AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Your mom wouldn't let me adopt you kids. I wanted to give you my last name."
I snort. "That wouldn't have made me fit into the family any more."
He sighs. "It would have showed you that you belong here, River. You always have. I should have pushed for adoption more. It would have been a way to signify that you were one of my kids." He picks a speck of lint off of his shirt. "Because you are one of my kids, River. I know I don't say it enough, but I love you. I care about whether or not you are about to burn your whole life to the ground."
I roll my eyes. "My current predicament has nothing to do with you not paying enough attention to me as a child."
"I think it does." Sam stabs his finger into my desk. "You needed to know that you belonged to my tribe. I let you down. And now you're seriously about to screw up your chances at having a happy ending with a girl you love." He raises a brow. "You love Pearl, don't you?"
My face grows hot. "Desperately."
"Well, then you're going to have to do something to try to fix this situation before it is too late. But first..."
Sam unzips his jacket and pulls an innocuous file folder from his jacket. He slides it across the desk to me.
I look at him, a little confused, and open the file folder.
PETITION FOR ADOPTION is splayed across the top. I look back at Sam, my brow furrowing. "What is this?"
"A first step. River, I know there is no going back in time to correct my mistakes. But going forward, I'm going to treat you as though you were my son from birth. Brooks, too. That should start with you getting all the benefits of being a Bennett. And continue with me helping you work out favorable terms with Ray Kendrick to give Pearl’s family a big chunk of money as part of their agreement to sell their lands. It's not the best outcome, but it's the most favorable to Pearl's family, now that we are this far down the rabbit hole."
I don't quite know what to say. "You don't have to do any of this," is what I come up with.
"I do. You're my son, River. I want what's best for you."
I suck in a deep breath and look down at the form because it's easier than enduring Sam's gaze. If I signed this form, I would finally be one of the Billion Dollar Bennetts.
I stare at it for several seconds before I look at Sam. "Can I think about it?"
Sam's lips twist with a flash of humor. "Of course. It's there for you to think about forever, if you want." He exhales. "I think we have bigger problems to deal with at the moment."
I can't stop staring at the contract, so I close the folder and break my gaze.
"You're worried about Pearl?"
He bobs his head. "I am."
I stand up and walk over to the window, peering out at the lighthouse in the distance.
"Do you think I have pushed her away?" I ask, my voice going to gravel.
"Hard to say, son. I don't really know her like you do. But I know some information about the property tax lien."
My head snaps around. "What kind of information?"
He smiles. "I heard that Delta Jackson owes less than seventy-five thousand dollars. So if I were a romantic guy, I would find a way to gift that amount to my beloved. The only string I would attach to the gift is that Delta has to sell the land. She obviously struggles to pay the taxes."
"And the property is in disrepair." I purse my lips. "I wonder if Ray will work out a deal that affords them a ton of money."
"Ray will be more than fair. But I was thinking about what I would want if the deal were being made on my behalf."
I arch a brow. "And?"
"I would push for a minority ownership stake in whatever is being developed. Even one percent would probably be tens of millions per year."
My heart starts beating fast. "Would Ray go for that?"
"I think he'd love it. You just paint a picture of him as a benefactor that allowed a Black family that's owned the land here for a hundred years to continue on owning a piece for a hundred years to come. Between that and offering to lend Pearl the money to pay the IRS--"
