Page 89 of Delicious Surrender
How had she gone from a simple existence to disaster and chaos? Throughout her life, Brynne struggled with maintaining attachments, and it only worsened after the experience in Toronto. She’d lost touch with her friends from school, and if not for Jared and his larger-than-life personality, she might never have come out of her shell. She also knew that without her aunt’s faith and encouragement, she wouldn’t have started the book. It was her lifeline now.
So, she had to deal with an overzealous neighbor makingthreats and a little house needing some TLC. Was that enough to make her run for the hills? “No!” she yelled to the wind.
She had more things to be grateful for than freaked out about. Her house had stunning water views. Her job allowed her time to write. Plus, she’d found a handsome handyman who could do countless projects. Maybe if she dated him, she could get around the stupid stipulations of the will.OMG, what a brilliant idea!
She would not run away anymore. Instead, she would be rationalandspiritual to get through this mess. She would fight the claims because the truth was on her side. If she needed reinforcements, she would pray for Auntie Josie to come and haunt that motherfucker. It was settled.
When she reached the cottage, she had a stitch in her side. Her phone dinged, and she realized the signal didn’t go beyond her front porch. Jared had returned her call, so she rang him back.
“Bree! How are you, babe? What the heck is going on?”
She sighed. “Nothing a little hike to the beach wouldn’t cure, my friend.”
“Your message was kind of intense! What of voodoo dolls and pins?”
“Where do I start? King shit of turd hill is threatening to sue me, the repairs to the house are probably going to be in the thousands, and my aunt’s will won’t pay out until I find the man of my dreams.”
“Oh my god. Wait, what? First tell me who is king shit?!”
“He’s the guy who wants to buy my house.” She sighed heavily into her fists. “I didn’t know it sits on almost three acres and goes all the way to the water. He claims Josie promised to sell it to him or let him dig a trench right through it. Since I refused the offer, he’s considering contesting her will.” She paused, thinking, then sat forward. “Wait, I just thought of something! I think I know how to win! This brute plans to try to prove I influenced Josie to leave it to me when she was sick and therefore susceptible to influence. But she put me on the title of this place over a year ago. She wasn’t sick then.” Grinning, she asked, “Do you know what this means?”
“Honestly, I’m not following, but it sounds like you don’t have to worry about that part.”
“Exactly. He’s assuming I pushed her around so she would leave it to me. When I meet him, I’ll tell him where to go and where to stuff his five hundred K.”
“What did you just say?”
“Yeah, he’s willing to pay five hundred thousand pounds for it. How crazy is that?!”
“Holy shit! Are you sure you don’t want to take the money and come back to London? It’s so goddamned remote out there, babe.”
“I know, but I love this place. Even if I never find love, I’ll have enough money to live comfortably.”
“What the hell are you talking about? I seriously cannot keep up.”
“Auntie Josie said I won’t collect the bulk of the estate unless I find a suitable man, give up the three-date rule, andmeet other ridiculous conditions. Ha! I have a way around that, too.”
“Wow. I’m gonna need some popcorn. God, I miss you, girl!”
“I know, I miss you, too. I’ll come to the city soon, I promise. In other news, the contractor I hired is smokin’ hot, and he’s going to do all the repairs. If I date him, I might be able to get around thatotherclause. He seems keen.”
“Jesus. A shit ton has happened these last few days. But you sound good.”
“I am not going gently into that good night. Hell, I’ve been through worse.”
“You are a warrior! I’m so proud of you. And how is the writing going?”
She grimaced. “Okay, so I got a bit off track, but I’m going to dive back in and join a BDSM chat room. Oh, and I need to come up with a pseudonym.”
“Okay, wow. Lesson number one: Do not go into any chat room with your real name. Can you hide your location and use a VPN?”
“A what?”
“Oy vey. Hang on.” She heard muffled voices in the background. “I’m sorry I have to run, babe. But don’t go joining anything online yet. I’ll get you set up and we’ll talk about the pen name. Call me later tonight?”
“Can’t tonight. I’m working the bar. How about tomorrow? I’m off in the evening.”
“Perfect. I love you, and I miss you so much.”