Heirly Ever After, Vernon, Magan [best thriller novels to read .txt] 📗

help us out, but to get us back on our feet.

Natalie was doing one hell of a service with Webley and the town. Could she and the Webleys do the same for us?

“I couldn’t do anything without talking to my great-grandfather.” I tried to keep my voice even, but my hand shook as I reached into my pocket.

Instead of feeling the cool metal of my device, something soft and squishy ran across my fingertips. I pulled out the item, and my entire body stiffened as the pink velvet hairband stared back at me.

Are we like boyfriend and girlfriend now and you’ll wear my scrunchie on your wrist?

Madison.

I had no idea how the hell that had got there. But my throat and chest seized up as my fingers ran over the soft material.

If Great-Grandfather agreed to this…

If…I agreed to all of this…

It would change everything.

It would go against everything I’d been taught and originally came here for.

But it would also take care of Madison’s family.

My family.

I had to bloody do it.

“Can I put my great-grandfather on speaker phone?”

Rodrick smiled. “Absolutely.”

Swallowing hard, I pulled my phone out of my pocket, keeping my fingers from shaking as I dialed his number. The first ring set my heart thudding wildly in my chest, and by the time his nurse’s voice came over the speakers, every organ had dropped down to my stomach.

“Hi, hello. This is Jacob, Lachlan’s great-grandson. Is he available to talk?”

“He is, but before you speak to him, I don’t know if anyone has told ye about his condition.”

I closed my eyes and slowly opened them as I let a breath out of my nose. That familiar pain was back in my chest. He was near the end; she didn’t have to tell me. This could be my last chance to talk to him and make everything right.

“Ah, I know he’s not doing well. Even if you could just hold up the phone to his ear, I’d like to say a few words.”

“Right away.”

“Lachlan, it’s your great-grandson, Jacob,” the nurse said with a muffled response barely audible before a static rang through the phone.

I didn’t look up at the solicitor across from me as I gripped the phone tighter. “Great-Grandfather, hi, how are you doing?”

His voice was barely a whisper, and I couldn’t make out more than a “fine.”

Tears pricked at my eyes, and I wasn’t a crier. I also wasn’t about to do that in front of the solicitor, but I had to make this conversation count.

“Great-Grandpa, I know you sent me here on your behalf to reclaim our legacy, to see what we could get back from the Webley family. But the more I’ve gotten to know them, the more I think the best way for them to help us is for the Webley family to help manage the manor.”

He wheezed, the word “what” and a few curses coming out in a garbled mess.

I winced, trying to control my breathing. “I know it seems like a cruel joke. But I’m with the family solicitor now and done everything I can here. If we don’t want to lose everything, this is the best option, and I want your blessing to go forward.”

Silence.

I waited a few more beats before speaking again, the sinking feeling in the pit of my gut. “Great-Grandpa, I love you. I know you’ve been waiting to know we’re all going to be okay. And we will be if we do this. The manor will be restored to its former glory by the Lady of Webley, who is an experienced historian, and eventually we can get back to what we once were. This is the only way I can see to preserve our legacy. I…I need to know this is okay.”

More silence.

“Great-Grandpa?”

“You do what’s best for the family.”

For the first time his words were loud and clear. But if only I knew what was best for the family and if I was making the right decision.

“What does that mean?” I begged, trying to keep my voice low so that the solicitor, pretending not to listen, wouldn’t hear.

Silence.

My shoulders shook as dread crept through my body, my throat seizing up.

“Great-Grandfather?” I croaked.

“I love you, Lachlan. You will do what’s right.”

My stomach rolled as I tried to tamp down the heavy beating in my chest. Before I could even think of a reply, the nurse was back on the phone.

“Your great-grandfather is tired now. He needs to rest for a bit.”

I took in a deep breath, trying to still my shaking shoulders. “Ah, I understand.”

But I didn’t.

I was every more confused than when I first arrived at the manor.

Those might have been the last words I ever spoke to Great-Grandfather, and I had no fucking clue what any of it meant.

“So…” Rodrick interrupted my thoughts.

I turned toward the man with his hands folded on the desk, a stack of papers in front of him. “What’s the verdict?”

…

After settling things with Rodrick, I’d returned to the inn and charged the last available room on my credit card, probably maxing it out. I should’ve gone home and talked things with my family, but I wasn’t ready to leave yet.

Hell, I didn’t know if I could.

The wedding day was fast approaching. My great-grandfather was being read his last rites possibly as I lay, tossing and turning in bed and still trying to figure out the next move. But through all of the fog, my thoughts kept turning to Madison.

Even when I blessedly got brief moments of sleep, she was there in my dreams. I’d wake up sweating, my chest pounding as I envisioned her face when I left. The complete and utter shock and disappointment.

Wasn’t the first time I’d left a woman after a romp between the sheets, but with her it was different.

I’d never felt that way with another person.

Never felt like I couldn’t go on without making sure they were all right, whether they were happy and illuminating the world with their smile. Never felt like I had to personally care for