“She says she’s changed, that once she gets the money from your parents’ estate, she’ll pay off all the old bills. She seems to think the slate will be wiped clean if she does that and we can start over.”
“She’s said something similar to me,” Seth said.
“Do you believe her?”
Seth heard the hopeful note in Jason’s voice, but he couldn’t make himself lie, not even for his sister. “No,” he said quietly. “I asked a lot of questions, Jason. The answers weren’t reassuring.”
His former brother-in-law sighed. “That’s pretty much what I figured. I liked your parents, but bless ’em, they raised Laura to expect a certain lifestyle. I couldn’t give her that before, but she spent like I could. I’m never going to be rich, and that’s what she needs, no matter what she claims about learning to economize.”
“I wish it weren’t that way,” Seth told him honestly. “But I think you’re right.”
“Thanks for being honest with me. I knew you would be. And I needed a reality check. I was about ready to take a chance on going down that path again. I guess sometimes love’s just not enough.”
“In some situations, it’s not,” Seth said. “Sorry, pal. If it’s any consolation, I do think she loves you. I just don’t know if she’s capable of changing.”
He sure as heck hadn’t seen any evidence of it and with Laura’s attorney due in town tomorrow, it was yet more proof that she was always going to take the easy way out. And once that inheritance was gone, assuming a long-shot victory in her case against Meredith, what then? Seth didn’t even want to think about what the future might hold for her. But he couldn’t help believing that Jason was better off being out of it. How sad was it that two of the people who loved her the most had no faith in her?
* * *
Seth’s conversation with his former brother-in-law depressed him. It was a stark reminder that love didn’t always triumph, especially when two people were in such different places financially. He couldn’t help once again comparing that to his relationship with Abby. Doubts he thought he’d put to rest resurfaced.
Not that Abby frittered away money the way Laura had, or lived a lavish lifestyle, but was there any guarantee that she wouldn’t? Like Jason, he was and always would be a blue-collar kind of guy, not rich, but bringing in enough to pay the bills and support his family. At least as long as one of them wasn’t throwing money down the drain.
Though the past few weeks had reassured him about Abby’s priorities in life and that their financial differences weren’t so important, Jason’s distress ate away at Seth’s conviction that Abby and his sister were nothing alike. Maybe he was as oblivious as Jason had been. He wanted to believe in Abby just as Jason had obviously once believed in what he had with Laura. Was that faith blinding him to a very real problem that could crop up down the road? Had his initial worries been based on some reality he’d recently chosen to ignore? How long had he known Abby, really? And how good was his judgment? It was a well-known fact that lust could impair common sense. It made him a little crazy that all this was cropping up in his head again just when things between them had started feeling right.
He was still in that dark place when Laura’s attorney turned up at Seaview Inn the next the morning to take his deposition. Seth had to admit the guy was skilled at trying to twist Seth’s words to suit the case he was trying to build. After the first few questions, though, Seth had had enough.
Scowling at the man in his expensive sportswear, Seth said, “You can play whatever games you want to play. That’s what my sister is paying you to do, but you need to hear me.” He directed his words to the cell phone camera which was video recording the interview. “My parents knew exactly what they were doing when they left Meredith in charge of the estate. Laura is financially irresponsible. Any lawyer worth his salt is going to be able to look up her credit card statements and her credit rating to prove that. They’ll be able to put her ex-husband on the stand to talk about why their marriage ended and the debt he’s still trying to clear up. You drag me in to testify and I’ll support Meredith a hundred percent.”
The lawyer looked momentarily taken aback by his vehemence. “But you haven’t been living close by for a long time. How reliable can your testimony possibly be?”
“So you intend to discredit me? Go for it. I doubt it will hurt Meredith’s case, but it sure as heck won’t do anything to help Laura. Now, if we’re done wasting time here, I have things to do.”
He stood up and walked away, leaving the obviously stunned attorney to stare after him. He headed straight into town and into The Fish Tale.
Lesley Ann took one look at his face and gestured toward a booth. “I’ll bring you a beer.”
Seth shook his head. Alcohol wasn’t the answer. “Just coffee will do.”
“And some company? Abby’s back there. Her mood doesn’t look much better than yours. Maybe you can cheer each other up.”
Abby was the last person he wanted to see right this second, but Seth headed her way just the same. Standing beside her booth, he announced, “I’m probably lousy company.”
She smiled at his declaration. “Me, too.” She gestured toward the seat. “Sit down, anyway. We can just scowl at each other and save the rest of the world from having to deal with either one of us.”
Lesley Ann brought his coffee, then discreetly left them alone.
As Seth took his first sip of coffee, he caught Abby studying him.
“Laura’s lawyer was just here,” he said, answering her unspoken question.
“Ah,” she murmured. “And it didn’t go well?”
“Not for him,” he said.
