A Week for Love to Bloom (18 page)
Read A Week for Love to Bloom Online
Authors: Scarlet Wolfe
It was one day before their special date, and Justin’s impending move was weighing heavy on Lauren’s heart. She was watering plants around ten o’clock when she started feeling extremely dizzy. The heat index was very high, so she walked toward the house to get a drink of water. She saw a sheriff’s car pull into the driveway, so she headed his way instead. Lauren saw him hand her mother an envelope at the front entrance where Claire was working on a display.
“
I’m just the messenger, ma’am. You’ll have to open it to see what it’s about,” the sheriff said before he left.
“Mom,
what is that?”
“I don’t know, he just said he was here to serve me papers.”
“Let me read them.” She took the envelope from her mother and opened it. She was trying to make sense of all the words coming off of the pages. Court—Lien—Judgment—Evans Garden and Nursery—Baker’s First Bank—Represented by Garrison Law Office. She couldn’t decipher any of it. She understood the language but couldn’t make it fit with anything in their world.
“
Mom, I need a drink of water. Can we go inside and look at this closer? I’m sure it’s some sort of misunderstanding.”
Claire followed her
inside and got her something cold to drink. “Honey, you’re very pale. Let me get a cold wash cloth for you.”
Lauren read the pap
ers over and over again. It stated their property was being auctioned for not repaying a loan in the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars to Baker’s First, the other bank in town. Lauren couldn’t recall her family ever having dealings with that bank. No matter how many times she read it, it didn’t make sense.
She
called her father, but he didn’t answer. Seeing Garrison Law was adding to her confusion. She was certain it was wrong because she’d seen Jeffrey and Jonathan several times, and they didn’t say a word. She started to call Justin but remembered he was at the gym.
“Mom, do you
know what this could be about?”
“Lauren, I do have an idea, but I feel
it’s very unfair that I’m the one having to tell you when your father is to blame.”
“
What did you all do? Tell me!”
“A few years ago your father got me to agree to mortgage the property so we could get money to catch us up on some things. It was close to winter, and the nursery was struggling.
“Your father swore to me we could make the monthly payments. I was under the impression he was still making them. He asked when we separated if I’d give him some time to secure a loan for what was still owed on it.
“
He said he’d use the money from the new loan to pay off the balance on the one through Baker’s First. We would then finalize the divorce and put the property in just my name or yours and mine together. I’m sorry, Lauren. I thought he was handling it, and we haven’t received any mail stating otherwise, have we?”
“No, we haven’t. I can’t believe you k
ept something like this from me. I’m the one managing the finances. Mom, you know this is my life, and I wouldn’t know what else to do if I lost it.” Lauren was struggling not to scream at her mother or burst into tears.
“
I’m sorry, Lauren. Your father insisted we keep it a secret. He said he’d get it paid off, and you’d never know.”
Lauren went into auto pilot mode
. She couldn’t allow herself to feel. She needed answers. “I need to go over to Garrisons Law office. I want to go there first since they’re claiming to represent the bank. You need to stay here and cover things. I’ll be back.”
She
pulled into the parking lot and took a deep breath. Dreading having to go in, Lauren reminded herself that she wanted answers fast, and this would be the easiest way. She noticed the smell of leather when she entered the building. There was an older lady in a dress suit that sat behind a desk.
“Good morning, can I help you?”
she asked warmly.
“Yes, I need to speak to either Mr. Garrison or his son.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No, I don’t, but
it’s important. I know them personally. Well, I think I do. My name is Lauren Evans.”
“I’ll let them know you’re here,” the lady said, looking puzzled
.
Lauren waited
fifteen minutes. She was feeling awful physically, and now her nerves were making her shake. She looked up when she heard a door open.
“Lauren, would you like to come back into
my office?” Jeffrey asked.
“Thank you.” Lauren followed him down the hallw
ay. They passed by Jonathan’s office, and Lauren noticed he was on the phone.
“Please, Ms.
Evans, have a seat.”
She admired
the intricate woodwork on the cabinets and the massive desk. The smell of leather was stronger than in the lobby, and she couldn’t miss all the college certificates on the wall. The name Vanderbilt caught her eye. She felt intimidated seeing Jeffrey in a suit.
“You have a distinguished
office. I never thought I’d be in it, but it’s lovely.”
“Thank you. What can I do for you?”
Lauren handed him the paperwork. “We were served these today. I thought it was a misunderstanding, but once I saw your office listed I had a feeling there might be more to it.
“
Then my mother just informed me minutes ago that they secured a loan a few years back, but we haven’t received a single piece of mail related to it since I took over when my father moved away. I wasn’t able to reach him before coming here. Do you know what this is in regard to?”
“I was afraid of this. You really had no prior knowledge of this loan?”
“No.”
Jeffrey took a deep breath
and gazed at her quietly for a moment. “Ms. Evans, it appears that a few years back your father took out a mortgage for twenty-five thousand dollars. The loan became delinquent, so the bank came to the decision to sell the property to satisfy the debt.
“
A single payment hasn’t been made for a year. Baker’s First Bank claims they’ve tried to work with your father, giving him plenty of opportunities to catch up. It will be auctioned the 1
st
of September if the balance is not paid in full. I’m very sorry that you were not aware of this.”
Lauren became dizzy
and felt as if everything was happening in slow motion. “There has to be something I can do. I mean, we have equity in the property.”
“Ms.
Evans, unfortunately, we represent the bank. I can’t advise you on this matter. You’ll need to secure your own attorney. However, I’m able to give you the facts in the case. Your father put in a change of address when he moved. It appears he has intercepted the mail related to this delinquency. Also, the loan documents state that Mr. and Mrs. Evans waived their right of redemption, meaning you cannot take back the property after it’s sold if you were able to come up with the funds.”
The room started spinning as a wave of nausea washed over her.
“Ms. Evans, are you OK? You look rather pale.”
“
I’ve had dinner in your home, and I’m in love with your son, so you can call me Lauren. Could you please direct me to the nearest restroom?”
He directed
her to the restroom down the hallway and went straight to Jonathan’s office.
“You need to call your brother.
He’s already going to be furious, so I’d like for him to hear some of it from us. I’m also worried about Ms.—I mean, Lauren getting home safely.” They both heard her vomiting in the restroom.
“Call him now,” Jeffrey said with urgency.
“Justin, this is Jonathan. I need you here at my office.”
“What’s the rush
? I just got out of the gym.”
“Lauren is
here. She received some bad news today about her property, and she seems very ill.”
“Shit.” Justin hung up on him.
When Lauren came out of the restroom, Jeffrey was waiting for her in the hall.
“Lauren, please have a seat back in my office.”
The lady from the front desk brought her a glass of water, and after several minutes, Jeffrey returned to his seat.
“My
mother said he’s told her for a year that he was trying to get a loan to pay off this one, and then the new one would be in only his name. I imagine it has been impossible for him to secure a loan based on his low income.”
“Lauren, as of now
, the law states the bank is only required to sell the property at auction for half of its value. Then there would be huge administrative and legal fees tacked on to that. There will be very little equity left for you.
“
There’s already a developer in town who’s planning to turn the property into a subdivision, so I know he’ll bid on it. Unfortunately, unless you can pay off the loan beforehand, the auction will happen as scheduled. You should hire an attorney immediately.”
Lauren felt detached from the conversation. She could hear him, but the room was still spinning. She tried to process what he said and started putting two and two together. Lauren stood and sat the glass of water on the desk.
“You and Jonathan knew about this and chose not to discuss it with me. You had me over to your home more than once and not because you cared about getting to know me but because you wanted to see what I knew. That’s what all the questions were about at dinner.”
“I didn’t feel it was my place to tell you since the loan was not secured in your name, and we had no idea you and Justin were that serious.”
“Are you really saying it was not your place to tell me, yet a developer has known about it all this time? Interesting. I imagine the legal fees that’ll be tacked on because of this sale will be from
your
office.
“
I don’t need a college degree to understand what’s truly going on here. I bet in addition to you representing the bank, you’ll be doing all the legal work for this developer as he turns my property into a subdivision. I imagine it takes a lot of legal work and a lot of dough for a developer to bring that to completion,” Lauren snapped.
She heard his voice the second he came through the door. She instantly felt her dizziness worsen. He was screaming her name
as he hurried down the hallway.
Justin flew into his father’s office with wide eyes glued to Lauren.
Jonathan walked in behind him.
“Justin, I don’t want to see you or talk to—”
“No, Lauren!” Justin tried to grab her, but it was too late. She collapsed, nailing her head on a credenza before hitting the floor.
“What the hell happened to her? What did you
all do?” Justin asked, yelling.
He bent down on his knees and tried
to wake her. Jeffrey yelled for his assistant and asked her to get some wet paper towels.
“Lauren, wake up!
” Justin placed his hand under her neck and felt something wet. When he lifted her head he saw the puddle of blood.
“Call 911, now
!”
Chapter Thirty-One
Lauren opened her eyes and heard
foreign beeping sounds. Panicking, she glanced around the room trying to orient herself.
“Lauren,
I’m right here,” Claire said, grabbing her daughter’s hand.
“Mom, what happened to me?”
“You passed out at the Garrison’s office and hit your head pretty hard on a credenza and then the floor. They believe you have a concussion, and you had to get quite a few stitches in the back of your head. You’re in the emergency room.”
Lauren gently touched the
back of her head and felt the bandage as the happenings of the day rushed back into her mind.
“I want to go ho
me and be left alone,” Lauren said.
“Honey
, I know you’re angry and hurt, but we’ll find a way to get through this.”
“Maybe you don’t care that
we’re about to lose everything, but I do, and now I’ll have nothing. In one day, I’ve lost my whole world.”
“I know what
you’re thinking. You’re mad at Justin, but he knew nothing about any of this.”
“It doesn’t matter.
He’s a part of that evil family, so I can’t be with him. There’s no way we can be together with that obstacle, and I promised from the beginning I wasn’t going to interfere with his relationship with his family. I made that clear to him.”
“He
’s in the waiting room and wants to see you something awful. Justin’s father told me you’re pretty upset with all of them, so I figured it was better if I was the only one in here when you woke up.”
“Wow, Mo
m, you did one thing right,” Lauren said with an icy tone. “You can go tell him to leave because I don’t want to see him.”
“I think
that’s going to be impossible. He’s a mess. Please let him come back for a minute.”
“No, go tell him to leave.”
Claire sighed as she left the room.
Lauren
stared at the ceiling as she lay alone in the hospital room. When she was finally able to trust again, all those closest to her let her down. Being betrayed by the man she gave her heart to and the family she believed might accept her was too much for her to bear.
The pent up hurt and anger from her father’s deceit rushed to the surfac
e. She’d shoved it down for too long. Lauren became entranced by the deep sorrow she felt she was drowning in. She envisioned being in a greenhouse where there were shards of glass splayed around her on the floor from her world shattering. She picked up a jagged piece and cut through her dirt covered hands, watching the blood drain from her as it took her life with it. Without Justin and her business, life meant nothing to her. Absolutely nothing.
“
I’m going to see her!” Justin was quickly walking past the row of curtains trying to peak in them until he found Lauren.
She snapped out of her trance when she heard his voice.
“Lauren, please, I’m begging you to let me stay back here. I have to know you’re OK and talk to you. I love you so much.”
“Get out, Justin! I don’t
want to see you ever again. Leave with your evil, greedy family.”
“Don’t do this
, Lauren. I know you don’t mean that. We love each other, and we need to talk about this!”
Security had reached the small room Lauren was in. No amount of medical curtains
could’ve shielded everyone’s ears from their yelling. A man Lauren believed to be in his sixty’s wearing a uniform and black hat pulled the curtain back to see in.
“Sir, you have to leave.”
“Lauren, please tell him I can stay,” Justin pleaded.
“No. Get out, and take all the shards of glass with my blood on them with you!
”
“Oh my God, Lauren. What are you talking about? Let me stay in here.
You’re not OK.”
“Sir, you can’t stay
. Please come with me. If you care about her, you’ll let her have some space. If she’s hurt then she needs to rest and not get worked up.”
Justin groaned
loudly, grabbing his head with both hands.
“I love you,
Lauren.”
Her heart ached from the defeated look on his face when he turned to walk
away.
When
Justin pressured Jeffrey and Jonathan for details, they only told him about the auction and that they were representing the bank.
An
hour passed before a man wearing blue scrubs entered the room. Lauren took notice at how tight his scrub pants were tied around his waist and thought he looked too young to be a doctor.
“Ms.
Evans, I’m Dr. Creely. I’m here to go over your discharge instructions.” He informed her she was not to work for a few days because of her concussion and explained to her how to care for her wound.
He then turned to Claire.
“Ma’am, you can go ahead and pull your car around. We have the paperwork here to release her. I just need to cover something else with your daughter.”
Claire left the room, and the doctor moved a little closer to Lauren.
“Ms. Evans, are you aware that you’re pregnant?”
Lauren thought she was going to
pass out again. “What?”
“You’re pregnant.
From our test, you’re very early in your pregnancy, but you’ll need to get in to see an obstetrician soon for a check-up.”
Lauren stared straight ahead and spoke as if no one was around. “One time. One time without protection.”
“That’s all it takes,” the doctor said as he signed the papers he was holding. Lauren’s forehead creased from his comment.
“
Will the baby be OK from my fall?” she asked.
“
There’s no way to know that with certainty, but my medical opinion is that you and the baby will be fine. I must say though, stress can be just as detrimental, so you need to see what you can do to alleviate that some.”
The doctor left the room,
and a nurse had Lauren sign a paper. The ride in the wheelchair to the car felt like a never ending tunnel, closing in around her. She kept hearing the doctor say “you’re pregnant” over and over again.
Her family had lied to her, and in a little over a month she was going to be without insurance, a job, and a home. Then to be told
she’d have Justin’s baby to love and care for soon was too overwhelming.
I’m
carrying a Garrison.
Lauren
dozed off and began dreaming on the ride home from the hospital. She was holding a beautiful baby that stared up at her with huge, sparkling, blue eyes. She saw they were Justin’s eyes as the baby smiled at her, filling her heart with love until it was whole.
Lauren’s eyes jerked open as s
he sat up straight in the car.
“God gave me life again.
”
Claire glanced over at the sound of Lauren speaking
.
“Honey, are you OK?
Justin said you were rambling off something upsetting at the hospital. I think the fall has affected you more than they originally thought.”
Lauren didn’t speak aga
in. She placed her hand on her belly and stared out the window.