Read the first chapter of Falling For Her Grumpy Neighbor.
Liam Carson glared at his mother’s lawyer over the large oak desk.
“My mother did what?”
The ticking of a large antique clock behind the lawyer punctuated the silence as Liam absorbed the shocking news.
“Yes.” Oliver Grimes finally said, tugging at his tie. “Your mother’s will states that if you don’t marry by your thirtieth birthday, the stocks she owned will be distributed to three charities of her choice.”
On his twenty-first birthday, Liam received stocks equal to twenty percent of Oppulence—the same portion as his father. He had assumed he would receive the rest of his mother’s shares after her death.
Ophelia was the majority shareholder with sixty percent of Oppulence’s shares.
Liam huffed out a breath, frustration bubbling beneath his skin. “Unbelievable.”
His parents used him as a pawn in their sick games for years. Things escalated until his mother filed for divorce when he was fifteen.
“Doesn’t my eighteen months as acting CEO mean anything?”
Ophelia Parks-Carson reluctantly passed the title on to him, shortly before she became too ill to work.
“Or how about the fact that I defied my father to take care of her for the last year of her life?”
When Liam discovered his mother had stage three cancer, he moved into his childhood home to be near her. He hired top-of-the-line care for her and made her home as comfortable as possible in her last days.
His father had almost blown a blood vessel, convinced the woman he’d kept Liam away from would pollute his mind. Those were Dwight’s words, though Liam had no reason to suspect his mother’s motivations.
Not that he knew her well. His mother became different after the divorce. She relinquished full custody of Liam and disappeared from his life until he was twenty-one. She never explained why she went from a doting mom to a cold stranger.
Oliver sighed. “I’m sorry. I told her this was the wrong way to get you to comply, but she refused to listen.”
Liam clenched his jaw. Even in death, his mother was attempting to control him. Dwight’s rants and living with his mother for a year taught him she was stubborn. When Ophelia decided on something, nothing could dissuade her from following through.
“I must marry.” Liam waved at the paper in front of Oliver. “What else?”
Oliver rubbed his top lip, a nervous habit Liam picked up on. “After five years—”
“Five years!”
The words exploded from Liam’s mouth. How was he supposed to convince a woman to stay with him for five years when he couldn’t keep one interested for the time it took them to eat dinner?
Oliver’s expression remained unfazed. “At the end of five years, the shares will be yours.
“You’ll receive one-third after your marriage. You’ll receive the remaining forty percent in increments on your anniversary for the next five years.
“If your marriage dissolves before five years, you get fifty percent of the remaining forty percent of shares and the rest will go to charity.”
Liam pressed his lips together. “What happens if I don’t marry before my thirtieth birthday?”
“Then your mother’s shares will be divided equally between the three charities she listed.”
His mother had locked him into marrying if he didn’t want to become equal partners with his father and three unknown entities.
Liam drummed his fingers against the desk. “Did she indicate who I’m supposed to marry?”
Oliver frowned. “Of course not. Your mother left that to your discretion.”
“Hmm.” It would have been easier if Ophelia had provided a list. At least then he’d have a starting point.
“Liam,” Oliver began in a halting voice, “If I may offer my opinion.”
He waved a hand. “Go ahead.”
Everyone else demanded a say in how he lived his life. Why not this man he barely knew? He was so tired of it.
“My impression is that Ophelia wanted you to find love.”
Liam snorted. “Love?”
His parents’ vicious fights in the year leading up to the divorce, and their loud, screaming matches cemented the implausibility of love.
“Yes.” Oliver steepled his fingers. “She suspected your father passed on his erroneous beliefs about love to you. She wanted you to be happy.”
“Happy?”
It had been years since he’d considered himself happy. He wasn’t even sure he remembered what that emotion felt like.
“Was she happy?”
By the time he’d moved in, the cancer had ravaged her body until every moment of her day was filled with pain.
“I believe she was. Ophelia never got over Dwight, but she made peace with your father’s choice to divorce her. She even accepted you living with him instead of with her.”
Liam scowled at the lawyer. How dare he claim Dwight had been the one to file for a divorce? His mother’s infidelity was the reason for his parents’ separation.
“That’s not true.” Rage forced Liam to defend his dad.
“Let me guess,” Oliver leveled him with a piercing look. “Dwight claimed Ophelia filed for a divorce. That she had been unfaithful while he fought to save their marriage.”
Liam shifted on the cushioned chair, Oliver’s skepticism challenging the stories he’d been told.
“Come on, Liam. Think about it.” Oliver rested his elbows on the desk. “Ophelia never remarried while Dwight has multiple ex-wives. Who is more likely to have been unfaithful?”
Dwight was on his third wife since the divorce. Doubt niggled at him. Had his father lied to him?
According to Dwight, Ophelia had wished to be free from being a wife and a mother. She’d quickly signed over custody of him to Dwight. Was that a lie, too?
Ophelia’s sudden aloofness after the divorce had left a void in Liam’s life, one he struggled to understand. They’d been close when he was younger. What caused the change in their relationship?
“Your mother loved you.”
If his mother’s treatment was love, then he had a serious misunderstanding about what the emotion meant.
Oliver held out a slim white envelope. “This letter from your mother may provide more details.”
Liam peered at the envelope as if it was an anaconda. Something told him the letter would challenge everything he believed about himself and his family. Was he ready for that?
Oliver waved the envelope until Liam accepted it. He wasn’t sure he wanted to read Ophelia’s last words, but what choice did he have?
Liam stuffed the envelope in his jacket pocket, his mind already working on solutions to his mother’s ultimatum.
***
The vibrant yellow and pink flowers of the poui trees along the familiar path to his childhood home failed to distract his swirling thoughts.
Six months ago, when his mother died, he assumed the biggest surprise had been that she left him the house.
He’d expected her to sell it or donate it to charity. But maybe Ophelia understood how much the house meant to him, even if he never expressed it aloud.
His grip tightened on the wheel as he turned onto the road that led to his childhood home. The only other house on this strip of land was the Palmers. Ralph and Jean were decent neighbors who left him alone for the most part, and he appreciated it.
He never had to worry about loud parties or people showing up unannounced at his front door. After the first few weeks, he got used to being woken up by a rooster and turned off his alarm.
A shadow darted before his SUV, and Liam slammed on the brakes. This was just not his day.
He exited the vehicle, moving cautiously to see what he’d hit. A pile of brown fur trembled under his fender. Liam stooped, searching for blood.
“Alright, little guy,” Liam spoke in his most soothing tone. “I’m checking you for blood. Don’t bite me.”
A trip to the hospital for a tetanus shot was at the bottom of his list of things to do.
He ran his fingers gently over the matted fur, the dog whimpering at his touch as Liam checked for injuries. The creature’s soulful brown eyes locked onto his, pleading for help.
“I won’t hurt you.”
Why did people talk to animals the way they cooed at babies? Even as he considered how ridiculous it was, Liam gentled his voice as he stroked the dog.
“I frightened you. Sorry about that.”
He was talking to a dog. Liam glanced around the deserted area. There was no way this dog belonged to the Palmers. Jean kept her chickens in a veritable palace, so this trembling, ill-kept animal was not hers.
“Do you have a collar?”
He checked the scruffy neck for any sign of the animal’s owner. Nothing.
He sighed. “Of course you wouldn’t make this easy for me.”
Liam stood, backing away from the dog. If he reversed and drove around the animal…his conscience pricked him at the idea of abandoning the dog on the road.
He scooped up the dog, opening the passenger door. Liam stared at the custom leather seats. Was he supposed to put this ball of fluff on his seat? The dog stared at Liam as if it knew what he was contemplating.
If it wouldn’t sound crazy, he’d believe the dog looked at him with…understanding. He shook his head. No. This stemmed from dealing with too many emotions at once. He laid the dog on the seat. He would have the interior cleaned later.
Tomorrow, he’d take the dog to a vet and try to find its owner, but for tonight, he had an unexpected guest.
Falling For Her Grumpy Neighbor (The Firefighters of Orange Valley Book 3)
Table of Contents
Two hearts, two deadlines, one last chance to get it right.
Adriana Palmer’s father raised her like a boy and she’s desperate for independence. Adrian’s dreams of freedom crumble when her aunt demands she must wed by thirty to inherit.
Liam Carson has grown into a guarded and grumpy man after his parents’ divorce. He too must marry before his thirtieth birthday to inherit his deceased mother’s shares.
Reunited by chance, these estranged friends find a simple solution to their problems: activating a childhood marriage pact. As they navigate the complexities of their arrangement, they uncover not just old wounds but also shocking plots and betrayals.
Is their marriage strong enough to withstand, or will it disintegrate as their friendship once did?
Falling For Her Grumpy Neighbor is the last book in The Firefighters of Orange Valley trilogy. This is a Christian Contemporary Romance with strong faith themes.