Bound To Be Dead: Cozy Mystery Bookshop Series Book 3 Tamra Baumann (new books to read txt) 📖

“Hello to you too,” I whisper as I close the door. So much for polite conversation before he drops the ax.

After joining him in the living room, I flop into a saggy old side chair. “What brings you by?”

“Really, Sawyer?” He crosses his big arms. “The trust. Obviously.”

I draw a deep breath for courage. “Something has changed there, actually. Brittany has gone back to live with her mom. So now we can go back to the way things were. All settled.”

“Good try.” An evil grin lights his face. “But not happening. Your mom broke the rules. Claiming to be absentminded won’t get her out of yet another mistake.”

Rage clenches my fists. “Mom was sick when she adopted Brittany. Maybe she wasn’t thinking clearly because of chemo. Have you considered that?”

“Doesn’t matter.” He shakes his head. “Your mother never cared to follow the rules, so now she’ll pay the price. Or, rather, you will.”

I stand to pace. I have to do something with all my pent-up anger. “You’ve always had control of most of Mom’s assets, barring what little she was allowed to use. Why not leave things as they are? It’s what your parents wanted.”

Frank shakes his head. “Stop with the sympathy plea. You lost. I won. Gage knows that, or he wouldn’t be trying to settle things before our court date next week.”

“So then why are you here talking to me? Talk to Gage.” You heartless jerk. “Have a good night.” I hold out my hand in invitation for him to leave.

He doesn’t budge.

“It’s not that simple, Sawyer. Calm down and take a seat. We’ll go over things.”

Refusing to be bullied, I continue to stand. “What things?” He’s up to something, or he would’ve sorted it all out with Gage.

He slides a check onto the coffee table. “I’m prepared to offer you this cash settlement today if you’ll leave town immediately. But in return, I’d need to postdate the trust paperwork changes until next year. For tax purposes.”

I see right through this charade. He wants time to officially separate from my aunt before he inherits half the trust. That way, he won’t have to share. And if I’m gone from Sunset Cove, he thinks Aunt Carol won’t find out I lost my share of the trust. “Not interested. I’m sure Gage has made you a fair offer.”

My uncle’s face turns three shades of red. “Fine. I’ll make it enough to cover the brat’s college too, if that’s what it’ll take.” He pulls out his checkbook and scribbles out another check. He drops it next to the other one on the table. “Brittany going to college was what you were most concerned about, right?”

“Not only that.” I’m tempted to look, but I ignore the checks. “Preserving my mother’s legacy is right up there too.”

Uncle Frank grunts. “You mean this run-down house and the failing bookstore she left you? That legacy?” Sarcasm drips from his lips. “The other properties assigned to her are ones I’ve managed all these years, or they’d be in shambles too.”

Now I’m mad again. “You never showed her any respect. Mom was nothing but kind and good to everyone, even you. Instead of being grateful for receiving so much more than she did, you honestly think it should all belong to you? How can you be so incredibly selfish?” There. Finally, I said it. I wish it made me feel better instead of just sick to my stomach.

My uncle raises a brow. “My parents set up the trust, with the clause your mother broke, for good reasons, Sawyer. They sat her down and carefully explained that if it weren’t for you and Meg, they would have left her nothing. I bet she never told you that part, did she?”

Nope. Never heard that—probably another lie.

I’m seriously tempted to hit him. Instead, I say, “Get out of my house. Now!”

My uncle’s jaw clenches. “You mean, my house.” He stands and towers over me. “The offer is only good until tomorrow at this time. And if you turn it down, I’ll keep you in court so long, anything you would have gotten from the trust will all go to the lawyers. Sign these before you cash the checks.” He slaps a bundle of legal papers on the table before storming out of the room.

The sharp slam of the front door reverberates through my chest like a gunshot. Or maybe that’s just my heart breaking. Could it be true about my grandparents? Or did my uncle make that up to hurt me?

I drop onto the couch and hold my head in my hands. If I refuse his bribe money and he keeps me in court, he’d still win because the transfer of assets wouldn’t happen until later anyway. He’d lose a little more because he’d assume correctly that I’d tell my Aunt Carol, but she’d still have no right to any of my mom’s shares if he got them after they’re divorced. It’s pretty much lose-lose for me and win-win for him. I’ll have to text Gage and tell him what happened tonight to see what he thinks.

My eyes slowly open, but I quickly shut them again. I don’t want to look at the checks on the coffee table. They might tempt me to take the money and run. And unlike the last time, I don’t want to run. I want to stay in Sunset Cove. That’s the only thing I’m sure of these days.

When a hand drops on my shoulder, I nearly jump out of my skin. I lift my head, relieved it’s a friendly face. “Hi, Dad.”

“Hi, Jellybean. I heard some of that but didn’t want to interrupt.” He sits next to me.

“Was it true what he said about grandma and grandpa?”

“Yes. And no.” Dad lets out a long sigh and grips my hand. “Your mother and I wouldn’t ever have let you go hungry, although that’s what your grandparents claimed to fear. What