Chapter 5.04 – Inheritance

-Dakota-

Trevor and I walked out of my father’s attorney’s office after three hours of going over his will.

I took a deep breath and exhaled. “How crazy is that?”

My husband shook his head. “I didn’t expect that. I mean, I knew your father had money, but I had no idea he had this much money.”

As it turns out, my dad bought two condos – one for Emmett in Summerset and one for Emmalee in Hillside. He always believed that Emmett is going to get into his dream school and wanted him to have a comfortable place to live during his studies.

In addition to that he opened trust accounts for each of them that they will be able to access when they turn twenty one. He left some money to his younger brother, my uncle, Lucas, who still lives in Sierra.

Trevor and I inherited his house on the beach and a big chunk of money that I have no idea what to do with. He also secretly bought the property of Trevor’s business and Trevor is now the one who owns the garage which means he doesn’t have to pay rent anymore.

“Let’s go see what the kids think.”

They were obviously very excited and Emmett was touched when he realized his grandfather believed in him so much that he bought him the condo before he even received the acceptance letter from University of Summerset.

They wanted to see their new places right away and so we went.

We checked out Emmalee’s apartment first since it is right here in Hillside. It was an adorable two bedrooms, two bathrooms unit with an open concept kitchen and living space and a view of the ocean.

“Oh my God!.” Emmalee was ecstatic. “This place is absolutely gorgeous! I already know how I’m going to decorate. I’m gonna put two couches right here with a side table between them, dining room table in front of the big window and a portable bar cart in the corner over there.”

She kept planning and I had to laugh at her excitement. Even though she was disappointed when she wasn’t accepted to the ballet school, she ended up loving studying interior design and now she will have a chance to use what she learned in her own home.

We agreed we will give the kids some money until they can get their hands on the trust accounts, but it will be just a loan so they can furnish and decorate their apartments.

“If you’re done planning, we can take a drive to Summerset and look at Emmett’s condo.” Trevor suggested and we all agreed.

“I can’t wait to move in.” Emmalee smiled as she was locking the door of her new place.

About an hour later we parked in front of a beautiful brick building and took the elevator to the third floor. Emmett’s condo also had two bedrooms, two bathroom and an open concept. He also had a big balcony that overlooked the river between East and West Summerset.

“I can help you decorate.” Emmalee offered. “I can already see it in my head.”

“Hmm.” Emmett took a second to think about it. “Let’s say I let you help me. Do you agree you will run everything by me before making the final decision?”

“Ugh..fine!”

“Then we have a deal.”

“Do you guys understand that even though the condos are paid off, you still have to pay utilities such as water and electric, right?”

“Yes dad.” Emmalee rolled her eyes.

“Well, it’s not cheap. You will probably have to get jobs.”

“I’m just gonna find a roommate to pay me rent. I have an extra bedroom.” Emmett shrugged his shoulders and casually jumped up on the kitchen island. “That should cover it.”

“And I will get paid if I get the role in the ballet play. Not much but should be enough.” Emmalee also had a plan in her head.

Her first audition was a few weeks ago. There were three more rounds of auditions since then, the final round happened last week. Now she has to wait to hear how they decided.

“When should they let you know about that?” I asked.

“Hopefully by the end of the week. I just want to know already.”

-Emmalee-

I started to work on the designs for mine and Emmett’s apartments the very next day. I’m really happy he agreed to let me do this for him. I could consider it my first job even though he obviously won’t be paying me. It’s going to be a great experience to decorate an apartment for someone who is not me so I will have to follow his style instead of just doing what I like.

I was sitting at my sketching board when there was a quiet knock on the door.

“Come in.”

“Hey baby,” Caleb walked into my room and gently kissed the top of my head.

I turned around to face him. I couldn’t wait to tell him the news. “You’re not gonna believe what I found out yesterday.”

My boyfriend raised his eyebrows but didn’t say a word. Instead he sat on the edge of my bed and waited for me to keep talking.

“I got a condo!”

“You got a condo?” He repeated after me, confused.

“Yes! I got a condo. My grandfather bought me a condo here in Hillside.”

“That’s great babe. So you’re moving out of your parents’ house?”

“Actually….” I sat in his lap and wrapped my arms around his neck flirtatiously. I thought about it all night last night and I realized that there is nothing I want more then to move in with my boyfriend. We have been dating for almost three years and I think we are ready for the next step in our relationship. “…I was thinking that we…would move out of our parents’ houses. Do you want to move in with me?”

“Seriously?” His eyes widened. “Are you asking if I want to go to bed with you every night and see you first thing in the morning when I open my eyes? Cook you breakfast while you sleep in on the weekends and do this…” He laid me on the bed and kissed me passionately on the lips before he continued “…any time I want to? You bet I do!”

“I love you.” I whispered and this time it was me initiating a kiss.

I’m sure it wouldn’t end up with just kissing but my phone rang. I jumped up to answer the unknown number. “Hello?”

“Emmalee Morrison? This is Ted Malone from the Hillside Theatre.”

I held my breath. This is it. I’m about find out if they liked me or not.

Mr. Malone continued. “I’m calling you to let you know that me and the other judges loved your performances and we would love to offer you the part in our Swan Lake play.”

“Are you kidding? Oh my God, that is amazing! Thank you so much Mr. Malone, I will not let you down.”

The man chuckled at my excitement. “Stop by the theatre tomorrow afternoon and we will go over the rehearsal schedule.”

“I will be there. Thank you again. See you tomorrow.”

I ended the call and looked at Caleb – the man I’m about to move in with, the love of my life and I felt like crying. Happy tears, of course. Life is good!

A/N: Thank you for reading and especially waiting. I know I’ve been taking too long posting new chapters but I am less than a week away from giving birth to my first baby so real life has been a little crazy and it’s about to get even crazier! Haha. I hope I will still have time to write and play but wanted to fill you in on what the reason is if you don’t see me posting for a while.

I will post photos of Emmalee and Caleb’s new apartment when it’s decorated probably tomorrow. I have so many plans for the story characters and even their future children! So, once again, thank you for reading and be patient with me. I promise I’ll try to post!