“Well, I’d better get packing,” he said in a clipped tone. “I’ve got to get out of your way.”
“Excuse me?”
He held out a sheath of documents. “Congratulations, your charm worked. Not twice, mind you. But at least you got the house from him plus whatever cash is left in his accounts.”
As his words spun around in her brain, Lizzie felt as if she were midway through a car accident. Everything slowed down and she braced herself for imminent impact. What she didn’t know was just how bad the injuries were going to be.
“What are you talking about?”
He pushed the papers at her. “Surely you’ve got your own copy of this?”
Putting her purse down on a box, she took what was in his hand. After she finished reading the will, she looked up in disbelief.
“I didn’t ask him to do this. I don’t want the house. Or the money.”#p#分页标题#e#
“Oh, really.” The smile that came at her was horrible. Just a baring of teeth. “You know, I have to give you credit. I mean, you had me, you really did.”
“Sean, I didn’t—”
“I’m sure you’re going to get a good price for this place. And soon, too. I’m almost finished here so you can put it on the market right away. Or keep it. Either way, you won’t have to worry about rent for a while and not just because some sap is letting you live here for free.”
“Why in the world do you think I’d—”
“I saw the checks.”
“What?”
“The ones you wrote to yourself and made him sign.”
Lizzie was momentarily speechless. But then she had plenty of things to say. “I beg your pardon. First of all, your father’s hands shook from the meds he was on and it was hard for him to write. Secondly, those checks were to me to reimburse what I spent on him . He was all but housebound because of his heart and the only way I could get him to let me do his errands was if he paid me up front. And we still fought about it all the time. He hated accepting help.”
“A plausible denial, but you have no way of proving to me where any of this cash went, do you? Unless you have receipts from the past year, which somehow I doubt you’re going to be able to produce. Bottom line? There’s a lot more gone from here than can be accounted for through food expenses and miscellaneous purchases. And though I’m sure you’re one hell of a cleaning lady, I don’t think a good dusting is that expensive.”
Lizzie shook her head and thought of all the prescriptions she’d filled and doctor’s office co-pays she’d covered and cardiac rehab visits she’d shelled out for. And that was just the tip of the iceberg for what treating his heart had required.
But she wasn’t going to justify herself. Sean wouldn’t believe anything she told him and she was so angry at him she was likely to fly off the handle.
“You don’t trust me at all, do you?” she said.
“Give me one reason, in the face of all this, that I should.”
“Wow. Yeah…that’s all I’ve got right now. Just…wow.” She picked up her purse and put the will on a box. “You can keep the house, Sean. I wouldn’t take it if you paid me to.”
“Uh-huh, right. A convenient show, but legally it’s already yours.”
“I never asked him for this. And I can’t believe you find it so easy to doubt me. But you know what? I’d rather know about your lack of faith sooner rather than later.” She turned to the door and stared at him over her shoulder. “I’ve been telling myself you’re just slow to trust, but I don’t think that’s actually true. I think you’re broken, Sean…on the inside. So this showdown between us was inevitable, and although it hurts like hell, I’m glad it’s out of the way. I’ll put your things out in the foyer in a couple of minutes. Don’t knock on my door again. Ever.”
***
Chapter Sixteen
Sean spent the night at the Four Seasons and returned to the duplex to let the church folks in the following morning. Lizzie was working another double shift so she wasn’t around. Which was good.
His father’s place was empty by 11:00 a.m. and he was on his plane going back to Manhattan not long thereafter.
During the flight, he got no work done. Made no phone calls. Ate nothing, drank nothing. He sat alone in the luxurious cabin and tried to convince his brain to shut up. It was a debate he lost. The refrain that he’d been taken as a fool again just kept hammering at him, making him feel stupid and as if he shouldn’t ever trust his instincts. God, he’d been so careful. For years. To be taken unawares again challenged his faith in himself.