Beyond Eighteen(48)

Max pulled me back into his chest and nestled his head next to my ear as he folded his arms across my stomach. The lawyer never stopped talking, he just kept rambling phrases that danced around my head with every couple of them making sense to me. I couldn’t say a word. It was like my throat sealed shut and my mind wasn’t going to allow any thought to escape.

“Miss Mooney, are you there?” Dax Fuller asked, giving an ample pause for me to answer him.

“Yeah, I am,” I whispered.

“Good, now, I’ve made an appointment for you at 2:30 on the 31st in my office. You must be there. I will give you a chance to ask any questions you have and enough time for you to sign the deed and get it recorded in your name. Make sure you bring the original signed copy of the quick claim to the house, and your photo ID.”

Again, silence became a force between us. I just didn’t know what to say to him. He had no idea I wasn’t even in California.

“Listen, Miss Mooney, I know this whole process has been overwhelming to you; but you must be here in my office on the 31st at 2:30 p.m. You don’t want the house to go into probate. You’d lose everything your grandparents saved for their whole lives,” Dax Fuller’s tone dripped with condescension.

My stomach twisted with every word I wanted to yell at him. My voice conveniently clung to the ledge in the back of my throat, and my palms perspired so profusely that the phone began to slip out of my hand.

“Tell him you’ll be there,” Max whispered across my ear as he held his hand across the mouthpiece on the phone.

“How?” I beseeched him.

“Don’t worry. Just tell him you’ll see him Friday at 2:30,” he came back as he cleared my hair away from my shoulders and began to press and knead his strong thumbs into the muscles across my neck. His fingers found the knots of stress wreaking havoc, and mercifully, I could feel the tension begin to drain away.

I cleared my throat and told Mr. Fuller, “I’ll be in your office Friday at 2:30.”

“Great, let’s take care of this once and for all.” Dax Fuller’s voice was lighter now. “See you Friday.”

I didn’t bother saying good-bye. I was too preoccupied with how we were going to get back to California without it costing an arm and a leg.

“Damn, Wilson, you are so tense,” Max mumbled as he continued to massage my shoulders. I lowered my head, dropping my chin to my chest, and welcomed the lengthy pull down my neck and into my spine.

“Max, I don’t even know what the deed looks like. I don’t have any clue where it could even be.”

“Well, maybe it’s in your room, at Wesley. In that folder you took from your grandparents’ house?”

“Besides, Max, it’s going to be too expensive to change our tickets last minute.”

“Don’t worry about it, babe. I’ll make sure we get to California tomorrow. That way we’ll have plenty of time to look for the deed. If we don’t find in your room at school, we’ll head up to your grandparents’ house and look there. We will find the papers you need in time for the appointment on Friday.”

“I just don’t think—”

“Wilson, I’ve got access to the company’s jet. I’ll call GP and order a car for tomorrow morning and make sure the plane is fueled and ready to go. That will save a bunch of time.” Max pushed me off the bed and turned me around.

I slowly looked up at him. “You sure?”

“Please don’t worry. I will take care of it,” he said as he kissed my forehead, then tip of my nose, and finally my lips. I love it when he does that.

“Maybe you should call Joanie and tell her what we’re doing,” Max said as he drew his hands around my back and pulled me closer.

“Yeah, I probably should,” I answered as I dropped my head against his chest. “But for right now, I just want one more minute in your arms,” I said.

Thoughts of our limo ride when we first arrived in Aspen started flooding my mind—how sexy he made me feel and how happy I was to be celebrating my birthday with him, how his eyes traced every inch of my body while his hands followed suit. I thought about the tug of my hair under my shoulders once he lowered my body against the leather seat. How my hips swayed automatically against his hot, wicked tongue as he tempted and tickled me into euphoria.

Then, just as fast, like a switch had suddenly been flipped in my head, the memory of Frank and Nancy blasted across my thoughts. The moment Frank and Nancy talked to Max about bringing me here in Ol’ Tweety. The enduring memory and the looks on their faces were locked forever in my mind as recollections were embroiled on my spirit. My heart thundered in my chest as my stomach somersaulted a couple of times.