4

“Well, you know how to end a party.” Garret laughed as he looked at her. Though he was still slightly upset about the reason that had brought them all together again, he wasn’t that upset at seeing her again. He had often wondered where she was. He thought she would have been long gone from the area by now.

“Well, I guess we have a lawsuit on our hands,” Sara said with a smile.

“We should move fast on that as well,” Garret said. “She is nothing but a snake. She will try to use everything she can against you.”

“I know that.” She laughed. “I never understood why she hated me so much at the same time. She fought for me like nothing else mattered. I thought it was because of my mother and the unholy worship she had for her. Now I know even more. It was the unholy love of money that made her do it. I am guessing she also used my money to fight for me.”

“Probably.” Garret said. “though she would have to show the estate people everything she was using the money for. If we can prove that she either didn’t use it for what she said she did or she padded it, you can get it back from her.”

“that would be like bleeding a rock,” Sara said. “The only thing she has left now is the farm. Though I really don’t want the farm. I will be happy to send her and her daughters packing into the real world just like they did me.”

“You seem slightly bitter,” Garett said with a laugh.

“your father gave me some money when I left. That was the only money I had for about a month. Things were not easy, but I found a way.” Sara said. “My other family helped out as much as they could. I wouldn’t become a burden to them, though.”

“I wish I had been here when you left,” Garret said as he looked at her. “I would have helped you.”

“Garret, that is a nice thought, but you were going to school. That is what you needed to do for yourself.” Sara said.

“So, where is your husband or boyfriend?” Garret asked as he realized he wanted to find out how she was able to survive so well. She had to have someone there to help her stay sane.

“What?” she asked as she looked at him.

“Girlfriend then?” he asked with a quick smile.

“No to all of the above,” Sara said.

“Really?” Garret asked, surprised as he looked her over. She was a pocket, Venus, as his mother would have said to describe her. Though she was small and didn’t look it, he knew she was as strong as him. She was nothing but curves and lines that drew the eye to her. Her face was that of a roman statue in simple beauty. Though she had been attractive when they were younger, she had grown into her beauty as she got older.

“Really.” She stated. “Why?”

“Because I would have thought.” He started to say. Then he stopped and realized that he would give something away. “I guess you never found love.”

“No.” she said. “it is rather hard to find something  you don’t remember.”

“So, do you remember our contract?” he asked.

“Of course I do.” She said. “I would have thought that you would have forgotten it.”

“Sara, I could never forget that.” He smiled as he looked at her with a grin. “Maybe we should revisit the idea.”

“Why don’t we figure out one thing at a time,” Sara said with a slight laugh. “How about this mystery estate first?”

“I guess we could do that.” He said as he looked down at her. “It won’t be that hard as anything had to be filed with the court and the board of trustees.”

“I think that is where we should start,” Sara said with a nod of her head.

“Well, I think I should head over to my office and start the process.” He said.

“if you don’t mind, I have a few days off. I would like to see how all of this unfolds.” Sara said as she looked at him.

“what do you do now?” he asked.

“I work for a company that helps import certain things for other companies to keep their product lines working.” She said.

“That seems interesting.” He said as she glossed over her job.

“it’s not. It is only paperwork and a headache, but I had the option to buy into the profit shares after I worked there for a year. The time was well worth it when everything hit the fan earlier this year.” Sara said with a laugh. “it means that I can finally have a few days off and not worry about everything. I also have a nice little nest egg if the market pops again when everything is over.”

“Well, that is nice.” He said as they walked to their cars. “Just follow me.”

“See you in a few,” Sara said as he got into his car, and she followed in her own car. She loved this car, and she didn’t have to think that seeing Garett was a bad thing. She was glad that he was doing well for himself. All the kids seemed to be doing well as well. She hated thinking of her aunt, though. The woman was so horrid to her when she was trying to grow up without her family.

Sara had tried to not think of her family. Her family was long gone now. She loved them and wanted them to be proud of her. She hoped they were. She worked hard to get where she was. Garret had to, she knew. Life was never what she had planned for, but she had gotten used to rolling with the punches. Now a chance encounter, Sara knew her life had changed again without any thought. Just another set of punches for her to roll with. She was okay with all of that.