Love, Inherited

Ch. 14 - "Return To Sender"

Hayden wobbled to the door on legs like jelly, her heart thumping a lovely beat inside her chest. She was glad her back was to Warren as she felt the heat rise up across her throat and slowly spread across her cheeks. She knew she would look like a tomato, blushing was just something she had always suffered through. Her face had always been a map to her emotional state, there was no professional poker in her future.

Mike stood at the door, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, white teeth gleaming in the hallway light.

"Hello Mike. What's up?"

"I just wanted to say everything is put back together, except the drawer, which unfortunately is beyond repair but I can take yours and put it in there, except the key won't match. So...., yeah."

He looked beyond her shoulder and his eyes widened.

"Is he finding anything? Are you working on it now?"

She closed the door until it was just a crack blocking his vision and his voice.

"He's looking over the papers in the folder. I'll keep you posted. Don't worry about the drawer. I'll figure something out. Thanks Mike, I really owe you."

Mike sheepishly looked down, his dark skin taking on its own shades of pink undertones. Hayden smiled, she wasn't the only one who couldn't hide a blush.

Mike hugged her again, turned away and walked down the hall whistling. Hayden stood with her back to the wall, she didn't know if she wanted to go further with Warren. Despite her jello legs and pattering heartbeat she wanted to make this work for everyone, and putting herself first could cost this resort and everyone who worked here at risk.

She crept back in the room and locked her gaze on Warren sitting at her table, his face crunched as he stared at the paper she had set aside. She slipped into the chair across from him putting some professional distance between them.

"This is it. This form essentially says Mason's temporarily leadership would be extended indefinitely and give him absolute control. It looks like Dee had set this up in case you refused the resort. But from the looks of it, we have a problem."

Hayden didn't like the sound of that, or the look on Warren's face. She swallowed, trying to force the forming lump past her throat and was suddenly glad she'd forgotten to have dinner.
She felt her muscles brace as she looked around the room. Giving it all up wouldn't be as devastating for her as it would be for the staff whose lives had revolved around this place for years.

"What's the problem?" It came out a high squeak, and she inwardly groaned for being so transparent.

"This paper implies that even unsigned, Mason owns a percentage of the resort. Not as much as you do, under half, but still it could be a problem."

Hayden felt the embarrassing blush fade and her world tilt. "How is that possible? You were her lawyer, the resorts lawyer! I don't understand!" The words had rushed out, accusing, bitter, and angry. Hayden sat back and crossed her arms giving herself something to hold. Her gaze went to her lap and she forced herself to breathe deeply, realizing that tantrums wouldn't help make the problem any smaller.

Warren placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head until she was looking at him.

"I'm not sure Hayden, but I know I didn't do this, and I know Dee wouldn't have done it. We need to find the document that put this in motion. It will tell us if Dee really signed it, when, and who the attorney is. Its possible that Mason had her sign things when she got sick and was on medication, or maybe he just slipped the form in a pile like he was trying to do to you. When Dee got sick it was a shock to everyone, but Dee took it especially hard. She hid it for months, pretending to be healthy and happy but making a few mistakes that finally got people suspicious. When she finally started getting the reality and trying to prepare she only had another month to live and was on pain medication that left her in and out of reality most of the time."

Hayden thought of zany, elvis loving Dee fighting a battle like that afraid and alone and suddenly none of the resort problems seemed important. She let Warren's words sink in and didn't realize she was crying until he wiped his thumb across her cheek ridding it of fat wet tears rolling in streams. He put his arm around her shoulder and Hayden let lose all the emotion she had bottled up. There, wrapped up in a wave of sadness and grief and too many fears and new experiences.

"I just didn't know, I mean, I should have know, I should have contacted her. To think she went through all that alone, It's just awful."

Warren kissed the top of her head and rubbed her shoulder, "She wasn't alone, she had Angie. And that's how she wanted it Hayden. She didn't want anyone showing her pity or feeling sorry for her."

Hayden swiped her face with the back of her hand careful not to lean away from the warm embrace. "Angie? Who's Angie?'

Warren was the one to lean away, he looked at her face, his showing a puzzling mix of half shock and half trepidation. "Angie was Dee's partner. I can't believe you haven't met her yet."

"What, there's another partner? Warren how many people did Dee leave this place to exactly?"

Warren laughed a deep rich hearty laugh and pulled Hayden back in close. She couldn't be positive but she could have sworn he sniffed her hair as he squeezed and she was glad she had decided to wash her hair with the good stuff today.

"She left the resort to you and only you. The Mason bit is a snag but we will get that sorted, and Angie isn't that kind of partner. She was more like a live in life mate sort of partner."

Hayden's mind whirled. So many things clicked into place. Her parents yelling about Dee's lifestyle, Dee not communicating with her, her obsession with Elvis was an even bigger mystery now but the rest made perfect sense.

"Wait, they lived together? And Angie is still around? Why am I living here? Where is Angie?"

Suddenly some of the oddities of the suite made total sense, Dee's double types of toothpaste, shampoo's, soaps, her clothes of various sizes and patterns.

"Angie took another room. She Didn't want to assume you knew, and didn't know if you shared your family's views of their relationship and she didn't want you to be uncomfortable or miss out on your last glimpse of Dee's life. She's a really sweet lady Hayden, you'd like her."

Hayden jumped up and smoothed down her hair. She pulled Warren up by the arm. "Come on Romeo, we gotta go. It's high time I met Angie and gave her back her home!"

Warrens face lit up and Hayden could have sworn she saw him loose five years worth of worries, he stepped up beside her and grabbed her by the shoulders and planted his lips on hers so hard their teeth clicked.

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So! Dee wasn't exactly living the bachlorette life, Mason's trap may be bigger than getting a signature, and Warren is a great kisser! These are the things we've learned in this chapter. And now the questions abound: Where will Hayden live? Can Warren out lawyer Mason? And can Angie answer the Elvis infatuation? Find out in the next installment of Days of Our.,..err, I mean Love Inherited. LOL Thank so much for reading, if you liked it, feel free to send a comment, it feeds the writer bits of love like soul cupcakes.

Return to sender was put out by Elvis in 1962. It's one his most popular songs and can still be heard on airwaves today. If you haven't heard it, give it a listen, just watch out for Elvis obsession, it'll get ya!