“You didn’t have to leave work early for this shit,” I tell him, jerking my head in the direction of the letter. “I’ve already put in a few inquiries about work, so I should be hearing back from someone this week. That money was yours, free and clear, and I’m going to handle it. This isn’t your problem, so don’t even worry yourselves about it.”
When I was declared dead by the U.S. government, my military life insurance policy of $100,000 was immediately given to my next of kin. Even though they screwed up, they still aren’t going to let them keep that money now that I’m alive. I get it and I understand it, but that doesn’t make me any less pissed off that I have to give my sister and her husband one more thing to worry about. I don’t know what they did with that money, and I don’t give a fuck. Maybe they used it to buy this house, maybe they used it to buy the small clothing boutique my sister owns and runs downtown, or maybe they put it toward the three other stores she opened up throughout the state. When Daniel and I had our little talk the other night, he let it slip that a few years ago, my sister almost lost her business and he almost lost his job because of some tax fraud bullshit. He reassured me it wasn’t a big deal and that the problems went away in a few days, so maybe they used the money for that…it doesn’t matter, as long as they used it. It was theirs to do with as they wished, and now having to ask for it back isn’t something I have any intentions of doing, even if I have to take the rest of my life paying it off. It’s my problem, and I’ll handle it.
“You didn’t tell him?” Daniel asks Kat softly.
She shakes her head and gives him a small smile. “You know I don’t understand all that financial crap you go on and on about all the time. I figured I’d wait for you to tell him.”
My eyes narrow as I look back and forth between them and they turn their heads at the same time and smile at me. I don’t like the way they’re looking at me, like they have a secret they can barely handle keeping quiet about. Kat is practically bouncing in her seat at this point, and I can hear her bare foot smacking against the floor under the table in excitement. And I call bullshit on her not understanding “financial crap,” since she singlehandedly takes care of the accounting and the books for all of her clothing stores.
“You’re not paying it back,” I tell them through clenched teeth. “It’s my problem, and I’ll handle it.”
Daniel laughs and shakes his head at me. “You’re right, we aren’t paying it back, you are.”
Finally, we’re on the same page.
“And you’re not going to have to bust your ass working a shitty job for years to do that,” Daniel goes on to explain.
“We never spent the money,” Kat quickly adds.
My hands clench into fists on top of the table, and Daniel, noticing that I’m starting to get a little pissed off, continues with his explanation before I blow a gasket.
“You know your sister, man. Do you honestly think she would touch one cent of that money, thinking you lost your life for it?” Daniel asks quietly.
“Dammit, Kat!” I shout. “It was yours. Yours to spend, yours to save for a rainy day, yours to do whatever the fuck you wanted to do with it! I don’t care if you still have it in your damn bank account, you’re not giving it back. It. Is. YOURS.”
Kat shakes her head at me, tears pooling in her eyes. “Daniel’s right, Eli. That money made me sick. I couldn’t even touch the stupid check when it came in the mail. The things you did, the things you went through…it wasn’t my money to do anything with and you know it. You earned that money, and now I’m thankful I didn’t want anything to do with it. I’m thankful I have a smart husband who knew what to do with it, and Eli, you’re going to be pretty thankful, too. You took care of me when Mom and Dad died. Hell, you took care of me all our lives, even before they died. You worked two jobs to keep a roof over my head and put me through college. Now, it’s my turn to take care of you, so shut the hell up.”
Daniel moves his arm from around Kat’s shoulders and leans down to the side of his chair, pulling up a briefcase I didn’t even notice he walked in with. He smacks the leather case on top of the table and flips the two snaps by the handle, lifting the lid and pulling out a manila folder. Sliding the folder across the table to me, he leans back in his chair and puts his arm back around his wife’s shoulders, both of them staring at me with those damn matching smiles.
“I can’t believe you didn’t use that money, and of course I took care of you. You’re my family. That was my job,” I mutter, snatching the folder and pulling it closer. “What is this?”
Opening the folder, I see a pile of bank statements inside, each one in my name. Glancing down to the bottom of the top statement, my mouth drops open and my eyes widen in shock.
“What the fuck,” I whisper, my eyes glued to the balance of the account.
“My husband is a very smart man, Eli,” Kat informs me with pride in her voice. “And now you’re a very rich man.”
Sliding the top piece of paper aside, I move on to the next one, another account in my name with another balance that makes my head spin.
“I repeat. What. The. Fuck?”
Daniel laughs, and when I get through all the papers in the folder, each one for a different account with more money in it than the previous one, I finally look up.
“What can I say? I’m good at my job,” Daniel tells me easily. “I invested your life insurance money, and since we never had any intentions of using it, and never thought in a million years you’d suddenly show up again, I took a lot of risks I wouldn’t normally take with a client. I know you’re pissed, but get over it and see it from my point of view. I take care of my own, Eli. I know she’s your sister, but she’s my wife. I can provide for her and our daughter just fine, and even if I couldn’t, her clothing stores more than make up for that. We didn’t need your money. I’m grateful the money was there, in case something happened, but it didn’t, and now it’s all yours and then some.”
And then some is right. One minute I’m worried about getting a job, any fucking job, just to be able to at least pay my sister back for the food she’s provided and the clothes she’s bought, and now I find out I’m a goddamn millionaire.
Yeah, I definitely like Daniel Evans.
“So, how about dinner tonight to celebrate? We can go somewhere nice, get dressed up, and Eli can treat,” Kat announces with a laugh.
I laugh right along with her, feeling lighter than I have since I got home, my eyes unable to move away from the stack of paperwork in front of me as I continue to flip back and forth through the papers. Not only can I pay the government back in full, but I don’t have to worry about getting a job for a very long time. I can buy my own place, do whatever I want, and have one less thing hanging over my head to worry about.
“Can’t tonight, babe. I’ve got that stupid charity function at the Eubanks Plantation,” Daniel reminds her.
My head jerks up from the paperwork at the mention of the plantation.
“Damn, that’s right. I forgot you were invited to that thing,” Kat sighs.