Raleigh… your failing health is why they escalated the timeframe, you bitter, old sod.
Instead, I bit my tongue on the matter.
“As you’re aware, I’ve concluded eight years in military service,” I reminded them. “Of which I was released just a few months ago. I’m twenty-six years old now, leaving me four years until my thirtieth birthday. I’ve enrolled in higher education, and the date will coincide with the completion of my graduate degree.”
“Very good,” he nodded. “Very good indeed.”
I chose my words carefully. “Grandfather, Dad has revealed to me that there are certain… stipulations to inheriting the Carlyle Fortune. Stipulations that I wasn’t aware were there. Could you elaborate on this concern for me?”
The two of them stiffened visibly.
“What has William said to you?”
“Nothing concrete. He merely hinted that there were rules in place to continue the longevity of the inheritance… to keep somebody foolish from wasting it all away.”
Raleigh’s face set into stone.
“It was not his place to say anything of the sort. Dalton, I command you to forget all of whatever foolish notions that man put into your head. Continue focusing on your education for now – the rest will be explained in time.”
“So there are strings attached,” I replied.
It was too late to retract my sentence, given how dark their faces grew.
“I gave you an order. Don’t defy it.”
“Of course, Grandfather,” I answered impartially. “Forgive me. It’s just that the events of today have… surprised and distracted me.”
They looked sympathetic for a moment.
Coming from them, that was never good.
“I can sympathize with that,” the thin old man replied. “Trust me, it came as a great surprise to your grandmother and I, too… a particularly unpleasant one, I’ll add.”
She looked at him briefly, the stonewall crumbling for just a moment, but within the instant she was just as impartial and statuesque as him.
It occurred to me that my grandfather was too proud to tell anybody that he was dying… which left her to break the news. Otherwise, my father would have never known, particularly given the estrangement between them.
I gazed upon my grandmother. Interesting.
“I’m sure that they’re all wondering where we are,” I replied calmly. “Shall we go inside? It’s not going to be to your usual tastes, but I’ve heard that they hired some caterers for the afternoon.”
My grandparents chuckled.
“Very well then,” Raleigh answered. “Let’s get this pernicious shit-show over with.”
And just like that, I followed them inside, walking straight towards a night that was going to change absolutely everything.
Chapter 13
Unfortunately, my new grandparents-in-law looked like they would rather be dangling above a volcano than watching their son celebrate his new marriage.
Regardless of that little detail, my parents’ makeshift wedding reception was actually pretty decent, even if it was hosted out of their home. They’d even hired really good caterers – specifically, my catering staff.
“Wasn’t expecting to see you here!” Beth chuckled as I whisked a few hors d’eovres off of her tray. “Is this your event? Do you live here?”
“It’s not mine, no… it’s my parents. They just got married. And no, I have an apartment back in the city.”
“Oh, really? Your parents are just marrying today, huh? How neat!”
I laughed when I saw her confusion. “No, I mean, Mom just married this guy. He’s not my biological father. Now, I get a stepfather and a new stepbrother out of the mix.”
“Is that him over there?” She quietly asked, pointing out Dalton. Of course he stood out, dressed as nicely as he was.
“Yeah, that’s him alright,” I replied with some regret. “What, do you want me to get his number for you?”
“Oh my god, could you?”
She looked absolutely ecstatic over the idea. Luckily, before I could respond, Arnold appeared in the distance, waving both of us over.
“Beth, I’m going to need you to be more attentive to the guests, and not specific ones,” he admonished her. “And you… stop distracting my employees, Clara.”
We both apologized profusely.
Our boss sent her away but kept me near. “It’s fortuitous that I see you here, because I’ve been meaning to reach out to you. I couldn’t help but notice that you failed to indicate any premier call shifts.”
“I’m sorry, there was a distraction that night, with the wedding and all that…”
“Perfectly acceptable, given the circumstances,” he replied nonchalantly. “But if you wish to retain those privileges, you’re going to have to take them a little more seriously. I was under the impression that you were happy to be given that status. Did I make a mistake?”
“No, not at all!” I reassured him. “I’m sorry, Arnold. You’ll forgive me for being a little, you know, preoccupied with the arrangements here.”
He glanced around, unimpressed.
Of course he was unimpressed. Arnold was used to catering large wedding receptions, football games, banquets, and hotel galas… not little rinky-dink, makeshift post-marriage document reunions.
“See to it that you do not become unreliable,” he replied quietly before banishing me from his side. “I have work to do. I’ll see you tomorrow night at Prince Hall.”
“Prince Hall?”
Arnold raised an eyebrow.
“Oh yeah! Prince Hall!” It was one of the shifts I’d picked up. Thanks to missing my chances both Saturday night and early Sunday morning, I’d lost the opportunity to snag anything meaningful in the week. Joining the six-member crew working at Prince Hall for Wednesday and Thursday had been pretty much the only decent shifts left.
I just hoped my homework wouldn’t be too bad with my time eaten up like that.
Arnold looked at me sourly as I left, apparently unconvinced in my commitment to his catering and serving team. Today has just been a complete pain in my ass, I thought to myself.
At least Dalton caught the hint and left me alone after my quick little retort outside the front door. He stayed out there a while – long enough to make me wonder how much I’d affected him.
A sneak peak out the window earlier in the reception had shown me that he was talking to his grandparents before they came inside, so I felt assured.
I knew that he wanted things to continue between us. That much was obvious from just the way he looked at me, although the texts really underlined the point.
Luckily, between family and friends coming by to join the festivities, the catering staff making polite conversation during small lulls, and Dalton’s clearly intentional distance.
I wondered all night if I’d made the wrong choice after all.
It was true. I couldn’t deny the energy that I felt, crackling between us any time we were close. When our parents were giving their vows and we couldn’t take my eyes off of each other, I was imagining doing the same thing with him one day.
Such a stupid thought.
No, I needed to focus on what was important. Dalton and I were stepbrother and stepsister now, and although the taboo was sort of artificial – we weren’t related, after all – there was still the sort of lingering wrongness to it.
What we had done together the other night had been absolutely magical, and I wouldn’t trade it away for a single thing.
But it had been just that:
Wrong.
Yet… it felt so absolutely right.
After a couple of hours, it was time that we went our separate ways. I was halfway expecting a small string of text messages from him. Almost disappointingly, he had obeyed my wishes.
So, why was I unhappy about that?
I climbed into my ancient car and turned the ignition. To my complete lack of surprise, the engine failed to roll over, so I tried it again.