When August Ends

by Penelope Ward

  “With all due respect, Rick, I don’t think you’re being fair. Heather has done nothing but take good care of her mother for several years. It’s time for her to have some freedom.”

  “With all due respect to you, I don’t need to sit here and listen to someone who literally blew in like the wind five minutes ago. You don’t know anything about this family.”

  “As of late? I guarantee I know more than you do.”

  “You have no right to an opinion here.”

  Heather intervened, “Well, you lost your right to an opinion the day you walked out on us.”

  “This house is half mine,” he said. “I do have an opinion.”

  “What are you talking about? This house is Mom’s.”

  “Alice? You want to break the news to our daughter?”

  Heather looked confused as she turned to her mother. “What’s going on?”

  Alice was shaking as she looked at Rick. “You bastard. You promised you wouldn’t go after that money.”

  Heather looked between them. “What are you talking about?”

  “After your grandfather died, he left the house to your mother,” Rick said. “But during our divorce proceedings, it was determined that when the property sold, I would get half of the money.”

  My heart sank.

  Heather turned toward her mother. “Is this true?”

  Alice looked like she wanted to disappear. “Technically, it is, but your father assured me some years back that he would sign over his rights to us if we ever had to sell, that he wouldn’t take any of that money because he didn’t feel he was entitled to it. This is the first I’m hearing that he seems to think he has a right to half of my father’s house.”

  “Things have changed,” he said. “My financial situation isn’t what it used to be. My company is going under, and I’m going to need that money after all. It wasn’t my intention to have to take advantage of it, but I’m afraid I do. Although, as I’ve said, I think waiting for the market to strengthen in a couple more years would be wise.”

  “Are you kidding me right now?” Heather cried. “You’ve made plenty of money, and you’re so cheap, I bet you have a heap of savings. The money from this house is the only future we have. This house belonged to her father. Her name is on the deed, not yours. You abandoned us years ago. What right do you have to anything you left behind?”

  “Well, you may not believe I deserve it, but the fact remains that I do have the legal right to half.”

  My blood boiled. I’d never wanted to annihilate anyone so much in my life.

  Heather looked ready to collapse, and Alice’s face was turning white.

  Without thinking it through, I reached for Heather’s hand under the table. I wanted her to know I had her back, that everything would be okay despite what her father was trying to pull.

  Heather squeezed my hand as she spoke to him.

  “We thought we lost everything when you left. But that was nothing compared to losing Opal. All we’ve been trying to do is get back on our feet ever since, to rise up from the guilt and pain. We’ve survived thus far, and we can handle anything else life throws at us. So if you want half the house, take it. We’ll survive without it.”

  The room went quiet. I broke the silence when I couldn’t hold my words in any longer.

  “I’ve spent more quality time here in the past several weeks than you have in years. I see how hard your daughter works, not only to take care of her mother, but to make sure everything else gets done around here. You couldn’t possibly understand what their life is like if you only come around once a year. A lot of bad shit has happened, but she still gets up every day and does the best that she can, keeps her mother alive and well and keeps this house running. She’s your daughter, and she’s never asked you for one goddamn thing, least of all your love. All she’s asking is that you keep out of what’s not rightfully yours, so she can live her life. If you’re legally entitled to something, I suppose you can take it. But you can never get back your daughter’s trust.”

  I looked over at Heather and she mouthed, “Thank you.” I grasped her hand tighter. I just wanted to protect her.

  She let go of me and stood up. “I need to be by myself for a while.”

  She took off up the stairs, and Teddy followed her, leaving me alone with her parents. I needed to get out of here.

  “Thank you for dinner, Alice,” I said as I got up, refusing to even look at Rick.

  I made my way out the door, getting angrier by the second as I walked back to the boathouse.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  * * *

  HEATHER

  It took me a few hours before I had the energy to come out of my room. My father had gone back to western Massachusetts. He’d texted to let me know. His leaving didn’t surprise me. After what he’d pulled, I didn’t want to see him, and he was smart enough to figure that out. I wondered if he planned to take that money or if it was an empty threat to keep us from selling now. I suspected he had every intention of taking it.

  My mother was back in bed, probably totally mentally exhausted, just as I was. I needed to check in on her before I went over to Noah’s to thank him for standing up for me. When he’d reached for my hand under the table, I’d grabbed it like a lifeline.

  Mom sat up in her bed when she noticed me at the doorway. “I’m so sorry I never told you about the divorce settlement. He assured me he wouldn’t come after that money.”

  “It’s not your fault,” I said, rubbing her legs.

  “Even if he takes half, there’s still plenty for your schooling. It will be tight, but we can manage. Promise me you won’t let this stop you.”

  I nodded. “I have to rethink things. Maybe I’ll take out some loans.”

  Her eyes flitted back and forth as she seemed to search for a solution. “I have lots of jewelry from your grandmother. I’ll sell it.”

  “I just can’t believe he’s putting us in this position. I never thought he’d do something like this.”

  “Your father has always been a selfish man. I’ve tried not to badmouth him too much over the years or taint your view of him…but this doesn’t really surprise me at all.”

  “His actions have always proven his selfishness,” I said. “I’d forgiven him for abandoning us. I’m not sure I can forgive him for this, though. It’s one thing to not give us anything. It’s another to take from us.”

  “I’m so sorry, honey.”

  Picking some lint off her bedspread, I asked, “How long did Noah stay after I went upstairs?”

  “He left right after you went to your room.”

  I couldn’t blame him. I’d left him alone in the middle of a shit storm.

  “I can’t believe how he stood up to Dad.”

  “He’s very fond of you.”

  “I need to go thank him.”

  “Bring him the dessert we never ate. It’s the least we can do.”

  I’d love to give him more than that tonight.

  ***

  Carrying the chocolate cake, I walked carefully over to the boathouse.

  As I approached, a flicker of a flame caught my eye; Noah was on the porch smoking a cigar.

  When he spotted me, he stood. “Are you okay?”

  “I am. Sit. I’m just gonna grab two forks so we can have some cake.” I entered his kitchen and grabbed the utensils.

  When I returned, he said, “It’s a no-plates-needed kind of night, huh?”

  “Yes.” I spoke with my mouth full. “Have some. Don’t make me feel like a pig.”

  “Fine. You twisted my arm.” Noah dug in. “Did he leave?”

  “I guess he left shortly after you did. He went back to Massachusetts.”

  “Good.”

  I stuck my fork in the cake. “Thank you for standing up for me.”

  “Please tell me what he pulled isn’t going to deter you.”

  “No. It won’t. I don’t care what I have to do. I’ll make it work.”

  He stop
ped eating for a moment. “I hope you don’t take offense to this, but I wanted to kill your father tonight.”

  I sighed. “I can relate.” Looking up at the starry sky, I said, “You know, Opal used to ask me how I could forgive him so easily for leaving us. I never could come up with an answer that pleased her. But the truth was, for me, it wasn’t that complicated. He’s my father, and therefore I’ve always loved him—maybe when I shouldn’t have. All I ever wanted was his love and support. He never gave us anything but the bare minimum required by law. That didn’t matter to me, because I just craved his attention. It’s not the money, you know? It’s the message that his wanting to take it sends. It’s the realization that I don’t mean as much to him as I thought I did.” A tear fell from my eye.

  Noah reached out and wiped it with his thumb. “He’s a fool. You deserve so much better than that. He doesn’t even know you. That much was clear to me.”

  “Well, I never really let him in.”

  “Don’t make excuses for him. It’s not your fault. He’s the parent. You’re the child. It’s his responsibility to make you feel safe and loved, and he’s doing a damn shitty job. He doesn’t realize how lucky he is to have you. My father would’ve killed to have a daughter like you.”

  I rubbed my eyes and smiled. “Really?”

  “Yeah. He ended up with two cruddy sons, but he always wanted a little girl.”

  “He can adopt me.” I laughed. “Nah. Then I’d have an awkward crush on my stepbrother. That would be weird.”

  He closed his eyes for a moment.

  “I’m kidding,” I said. I wasn’t.

  Noah dipped his finger in the chocolate frosting and dabbed it on the tip of my nose.

  Once again, a point in time with him had become my happiest moment of the day.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  * * *

  NOAH

  I was becoming more cognizant of the fact that my time at the lake was limited. The property was officially on the market, and today the very first potential buyers were taking a tour.

  I ended up clearing the entire kitchen table so I could get the guinea pig cage off the floor. Their cage was a little unsightly for visitors, but they were damn cute. I never had brought them back to Heather’s. I was probably crazy for taking them in permanently, but I was growing attached to their little rodent asses.

  I’d told Heather to let me know when someone was coming to see the property, that I could leave the boathouse during the showings. So when she’d called me earlier to tell me someone had made an appointment, I took a ride to a local discount furniture store to kill time.

  One of the things missing from the boathouse was a place for people to sit. I thought it might look nice for potential buyers if there was a small sofa there—something other than just the bed to make the space seem like a home, rather than a glorified bedroom. There was barely space for anything else, but there was just enough room to make it work if I moved the bed a certain way. It also crossed my mind that one of the main reasons I never invited Heather inside was because there was no comfortable place for us to sit together except for the bed. By adding a piece of furniture, I could invite her inside without it feeling awkward.

  I picked up a small loveseat from the furniture store and loaded it in the back of my truck.

  By the time I returned to the boathouse, the showing was over. I could tell they had already been inside because a chair was misplaced.

  “How did it go?” I asked the guinea pigs.

  I grabbed some chopped cucumbers from the fridge and fed my furry friends with chopsticks. That was always calming for me.

  Afterward, I went back out to the truck and set the loveseat up in the corner of the room, right across from the television.

  Plopping myself down on it, I remembered it was Heather’s night off. I wondered if I should ask her if she wanted to come over and watch a movie.

  Why does the thought of that make my pulse race?

  Ever since the morning I’d caught her snooping on me, I hadn’t been able to shake it. As crazy and inappropriate as the whole thing was, her little voyeur act had made it into my fantasies several times since. I couldn’t step into the shower anymore without imagining her outside that window, listening in or even watching while I took care of business. The whole thing was kind of freaky to begin with, because while she had thought I was screwing Kira in the shower that morning, I’d actually been getting off to thoughts of her. Pretty freaking ironic.

  I’d almost messed up that day, too. Though I wasn’t going to act on my impulses, I somehow needed her to understand she didn’t need to worry about me and Kira. As fucked-up as it may sound, even if I had an interest in Kira—which I didn’t—I would never do anything to hurt Heather while I was here.

  I had needed her to know that, and in the process, I’d lost control of my feelings when I touched her—a poor judgment call that likely confused her. I’d been trying lately to act as “normal” as possible to reverse whatever mixed signals I’d sent her that day. Part of that meant not avoiding her or acting any differently. So I suppose that could be an argument in favor of inviting her over for a movie tonight.

  After a half-hour of going back and forth about it, I picked up the phone and dialed her.

  “Hey, Noah,” she answered.

  “You around tonight?”

  “Yeah. What’s up?”

  Why am I sweating?

  “You feel like watching a movie?”

  “That’s strange…” she said.

  “What’s strange?”

  “You’re inviting me inside the boathouse. You never do that.”

  No shit.

  “Well, I have a spot we can sit now.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Rubbing my temple, I said, “I bought a small couch.” I intentionally refrained from using the word loveseat.

  “You did?”

  “I figured it would be nice to have one. You know…for the showings.”

  Right.

  For the showings.

  There was one reason and one reason alone why I’d bought this damn couch, and it had nothing to do with comfort. I wanted more time with her before we went our separate ways. Some nights, it was too muggy to sit outside with all the mosquitos. Even if we couldn’t have more than this platonic friendship, I wanted to be around her for the short amount of time we had left. She made me happy.

  “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “It’s fine. I got it for a steal.”

  “Well, yeah, a movie sounds great. Can Teddy come? He’s been standing by the door wagging his tail. I think he wants to see you.”

  “Yeah, Fathead can come, too.”

  The dog had been to the boathouse a couple of times since the guinea pigs’ arrival. It seemed he no longer cared about them because the barking had ceased.

  “Okay. We’ll be right there,” she said.

  The moment I opened the door, I regretted asking her over. Heather looked beautiful—too beautiful to be merely watching a movie. She wore a pink dress with spaghetti straps that left little to the imagination; her nipples pointed through the fabric.

  Christ. This is a bad idea.

  “Why are you all dressed up?” I asked as the dog jumped all over me.

  “It’s my first formal invitation inside the boathouse. I figured it was a special occasion.” She laughed. “No. I was at a baby shower for one of the waitresses earlier. They held it in the back room at Jack Foley’s.”

  Relieved, I nodded. “I see.”

  She ran over to the new sofa and sat down. “I love it. It’s so plush and comfy!”

  Her dress rode up a little as she lay her willowy legs across the length of the loveseat. She was graceful even when casually lounging around.

  Yeah. Not sure what I was smoking, thinking having her here like this was going to be okay.

  Fathead raced over to join her.

  “Teddy approves, too,” she said as she sat up to make roo
m for him. “What are you in the mood for?”

  Going down on you.

  I swallowed. “What do you mean?”

  “What do you want to watch?”

  “Oh…haven’t really thought about it. What about you?”

  “Something light and funny without sex so I don’t blush watching it with you.” She laughed.

  Damn good idea.

  “Alright.”

  But as she sat there enjoying the new piece of furniture, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Those nipples piercing through her dress taunted me. How I wanted to bite into them, taste her skin. What’s wrong with me? I normally had better control over my thoughts—maybe not in the shower, but at least in her presence. Tonight, though, I couldn’t seem to stop them. Maybe holding everything in for so long had finally made me crazy. I imagined her spread eagle beneath me, screaming in pleasure as I rammed into her tight, little pussy. I imagined my cock down her throat. I imagined my tongue in her asshole while I rubbed her clit and brought her to orgasm over and over. Licking my lips, I could feel myself getting hard. I needed to refocus my brain before she noticed.

  When she seemed to catch me staring, I pulled a question out of my ass. “Is that your natural hair color?”

  What the heck did I just say?

  “Yeah. My father had blond hair before he lost it all. I get it from him.” Her eyes narrowed. “Why do you ask?”

  “No reason. It’s nice.”

  “Thanks.”

  We ended up choosing some Reese Witherspoon movie. Even though Heather was looking at the screen, she seemed preoccupied. I knew that, of course, because I still couldn’t take my damn eyes off her.

  She nearly caught me again when she suddenly turned to me. “Are you sure I’m doing the right thing?”

  I sat up straighter and lowered the volume a little. “About selling the house?”

  “Yeah. Now that people are starting to look, it’s getting so real.”

  “You don’t have to sell if you really don’t want to, but I do think it’s best for your future.”

  “We’ll never get it back. You know?”