely give her orgasms if that’s it. “Try me.”
She gives me a light swat. “I need to talk to my mom. I need to tell her about Joey.”
Shit. Right. Of course she does. I think so little of my own mother that I forget other people have one. One who understands love.
“Why did you go to your father first?” I ask. It’s not like they got along.
“You know why. Because I thought he might have information on Joey and what he was doing. Even if this Chubb guy turns out to be a dead end, I’m still glad I went. It’s always good to be reminded what an asshole the man is.”
“Baby…”
“You don’t forget stuff like that,” she continues, “but you romanticize certain things over the years. For example, I haven’t seen much of my father since I was eight, so I tend to focus on the good memories I have other than the bad. Or should I say, the one or two good memories as opposed to the dozens of bad ones.”
That’s where Sadie and I differ. I never met my father and I don’t have one romanticized memory about my mother. At all.
“Do you want to tell me about one of the good ones?” I ask, prodding her to open up, at least about the upbeat things.
Shaking her head, she steps back. “No. I don’t want to give my father any thought right now. I need to figure out how I’m going to tell my mom that her son is dead.”
He’s been missing for a few years. Sadie hasn’t heard from him and she didn’t mention that her mom had. “She probably already suspects it.”
“Well, of course, she does. We both did. But this is final, you know?”
I stroke her hair. That makes sense. “I’m not trying to belittle this. Forgive me when I don’t say the right thing. I don’t have a lot of experience with…”
Her head tips to the side as she looks up at me. Right now she looks so much smaller. Tiny. Fragile. “With what?”
“Well, with death, other than my father, who I didn’t even know. But I was thinking more along the lines of caring about another human being. My father didn’t give a shit. My mom was more interested in her latest man than me. I don’t really know what it’s like to be cared about. Or to care about someone in return. The way I care for you.”
Her cheeks flush a sweet pink. “Thank you. I care for you, too.”
“I’m glad to hear that. This is all so fucking new. And we’re coming together at a shitty time, but I sure wouldn’t change meeting you. Not for anything.”
She draws in a breath, attempts a smile. “Will you come with me again? To Billings, to see my mother?”
I’m tempted to ask her why we didn’t see her mother this morning when we were already in Billings, but I don’t. She had her reasons. Or maybe she didn’t think of it. Or maybe she did, but she needed a break. Whatever it is, I’m not going to throw it in her face.
“Of course. Don’t you want to call first?”
She shakes her head. “I really don’t. I’ll have to tell her why I’m coming or make some excuse. I don’t want to lie and I can’t tell her this over the phone. I just can’t.”
“I understand. What if she isn’t home?”
“She’ll be home. She’s a hairdresser, and she works six days a week. Sunday is the one day she closes her shop.”
“What if she’s out running errands?”
“If she has errands, she closes the shop for an hour or two or she does it in the evening after work. She’s pretty adamant about keeping her Sundays free.”
I nod. “Sounds like a woman who knows her priorities.”
“She’s not perfect,” Sadie says. “But she did her best and she doesn’t deserve the news I’m about to give her.”
“When do you want to leave?”
