Jack grabbed his briefcase and then another box by his feet. “Since you’re all here, I have some good news to share with you.” He set the box on the coffee table. “This is all of Marlena’s letters to Mortimer, as well as some of Mortimer’s that were returned back to him in the mail.”
My grandmother put a hand to her mouth, staring down at the box. “All my mother’s letters?”
Jack smiled. “All of them.”
“We get to keep them?”
“They’re yours to keep, along with all the other letters in your possession.”
My grandmother picked up the box and set it on her lap. Tears filled her eyes as she picked out one of Marlena’s letters.
I didn’t think I could fall any deeper in love with Lucas than I already was, but that gesture just about did it for me.
Jack took some paperwork from his briefcase and set it on the table in front of my grandmother. “William Freeman is signing the deed to the estate over to you three. It will be yours as soon as you sign it. Lucas Freeman will be taking care of property taxes and repair costs.”
His words stole the breath from my lungs. “What?”
“He’s giving us the estate?” Lainey asked.
Jack nodded, but he didn’t look all that happy about it. “He is.”
Lainey looked about ready to burst at the seams with excitement, but my grandmother put a hand on her leg and shook her head. Lainey sat still.
My grandmother set the box to the floor. “The last time William Freeman was in this house, he wasn’t even happy with us staying here for a short time. Now he’s just handing over his estate and letting us keep letters he was willing to shell out $500,000 for?”
Jack’s face was near expressionless. “That is correct.”
My grandmother folded her hands in her lap, her face just as solemn.
What was she doing?
“What happened to make him change his mind?”
Jack leaned back in the chair, his finger tapping under his chin as if thinking of how to word what he was going to say carefully. “As counsel to the Freemans, I can’t discuss how the arrangements came to pass.” Jack looked over at me. “But I will say there were somesacrificesmade for this to happen.”
Heat seared through my chest. “Lucas gave me up so we could have this house?”
Jack didn’t answer, but by the look in his eyes, I already knew.
I stood up and looked down at my grandmother and Lainey. “You can do what you want, but I’m not signing that.” I stormed out the front door, slamming it behind me. My head was spinning and my hands shaking. I clutched the porch railing, trying to find my breath in the humid air.
The door opened. My grandmother came out and leaned against the post. “If you could have him back, would you be willing to give up your home?”
“I would never ask that of you and Lainey. I know what this place means to you.”
“And toyou. But that’s not what I asked.”
“If it was just my home, yes. I would.”
“Then we won’t sign either.”
I turned to her. “What?”
She fiddled with the ends of my hair and patted my cheek. “I suppose there is a Reed woman who is marriage material after all.”
I shook my head. “Mortimer never came back, and he loved Marlena. What if Lucas doesn’t come back and we lose everything?”
“He’ll be back, I can promise you that. He sacrificed for you, now you’re sacrificing something for him. He’ll understand what that means.” She tilted her head back and let out a sigh. “What I can’t promise is what his message will be. I have no doubt that man loves you, but you both have a lot of obstacles to overcome. He’s caught between two worlds, and he’ll need to figure out which one he wants.”
