When August Ends(31)

Alice also looked very stressed. I had to say, I was kind of proud of her. I knew it couldn’t have been easy. Heather had told me she still had a lot of hang-ups about the divorce.

We hadn’t even gotten halfway through dinner when Rick said, “So, we need to talk about this plan to sell the house.”

Heather set her fork down and wiped her mouth. “What is there to talk about?”

“You know how I feel about this. It’s not the right time. The market hasn’t hit its peak, and I think you’re going to be losing a shit ton of money if you don’t wait.”

“The realtor doesn’t seem to think it’s a bad time.”

“What does she know? She wants to make a quick buck. You can’t trust what she says.”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s not the perfect time. We need to sell. I can’t handle the upkeep anymore. I need the money for school.”

“Why can’t you take out loans like everyone else?”

“Well, I plan to continue working to help pay my tuition, but I don’t want to have loans hanging over my head for the rest of my life. Plus, Mom has always said when the house sold, I could use some of the money for school.”

“When did you even decide on school?”

“I was going to mention it. I got into the University of Vermont’s nursing program. I plan to start in the spring semester.”

I knew Heather didn’t see her father often, but it was also becoming clear he was the last to know anything going on with her.

“When were you planning to tell me?”

“The next time I saw you, which is now. It’s only recently become a possibility.”

“Do you really think it’s a good idea to abandon your mother?”

My fists curled into balls. I wanted to punch him. He was pushing this guilt on her when he was the one who’d abandoned them?

“I’m fine,” Alice insisted.

“You don’t look fine. You seem worse than you were the last time I saw you.”

“Aunt Katy is moving here,” Heather announced.

“Katy? She’s gonna look after your mother? She can’t even take care of herself. You’re gonna leave so you can study how to take care of sick people when your mother is sicker than them all?”

Alice trembled. “Stop!”

Heather clenched her jaw. “Why do you even care about anything that happens here?”

I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to speak up.

“With all due respect, Rick, I don’t think you’re being fair. Heather has done nothing but take good care of her mother for several years. It’s time for her to have some freedom.”

“With all due respect to you, I don’t need to sit here and listen to someone who literally blew in like the wind five minutes ago. You don’t know anything about this family.”

“As of late? I guarantee I know more than you do.”

“You have no right to an opinion here.”

Heather intervened, “Well, you lost your right to an opinion the day you walked out on us.”

“This house is half mine,” he said. “I do have an opinion.”

“What are you talking about? This house is Mom’s.”

“Alice? You want to break the news to our daughter?”

Heather looked confused as she turned to her mother. “What’s going on?”

Alice was shaking as she looked at Rick. “You bastard. You promised you wouldn’t go after that money.”

Heather looked between them. “What are you talking about?”

“After your grandfather died, he left the house to your mother,” Rick said. “But during our divorce proceedings, it was determined that when the property sold, I would get half of the money.”

My heart sank.

Heather turned toward her mother. “Is this true?”

Alice looked like she wanted to disappear. “Technically, it is, but your father assured me some years back that he would sign over his rights to us if we ever had to sell, that he wouldn’t take any of that money because he didn’t feel he was entitled to it. This is the first I’m hearing that he seems to think he has a right to half of my father’s house.”

“Things have changed,” he said. “My financial situation isn’t what it used to be. My company is going under, and I’m going to need that money after all. It wasn’t my intention to have to take advantage of it, but I’m afraid I do. Although, as I’ve said, I think waiting for the market to strengthen in a couple more years would be wise.”

“Are you kidding me right now?” Heather cried. “You’ve made plenty of money, and you’re so cheap, I bet you have a heap of savings. The money from this house is the only future we have. This house belonged to her father. Her name is on the deed, not yours. You abandoned us years ago. What right do you have to anything you left behind?”

“Well, you may not believe I deserve it, but the fact remains that I do have the legal right to half.”

My blood boiled. I’d never wanted to annihilate anyone so much in my life.

Heather looked ready to collapse, and Alice’s face was turning white.

Without thinking it through, I reached for Heather’s hand under the table. I wanted her to know I had her back, that everything would be okay despite what her father was trying to pull.