“Okay,” I said. “And presumably she’s already told Chad she’s a bigamist?”
“Yes,” said Callahan. “You know Missy. She doesn’t believe in secrets in a marriage.”
“I’m sure her two husbands will be delighted to hear that,” I said. “Okay, um… you know, usually I know where to start, but I got nothing. I guess I’ll go look up the legislation and call Chad’s lawyer.”
“It’s a Class 4 felony,” Callahan said. “Title 18.2, Section 362. I looked it up after she called.” He winked. “Good luck!”
I couldn’t help the groan that escaped me, and Callahan laughed again. “Just look at what you’d be missing out on if you’d taken that fancy city job!”
What a start to the day. And I didn’t even have a coffee because Marty already drank it.
But Callahan was right. I’d have missed out on so much if I’d taken the job with Winston, Baker and Fisk. And it wasn’t Missy Thurston-Wallace and her tuxedo-wearing pug I pictured when I thought of it. It was Danny, and Goose Run, and getting the opportunity to follow my gut and choose the right things.
CHAPTER 17
DANNY
THREE WEEKS LATER
Holy shit.
Who knew that Harlan had so muchstuff? Once Helen got him a place in the memory unit at Sunny Fields, it took us three weekends to get all the junk cleared out. And most of it was literal junk. I felt bad for not noticing earlier, but Harlan always kept himself, and his yard, so clean, how were we to guess the inside of the house was a dump? I wasn’t the only one feeling guilty. Helen had to take a break more than once to go outside and cry. It was pretty rough going, but now we finally had the place empty, I could tell it was a huge weight off Helen’s mind.
“I couldn’t have done it without you boys,” she said as she stepped back to give the twins room to carry another box outside to Wilder’s truck. “I mean that literally. I wouldn’t have known where to begin.”
“See, our place is always pretty messy, so we know how to deal with it,” I said, hoping to coax a smile out of her. We both knew there was a hell of a difference between messy and hoarding.
Miller lugged a trash bag outside, and Wilder held the door for him and then came in. Wilder was having the easiest time ofthings despite the fact he’d worked most of last night and was operating on about three hours of sleep. He was used to physical labor. The rest of us? Not so much. Hell, even Miller was doing better than the twins and me because he went to the gym. But we’d given it our all this weekend in an effort to get it done. Not because we were saints or anything but because we wanted our weekends back.
I definitely wanted my weekends back. What was the point of having a brand-new hot lawyer boyfriend when you spent most of your time together moving stacks of old magazines and junk? That said, Miller lifting heavy shit in a tank top sure did make me feel some kind of way, so it wasn’t all bad. Especially not when he stayed the night afterward and I got to show him just how much I appreciated him pitching in to help.
“Are you still going to sell the place?” I asked Helen.
She sighed. “I think we’ll have to, to pay for Dad’s care.”
Yeah, that shit was expensive. I was lucky Grandma hadn’t had to sell when she moved to Sunny Fields, and I was guessing that the memory care unit was even more expensive than the regular rooms where the residents could still look after themselves.
“Well, let us know,” I said. “We’ll keep the lawn mowed so you don’t have to drive all this way to do it, so that it looks okay for buyers.”
“Honey, I’ve seen your yard,” Helen said.
I grabbed my chest. “Helen, that’s harsh!”
“Harsh but fair!” Wilder called from the living room.
Helen laughed. “No, I’d appreciate it.”
“I mean, it won’t be as nice as Harlan kept it,” I said, “but at least it won’t look like the place has been abandoned.”
She squeezed my shoulder. “Thank you, Danny.”
Wilder ducked outside and Miller came back in.
Helen reached into the back pocket of her jeans. “This is for you.”
She held out a small folded piece of paper, and I took it. I opened it and blinked down at it. It was a check. “Shit. I can’t?—”
“Danny, I talked to a friend who knows a little bit about the law, and she told me what that lawsuit could have cost Dad.” Helen shook her head. “And I know this is nothing close to that, but I hope that you take it. For the tree and for the help you boys have given me this past month.”
