And when he whipped around, I saw his eyes fill with relief.
Chapter 19
Grayson
With each property I had stopped at that morning, I thought about Michelle. About how she could bring comfort to these people as they rejoiced in this newfound property Anton had gifted them with. They threw their arms around me and cried into my shoulder, and I dipped into a well of emotion I hadn’t touched in years. Michelle was better at that kind of shit than I was. She was better at empathizing with people than I was. And as each stop in the county rolled by, I looked over at the empty passenger seat and wished she was there.
In fact, I couldn’t stop thinking about her at all. Not for one damn minute. The closer I got to the last property, the more I didn’t want to leave. The closer I inched to flying home, the more I wanted to go back to that house, take Michelle in my arms.
My desire to leave Illinois without her was nonexistent, so after delivering the good news to Anton’s last piece of property he owned, I headed back to Stillsville.
“Mr. MacDonald! Why are you calling? Are you on a plane? Please tell me you’re on a plane,” Maria said.
“I’m going to give you a great big bonus for this,” I said.
“You’re not on a plane, are you?” she said.
“I am not. I’ll be staying in Stillsville longer than planned.”
“Has something happened with the estate?”
“There’s a certain aspect of it that hasn’t been settled to my satisfaction,” I said. “I’ll have to stay until at least the end of the week.”
“Well then, I need to get off here and make some calls. Though I can’t guarantee these men will be free. I might play phone tag with them for another two months.”
“You tell them that if they want their business forever changed by my product, that they’ll make the time. I’m Grayson MacDonald, and not only the support of the NFL comes with me, but the influence of my vineyard comes as well. They won’t be yanking your chain any longer, and if they don’t want to reschedule, then you tell them the deal is off.”
“Yes, sir. I can do that. Anything else?”
“Keep an eye out on things for me at the vineyard.”
“You know I always do. I’ll stop by and make sure things are running smoothly,” she said. “Now, what’s going on out there, Grayson?”
I drew in a deep breath as I sped down country backroads.
Maria had been my personal assistant for years. She was older. An immigrant. Taking care of two children after their father was killed trying to migrate into the country across the border. And in a lot of ways, she became my own mother. She replaced the mother that had abandoned me as a teenager and stepped in to bestow wisdom whenever she saw fit. Her youthful attitude always added wit to our bantering back and forth, but when she used my full name I knew she had switched gears.
I was no longer talking to my personal assistant.
I was talking to my godmother.
“There’s something out here that’s become very important to me, and it came into my life because of Anton. I have to make sure every part of his estate is settled, that piece included,” I said. “I still have things to do out here, Maria.”
“Where are you staying?” she asked.
“My old home. Anton’s home.”
“What all has been done with his estate so far?”
“I’ve been dividing it up and giving it away to the people he’s willed it to. Property. Gifts. Things stowed away in the attic.”
Flashes of Michelle crashed into my mind as I turned down the main road that led into Stillsville.
“Grayson, you’re hiding something from me. Come on. Tell me what’s going on,” Maria said.
I chuckled as I weaved through town, passing by the local gift shop. It wasn’t an actual gift shop, but everyone in town called it that. The place had all sorts of things, from antique jewelry to fresh flowers to those waxy, disgusting chocolates. I pulled into a free parking space and parked my car, then shut off the engine as I drew in a deep breath.
“You’re my assistant, not my mother. Remember?” I asked.