The Mill River Redemption Read Online Free PDF Page A

us.”
    “Maybe she was losing it,” Rose agreed. “And what about her precious brokerage? Who’ll be running it until her estate is finally settled?”
    “I’ll be monitoring the books, and there’s an associate broker on her staff who has the authority to approve transactions,” Jim said. “Your mom was pretty careful to have contingency plans in place.”
    Sheldon sat up straight and turned to Rose. “Look, I think this is a total crock, too,” he said in a low, pleading voice. “But, we’ve got two months. We can look into this further, get another legal opinion, once we get home. Let’s just do what we need to do, and then we can get out of here.”
    “I think Sheldon’s approach is reasonable,” Ivy said. “Jim, maybe we should just decide on a move-in date, give each of them a set of keys to a house, and let them go for now. They can think it over for a while and still have plenty of time to make arrangements once they come around.”
    “Fat chance,” Rose snapped.
    “You will,” Ivy said with a sweet smile.
    Emily rolled her eyes and turned to Jim. “Whatever,” she said. “Doesn’t matter to me which house I get.”
    “WE should get the bigger house,” Rose said. “We’re a family. She’s just one person.”
    Jim Gasaway fished around in his pants pocket and removed two sets of house keys and a quarter. “The houses aren’t all that different in size,” he said. “But, it’s probably best that we consult Mr. Washington. Why don’t we let Alex call it? Would that be all right?”
    “Could I?” Alex asked with a hopeful grin. He looked at each of his parents. Rose said nothing, but Sheldon bent to whisper something in his ear. Emily shrugged her shoulders.
    “Okay, then, Alex,” Jim said, “heads or tails. On the count of three—ready? One, two, three!” He tossed the coin up high, almost to the ceiling.
    “Heads!” Alex yelled, and the room was silent except for the sound of the coin landing on the wood floor.
    “Looks like it’s tails,” Jim said as he peered down at the quarter, and Father O’Brien saw Alex frown and shrink back against the sofa. “Emily, which house do you want?”
    “I suppose I’ll take whichever one is
bigger
,” she said, smiling. She reached out her hand for the keys that Jim held out to her.
    Rose jumped quickly to her feet. “You get the keys, Sheldon,” she said. “I’m going to gather up our things in the living room.” Rose rushed out of the office.
    “Well, that went better than I expected,” Ivy muttered to herself.
    “As for your arrival,” Jim said to Emily, “I assume the more time the better, for both of you. Today’s May fourth. Why don’t we make it easy and just say you and Rose will both be back here on the first of July?”
    Emily stood with one arm across her middle as she stared atthe small set of house keys in her hand. “Whatever. I will try to do what Mom asked,” she said in her a sad voice, “but honestly, I don’t think it will make any difference. There are some things that just can’t be fixed, and with what happened between Rose and me …”
    Sheldon sighed and shrugged. “July first.” He gently squeezed Alex around the shoulders before accepting the keys that Jim offered. “We should be going,” he said. “We’ve got a long drive ahead of us, but I’m sure we’ll be consulting our attorney—”
    There was a sudden loud crash somewhere outside the office, followed by Rose shrieking, “No, no, oh my God, Mom!”
    “Oh, dear,” said Father O’Brien. He opened the door quickly, and the four of them hurried out of the office toward the sound of the commotion.
    The tidy, solemn living room had been transformed. At one end, Ruth Fitzgerald and the few remaining people who had come to pay their respects stood in a group. At the other end of the room, the small table holding Josie’s memorial display was lying on its side. Covered in a mixture of ashes, broken glass, and a greenish liquid