“New guy?” she asked. Then she remembered. “Oh! Logan, the police officer. Um, I’m not sure that’s going anywhere. He’s a great guy. But...” She bit her lip.

 “Riley, he’s the first guy you’ve dated since we split,” he pointed out.

 “Nah, I went out a few times,” she said. “Nothing ever clicked.”

 He just smiled. “So here we sit. Two people who had a child together, raised a little girl together, bickered like cranky old married people and could never find anyone else to fill the gap. Doesn’t that make you a little curious?”

 “Let’s be very careful here, Jock. If we screw up again, we might end up hating each other.”

 “If I screw up again, you might end up hating me, but I’ll never hate you. I never have. I’ve gotten a little pissed here and there, but I’ve always loved you. I just didn’t know how to behave. I was a boy.”

 He’s not a boy anymore, she thought. “Go slow,” she said.

 They ate their lunch, talked about Maddie, then Riley cleaned up the kitchen and said she had to go back to work. He walked her to the door. Then he turned her toward him and put a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Be very careful, Riley,” he said. “I love you. I always have. But I’m not going back and forth. If being with me doesn’t work for you, that’s it. I don’t want to experiment,” he said. “You’re not the only one with feelings.”

 “I know. I know.”

    Chapter Nineteen

 All the way to Aaron Justice’s house Emma was anxious. She was looking forward to seeing him again but a little worried about how to pay him for the work he’d done when it turned out there was no money left in that estate. She should have called him and told him to stop whatever he was doing—he’d already invested valuable time. She’d find a way to pay him eventually. And she’d made up her mind—she wouldn’t try to take that house away from her sisters. Really, it wouldn’t make her happy anyway.

 Aaron now kept a small office in his house, the home he’d shared with his late wife. It was a lovely house that Emma had never been to before.

 “Emma, how good it is to see you. Come in, I’ve made us tea.”

 He invited her to sit down. “I’m not sure how many details you recall from our visit when we went over your father’s will immediately after his death. You were so young and in a state of grief. I encouraged you to call me, but you never did.”

 Emma shrugged. “I didn’t see the need,” she said. “I remember that you said there should be a little money to help with school, should I go to college. And Rosemary did send me spending money sometimes.”

 He frowned. “Let’s go over the conditions of the will just to refresh your memory.”

 The assets John Shay had accrued were to be split in two—half to Rosemary, his wife, and half to be divided by the children. Rosemary was the executor of the will. She was also the trustee, which meant the inheritance held in trust for the children couldn’t be spent on some young boyfriend. Emma almost laughed out loud—as if! The will included all three children, even though Anna was not John’s biological child. And his plan had been to distribute the proceeds over time—half of their portion when each child reached the age of thirty, the second half at the age of thirty-five. Those assets, however, were available for certain reasonable expenses—welfare—as in the cost of housing and such, education, down payment on a home, extraneous medical expenses not covered by health insurance, etc.

 “I paid for my own college,” Emma said.

 “I know,” Aaron said. “As I told you, Rosemary got herself another lawyer soon after your father died. A few years after that she changed lawyers again. She asked her new lawyer to write her a new will, which she was entitled to do. But the money your father set aside for you and your sisters was part of an irrevocable trust, meaning that if she withdrew any of it on your behalf for things like college, she had to have records. And she was to inherit the house, as well—it was not held in trust. Emma, did you receive anything from your father’s estate?”

 Emma shook her head. “Rosemary said that just maintaining the house and raising three girls to the age of independence had been all she could afford. I counted myself lucky to get an allowance while I was in school. Small, but it helped.”

 “She had receipts for tuition and housing...”

 “She asked me for receipts. For records, she said.”

 “When you were thirty, you were due some money.”

 “Wow,” Emma said. “I didn’t know that. Or maybe I just didn’t remember. My father was a pretty simple guy. I knew there might only be enough to get Rosemary through the difficult period of getting three daughters into adulthood.”

 “Rosemary’s attorney has provided an accounting of the trust. I have a balance due you that might be grossly inadequate, given the house, the funding that was misdirected, small details, and I recommend a good forensic accountant. You should challenge the trustee.”

 Emma let out a huff of rueful laughter. “Aaron, the trustee is dying. I saw her. She has very little time left and she wasn’t pleasant. She asked me to leave her daughters alone—said that she’s leaving the house and whatever money there is to them. I’m not going to challenge them. I’m not ever going back to court.”

 “Unfortunately for Rosemary, she can’t redirect the terms of the trust. The sum left to you is grossly inadequate. You’re entitled to more. I’m afraid she was irresponsible.”

 She shook her head. “I’ll take whatever it is and I’ll pay you, but I’m not going to pursue this—she can take the burden to eternity with her. Those mean girls who got the house and the bulk of my father’s life savings and insurance can choke on it. I’ve learned a few things about money, Mr. Justice. It can turn sour in your mouth.”