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"What was that?" I murmur to myself, shaking my head.
I have no idea how I should feel after that. If anything, I'm more confused!
I shift and the IRS letter that I stuffed into the pocket of my leggings pokes me in the leg. Withdrawing it, I look at the envelope.
Not giving myself time to hesitate, I rip it open and pull out the thin stack of papers inside.
THIS IS YOUR 90 DAY NOTICE OF INTENT TO SUE. IF YOU DO NOT REMIT THE OVERDUE BALANCE OF $67,368.49, WE WILL BE FORCED TO FILE CRIMINAL AND CIVIL CHARGES PURSUANT TO MONIES OWED. WE WILL ALSO BE FORCED TO PUT THE PROPERTY UP FOR A SHERIFF’S AUCTION; YOUR FAMILY WILL HAVE TO LEAVE AS SOON AS THE PROPERTY FALLS INTO DISTRESS.
I gape at the top two lines, printed in red ink.
I have no access to funds to help her out. But if I don't do anything, it sounds like the government can take our land and Aunt Delta will go to jail. What the hell am I supposed to do with that information?
Forty-Three
River
I'm in my office, toying with a pen while staring off into the distance, when Sam knocks on my open office door. I look up with some surprise and straighten from my slumped posture.
"Knock knock," Sam says. Without waiting for me to invite him in, he steps into the room and closes the door behind him. He waves toward the reception area. "There was no one at the front desk, so I just came on back."
I clear my throat, waving to the chairs. "Have a seat. I figured that Mom would send you or one of my brothers to scold me sooner or later."
Sam sits, his expression grave. Not a particularly good sign, if I'm being honest.
"I did come to talk to you. Your mother didn't send me, though." He presses his lips together in a thin line. "We need to have a talk about how you've been behaving lately."
I can barely repress an eye roll. "Great. Sounds like a good use of my time."
Sam rocks back in his chair. His bright blue eyes burn into my face. "You've been an outsider since I met you, River."
Confusion snarls my guts. "That's not what I expected you to say."
He gives me a prim smile. "Ever since you first walked into my house, you were skittish as a new colt. I always felt like I was at a loss for how to reach out to you. I guess... I could've tried more. But it always seemed like you were fine. You had good grades, you had friends. It was easier to focus on my kids who outwardly needed things. Rex with his baseball games, Lucy wanting to learn how to ride a bike. But with you... you and I never had anything in common."
I narrow my eyes at Sam. "No, we didn't."
Sam frowns and steeples his fingers. "I have a lot of things I would do differently if I could do them again. But not connecting with you was a big oversight. As adults, we have a lot in common."
I cant my head curiously. "Where are you going with this, Sam?"
"Bear with me for a minute." He waves me down. "We are both cunning. We share a certain ruthlessness that makes other people nervous. But most of all, ambition burns bright in both of us. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Yeah..." I nod my head slowly, trying to guess what his point is. "We both see the world the same way, I think."
Sam appears thoughtful. "I think a lot of that comes from the same place with you as it did with me. I always felt like I didn't quite belong. Like I was outside, looking in at all the people in my life. I felt like no one cared about me. And I wondered if it might not be the case that there was just something unlovable about me. Like I was just broken."
I swallow tightly. "That's not the Sam I know."
"No." He smiles a bit sadly. "I felt that way before I met my first wife. She was really the change in me. She helped me see that I wasn't broken. I was just an oddball."
I look down at my desk. I often feel that I am broken, or that I'm an outsider. It's a little like Sam telling me my own story. I clear my throat.
"I appreciate you telling me all of this, but what does it have to do with me?"
"We're getting there," Sam says. "Since the moment that your mom and your family moved in, I knew something was off about you. I should have taken more time to investigate. But if you remember, it was a pretty chaotic time for all of us. My attention was pulled in a lot of different directions. But that doesn't change the fact that the second I married your mom, we became family."
I tap my fingers on the smooth wood surface of my desk. "You did a great job stepping into a fatherly role for Brooks. You went to all his debates and all his swim meets. But it was obvious enough that I wasn't a Bennett. Not really."
