Page 288 of Summer Heat
“So you’ll help me save it?” I ask almost desperately.
He looks at me sharply. “It wouldn’t be appropriate.” A
s if realizing the harshness of his tone, he gives me a smile. “And it would be wasteful. I have a very large home that would be quite lovely for you.”
“But my father…”
“He’s barely conscious,” Landon says, his tone curt. “We’ll make him quite comfortable in a room in our house. And we’ll be able to hire a full-time nurse to care for him.”
Part of me wants to demand to know why he won’t pay for the nurse already, considering how destitute we are. Isn’t he best friends with my father? Except his expression doesn’t look kind right now. He seems almost bitter. Jealous? Has he held on to resentment all these years for my mother choosing my dad?
And how creepy would it be to marry Uncle Landon? It would have been bad already—the huge age difference, the fact that he watched me grow up. But knowing I’m a replacement to my mother?
“I can’t,” I whisper.
He returns to the couch, standing beside me, looking down. He runs a finger across my cheek, making goose bumps rise across my skin. “You’ve always been a smart girl. Surely you must see there’s no other choice.”
Gazing up at him, Gabriel’s golden eyes flash in my mind. Isn’t this the safer choice? I’ve known Uncle Landon my entire life. I would be able to live comfortably, in the style I am accustomed to. My father’s medical bills would be taken care of.
Some small, broken part of me wants to give myself over to this, to let someone else fix everything. I’ve had to be strong for so long, watching my life crumble before me. The thought of lying beneath Uncle Landon’s body repulses me, but some stranger at an auction probably wouldn’t be better.
His thumb brushes across my lips, and everything in me recoils. I hold myself very still, even my breath bated. This is the test, I realize. To see whether I can stand his touch.
“So much like her,” he murmurs, and I know he means my mother. “At the same age I met her.”
A shudder rushes through me. “No,” I whisper.
It’s too much knowing he’s imagining my mother. It’s too much thinking of him like family.
“Avery, I’m trying to help you.”
“I have another plan,” I say with that falling sensation again. I’m tumbling, turning. Uncle Landon is my only hope of ground, but somehow I’ve decided to jump.
“What plan?”
“I’m going to get a loan from Damon Scott.”
Landon pulls back in surprise. “The loan shark?”
“He’s a businessman. He’s going to lend me enough for the real estate taxes. And the nurse. I’ll be able to keep the house.” I’m lying out of desperation right now, pretending it will be a loan instead of an auction, praying it will be enough money.
“That much money,” Landon says slowly. “Are you sure he doesn’t want something…unsavory from you?”
That’s what you want from me. I press my lips together, praying for the strength to go through with it. I know the mercy that Uncle Landon is offering me. Not only would he support me, but his standing in the community might be enough to save me in the eyes of society.
But I would be married to him for the rest of my life. Considering he’s thirty years older than me, more likely the rest of his life. It’s still a long time.
Far longer than a month.
Selling my virginity to a stranger would be horrifying, but it would only last for a month. I could survive that. And maybe, with time and with luck, I would almost forget what had happened. Uncle Landon would save me, but the cost would be years.
“It’s already agreed,” I lie. “I’m going to return tomorrow to finalize the contract.”
“I must advise against this,” he says. “The interest rates are no doubt outrageous, if not illegal. And how will you raise the funds to make payments?”
“Don’t worry, Uncle Landon. I have it all worked out.”
Because I won’t be making payments, at least not with money. I’ll be using my body to pay for those taxes, to pay for the nurse. Even as I make the decision, I’m torn with regret and fear. Should I have said yes to Uncle Landon? I can’t imagine spreading my legs for him. Then again I can’t imagine spreading my legs for a stranger.
