A rodent only stays a rodent for so long without being caught in a trap. It was bound to happen.
And happen it did.
I just wished I would have known what he was doing was illegal, immensely so, and what exactly he was doing. I kept rethinking over the conversation I had with Wyatt and our mother.
“Did you really think what Dad was doing all these years was legal?” Wyatt asked me with a roll of the eyes.
“I guess I never thought about it.”
“No, you didn’t care. You enjoyed having a ‘job’ and being rewarded for what you did.”
“Not everyone was born with a moral compass like you, Wyatt.”
“You both were taught what was right and wrong, Cash. Don’t you dare try to act like you weren’t,” Mom spoke up, seemingly annoyed by my comment.
I turned to her irritated. “You turned a blind eye too, Mom. You could have stopped some of it. You knew the company was doing illegal investing.”
“I acknowledge your father did dirty business. I will agree I was aware of his misdealing and sneakiness. But I will not listen to you tell me I knew he was illegally investing, or stealing money from people.”
“You need to leave Mom out of it,” Wyatt spoke up, not surprisingly.
“What I want to know is how Wyatt was able to step away from everything, and see the wrongdoings.”
“Because I’m not blind. I know Dad’s character; he always looks out for himself and never put us in front of him. Not even Mom. And it was our grandfather’s company, Mom’s dad, not our father’s.” He paused. “I refuse to hurt others to get to the top.”
“I…”
“Yeah, you did. You hurt others when you took the money they had been saving. You can’t honestly look me in the eye and tell me that every transaction, or business deal you made, you felt good about. Deep down you have a moral compass too. You just refused to use it.” Wyatt said the words like he had been waiting to speak them for far longer than I had planned to hear them.
“I don’t know about that,” I said with a lump in my throat.
“I think Wyatt is right, sweetie. Anyway, nothing can be done about it now. He is going to jail, and he will pay for what he did. You will make it, and we will work with the lawyers to see what we need to do. If we have to sell stuff we will. Living with less won’t kill you, but you will have to learn that work is work, and what you have been doing with Dad doesn't qualify as that.”
“I’m not afraid of work,” I said meaning it, wondering if either of them believed me.
“We’ll see,” Wyatt said.
Now I just had to prove it to them and myself.
“Things change, honey. If you can’t change with them then you’re going to have a lot of struggles through the rest of your life,” my mother said sweetly as I rolled my eyes.
“I have lived a certain way my entire life,” I commented matter-of-factly.
“Don’t say that like you are proud of it,” she snarled. She certainly was pleased with my previous actions.
I stood up after knowing I had only been at her place for less than ten minutes. “Mom, I love you but I don’t have the energy to deal with this right now. I’m more concerned about how my life is falling apart.”
“I love you too, Cash, but maybe this is a sign you have some changes that need to be made in your life. This could be a good thing.”
I replayed the last of her statements as I made my way to the front door, slamming it shut in frustration.
My body hit the fresh air and I stopped, taking a deep breath, inhaling the countryside rather than the stuffiness of her house and the judgment she was having on me.
After I admitted to myself what had happened, I dreaded driving my car down her driveway. I hated the very thought of facing my mother, and was able to predict what she was going to say.
It goes without saying Wyatt, my brother, and my mother were going to give me grief. I expected it. They had hated the way I had worked with my father, and thought the evil my father had would rub off on me.
They weren’t wrong either.
I was sorry to tell them, that ship had sailed a very long time ago. As if they hadn't recognized it.
The real question was, could I make myself a hardworking man, and change my focus to what I should have cared about first as a priority. When I was honest with myself, I had to realize the possibility of me failing at that miserably. And I didn't like the thought of that.
And Emma. The woman who I hadn't been able to get out of mind since I saw her at the concert and after dinner. The very woman I had treated like shit and played games with, ignoring my feelings for her like the jackass I was.
Denial or stupidity?
I found myself wondering what she would think of me now, if she knew I was going to lose everything I had earned.
Or was given, depending on who you asked.
7
EMMA
I smiled as I pulled up to Wyatt and Breigh’s house, excited to see my goddaughter. Today was Olivia’s third birthday and I was thrilled to be here to celebrate with them. She always had a way of bringing a smile to my face, although there was a little part of me that wished I had a little girl myself. Olivia was sunshine, just like Breigh, and I couldn't get enough of her cuteness.
Wyatt was in the front yard, not sure what he was trying to do, but the look of frustration decorated his face. Breigh had said Thursday, when we talked, they were both at their wit’s end trying to get everything together and prepared for Olivia’s party. Breigh had
