Page 35 of Breakout (Walker University #3)

twenty-six

M y stomach rolls and my hands shake as we walk into the courthouse.

I know today should go smoothly and that no matter the outcome, I’ll be fine, but that doesn’t stop the nerves from consuming me.

I don’t know when it happened, but sometime between finding out about the inheritance and now, I’ve decided I want it.

I deserve to not worry about paying for my next semester of classes or worrying about if I’ve saved enough to get coffee more than once a day.

I deserve to spend time in the home my dad grew up in.

It’s my right to know about the people whose blood runs through my veins.

I want to know if I have my grandfather’s eyes or if I have my grandmother’s build.

I want to know them. I want to know everything I can, and that can’t happen unless the judge signs off on it today.

Matthias wanted me to have these things too, and that’s probably what eats at me the most. If I could just go back in time and sit down with him for five minutes, I would, but I can’t. That’s not how death works.

“It’s a little different in here today compared to the last time we were here,” Beckett murmurs, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“No wedding bells today.” I smile.

“You know, that was the best day of my life,” he says, making me roll my eyes.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“But you love me,” he quips.

Before I can say anything, Mr. Piper approaches.

“Good to see you two again. I hope married life is treating you well,” he says as he shakes our hands.

“Better than one would expect when going through all of this,” Beckett tells him as he tips his head toward the courtroom.

“All right, are you two ready to head inside?” he asks, looking between us.

“Let’s do this.”

“Now I want to warn you, Peyton, it’s going to get ugly. You’ll probably hear some things for the first time, but I need you to keep your emotions in check. If anyone’s going to have an outburst, we need it to be the opposing side,” he tells me.

“I’m good.”

He turns on his heel and walks into the courtroom, Beckett and I following behind him. We walk through the little swinging door and take a seat at the table. Mr. Piper is on my right and Beckett is on my left. Under the table, Beckett holds my hand, keeping me grounded.

My heart races so fast my head feels light. I almost feel like I’m going to pass out. I feel Beckett lean into my space, but I don’t turn toward him.

“Breathe,” he whispers into my ear.

I nod, unable to speak.

As I concentrate on my breathing, I hear shuffling behind us until suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I watch Janis and her lawyers sit down at their table. Part of me wants to look over at her to see if she’s really going to go through with this, but I already know she will.

It’s just my luck that when I find out I have a family, the one member I’ve met ends up crazier than hell.

It’s a shame we can’t be friends. For a second I wonder what it would be like if we got along.

If she wasn’t a money-grubbing bitch, would we have become close?

Would we have spent holidays together? Would I have the family I always dreamed of having?

Family isn’t always blood but the one you build.

I smile as I think about the girls and the guys. I didn’t set out to build a family, but I did, and I couldn’t have done it without the man next to me.

I look over at Beckett and see that he’s already looking at me. I want to tell him I love him, but this isn’t the time.

The next thing I know is we are all standing while the judge comes in.

It’s like I blink, and we’re going full steam ahead.

I hear Mr. Piper tell the judge why we are here, but the words go in one ear and out the other.

The next thing I know is Janis’s counsel is questioning the legitimacy of Matthias’s will.

The tears start to flow down my cheeks as they talk about how my father abandoned the family and took off because they didn’t approve of his wife. It reminds me so much of my own situation with Beckett that I can’t help but wonder if we are on the same path my parents were on.

No, even in the end they were madly in love with each other.

Her lawyer mentions how I grew up in foster care because none of them wanted to raise the little girl of the black sheep of the family. His words expertly slice open every insecurity I’ve ever had, leaving me feeling alone in a room full of people and numb.

When that blow isn’t enough, Gabe is mentioned. Apparently, my cousin made friends with him and paid him to ask me out. As much as it hurts to know his concern wasn’t genuine and that he had ulterior motives, it all makes sense. God, how could I be so blind? How did I not figure it out sooner?

When Mr. Piper stands up to speak, Beckett pulls me close, tucking me under his arm.

My husband of convenience once again being my life raft in these treacherous times.

“Judge, I understand why my opposing counsel feels this way, but at the end of the day, even before Matthias Anderson’s death, they knew they wouldn’t receive everything.

When his son, John, was alive, he was set to inherit the majority of the estate, leaving his sister, Janis’s mother, with a third of it.

After he left, it’s true, Mr. Anderson changed his will so his son’s portion would go to charity.

Never once was it changed to go to Janis or her mother.

Only after he learned about the existence of my client did he change his will again.

We have video testimony from the man himself recorded ten, five, and two years ago, reiterating that this is what he wanted.

My client never even met the man, so nothing nefarious happened on her end to make him change his mind.

All this is today, is a woman throwing a temper tantrum like a child over the fact she didn’t get what she wanted. ”

Her lawyer jumps up to protest, but the judge bangs his gavel.

“I’ve heard enough today. While I understand both sides, I have to go through the evidence presented today to decide the outcome. We will meet back here in one week’s time to decide who wins this case. That will be all.” The judge bangs his gavel and stands.

As he leaves the room, I can’t help but wonder what the hell just happened.

I shut the hotel room door behind me and sigh when she comes into view.

Ever since the judge decided to review everything, Peyton has been as quiet as a church mouse.

In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this quiet, and it’s driving me crazy.

At first when we left the courthouse, I didn’t know where to go.

My girl was drowning in her feelings, and I didn’t want to add to it.

I contemplated taking her back to one of our places, but I didn’t want to risk having to explain what was happening to our friends.

It’s not my story to tell, and she doesn’t need that kind of pressure right now.

For a split second I thought about driving up to the estate, but on the off chance Janis tried to get in, I decided that it wouldn’t be the best.

The only option I saw was bringing her to a hotel.

I have one credit card my father knows nothing about and had every plan to use it, but when I arrived and gave my name, I was in for a surprise.

The front desk associate said no payment was necessary as I had a business account on file.

Father must have forgotten to take me off of it.

As fucked up as it is, I went with it. The presidential suite is more than we need, but I’ll take it tonight.

Anything to give my girl a moment of peace to gather her thoughts and feelings.

I set the ice bucket down and grab a glass. Carefully, I make her a drink before I walk over to her.

“Here, baby, drink this,” I say as I kneel in front of her.

Her hand shakes as she takes the glass from me. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Do you need anything else?”

She shakes her head and looks down at the drink. “Just you.”

“You have me.” I stand and pull her out of the chair.

Quickly I sit down and pull her into my lap. Peyton curls into my arms and stares out the window. I stay silent as I hold her, giving her time. Every time one of our phones vibrates, I ignore it. She gets all of my attention right now.

Peyton is all that matters.

I don’t know how much time has passed when she finally speaks.

“I don’t know if I’m going to win.”

“You will. Matthias made his feelings widely known. The judge can’t look away from that.”

A hysterical laugh bursts out of her. “I’m rich. Or I will be.”

I can’t help but laugh. “I’m glad one of us is, since my dad cut me off.”

She turns in my lap, her face full of confusion. “Wait, what?”

“Yeah, he gave me an ultimatum: leave you or be cut off.”

“And you chose me?”

“Baby, haven’t you realized I’ll choose you every time?”

Panic crosses her face. “Beckett…”

“No, don’t say anything, okay? Let’s just leave it be for now. Let’s concentrate on you.”

She bites her lower lip and nods. “Okay, but are you okay?”

“I’m good.”

“I feel like you’ve lost everything because of me, though.”

“Nah, that’s not true.” I sigh as I choose my words carefully.

“My dad had my whole life planned out and never consulted me. He wanted me to do things that I never wanted or, hell, was comfortable with. He never cared about what I wanted, and over time the pressure has built. I couldn’t take it anymore and finally said no.

He cut me off in hopes I would come to heel, but that’s not going to happen. ”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Peyton, between work, school, and this court case, you’ve been a little busy. You had enough on your plate. I didn’t need to burden you with my bullshit.”

“I thought we were a team,” she says softly.

I squeeze her tight. “We are a team.”

Her eyes search mine. “If we are a team, you can’t hide these kinds of things from me. I need to know. I hate secrets, Beck.”

I raise a brow, and she rolls her eyes as she adds, “I hate secrets between us. I feel like you’re the only person I’m honest with nowadays, and it’s starting to really wear on me.”

“We could always tell everyone the truth,” I remind her.

“We could, but I’m not ready. Besides, I don’t know if they would believe us if we told them.”

“Why not?”

She shrugs her shoulders but doesn’t explain.

Annoyance rolls through me, but I tamp it down. I’m sick of her insisting we hide our relationship from our friends, but this isn’t the time to push. She’s had a hard day, and the last thing she needs is me making it any worse.

“Okay. So, what are you going to do with the estate? Are you going to keep Jeeves on?”

“We might not win,” she reminds me.

“Screw that. Let’s dream as if we do. Tell me.”

Her nose crinkles as she relaxes back in my arms. “I think so. At least for now. It’s kind of nice knowing that someone is there taking care of the place when I can’t be.”

“True, and he seems like a good guy.”

The corners of her lips tip up. “He sent me a text the other day asking if I had any preference when it came to landscaping flowers. I guess he was getting ready to meet with the gardener and wanted to make sure I would be happy with what he chose.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him to do whatever he wanted. Honestly, that’s too much money for my blood,” she says, making me laugh.

I can just imagine her now, this time next year, sitting down with a landscaper, trying to decide what she wants the garden to look like. The image is so unlike her that it’s funny.

“I’m glad that you find it so amusing,” she says with humor in her voice.

“I’m sorry, I just can’t picture you doing that kind of shit.”

“Because it’s not normal.”

“Oh, trust me, it’s normal for rich people. My mom does it every year, and I’ve never understood it.”

“That’s insane.”

“It is. It really is. Seriously, though, are you going to spend the summer at the estate?”

“I don’t know. I probably should. I honestly haven’t thought about it.”

“You don’t have to work as hard as you usually do anymore either.”

She sighs. “That’s going to take some getting used to, that’s for sure.”

“You’ll be fine.”

“I know.” She takes a deep breath. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

I kiss the side of her head. “It’s nice of you to say that, but that’s not true. Where there is a will, there is a way.”

“Don’t downplay the role you play in my life, Beck. You’re the hero in my story, and you should own it.”

As nice as it is being her hero, I want to be more. Now that this is all over, I just have to figure out a way to convince her that this shouldn’t end.

This was never fake. At least for me. The question is, does my wife feel that way too?I know she’s said she loves me while intoxicated, but did she mean it? Because she sure hasn’t said it again, and it’s killing me.