“Are your brothers okay with you building a house there?”
“Of course. It isn’t a secret. Leah and I both were going to build our homes close to each other before she died. Her property was right next to mine. Freddy left each of his children a piece of property.”
When Gavin took the eyes off the road long enough to glance at her, Ginny saw he was frowning at her.
“You don’t have any property registered in your name.”
Ginny shrugged. “The property Pa left me doesn’t go into my name until I turn twenty-eight or get married. Until then, it’s in Silas’s name. Freddy didn’t exactly believe in lawyers. He wasn’t paying one hundred dollars an hour to be told how to handle legal matters when the library in town is free.”
“He did his own will?”
“Yes.”
“Was it notarized with witnesses?” he asked.
“Of course. We’re not hicks.” Giving him an exasperated sigh, Ginny turned the radio back on. “Each of my older brothers witnessed it after Pa wrote it out.”
“Did he use an ink pen?”
Ginny stared down her nose at him. “You don’t have to be so sarcastic about it; it’s perfectly legal.”
“Who says? Because I’m pretty sure it isn’t. If Silas filed your father’s will in the courthouse, Shade would have found it during a record search on you.”
“Shade did a record search on me?” Fear bloomed in her chest with the force of a paint gun being aimed at her, splattering her with all the lies she had told since she was three years old. She had every intention of telling Gavin all the details of her life; she had just been waiting until he liked her a little better. She couldn’t jeopardize Trudy’s safety. Her sister hadn’t placed her in jeopardy when she fell in love with Dalton. She had to confess to Gavin soon. Ginny understood his issues with trust, and each day that passed, she would only make it worse when she confessed to having another identity.
“Ginny?”
“Hmm …? I’m sorry I didn’t hear what you said.”
“I was saying, you had to know Shade had done legal search on you when he started trying to find out who your stalker is. Shade wouldn’t have missed it. He might not have found out who your stalker is, but it’s not from lack of trying.”
“I didn’t think he would.” Ginny reached for her lukewarm water in the cupholder to take to take a sip, hoping to ease her dry throat. “Gavin, it doesn’t matter if Silas filed the paperwork or not. When I’m ready to build, he’ll sign the property over to me. You’re making a mountain out of a molehill.”
She could see Gavin wasn’t convinced, but there was no way she could prove it until she had the paperwork in her hand, and if it was legally filed and notarized. He was looking for deception in the wrong place. She was the one who was deceiving everyone she cared about.
“Give me one.”
Her hand stilled in her pocket. “Huh?”
“You can turn the radio back down. I can hear you eating that candy.”
“I’m doing you a favor. It’ll rot your teeth.”
“My teeth are fine. You’re the one who’ll need a root canal before we get to Treepoint.”
“Maybe so, but I have a dental plan with no co-pay.” She unashamedly popped another candy drop in her mouth, refusing to share. She loved his pearly whites. “I’m being cruel to be kind,” she said in a sing-song voice, bopping her head to an imaginary beat.
“When we get to Treepoint, I’m getting first dibs on the bags. You won’t be getting any more Mr. Nice from me.”
Ginny made a psst sound. “Knox won’t have any candy to put in the bags.”
“How do you know?”
“You said Knox was getting the groceries from Diamond’s zombie stash. Candy wasn’t included in the supply list she updates every month. She showed me the list when we were at the church’s Christmas dinner.”
“Why the fuck didn’t she include candy?”
“She was afraid it would rot their teeth out, and her island doesn’t have a dentist.” Ginny shrugged as if it made perfect sense. “Her island is small. She placed a limit of twenty people that she would invite to go with them.”
“Just twenty?”
Ginny nodded. “I agree. That’s way too many people to me, also.”
“How many would you take?”
“To a deserted island? That’s a no-brainer,” Ginny scoffed.
“Okay … how many would you take?”
“Just two. You and me.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Room numbers 26 and 27.” Reaper shut off his phone after reading Knox’s text.
“At least it’s on the first floor,” Ginny said. “I’ve been sitting so long my feet are numb.”
“I told you to stretch out in the back seat,” he reminded her, putting the car back in Drive.
“What are you doing?” Ginny gripped the door handle as if she were about revolt if he didn’t let her get out of the car.