Chương 3
Nora had said his mother was there.
Ryan had said, "Can we talk when I get home?"
By the time he arrived, Nora had been asleep.
The next morning he left before sunrise.
He rubbed his face.
"What happened after that?"
"They kept saying they would leave the next day."
Nora's voice remained quiet.
"They ate what was here, and your mom said since I was home all day, I could cook."
"You're on medical leave."
"I told her."
Ryan stared at the floor.
Nora's doctor had reduced her activity after swelling and elevated blood pressure at a prenatal appointment.
Ryan had told his family that himself.
"Paige said pregnancy wasn't a disability."
He shut his eyes.
"And the bruise?"
Nora did not answer.
A monitor beeped steadily beside them.
Somewhere in the hall, a man complained about a vending machine taking his dollar.
Life continued with insulting normality.
Ryan opened his eyes.
"Nora."
She pulled her sleeve higher.
The bruises looked worse beneath hospital light.
"Paige came into our bedroom this morning."
"Why?"
"She was looking for something."
"What?"
Nora finally looked at him.
"A blue envelope."
Ryan's exhaustion vanished.
"What blue envelope?"
"She wouldn't tell me."
Nora's fingers tightened around his.
"She kept asking where you hid it."
Ryan sat motionless.
He had never told Nora about any blue envelope.
The frightening part was that he knew exactly which one Paige meant.
The blue envelope was tucked inside the lockbox on the top shelf of Ryan's bedroom closet, beneath their marriage certificate and the paperwork from his father's funeral.
He had put it there six weeks earlier and told himself he would deal with it when work slowed down.
Work had not slowed down.
Neither had anything else.
Nora watched his face change.
"You know what it is."
Ryan leaned back in the plastic chair beside her bed.
His right knee bounced once before he forced it still.
"Yeah."
"What is it?"
He looked through the narrow window in the hospital door.
A nurse crossed the hallway carrying a bundle of folded blankets.
For one stupid second, Ryan considered saying it was nothing.
That old reflex rose automatically, the one that had kept his family peaceful for years by making every ugly thing smaller.
He hated it now.
"It's from Dad's estate."
Nora frowned.
"I thought your dad didn't have an estate."
"Neither did I."
Ryan rubbed both hands over his face.
"When he died, I got a call from a lawyer in Ohio."
"Your father lived in Kentucky."
"He did at the end."
"So why Ohio?"
"Because that's where his mother lived."
Nora waited.
Ryan appreciated that about her even now.
She could leave silence alone until a person either filled it honestly or exposed himself by trying not to.
"My grandmother died last year," he said.
"I barely knew her."
"Your dad's mother?"
"Yeah."
"Marla told me she hated your family."
Ryan gave a tired laugh.
"Mom told me a lot of things."
The laugh disappeared.
"The lawyer said my grandmother left a small trust."
"For you?"
"For Dad."
Nora's eyes narrowed slightly.
"But he died."
"Three months before she did."
"So it passed to his children."
"That's what the lawyer said."
The fetal monitor gave a soft electronic pulse.
Ryan lowered his voice.
"Apparently Dad never updated some paperwork after he left us."
Nora stared at him.
"How much?"
"I don't know exactly."
"Ryan."
"Maybe a hundred and forty thousand."
She blinked.
He almost smiled at her expression, except nothing about the conversation felt remotely funny.
"Maybe?"
"There are taxes, fees, a property sale, some other stuff."
"You've had a letter about a hundred and forty thousand dollars for six weeks?"
"I didn't have the money."
"I know."
"I had a notice saying there might be money."
"That's still something people usually mention to their wives."
Ryan looked down.
"Yeah."
Nora turned her face toward the ceiling.
He waited for anger.
He deserved some.
Instead she asked, "Who else knows?"
"My mother."
Nora turned back immediately.
Ryan continued before she could speak.
"The lawyer contacted her because she was listed on some old records as Dad's spouse."
"But they were divorced."
"Legally separated first, then divorced."
"And she told Paige?"
"I don't know."
"You didn't tell her?"
"No."
Ryan could hear the disbelief in his own answer.
"I didn't even tell you."
"Why?"
He opened his mouth.
Closed it.
The monitor continued its steady rhythm.
"I wanted to know what was real first."
"That's not the whole reason."
Ryan stared at her.
Nora's voice softened.
"You were afraid your family would find out."
He looked away.
"Yeah."
"And ask you for it."
"Yeah."
"Or tell you they deserved it."
He said nothing.
Nora's hand rested over the rise of their child.
"Ryan, they already think everything you earn belongs to them."
"I know."
"No."
She shook her head.
"You know now."
That landed differently.
He looked at her bruised arm.
"Did Paige say why she wanted it?"
"She said your mom needed to see the exact amount."
"Exact amount?"
"She kept asking whether it was a check, a notice, or something I had signed."
Ryan stood so abruptly the chair legs scraped the floor.
Nora flinched.
He immediately stopped.
"Sorry."
"It's okay."
"No, it's not."
He sat again.
His phone buzzed on the windowsill.
This time Nora glanced at it.
"You should check."
"I don't care what they want."
"What if it's the apartment manager?"
That was possible.
It had been almost two hours since Ryan ordered his family out.
He picked up the phone.
Thirty-one unread messages.
Most were from Marla.
A few from Tessa.
One from Brooke.
Nine missed calls.
Then Ryan saw a message from a number he did not recognize.
Mr. Mercer, this is Daniel Reeves at Franklin Storage.
Your mother is here requesting access to unit 318 and says she has your authorization.
Please call me before we proceed.
Ryan stood again.
This time Nora did not flinch.
May you like
"What?"
He turned the phone toward her.
