“They should be coming to your house.” Claire’s anger was sharp as the car pulled away from the graveside.
“Forget it.” Julia removed the uncomfortable hat and brushed her hair away from her face. “Let Howard and Elise play the grieving parents. These are their people anyway. I just want to be done with it.”
She spent most of August secluded at home. She never asked about the agency, never ventured outside. Every moment of her time was devoted to the twins and the child about to be born.
Her seclusion was interrupted, however, by one unpleasant call from Rod McGuire.
“Per Charles’s instructions, I’ve deposited a significant sum in your checking account,” he told her. “But we do have some important things regarding the estate to handle.” He cleared his throat. “I’d like to wait but Charles was quite specific with his instructions.”
“Yes, I’m sure he was.” She sat in the big chair in the family room, her swollen feet propped up on a footstool. “Just tell me when you’d like to do this. I’d rather you came to the house, if you don’t mind. Going out is not as easy for me these days.”
“Yes. I understand.” The censure in his voice was hard to miss. “Then it’s important we meet. I’ll have my secretary call and schedule it.”
“Fine. Thank you.” What else could she say?
He clicked off, without a goodbye.
She dreaded the meeting, knowing every one of their secrets along with his anger was now in his hands. However unpleasant, she couldn’t avoid it.
A week later, McGuire sat facing her in the den, the scene of Charles’s final days. The acrid odors of medicine and illness were gone, banished through Miranda’s elbow grease, but the miasma of death still hovered. Julia seldom came into the room now, but she’d determined it to be the most fitting place for this discussion. She sat at the desk, McGuire across from her.
“I find this somewhat uncomfortable, Julia.” He opened his briefcase and extracted a file.
“I’m not too happy myself,” she said.
“You must admit, considering your…um…situation, Charles was more than magnanimous.”
Julia gritted her teeth. “My pregnancy…” she stressed the word, not caring if it embarrassed Rod, “is something that happened. We can at least call it what it is.”
“Nevertheless, Charles was disturbed about it. I’m sure you were aware of his feelings.”
“Rod, can we stop tap dancing?” She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Lately she couldn’t seem to find any place to put herself. “I don’t have time to listen to a lecture. You and I both know why I brought Charles into the house for those last months. My pregnancy was an unexpected turn of events, and Charles chose the path he did so he could save face. My feelings were never part of the equation.”
“I admired him for the way he handled it.” He eyed her swollen body with evident condemnation. “I’d have just tossed you out into the street.”
Yes, and now Julia knew why.
She took a deep breath to steady her voice. “Let’s just get to the heart of the matter here. I’m well aware of the terms of the will and of the letters you hold, so what else is there to discuss?”
Rod’s mouth thinned in disapproval. Julia knew full well being Charles’s executor was a distasteful problem for him but only because it meant dealing with her. He extracted a sheaf of papers from a folder and placed them on the desk.
“This is the deed to the house. It and all of its contents are left specifically to you. Charles wanted to insure a proper home for Andrew and Elizabeth to be raised in. I’ve arranged for the name on the deed to be changed.”
The house was larger and more ostentatious than she’d ever been comfortable with, more a symbol of Charles’s image than anything else. But it was the only one the twins had known and she knew what it was like to have that stability ripped away from you.
“I’ll be sure to cancel the rental on the mobile home.” Acid dripped from her voice but she didn’t care.
McGuire ignored her remarks. “There was substantial life insurance, payable to the estate, as well as Charles’s investments.” His smile was cold. “He was blessed with an incredible mind when it came to those details.”
“Yes.” What was she supposed to say?
“At his direction, I set up a fund to provide monthly income for the care of Andrew and Elizabeth. Individual trust funds have been set up for them, which they will receive when they’re twenty-five, as well as separate trusts to pay for their education expenses.” He raised his eyes to look at her. “He was far more generous than I felt he was obligated to be.”
“Obligated to?” she nearly shouted. “You can bet he was obligated, whatever you think. Those are his children and he damn well better have provided for them.”
“Julia.” Rod frowned at her. “There’s no need to curse.”
She took a deep breath, aware she was rocketing out of control. “And the baby? That was part of the deal from hell.”
“I’m getting to it.” He frowned. “I must tell you I advised Charles against this but he was determined to honor the agreement he made with you.” His disgust was obvious. “So yes, you’ll be interested to know he established a substantial enough sum to include support for this bastard child as well.”
Julia ground her teeth. She’d get through this. She had to.
“Would I be assuming too much to think he made some kind of arrangements for me? I was technically still his wife.”
“Technically being the operative word.” Rod glared at her.
“So am I the pariah who gets left
