Marcus closed the folder and adjusted his glasses. “That concludes the reading of the will, and your father’s wishes are now legally binding.”
Skylar shot her hand into the air as if she had just won a game of bingo. “Great, because I’ll start looking at management options for the Nashville property as soon as this week.”
She glanced at me one more time with a cruel glint in her eyes. “I hope you enjoy chopping firewood all by yourself, Riley.”
I wanted to tell her exactly where she could shove her real estate plans, but I grabbed my jacket and stood up instead. My years in the service had taught me when to fight and when it was smarter to simply walk away.
Walking away was definitely the better move in that moment. However, Skylar wasn’t done with her performance quite yet.
She followed me into the hallway where her high heels clicked against the hardwood floor like gunshots. “Don’t be mad, Riley, because it isn’t like you ever actually cared about this family anyway.”
“You were always off playing soldier while I was the one here taking care of things,” she sneered. I spun around to face her because I had reached my limit.
“You mean you were here taking care of yourself?” I asked. “Our father built this family, but you just spent your life taking advantage of his hard work.”
Her eyes narrowed into slits, but her smile never truly faded from her face. “And now I am the one who gets the reward, so enjoy your little shack in the woods.”
“Maybe you can use the side of the barn for target practice,” she added with a mocking laugh. I walked out the front door without saying another word to her.
My bags were already packed upstairs, but I wasn’t going back into that house while she was circling like a vulture. I decided I would come back for them later when the house was quiet.
The cold air of the evening slapped me in the face as I stepped onto the porch. It felt much better than sitting inside that suffocating house where my father’s memory was being carved into assets.
I stood there for a long minute listening to the muffled voices of the guests inside. Skylar’s loud laughter carried through the walls and echoed in the quiet street.
I thought about my father and the years he had served before I was even born. He knew what it meant to stand by your people and never leave a teammate behind.
Yet, here I was, feeling like I had been left behind by my own flesh and blood. I felt like unwanted baggage that nobody wanted to claim or acknowledge.
When my mother finally stepped out onto the porch, she wouldn’t look me in the eye. She wrapped her cardigan tighter around herself and said, “Skylar didn’t mean those things, Riley, because she is just under a lot of stress.”
