And if Delaney did that, her mother would kill her. But Delaney didn’t care. She wasn’t going to sell her soul to spare her mother. “What if I contest the will?” she asked, becoming desperate.

“You can’t contest the will simply because you don’t like the provisions. You have to have grounds, such as lack of mental capacity or fraud.”

“Well, there you go.” Delaney lifted her hands, palms up. “Henry was obviously out of his mind.”

“I’m afraid the court would hold a different view. The provision has to be proven illegal or against public policy, and it is neither. It may be considered capricious, but it meets the requirements of the law. The fact is, Delaney, your portion of the estate is estimated at just over three million dollars. Henry has made you a very wealthy young woman. All you have to do is live in Truly for one year, and no court is going to consider the condition impossible to perform. You can accept or refuse. It’s that simple.”

Delaney sat back down, the breath knocked from her lungs. Three million. She’d assumed they were talking about several thousand.

“If you agree to the terms,” Max continued, “an adequate monthly allowance will be provided for your care and support.”

“When did Henry make this will?” Gwen wanted to know.

“Two months ago.”

Gwen nodded as if it all made perfect sense, but it didn’t. Not to Delaney.

“Do you have any questions, Nick?” Max asked.

“Yeah. Does one fuck constitute a sexual relationship?”

“Oh, my God!” Gwen gasped.

Delaney clenched her hands into fists and turned her gaze to him. His gray eyes burned with fury, and anger thinned his lips. That was okay with Delaney; she was furious, too. They stared at each other, two combatants spoiling for a fight. “You,” she said, lifting her chin and looking at him as if he were something she needed to scrape off her shoes, “are evil.”

“And what about oral sex?” Nick asked, keeping his gaze locked on Delaney.

“Uh… Nick,” Max spoke into the tension. “I don’t think we-”

“I think we do,” Nick interrupted. “Henry was obviously concerned about it. So concerned he included it in his will.” He turned his hard gaze to the lawyer. “I think we need to know the rules right up front so there’s no confusion.”

“I’m not confused,” Delaney told him.

“For instance,” Nick continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “I’ve never considered a one-night stand a relationship. Just two naked bodies rubbing up against each other, getting all sweaty, and having a good time. In the morning you wake up alone. No promises you never intend to keep. No commitment. No looking at each other over breakfast. Just sex.”

Max cleared his throat. “I believe Henry’s intent was no sexual contact at all.”

“How’s anyone going to know?”

Delaney glared at him. “Easy. I wouldn’t have sex with you to save my life.”

He looked at her and lifted a skeptical brow.

“Well,” Max interjected, “as executor, it is Frank Stuart’s duty to see that the terms are enforced.”

Nick turned his attention to the executor, who stood at the back of the room. “Are you going to spy on me, Frank? Peek in my windows?”

“No, Nick. I’ll take your word that you’ll agree to the conditions of the will.”

“I don’t know, Frank,” he said and turned his gaze to Delaney once again. His eyes lingered on her mouth before sliding down her throat to her breast. “She’s pretty hot. What if I just can’t control myself?”

“Stop it right now!” Gwen stood and pointed at Nick. “If Henry were here, you wouldn’t behave this way. If Henry were here, you’d have more respect.”

He looked at Gwen as he rose to his feet. “If Henry were here, I’d kick his ass for him.”

“He was your father!”

“He was nothing more than a sperm donor,” he scoffed, then he moved to the door and delivered one last parting shot before he left. “Too bad for all of us he was a one-shot wonder,” he said, leaving the room filled with stunned silence.

“Leave it to Nick to make everything unpleasant,” Gwen said after they heard the front door close. “Henry tried to make amends, but Nick rejected him every time. I think it’s because he’s always been jealous of Delaney. His behavior here today proves it, don’t you think?”

Delaney’s head began to pound. “I don’t know.” She raised her palms to the sides of her face. “I’ve never known why Nick does the things he does.” Nick had always been a mystery to her, even when they were kids. He’d always been unpredictable, and she’d never pretended to understand why he behaved the way he did. One day he acted like he could hardly tolerate her presence in the same town, then the very next day he might say something nice to her, or make the boys at her school stop teasing her. And just when she would start to think he was nice, he’d blindside her, leaving her stunned and gasping. Like today, and like the time he’d hit her between the eyes with a snowball. She’d been in the third grade, standing in front of the school, waiting for her mother to pick her up. She remembered standing to one side, watching Nick and a group of his friends build a snow fort by the flagpole. She remembered how his thick black hair and olive skin had been such a sharp contrast against all that white. He’d worn a navy wool sweater with leather patches on the shoulders, and his cheeks had turned red from the cold. She’d smiled at him, and he’d thrown a snowball at her and practically knocked her unconscious. She’d had to go to school with two black eyes, which eventually turned green and yellow before fading completely.

“What now?” Gwen asked, pulling Delaney’s attention from the past and Nick.

“If no one contests the will we can proceed fairly quick.” Max looked at Delaney. “Do you plan to challenge the will?”

“What’s the point? You made it clear that Henry’s provision for me was a take it or leave it proposition.”

“That’s correct.”

She should have known Henry would attach conditions to his will. She should have known he would try to make her take over his business, to control her and everyone else from the grave. Now all she had to do was choose. Money or her soul. Half an hour ago she would have said that her soul wasn’t for sale, but that had been before she’d heard the asking price. Half an hour ago everything had been so clear. Now suddenly the lines were blurred, and she didn’t know what to think anymore.

“Can I sell off Henry’s assets?”

“As soon as they legally belong to you.”

Three million dollars in exchange for one year of her life. After that, she could go anywhere she liked. Since leaving Truly ten years ago, she’d never stayed in one place for more than a few years. She always became too restless and edgy to stay in one place for very long. When the urge to move called, she always answered on the first ring. With all that money, she could go anywhere she wanted. Do whatever she wanted, maybe find a place she’d want to call home.

The last thing in the world she wanted was to move back to Truly. Her mother would make her crazy. She’d be crazy to stay here and give up a year of her life.

She’d be crazy if she didn’t.


The Jeep Wrangler slid to a stop a few feet from the burned remains of what had once been a large barn. The fire had burned so hot, the building had caved in on itself, leaving behind a pile of mostly unrecognizable debris. To the left, a blackened foundation, a heap of cinders, and shards of broken glass were all that was left of Henry’s tack shed.

Nick popped the Jeep’s clutch and killed the engine. He would have bet anything that the old man hadn’t intended to torch his horses too. He’d been there the morning after the fire when the coroner pulled what had been left of Henry from the ashes. Nick hadn’t expected to feel anything. He was surprised that he did.

Except for the five years Nick had lived and worked in Boise, he’d resided in the same small town as his father, both of them ignoring each other. It wasn’t until he and Louie had moved their construction company to Truly that Henry decided he would finally acknowledge Nick. Gwen had just turned forty and Henry finally accepted the fact that he would never father children with her. Time had run out, and he turned his attention to his only son. By then, Nick was in his late twenties and had no interest in a reconciliation with the man who’d always refused to acknowledge him. As far as he was concerned, Henry’s sudden interest was a case of too little too late.

But Henry was determined. He made Nick persistent offers of money or property. He offered him thousands of dollars to change his name to Shaw. When Nick refused, Henry doubled the offer. Nick promptly told him to shove it.

He offered Nick a share of his businesses if Nick would act like the son Henry wanted. “Come over for dinner,” as if that would make up for a lifetime of indifference. Nick turned him down.

Eventually though, they did enter into a somewhat strained coexistence. Nick gave his father the courtesy of listening to his offers and enticements before he refused. Even now, Nick had to admit some of the offers had been pretty good, but he’d easily turned them down. Henry accused him of obstinacy, but it was more disinterest than anything else. Nick just didn’t care anymore, but even if he’d been seriously tempted, everything had a price. Nothing was free. There was always a tradeoff. Quid pro quo.

Until six months ago. In an effort to bridge the gap between them, Henry gave Nick a very generous gift, a peace offering with no strings attached. He outright deeded him Crescent Bay. “So my grandchildren will always have the best beach in Truly,” he’d said.

Nick took the gift, and within a week, submitted plans to the city to develop condominiums on the five acres of beachfront property. The preliminary plan was approved remarkably fast, before Henry knew and could raise an objection. The fact that the old man didn’t find out until after the fact was incredible luck.