Page 53 of My One

“She left me her half of everything.”

“Oh.” Ms. Johnston exhaled, understanding. “Then everything comes full circle more or less. You inherit it all.”

Was it that simple? I couldn’t believe my father hadn’t updated his will to make sure I didn’t get a dime. Hell, I couldn’t believe he hadn’t changed his will the moment he wrote me off when I’d opened Halo with Easton. I’m sure he assumed he’d have a long life to live.

We all thought that until there wasn’t any time left.

After we left Ms. Johnston’s office, I drove Nic down Rodeo Drive. The coroner’s office had called and asked me if I’d decided what to do with my parents, which prompted us to head back to Santa Barbara right away and go to the funeral home. We picked out urns and called it a day.

How was this my life? I wanted to start having a family, not bury them.

“I’m going to wash the sheets,” Nicole stated, setting her purse on the kitchen island. Now that we knew the house was mine, Nic and I had checked out of the hotel and decided to stay in the place where my parents once lived. It still felt weird when we entered the lifeless house—probably because all the white gave it a hospital feel. “We can stay in one of the guest rooms since I don’t think you want to sleep in the same bed your parents did, right?”

I knew it was silly, but I really didn’t. It was weird enough being in a house that I knew my father would have never welcomed me into. “Yeah, I don’t want to.”

“Okay. I’ll be doing that.”

“All right. I’m going to … What the hell am I going to do?”

Nic wrapped her arms around me. “You can help me. Or maybe play bocce ball?”

“Bocce ball?”

“There’s a court in the backyard.”

“There is?”

“Yep.”

“Oh.” I paused, thinking. “Yeah, I’ll check it out.” It wasn’t that I didn’t want to help Nic with stripping the sheets from the beds—okay, maybe it was. I hadn’t been upstairs yet, and I wasn’t sure I was ready.

When I stepped into the backyard, I saw my mother—not her exactly, but her presence. Perfectly trimmed shrubs of dark pink azaleas lined the far end of the yard, and the little I remembered about my mother was that she loved azaleas. I remembered she had them in both the front and the backyard at the house in Ventura. Seeing the colorful bushes put me slightly at ease. I wouldn’t say I felt at home, but I didn’t feel as though I was trespassing anymore. My mother had wanted me. She’d actually wanted me, and my father didn’t.

Fuck. Him.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

Easton:How’s it going?

Instead of texting back, I decided to call him while I walked around the yard, enjoying the fresh air and the sun.

“Hey,” Easton answered.

“Hey. Figured I’d call and give you an update.”

“Cool. I’m just leaving Halo.”

“So, it’s still standing?”

“Of course it is.” I heard him chuckle on the other end, and I smiled. That joke never got old for me.

“Good. I’ll be back Monday.”

“Are you sure?”

I sat in a lounge chair by the pool. “Yeah. Doesn’t look like I’ll have to deal with probate now.”

“So, your dad didn’t have a will?”