“Sweetheart?You’re awfully quiet.Are you in shock?”her father asked as he slid an arm around her shoulders.
In unison they turned toward the door to follow Adam and her mother, who continued to complain about Nan’s musical choices and party atmosphere for the funeral.“Yes.I have to say that I am.”
Her father squeezed her shoulder gently and hugged her close.
“I hope it’s a happy shock?”
“Of course, but…Dad…”
Her father paused, a frown pinching his thick eyebrows together.
“What is it, honey?”
“Are you coming, Jerry?”her mother asked.“Mary Elizabeth has dinner waiting for us.”
Hadley inhaled and backpedaled in her panic to escape.“Nothing.And I’m sorry but I can’t stay.I should’ve planned better,” she said to the group, “but I have to get back to Raleigh.”
“I suppose you should get on the road while you can make it home before dark, though I’d hoped you’d call Kyle and convince him to drive down for the weekend,” Cheryl said.“To celebrate.”
“He’s…out of town.Guest lecturing,” she added hastily.“He…hated to miss the service for Nan.”
“Of course.Tell him we understand.You can’t back out of such things at the last minute.”
Awkward silence followed her statement because good manners dictated that was exactly what you did when a loved one passed.
“Well, reassure him that it won’t be an ordeal,” her mother said.“We’ll hire people to clean out the house, and—”
“No,” Hadley said, earning a sharp look from her mother.“I-I mean, it’s not necessary.I’d like to do that myself,” she said, grasping at the excuse to keep control of the situation.
“Oh, Hadley, really?”
Her mother looked appalled by the idea but Hadley nodded.“Yes.I don’t want strangers going through Nan’s things.She wouldn’t have liked that.”
“I agree to that statement but are you sure?”her father asked.“That’s going to be quite the task.It’s gotten crowded in there.You haven’t seen it for a while.”
“I’m sure.I want to do it,” Hadley said again.
“See, Jerry?I knew giving Hadley the house would get them back to town more often.”
Hadley smiled weakly and moved through the Shipleys’ lovely home to where Mary Elizabeth straightened an already straight napkin on her beautifully set table.“Mary Elizabeth, thank you for the dinner invitation but I’m going to go.”
“You’re not staying?Are you sure?”Mary Elizabeth asked, giving Hadley a questioning look of concern.
Hadley hugged Mary Elizabeth, the woman’s light perfume as familiar as her own because of the many years spent together.Mary Elizabeth wasn’t just her godmother but a second mother and friend.“I am.I…need to process things,” she said, relating that Nan had given her the house.
“Oh, congratulations!”Mary Elizabeth said, hugging Hadley again.
“It will be nice having at least one of our children as a neighbor, won’t it?”Cheryl said to her friend.
“Absolutely.And I understand about dinner.Of course you need time.Drive safely, and let us know when you get there?”
“I will.”Hadley gave everyone another round of hugs and left the house, the evening sun blinding her when she stepped outside.She quickly searched for her sunglasses and propped them on her nose, hurrying toward the car so she could crank up the air.There was absolutely nothing as hot as summer in the south.Even along the coast, where the sea breeze lowered the temperature a few degrees but did nothing for the humidity.
She forced herself to focus as she left the tourist-crowded island, but once she made it halfway to Wilmington, she pulled over into a store parking lot, hands gripping tightly to the wheel as the AC blew like the arctic on her hot face.
She owned a home.Not just any home, either, but Nan’s.
It was a priceless, precious gift—but no matter how frugal she was, the taxes alone would eat through the money at a rapid rate, and once the money was gone, how would she ever be able to afford it now?