She rushed to get dressed.
Knock. Knock.
“Just a minute,” she said as calmly as possible. Then she turned to Zane and Maddox and whispered firmly, “Get your shirts on.”
“Mom,” Joel shouted through the door. “It’s just us. We have news.”
“I’m coming, sweetheart.” She buttoned her blouse and slipped into her shoes.
Taking a quick look at Zane and Maddox, who were now fully dressed, she felt ready to greet her sons.
She opened the door to her two boys.
“Mom, what happened to your hair?” Restin asked.
“Hair?” She glanced at the mirror by the door and could see it was sticking up on one side. “Uh, I was going to t–try a…uh…new h–hairdo. Come in.”
As they walked into the room, Joel and Restin grinned and winked at Zane and Maddox.
Damn. I didn’t fool them a bit.
“How was the tour, guys?” Zane asked.
“It was great,” Joel answered. “Thanks so much. We went to Dunn’s River Falls and met some really cute girls from California, Marielle and Alison. We finished the tour with them.”
“We exchanged phone numbers and plan on meeting them for spring break.” Restin’s smile was broader than Toni had seen in quite some time. “As soon as the tour was over, we said good-bye and kept our appointment with Jay and Clay’s accountants.”
“Mom, you’re not going to believe what they found.” Joel’s excitement was obvious. “They wanted to call you but Restin and I told them we wanted to tell you.”
Grabbing her brush, Toni asked, “Did they find your trust fund?”
“Yes, but that’s not all they found,” Restin said. “They found some of your money, Mom, that Peter stole.”
“My money? You’ve got to be kidding.”
“No. There was a substantial amount left,” Joel said. “The account was in your name and in Peter’s. According to the accountants, when he transferred the funds of your dad’s estate from the US to the Caymans, he had to leave it in both your names. Even after all this time, the bastard never bothered to change it.”
“Clearly, Peter never thought I would find him.” Toni couldn’t believe the turn of events. If only a small part of her dad’s monies came back to her, at least some of his final wishes for her and the boys would be met. “Did the accountants tell you how much was in your trust fund and in my account?”
“Oh yes they did, Mom,” Joel said. “Restin and I are millionaires.”
“Our trust fund has over two million dollars,” Restin said. “And yours has over nine and some change.”
“Nine what?” she asked, shocked, trying to digest what her sons were saying.
Joel handed her a piece of paper. “Nine million, five hundred thousand, six hundred forty-three dollars and seventy-six cents.”
Totally stunned, she stared at the number on the bank statement, which was exactly what Joel had just said. $9,500,643.76
She looked at Zane and Maddox. “I’m a fucking millionaire.”
* * * *
As his brother flew the plane higher, Maddox stared out the window as Milwaukee began to get smaller and smaller. He sat in the copilot seat, reaching back and holding Toni’s hand.
They’d made sure the boys were all settled before they left for Dallas.
He turned to Toni. “Joel and Restin are really excited about their trust fund, knowing they aren’t going to have student loans to pay.”