Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57726 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57726 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
She rolled her eyes as she closed her laptop and stowed it away. Hopefully, Mandy would have something to say to Lorraine. She’d have to deal with her when she got back. Lorraine was going to be pissed when her deception and attempts to prove Winnie had not fulfilled her professional responsibilities flopped. Pushing that out of her mind, she focused on the tasks at hand.
Not bothering with makeup, she headed out in the garage for her car and discovered the remote control attached to her rearview mirror and a house key. She smiled at Scythe’s efforts to care for her. A couple of minutes later, she realized she was daydreaming about how swoon-worthy her boyfriend was.
Daddy. She corrected herself. Scythe would be proud of her.
Her first stop that morning was at the small chapel her mother had chosen for a cozy service. She’d already talked to the minister but wanted to take over a printed sheet with a few facts about her mother so he could personalize her memorial service on Friday.
With that finished, she drove to her mother’s house. All the lights were on at ten o’clock in the morning. Wondering what was going on, Winnie let herself into the house, finding chaos. Cabinets stood open with items falling out of them. Someone had tossed everything from clothing to potholders across the carpet. The contents of boxes spilled over on the sofa cushions and coffee table. Had someone broken in?
“Belinda? Are you here?” she frantically called from the doorway.
Her stepsister appeared in the living room. Her hair was frazzled and dark circles were under her eyes. Winnie knew immediately she hadn’t slept well.
“Are you okay?” Winnie asked, walking close. “Did someone rob us?”
“Are you kidding? There’s nothing here to steal. Just a lot of pictures, mementos, and crap,” Belinda spat.
“You did this?”
“Parents are supposed to leave you a ton of money, right? I can’t find where my dad or your mom stashed anything! All that’s here is the money from the guns.”
“I have the will here. We’ve gone over it before,” Winnie told her, waving the folder her mother had put together before she got too ill to move around.
“They had to have some investments or a nest egg to fall back on. Are you hiding something from me?” Belinda accused.
A shiver of fear ran down her spine. Belinda was out of control. “No, Belinda. We can sit down and go over their assets. Your dad’s life insurance went to fix the car of the person they hit in the accident. Mom only had this house left. We’ll have to sell it to pay off the loan.”
“What happens to the money leftover from the sale of the house?” Belinda demanded.
“We’ll have to use any extra to pay for the funeral and mom’s last expenses. Whatever is left, we’re supposed to split,” Winnie told her.
“What do we do with this junk?” Belinda asked, pointing to the many boxes she’d dumped.
“Keep what’s important to each of us and get rid of the rest. We could have an estate sale. Someone might like the furniture,” Winnie said.
“I want all of that. What are you going to do, throw me out in the street with nothing?”
“Of course not. Belinda, have you had any sleep? Everything will seem better after you rest. These are decisions we’ll have to make after the will is settled and we have time to figure out what we want to do. None of this goes quickly. I promise we’ll talk every step of the way.”
Belinda stopped frantically looking around. Her shoulders dropped into a less tense position. “You promise?”
“Of course. We’re sisters,” Winnie stressed. “Mom loved you. We won’t get much after all the medical bills and her final arrangements are paid, but whatever happens, we’ll do this together.”
“Okay,” Belinda said and exhaled heavily. “I came home, and you were gone. The house was dark and abandoned.”
“I’m sorry. I’m going to stay with Scythe…. Hopefully forever.”
“The motorcycle guy? He’s handsome, but really? A biker and a second-grade teacher? How’s that going to look?”
Winnie hesitated for a minute, searching her heart. “I don’t care what anyone thinks of our relationship. I care about how it feels.”
Belinda seemed to consider her answer before commenting, “Maybe I need to spend some time at Inferno. That dress seemed to work magic for you.”
“I got lucky, Belinda. But it’s a fun place.” Winnie smiled at her and added, “It’s going to be a big change for both of us, Belinda.”
Her stepsister sighed dramatically, cluing Winnie in that she’d solved the conflict for now. More sparks would fly in the future, but hopefully, they could resolve those as well.
“I know,” Belinda said sadly. “We’re the only ones left now.”
“But that’s the good part. We still have each other,” Winnie said with a smile and walked forward to hug Belinda.