Falling Fast (Falling Fast #1) by Tina Wainscott Read Free Book Online

father. And, Marie, get your panties out of your ass crack, too. I’m not doing this to get the kids back together. But I do want them to have some closure, something you prevented.’ “
    Mia gave her mother an “I told you so” look. Then her eyebrows furrowed. “What does she mean by ‘something you prevented’?”
    “They threw my letters out,” Raleigh said.
    “You were in no shape to deal with him after the crash,” her mother said. “Emotionally or physically. We were only protecting you. Look at what he’d already done.”
    Raleigh’s fingers curled on the table’s wood surface, guilt eating at him.
    Mia shot her parents an accusatory look. “Did you—?” She turned to Raleigh. “Did you get the letter I sent to Grandma to forward to you?”
    Raleigh’s heart lifted. She’d written to him? “No.”
    Mia turned back to her parents, but her father said, “Again, we were protecting you. It was better to sever the connection altogether.”
    “You took my letter out of the mailbox and
opened
it? Read it?” Her voice was shrill.
    “Perhaps this is something you should discuss at a later time,” Mr. Shatke said. “Shall I proceed?”
    “Is there anything else?” Mr. Wentworth gritted out.
    Shatke leaned over the document again. “ ‘The contents of my home shall be divided between Mia, Marie, and Preston, or sold at your discretion. The deck furniture goes to Raleigh. My car goes to the Chambliss Meals on Wheels. I hope that good can come from my passing. I’ve had a great, long life. Please don’t be sad.’ “He looked up. “That’s all.”
    Raleigh stood. “I’ll sign the house over to Mia. I just want the lounge chair.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mia’s mouth drop open, but he kept his gaze steady on the attorney. “Draw up the papers.”
    “Are you sure?” Shatke stood, too. “That’s a substantial—”
    “I’m sure,” Raleigh said, even as his insides caved. The money that would secure his loan. But it wasn’t his money, not really. And he didn’t want a long fight with Mia’s parents. Just as he’d accepted a plea deal on the reckless-driving charges so she wouldn’t have to testify, he would back down to keep her from being in the middle of this snarl. He finally looked at her. “I’ll go over, assess what needs to be done, and give you contact information for contractors who can do the work. I’m glad to help in any way that I can.”
    He left, hearing utter silence in the room behind him. He would not let her parents think he’d conned Nancy out of anything, or, even more disgusting, seduced her for it. He found a smile as he stepped outside. She had known her son would stoop that low.
    His smile continued as he thought about the letter Mia had sent. What had it said? How might things be different if he’d received it? That sure stole his smile. They might have gotten closure a long time ago. Maybe they’d even be friends.
    When he returned to the shop, Peter asked, “So? Did she leave you the stash of cash in her mattress?”
    Raleigh managed a smile. “Just the deck furniture.” He changed into his coveralls and went back to work on the SUV at his station. How long would he be here in this space? Wearing the PETE’S GARAGE logo on his uniform? The import mechanic on the other side of town had offered him a job if this place closed, but he couldn’t let Raleigh work on his own cars after hours. Liability or some such shit. Tweaking high-performance cars was his high nowadays. What he really wanted to focus on, and on his own terms. He wasn’t giving that up.
    Mia flashed into his mind. She’d been his high once. And, dammit, he still felt it whenever he saw her. Memories flickered through his mind like a commercial for a movie. Her squealing in delight when he flew down the abandoned strip of highway, the wind whipping through the open windows. The first time he’d taken her to the Airstream travel trailer parked in the middle of five