* * * * *
To Robin’s relief, the rest of the household accepted Wade’s explanation for why she passed out. A timely remark by Reece about a recent baseball game he’d watched sent the conversation at the breakfast table in a safer direction. For the third time in less than twenty-four hours, she had a reason to be grateful to him. It wasn’t the most comfortable position to be in. No one likes to feel indebted to someone they don’t care for.
After the meal, Maxine offered to give Robin a tour of the house. Wade tagged along, but it was obvious he didn’t find either the history or the furnishings of his mother’s home interesting. A call from his assistant gave him a reason to bail, and he took it. At first Robin was nervous about being left alone with Maxine, but that didn’t last once the two women discovered a mutual love of antiques.
When they returned to the main floor, it was to find Reece and his father on the point of leaving to play a round of golf. Robin wasn’t sorry to see one of them go. The morning’s events had left her confused about Reece. Instead of making fun of her fear, he’d tried to put her at ease. When he had the opportunity to rat her out, he’d remained silent. But what really stuck in her mind was how quickly and accurately he’d picked up on something Wade had failed to notice.
Later that evening when she related the highlights of the Savannah trip to Kait, she left out the embarrassing incident on the dock. That decision wasn’t solely to escape the inevitable ‘I told you so’. Robin also wanted to avoid discussing Reece’s role in it. Wasn’t there a saying about ‘least said, soonest mended’?
Chapter Six
It had been an unusually busy Friday afternoon at Truly Scrumptious, something Robin attributed to the upcoming Easter holiday. She was in the kitchen piping lemon ricotta frosting onto carrot cake cupcakes when Kait stepped through the door.
“There’s a phone call for you. It’s an attorney’s office. The secretary said it’s urgent.”
Robin straightened. “What could possibly be urgent?”
“Maybe someone left you a fortune.” Kait held out her hand. “Give me that icing. I’ll finish the cupcakes. Go see what they want. You hear stories about long lost relatives being found all the time. Wouldn’t it be cool if you turned out to be the granddaughter of someone famous?”
Robin laughed as she surrendered the pastry bag and walked over to the sink to wash her hands. “It would depend on who they are.”
Kait snorted. “You have no imagination at all.”
Robin walked into the tiny office and picked up the phone. “This is Robin Parker.”
“Hello, Robin. This is Michael Loring. I’m an attorney in Arcadia. I’m afraid I have some bad news. Piper and Daniel Newberry were killed in a car accident on Tuesday evening. We’re not sure how it happened, but apparently they ran off the road and hit a tree.”
As his words sank in, Robin felt her legs start to buckle. She collapsed into the chair behind the desk. She wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn’t come. How could Piper and Daniel be gone? She’d talked to Piper only last Sunday, teasing her about getting closer to thirty. Her thoughts stopped as she realized who the attorney hadn’t mentioned.
“What about Owen?” she blurted out, interrupting the man mid-sentence. “Is he…?” She couldn’t bring herself to finish.
“Owen is fine. He wasn’t with his parents at the time.”
Her breath came out in a rush. “Oh, thank goodness!”
“I apologize for the delay in notifying you. The process of locating next of kin has been difficult. Piper didn’t have any relatives, and Daniel has been estranged from his family for years. My office is handling the probating of the wills which includes seeing to the welfare of Owen. Were you aware they named you as his guardian?”
A choking lump formed in Robin’s throat as she remembered that surreal conversation with Piper when Owen was a few months old. “Yes. Where is he now?”
“At his house with Daniel’s sister and brother-in-law. It’s an unusual situation. He’d never met them before. How soon can you get to Arcadia?”
Robin didn’t hesitate. “I’ll be on my way within the hour.”
“I was hoping you’d say that. I took the liberty of having my secretary make a hotel reservation for you. I feel it only fair to warn you that Daniel’s sister Barb isn’t happy about the guardianship of Owen going to someone outside the family.”
Robin wished she knew what Barb’s motivation was. Daniel hadn’t spoken to his relatives since long before Owen was born. Last she heard, Barb was living in Miami, and his parents had moved to Canada. “There’s nothing she can do about it, is there?”
“She can contest the will. Given that both Daniel and Piper named you as Owen’s guardian, I would say her chances of being successful are close to zero. That probably won’t stop her from trying, though. I assume you’ll be taking Owen back to Jacksonville.”
Robin forced her sluggish brain to work. “Yes, that’s right. What about the…funeral services?”
“It’s my understanding they took place yesterday. What time should I tell Barb to expect you tomorrow?”
The earlier the better. Along with seeing to Owen, she now had to deal with Barb. “I’ll be there at nine.”
“Very good. Once the will has been probated, I’ll get in touch with you about the dispensation of the property. There won’t be much coming to Owen in the way of financial support. The house has a sizeable mortgage and the cars are only partially paid off. The funeral expenses will eat up most of Daniel’s life insurance.”
Robin wasn’t worried about it. She was used to making her own way in the world. She’d been doing it since she turned eighteen. “Owen and I will be fine.”
“If you encounter any problems tomorrow, be sure to give me a call. In the meantime, my secretary will text you the hotel information.”
Robin thanked him and then slowly put down the phone. The weight of anguish pressing against her chest could no longer be held in. She cried as she hadn’t done in years. It wasn’t just the thought of never seeing Piper and Daniel again. The agony tearing at her insides was for Owen. He was only six years old. Life as he knew it would never be the same.
Kait must have heard the racket. Her concerned face appeared around the doorway. “Robin? What’s going on? Are you okay?”
“It’s Piper and Daniel,” she said thickly. “They’re dead.” Between halting breaths, she went on to relay the rest of what Mr. Loring had told her.
“Poor Owen,” Kait said, dabbing ineffectually at the tears running down her cheeks. “To lose both his parents at the same time. My heart aches for him. I hate that you have to make that long drive alone. If Wade hadn’t left for the Keys this morning, he could have gone with you.”
Robin’s mind was already moving toward the practicalities of the situation. “His Jeep would have come in handy, too, for transporting Owen’s things.” She brought her hand to her mouth. “I just realized something! I didn’t ask you if it was okay to bring Owen to our apartment.”