Legal Heirs - Box Set Edition: Books 5-8 (Surrendering Charlotte Chronicles)

by Lee, Kimball

  They left the hospital and drove to a little bar on the beach, and the irony wasn’t lost on either of them. Hadn’t a beach bar in Malibu changed the course of their lives in a way? A bar called Wax, where they had both danced with Charlotte while a band played old Don Henley songs. Charlotte had been at the bar with Finn and JP after the surf tournament, but she was really with Bly, sleeping with him, falling in love with him. Later, after Hong Kong, Finn had left her t-shirt from Wax on the bed on Bly’s boat, and Charlotte left Bly for good after that. So it was certainly ironic that Bly and Finn sat on the beach drinking and planning how it would be when their threesome was finally, irrevocably, only two.

  There wasn’t a cover band at the tiny bar in Pass Christian, Mississippi, only an overly enthusiastic DJ playing songs that would probably appeal to Hadley or Mia or Skyler. They listened anyway, to keep from talking about what was happening, to keep from thinking.

  “Can you understand the words to this song, Bly? Modern music is a serious downer. Listen to the fucking words, this is the story of our lives, buddy.”

  “It’s unfortunate that when we feel a storm we can roll ourselves over cause we’re uncomfortable. Oh well, the devil makes us sin, but we like it when we’re spinning in his grip. Love is like a sin, my love, for the ones that feel it the most…”

  “Can we talk about something else?” Bly said, and took a drink from a bottle of beer. “My son is in love with your daughter, and I think it’s serious. The look in his eye, he’s like a deer caught in headlights. I’ve had that look since the day I met Charlotte. You have the same look, Finn. Maybe Holden will be lucky and find a cure, although I don’t know if I would have taken the anti-Charlotte vaccine. I don’t suppose you would have either, seeing how you’re stubborn ass won’t even try to beat this… cancer.”

  Finn had finished two beers and the music and the beer buzz had turned him into a beachside philosopher. He smiled at Bly, kicked back in his chair, and decided Bly was his new best friend.

  “Hadley’s a lot like Charlotte, and you and I, my friend, we know all about Charlotte. Charlotte is mesmerizing, magical, a miracle in the middle of a world gone mad…. Do you know how many times I’ve looked death in the fucking eye and stared it down? I can’t count that high. I beat it every time, when it could’ve been over in a split second. That was how I wanted to go, that’s how I planned to die, quick and quiet in the middle of a war zone. Not from this cowardly shit eating away at my brain. I’ll be a zombie by the end of the summer. I should just grow a monster set of balls right now and swim out into the Gulf and keep swimming. Ah, fuck! How am I going to do this, Bly? How the fuck am I going to leave my kids? How in God’s name am I going to navigate wherever I’m going without Charlotte?” Finn turned away and finished his beer in one long gulp, then he ran his hand across his eyes and pulled himself together. “Just think how strange if Hadley and Holden end up together. If they have a child someday, you and Charlotte and I will have come together in the flesh. Your son and our daughter, our grandchild. I’ll never see it, of course. It’s a profound thought really, three people in a love triangle and their DNA mixes and a miracle is born.”

  “Finn, listen to me, you are not ready to die. You are NOT ready to die. Let me do what I can, the jet is on standby, we can be in Houston in an hour and a half. Think about what you’re doing, you can beat this thing. You can have more time with Charlotte…”

  “Okay, let’s talk about Charlotte. I appreciate your offer to keep me alive a little longer, Bly, I sincerely thank you. But that’s not happening, for reasons I’ve tried to explain. The tumors are too far advanced, I’m not going to drag it out. I had a moment of weakness, I got past it. Moving on… first things first, are you listening, asshole? I really need for you to pay attention. Atticus is going to feel guilty, he loves me, he loves you; he’ll go off on a guilt trip. He wants to quit the Academy and go into SEAL training now; try to discourage him. It’s not the kind of life we want for him. Hadley’s star is going to shine bright, I can feel it; she’ll be a major celebrity. Watch out for her, please, don’t let her lose her way, and don’t let any of those Hollywood types steer her in the wrong direction. Charlie’s twelve years old, he’ll need a father. My brother Jude will try to take my place and he’s a good man, but he’s going to want Charlotte, too. Which brings us to the most important matter at hand, you and Charlotte. I’ve had a good run, she’s loved me more than I ever thought possible, and she’s made it a wonderful life to live. But she’s been yours as well, and as much as it hurts me to say it, you’ve been very… noble in your love for her. I don’t want this to sound like I’m passing the proverbial torch, but she was my wife for the beginning of her life, and she should be your wife for the rest of her life.”

  “Finn, don’t…” Bly said, and he was hurting down deep in his soul to hear the words Finn was struggling over.

  “No, I’m not through yet. She’ll fight you, she won’t think she deserves to be happy in the aftermath of my death. I know how you are, Bly, how she can shatter you with her words and actions. Don’t let her, don’t believe her when she says she doesn’t love you. Because… she does, she fucking does, and she can’t stop it any more than she can stop loving me. Give her some time, but stay close by—you’ll feel it when enough time has passed. Then… do your thing, win her over, make her admit that she loves you, make her live happily ever after.”

  *

  “Hadley, your screen test was phenomenal. I need you in L.A. by Monday to start shooting the film.”

  Hadley would remember those words as long as she lived. They hadn’t come from her agent, they came directly from the hottest director in Hollywood. Ian Morrissey wanted her for the lead female role in his latest project, a part she would have sold her soul for if it hadn’t been handed to her on a silver platter.

  Leaving Holden was the hard part—she was so freaking in love with him it wasn’t even funny. How on earth was she going to live without him and all the mind-boggling feelings she felt when they were together? Not to mention the sex, now that they’d been doing it night and day for the last three weeks. And for the love of all things holy, what incredible sex it was. Not that she had anything to compare it to, but, just WOW! Her mother had fished around casually for info, saying it was obvious by the look on Hadley’s face that she and Holden had gotten “close.” She wanted to ask her mother if it was always so… incendiary! That was the only word she could think of, partly because Holden was just hot and also because her private parts felt like they were on fire before, during, and after their nonstop lovemaking. Her mother probably would have told her that she must have a urinary tract infection or something like that. What could Charlotte possibly know about yearning, burning sex with a guy who practically set a girl’s panties on fire? Although… her mother had in theory had sex with Holden’s father. Well, more than in theory, because Atticus was the evidence of that ill-fated union. She kind of wanted to just blurt it out and ask, “Hey, Mom, did Mr. Bly have like a HUGE...?” But she would never discuss those intimacies with Charlotte. She could just imagine that her mother would pull out a dozen charts and diagrams and give her a lesson in male anatomy.

  She couldn’t help but talk about sex with Skyler—they were best friends, after all. But Hadley had informed Skyler from the get-go that she did not want to hear any gory details about Atticus. Heaven forbid that she would be forced to listen to an eyewitness account pertaining to her brother’s body. Just NO. She told Sky she could talk about sex only in general terms, as in, “We have done it,” or “We haven’t done it yet.” That was all she wanted to know about her brother’s sex life, and so far they hadn’t done it, so Skyler didn’t have a sex life to discuss anyway.

  One day when Sky got caught up in the frenzy of girl talk, she mentioned something about size and how was it ever going to fit? Hadley stopped her mid-sentence and told her if she was determined to tell the spine-tingling (or pussy-tingling) details, she needed to pick a different b
oyfriend. Skyler was more careful after that, but she and Hadley were both prone to increasing bouts of giddiness that had everyone who passed through the McCall House talking.

  Holden had his father’s eyes, wide and blue-green like the ocean, and Hadley had seen the hurt in them when she told him she had to leave for L.A. in a few days. In fact she was scheduled to do a photo shoot in New York for Vanity Fair, but now they were bringing the photographer to California.

  She had achieved that much clout overnight; her first little indie film was bringing in millions of fans and dollars worldwide and she was a hot ticket. Every important director wanted her, but Ian Morrissey had bypassed her agent and contacted her directly. She had the look he was after and the talent to back it up, and she had stolen every scene in that first movie. He warned her to get ready, his film would catapult her into a realm of celebrity that most actors only dreamed of. Reality as she knew it was about to change forever.

  “Come with me until you go back to the Academy, I want you with me in Los Angeles,” she told Holden as they lay with legs and arms entwined. They had made love in her canopy bed for the first time—normally they went to his beach house, but the McCall House was suddenly empty.

  Skyler was staying with Atticus, and Charlie had gone back to San Diego with their Grandmother Georgina.

  Her father had surprised her mother with a spur-of-the-moment trip to the South of France, and they were going to revisit the little coastal town where they’d spent their honeymoon. She’d overheard her parents whispering about all the things they would do there—Charlotte said she intended to walk bare-breasted along the beach then get down and dirty in the sand with Finn. Hadley was only mildly shocked at her mother’s words. Her parents had managed to keep the lover’s spark alive in their marriage, and they were always giving each other little conspiratorial glances.

  If her mother did decide to drop her top on the beach, it was a sure thing she would turn heads in a good way. Hadley had inherited her looks from Finn and her long, lean body from Charlotte. She was glad of that, Charlotte’s body had managed to defy gravity. Her breasts were firm and beautiful, and she still looked hot in a tiny swimsuit. Thank God for good genes, Hadley mused.

  Holden was in love with her and her body, and the feeling was mutual. He was so freaking hot he turned her into an insatiable sex fiend just watching him undress. Fuck! She couldn’t think of him without a string of volcanos erupting down deep in her core. His body was an absolute revelation, tall and muscled and although she had nothing to compare him to, the man was seriously well endowed. She loved his touch, his kisses; the secret words he whispered then shouted when they fell off the edge of the world together. She loved him, and just thinking about him made her wet and achy with desire, so she turned to face him in the bed and no words were necessary as his mouth descended to claim hers.

  “Anyone awake in this house? I know you two are still in the damn bed, but get up and get dressed, there’s excitement in the air!” Atticus’s voice rang through the McCall house and Hadley and Holden quickly untangled themselves.

  Holden slipped into jeans and a t-shirt, gave Hadley a smile and a kiss, and went downstairs to see what the adventure was all about.

  “I suppose my sister has to make herself presentable before she can face me, am I right? Never mind, we’ve already been through that, you break her heart you die. I’m sure you got the message loud and clear,” Atticus said, clamping his hand on Holden’s shoulder and steering him into the kitchen. Atticus made a pot of coffee and raised his eyes to look at Holden, who had settled at the long wooden farm table in the middle of the kitchen.

  “Do not fuck yourself to death this summer, little brother, you look like shit, how about you two give it a rest? Or not, what the fuck. Hey, let’s go to New Orleans for a couple of days before Hadley leaves. Tomorrow is Skyler’s eighteenth birthday, time to celebrate, my friend!”

  “Oh ho! So the big bad truth is out—the sweet little teenage temptress comes of age and there will be celebrating and condom wrappers flying. Yeah, sounds good, New Orleans holds a special place in my heart… and so does Hadley. You know that, right? I love her, if anyone moves on, it will be her, not me. I’m past hope of recovery where she’s concerned,” Holden said, and Hadley bounced happily into the room, wrapped her arms around him and scooted into his lap.

  “Suck it up, Atti, this is the man I love. It’s weird for you, we know that. It even sounds weird, your brother and your sister, but he and I are not related so it’s not like we would have two-headed babies or anything. Okay, so what’s this adventure, and who cares what it is, we are up for it, dude. Bring it on.”

  “Skyler’s birthday is tomorrow. How about a trip to the Big Easy to celebrate in style? And how about we get Cruz de Leon his own room in a different hotel? That bodyguard bullshit gets old fast, I’ll smooth it over with Alex if he finds out.” Atticus said, and scrolled to Skyler’s number in his phone while he poured coffee into three mugs. “Hey love, what’s up, are you out your bubble bath? Hmmm, that sounds amazing, pretty hard to resist…”

  “Uh, hello?” Hadley said, punching Atticus in the arm playfully as she grabbed mugs of coffee for herself and Holden. “Do we have to hear all your love-struck ramblings? For the sake of all our sanity, will the two of you just do it already? What year is this anyway, 1492, do they still sell chastity belts down at the corner store? Skyler has birth control pills, you know—these are not the dark ages. Let’s go to New Orleans like, right now, and by the way, we can’t stay at the Royal Sonesta, that is my and Holden’s special place.”

  *

  “Oh hey whoa! I wanna have my fortune told, come on, hurry, you too, Sky!” Hadley squealed with delight. She held Holden’s hand and led their little group to a middle-aged woman who looked like she had raided Captain Jack Sparrow’s closet. “Don’t you remember, Atti? Mom told us the story. She had her palm read right here in Jackson Square when she was a girl. It was her very first trip to New Orleans, the first time she’d ever stayed in a hotel. Her mother died not long after that, but she said they had the most magical time together. Let’s do it, you’re not wimping out on me, I’ll go first.”

  “Oh yes, very easy to read your future my lovely, it’s written large across your palm. Great fame is coming, and great sorrow is near to you. Your love burns true, careful not to lose it on your way. Twenty dollars, please,” the gypsy-pirate wench said bluntly, holding out her jeweled hand.

  “Well thanks a lot, I could’ve found that out from a Ouija board,” Hadley said. She rolled her eyes, handed the woman two twenties and told Atticus to go next. “You go Atti, I’m dying to see what the future has in store for you.”

  “Do it Atticus, I wanna know, too. But I’m not doing it, my future is going to be exactly what I make of it,” Skyler said. She reached up and planted a quick kiss on his lips, then pointed toward the stool across from the palm reader.

  “Such a large manly hand, the hand of a lover and a fighter, this much anyone can see. You are a child of luck and fortune, there is nothing better; a soul marked by fate. Again I see, sorrow is nearby, soon to come. It will test and change you, but your destiny has already been written. You are all very young and I’m tired, go along now and be careful with your hearts and bodies.”

  “I love hearing that sorrow is coming for us, Hadley. What a fucking scam, and could she have been any more vague? Good fortune and sorrow, she really looked deep into her crystal ball for those two generalizations. Let’s head over to Bourbon Street and shake off the bad vibe with a famous NOLA Hurricane. Holden and I know a place that doesn’t bother to check IDs, and they play classic rock that will soothe your soul,” Atticus said and he took Skyler by the hand and the four of them laughed and ran along the cobbled streets as a light rain began to fall.

  *

  “This tastes terrible and fabulous at the same time!” Skyler said as she sucked on the straw of the tall frozen drink. “I don’t even wanna know what’s in this th
ing, it’s gross but it makes my legs feel like limp noodles. And that’s nice cuz I’m kinda all wound up and excited and nervous… does it make you feel limp noodlish, babe?” she asked Atticus. He took the drink from her and ran his hand through the lock of hair that fell across his forehead before he handed her a glass of water.

  “It does not make me feel the slightest bit noodlish, love. It’s a stiff drink, let’s just say that up front.”

  Hadley was as drunk as Skyler, they were new to drinking and Hurricanes in particular contained every type of alcohol you could think of. They were potent, to say the least. She began to laugh like a fool at her brother’s choice of words, and she could barely catch her breath long enough to let Skyler in on the joke.

  “Get it, Sky? STIFF! Oh my God, you’ll be eighteen in like, an hour, woohoo! Glory hallelujah, goodbye yellow brick road, you will join the ranks of the devirginated! Damn, let’s toast to that.”

  “Let’s not,” Holden said, taking her drink away as well. “Half a drink, even though they are wickedly strong, and our dates are toast. I think we should eat something, especially you two lightweights. You’re both too skinny, let’s catch a cab to Port of Call and get a good greasy burger.”

  “We can walk, it’s just around the corner, you very much underestimate us,” Hadley slurred and then she and Skyler were both caught up in fits of drunken laughter.

  “It’s raining like a son of a bitch. We’re taking a cab,” Atticus said, but Hadley stood up and clamped her hand over his mouth.

  “Listen, Atti!” she said. “It’s that Pearl Jam song Mom used to play over and over, God I‘ll bet we heard it nine million times growing up. I know I’m drunk, but I love it, this is the end of the song, oh, I love the words. It’s sad and beautiful.”

  “I know someday you’ll have a beautiful life, I know you’ll be a star in somebody else’s sky, but why, why, why can’t it be mine?”

  *