Chapter 11

"Good morning, Aunt Gabby." Jen smiled at her as she entered the kitchen.

"Oh, Jenny honey, I wasn't expecting you to be up. It's still early."

Jen knew exactly what time it was. She had already been up for an hour, waiting for Aunt Gabby to wake so she could ask her some questions. Questions that had plagued her dreams all night.

"I'm really starting to enjoy the mornings," Jen said as she poured herself some coffee.

"Well come on out here on the porch and we'll gossip." Aunt Gabby whispered the last word and winked at Jen. Jen laughed and followed her out the sliding door and onto the porch swing. They sat a few minutes taking in the morning air, listening to the birds as they chirped and the rooster crowing in the distance. Jen finally broke the silence.

"I could enjoy mornings like this for a long time." It wasn't a lie. She really was enjoying it.

"Mornings are my favorite time of day," Aunt Gabby said with a smile.

"We don't get mornings like this in New York." Jen looked down at the cup of coffee in her hands. "I love the clean air here; it really makes a difference."

"Oh yes," Aunt Gabby said emphatically, "clean air and clean living will help you live a hundred years."

Jackpot.

"One hundred? That's a long time. You plan on living that long?" She said it in a teasing manner but eagerly awaited her aunts' response.

"At least!" Aunt Gabby giggled to herself. "I'm too busy to die."

"I'm glad to hear that. I am so happy I was able to come out here and get to know you. I'd hate for our time to be cut short; I mean, now that you're a part of my life." She smiled and Aunt Gabby patted her hand.

"Don't you worry child. I'll be sure and tell you when my time is getting short. But it won't be soon so I wouldn't fret." Her blue eyes sparkled with life and Jen knew that Aunt Gabby would indeed be around for some time.

Jen excused herself and went in the house. She had to get her thoughts together. Aunt Gabby wasn't sick. She didn't have cancer. And knowing her aunt like she did now, Jen was certain she did not call her father and lie to him about her health. A fire began in Jen's heart as she came to the stark realization; her father had blatantly lied to her! She checked her watch, 6:03. Her father should just be getting up. She would give him an hour. One hour, and then he had some serious explaining to do.

****

Jen sat on her bed and dialed her father. Holding the phone to her ear, it began to ring; one, two, three; she knew it was still early in New York but like Aunt Gabby, her dad was an early riser; yet one more characteristic they shared. On the fourth ring Roger answered the phone.

"Dad..." Jen's voice was low.

"Why, Jenny honey! How is Ohi..."

"Dad, Aunt Gabby is not sick!" She had planned on being a little more tactful but her rising anger took over all sense of reason and rational thinking.

"Wait... what?" Roger stumbled on his words. "What do you mean?"

"You told me that Aunt Gabby called you and asked you as her dying wish to come out to Ohio and see her. Do you remember that conversation Daddy? All that crap about her time running out and wanting to see us before she goes? Do you remember?" Jen was all but shouting.

"Jenny calm down, I remember."

"Well, she isn't sick. She doesn't have cancer. As far as I can tell she is going to outlive you. Did you really think I wouldn't find out? Why did you lie to me?"

There was a pause, then a deep breath. Jen waited for her father's explanation. "Jen..." another pause, "I did lie to you about your aunt being sick."

Confirmation. Jen let out a breath she hadn't noticed she'd been holding. "Why?" she asked, trying to hide the hurt in her voice. "You promised you'd never lie to me."

"I know, I know I did honey, but if I told you the truth you would never have gone out there. And you needed to go Jenny."

"Why wouldn't I have come? What is the truth?" Jen's heart was beating so hard it hurt; she suddenly realized the truth might be bad.

Roger sighed heavily on the other end. "Honey," he started, "honey, the truth is... we're broke. We're broke Jenny. We have no money."

Jen was stunned. "What do you mean, broke, Daddy?" she whispered. "What does that mean?"

Roger sounded defeated, "I made a few bad investments in the last five years; investments my broker promised me would be great. Then the economy crashed and buried us all."

"The firm is doing fine." Jen tried to believe her own words. "I run the office, I see the bank account, and we are doing just fine."

"No sweetie, we're not." Jen had never heard her father sound more forlorn. Suddenly she remembered why they were having this conversation in the first place.

"What does all this have to do with Aunt Gabby?" Jen cringed; she didn't want the answer any more than she wanted to ask the question. It had to do with money, which was never a good thing.

There was another pause on the line as Roger breathed heavily; it was clearly hard for him to confess these things to her. "Your aunt is a very smart woman, as I'm sure you've noticed."

Jen nodded as if her father could see her. Roger continued, "She has, like me, made some investments in her lifetime. But unlike me, hers have seemed to have paid off."

"Oh, good Lord," Jen let out a breath. She felt sick. "Daddy," she swallowed, the feeling of nausea growing, "please, please don't tell me you sent me out here for Aunt Gabby's money." Even though Jen wanted to hear Roger say that wasn't the case, she knew it was. Her heart felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.

Roger sighed again, "She needs someone to leave all her money to Jenny. It might as well be you."

Jen collapsed on the floor next to her bed. "You sent me here to CON your sister into leaving me her money when she dies?" She was sure she was going to vomit.

"Jenny don't be so dramatic," Roger said defensively, "I didn't send you to con anyone. You genuinely care for her, correct? That's why I didn't tell you. If I had, the feelings you have for her now would be fake. But they aren't. You truly care for her and she cares for you. If she, of her own free will, chooses to leave you some sort of inheritance, why should you feel bad about accepting it?"

Jen put her head in her hand as she listened to her father. She despised his manipulating tone, as if he was trying to make a bad deal seem better than it was. She was ill; absolutely sick at the thought of Aunt Gabby thinking the only reason she came here was for her money. She knew her father was a coercive man, but she never imagined he'd pull a stunt like this.

"How much?" Jen managed to squeak out in between bouts of nausea.

"How much does she have?" Roger asked. "Well, I don't have an exact number, but..."

"No!" Jen shouted, cutting him off. "How much do you owe?"

"Well," Roger began, "it's..." he fumbled his words.

"How much?" Jen repeated, her tone curt and unfeeling.

Roger, knowing he was defeated finally answered her, "Eight point three, give or take."

Jen was momentarily confused. "Thousand? Dad is that eight hundred and three thousand?"

"No," Roger answered simply. "Eight point three million."

Jen squeezed her eyes shut and clutched her stomach. "Oh Daddy, what have you done?" she cried.

"We can get out of this Jenny, we can. We can fix this; you have the power to make all of this go away. All we need is a little inheritance money from your aunt."

"Eight million dollars is not a little inheritance Roger!" she yelled as loudly as she dared. She always used his first name when she was mad at him. It helped her break the emotional ties and stay focused.

"She has at least that," was the dim response.

"Are you kidding me? I've seen the way she lives. There is no way she has that much money."

"I told you, she made some very smart investments in her lifetime. From my estimations, she has closer to twelve."

"Your estimations?" Jen asked, incredulous. "How would you know?"

"I have connections, Jen. You know that."

"From trickery and manipulation to spying and bribery; the plot thickens." Jen's voice was thick with disgust.

"Don't use that attitude with me." Roger was putting on his dad face. "I told you I would do whatever it took to take care of us, and I have."

"I won't do it. I'm packing my bags and leaving tomorrow. I will not be a part of this." Jen was reaching for her suitcase but what Roger said next stopped her cold in her tracks.

"Oh, come on Jenny, would you rather she leave it to some country bum out there that isn't even her relative?"

Jen couldn't breathe, couldn't move, she felt paralyzed as memories of conversations over the last few weeks flooded her brain. She felt another rise of nausea as Zack's words came back to her, "I don't want her getting hurt... You're not here for any material reason?... Whatever you want you won't get it from her... I'm the closest thing to family she has..."

The truth hit Jen so hard she could almost feel the sting. Her heart sank and she mentally slapped herself for not seeing it sooner. Zack wanted in on the money! He wanted to be included in Aunt Gabby's will!

Jen cursed under her breath. Of course! It all made sense now. He took care of her, helped around her house, took her places, cooked for her and even did her grocery shopping when she asked him to. She knew he was too good to be true. He was after an inheritance the same way she was. They were slime, the both of them, competing for the affections of an elderly woman for no other reason than the money she possessed. Jen sat on the bed, all strength had left her, and she suddenly felt cold.

"Jenny! Jenny!"

Jen came back to reality, realizing her father was still on the phone. She put it back to her ear.

"I'm here," she whispered.

"Are you alright?" Roger asked, concerned.

"I have to go."

"Don't hang up on me Jenny." Roger's voice was stern.

"I just realized something Daddy. I have to go. I'll call you later." And without waiting for a response, she hung up the phone.

She felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. Memories of dancing with Zack the night before came back to her. Were his perceived affections for her fake as well? Oh, he was good. And she had fallen for it. Then another thought struck: did Zack really even care about Aunt Gabby or were his actions solely based on his greed? Clearly, he felt entitled to the inheritance since he was the one that had been taking care of her. Jen began putting all the pieces together. Zack viewed her as a threat, which explained his being so suspicious of her when she first arrived. Were his rude comments a ploy to try and make her leave? If so, why had he apologized? Maybe it was a 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer' type of mentality. But she wasn't enemies with Zack, was she?

Her thoughts turned to her father and the firm. Would they really lose everything? The thought of the firm going under racked her soul with torment; it was everything she and her father had ever worked for. Jen felt a sadness overtake her. How could he have done this to her? How could the person she trusted most, lie to her and get them in this much trouble? Jen let the disappointment engulf her. Then suddenly, she realized something. Roger had made a terrible mistake, had lied to her, and was in a lot of trouble; however, he was right about one thing; her feelings toward Aunt Gabby were genuine. He had made it possible for Jen to get to know her aunt. Their relationship had blossomed, and she had developed a love for her. A true, legitimate love; despite it being bittersweet at this moment.

Her thoughts turned again to Zack. Jen knew her feelings were genuine when it came to Aunt Gabby. Could she say the same about Zack? Could she leave and let a person who didn't actually care for her aunt swindle her out of her hard-earned money? Jen's strength grew with each thought and she became more and more resolute. Did Zack deserve the money any more than she did? No! Absolutely not! Aunt Gabby needed her now more than ever. She would stay. She would make sure to protect Aunt Gabby. Zack wanted to play favorites? Well, two could play at that game.

****

A short time later Jen sat with Aunt Gabby at the kitchen table.

"I'm so happy you've decided to come out here for the holidays!" Aunt Gabby said with glee. "Nothing could make me happier. I've gotten used to having you around." She smiled at Jen as she put some water on to boil for iced tea.

"I've decided I like having family around. Growing up it was always just me and Dad, year in and year out. Don't get me wrong, that was fine, but I think it would be hard to go back to that now that I've met you and spent time out here."

"Family has a way of sucking you in or pushing you out," Aunt Gabby remarked. "Hand me a lemon, will you honey?"

Jen quickly checked the fridge for the citrus and handed it to her. Leaning against the counter, her thoughts drifted. Unfortunately for her, her family had both sucked her in and pushed her out! This tug of war with her conscience was exhausting.

"The water sweetie." Aunt Gabby's voice brought Jen out of her thoughts.

"What's that?" she asked.

"The water." She nodded her head toward the whistling teapot on the stove.

"Oh, right, of course." Jen quickly turned the stove off and poured the boiling water into a glass bowl full of freshly picked mint leaves. "Sorry, I'm a little scatter-brained today," Jen added when she saw Aunt Gabby looking at her.

Aunt Gabby shrugged, "Everyone has a right to those days. What's on your mind honey? Everything okay?"

"Oh yeah, everything's fine. I just... didn't get a very good sleep last night. My mind wouldn't quit working."

"I see." Aunt Gabby suppressed a smile. "Is there a certain," she paused, "person that has your mind so preoccupied?"

Jen looked at her aunt suspiciously. "Not particularly," she said slowly. "Why? Do you think there should be?"

"Oh, no no," Aunt Gabby said, waving a hand as she went back to what she was doing. "I heard that last night's dance was quite a hit, and that you and Zack had a really good time."

Jen rolled her eyes and blew out a breath. "I don't know why I'm surprised, who told you?"

Aunt Gabby shrugged her shoulders. "That's not the important part my dear."

"It was Annie, wasn't it?"

Aunt Gabby said nothing.

"Well, you should know that nothing happened. And nothing is going to happen. We danced and it was fun. But he's not my type, so don't worry."

"Mmmm hmmm, whatever you say dear," Aunt Gabby commented as she moved about the kitchen.

Jen tried not to take the bait, but she couldn't help it. "Why? What did Annie say?"

"Nothing," Aunt Gabby smiled.

"She must have said something."

"Not really. She just said you danced, and he took you home."

"That's exactly what happened."

"Good." Aunt Gabby smiled again, and her blue eyes sparkled.

There was an awkward silence. Jen chewed her lip silently as she mulled over what Annie could be saying about her and her brother. Even if there was a spark between them, it had quickly been snuffed the second Jen found out about the money. There was no way she was going to fraternize with a man that could be trying to con Aunt Gabby. She had way too much self-respect for that. No, she was done with Zack LaFaye and his rugged good looks. From here on out, it was all business and no pleasure.

"Well, I think you are going to love this place in the fall." Aunt Gabby changed the subject. "It's quite beautiful. And there are so many holiday things that go on throughout the town. You are never bored."

Jen smiled. "Nothing is ever boring in New York City. Maybe one year I can convince you to come to our place for the holidays. I think you'd like it."

"Maybe one day I will take you up on that," Aunt Gabby said as she handed her a glass of mint iced tea.

"Thank you," Jen said as she accepted it. "So, my plan is to head back to New York at the end of the summer and get some of my affairs in order. Then I'll be back the middle of November and stay until the New Year if that sounds alright?"

Aunt Gabby reached for Jen's hand. "That sounds perfect. I'm delighted to know that you've found a place in your heart for your old aunt."

"Oh, Aunt Gabby," she said, squeezing her hand, "I'm afraid you're stuck with me now. I couldn't stay away if I wanted to."

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