Page 20 of Love Over Time

Henry opened his mouth, but the words didn’t come out. He apparently hadn’t considered the logistics. His mom needed special care. “I thought she could come here. Nikki, I haven’t seen her in years. I thought she didn’t want to see me, but today—”

“Wait, you saw her at the manor?”

He nodded. “She seemed afraid. But there was nothing in her eyes to tell me she wasn’t happy to see me.”

“Okay. You have access to the manor, so this may be easier. We just need to come up with transport.” The desperate look in his eyes tugged at my insides.

I wanted to hold him and tell him everything was going to be okay, but this was us. Nothing was ever okay.

“I don’t have access to the house per se. But I can get us inside the grounds.”

Exactly how much of his fortune did Henry lose? “You can’t even go into your own home? Why?”

“My uncle. After you left, he moved me from Tucson to another boarding school in Canada. My heart was so broken I didn’t care about anything anymore. Never thought to ask about Dad’s estate either. When I finished school, I came back to find out my uncle had inherited everything from Dad. I confronted him, but he showed me Dad’s will. It all looked legit. He kicked me out of the house and told me never to come back. Even told the guards to shoot me on sight if I ever so much as came up to the gate.”

“Motherfucker.”

Henry chuckled. “My thoughts exactly.”

“He took everything.”

So this was why Henry wanted revenge. His uncle had betrayed his dad’s trust. My stomach sank, and I wanted to punch something. No. I wanted to punch Jonathan Cavalier, that greedy asshole, just like his wife. Because of them, Henry, the Prince of Paradise, had ended up living a very different life than the one his parents had planned for him. “So are you really an architect?”

“Yes. I finished college in Canada but did my master’s at Arizona State University. If I couldn’t come home, I wanted to at least be nearby.”

“I’m surprised your uncle didn’t go after your college fund.”

He stood, his expression blank again. Why was he shutting me out? I’d thought we were past that. “I’m sure he did. But that was separate from Dad’s estate.”

“But you found a way to get back to Paradise Creek.”

He smiled, his gaze focused on the window. Overhead, clouds promised the rain everyone had been praying for. This summer heat was unbearable, even for us desert dwellers.

“Yeah, I bid on the job to renovate the old downtown,” he said. “Jonathan voted against me, but this is still my town. The board awarded me the contract anyway.”

I rose to my feet and joined him. The look in his eyes cut me. He needed me.

“Tell me about your half-assed plan,” I said. That got a chuckle out of him. I should hate him, but seeing him happy made me happy. “I know the renovation was part of it. But you’ve been here a while, literally blasting away the streets around this hotel. Yet you need my help. I’d say whatever you’ve been trying to do isn’t working.”

“Myhalf-assedplan was to find the tunnels, sneak into Cavalier Manor, and find my dad’s original will where he names me the sole beneficiary.”

“And steal everything back. I like it. A punishment to fit the crime. Your uncle has always been all about appearances. I’d say more than the money, he wanted the town. He wanted what your dad had. Their admiration and respect.”

“You don’t need money for that.” He stuffed his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.

“You’re a Cavalier, so of course you’d say that.” I stepped back.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Just standing there, with no money and ripped jeans, he still looked like he owned this town.

“I don’t know what I mean.” I shrugged.

“No. Say it. You think I never appreciated what I had. I never was more than just another spoiled, rich brat. That it?”

“What? That’s definitely not what I meant. But your family always made it sound like having money was everything. I spent my entire young adult life trying to live up to that. Money was everything.” I had no idea where I was going with that. He had his poker face on again, and his gaze trained on me. The Cavaliers had money and the town’s respect. The Morrow girls had neither. “I’m sorry. This isn’t your fault.”

“I wish I knew what wasn’t my fault.”

I crossed my arms and leaned my shoulder on the windowsill. A tightness gripped my chest. “In a way I understand how your uncle feels. After Lisa went to jail, this town hated me so much I had to run away. I always thought that if I had the money to buy a pretty building like your family did, they’d like me.”

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