Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Are you—are you kidding?”
“Why would I kid about that?”
“I just, I was told that only the first two kids are given trusts. We were informed of that in writing,” she said, turning to Jeff, then back to Ash. “I remember getting the letter right after the paperwork for Timothy’s trust came in the mail.”
“You should have received a correction notice. Some members of the family had pushed through that change a few years ago, but I spoke to the board, and with very little effort on my part, they withdrew that stipulation. Birth order is a ridiculous reason to not receive money for college simply because some people don’t want to spend the money on more than two children per household. Screw that. If you’re related, you’re related. I used mine for college just like you did, and I never even had Walder as my last name.”
“So you’re saying that both Gemma and Taylor have college money?” she clarified.
“Yes, of course.”
Her eyes filled, and she covered her face with her hands.
Jeff’s eyes were swimming as well, but he wiped them quickly. “This is really good news for us. We’ve been so worried about all the… See, we had to put a new roof on our house this year, had to get a new water heater last year, my mother’s been sick—she has leukemia, but it’s in remission at the moment, so we’ve had to help her and my dad with bills, and had to use what we’d started to save.”
Ash nodded. “Well, don’t worry about the kids. They can go to school wherever they want. And there’s living expenses built into that money, as Ainsley knows, that comes in through the company dividends every quarter.”
She lifted her head then and stared at him. “I normally wouldn’t ask…but you’re you, so…can I come over there and cry all over your beautiful suit?”
“Yeah, come on. Bring it in.”
He stood up, and she was around the table fast. The issue was, when the people around us saw him hug her, everyone wanted some of his attention. And they wanted to take pictures. And talk and touch him.
I let it go on for a good ten minutes because that was fair and it gave him time to tell everyone that he would be there for the whole wedding, but then I stood up and made sure to jostle Gemma just a bit. The loud screech of displeasure was like an air siren. People moved back fast, and I explained that the man had to eat and have his dessert as well. Most of them were great about it, only one lady upsetting me when she flopped down on his lap once he was seated. She wanted a picture of the two of them.
“Of course,” he said kindly, and smiled into the camera.
When she wanted to take another, I almost said something but was saved from having to by the bride coming to our table.
“Way to make yourself a total nuisance, Kim,” she snapped at the woman. “This is why your mother had to bribe mine to invite you to the wedding.”
“Like you didn’t sashay on over here to meet your uncle.”
“I did,” Bitsy told her, “but I’m the bride. Now move your ass before I tell everyone what you did at the last wedding.”
Kim flipped her off, and Joey and Timothy gasped. She had forgotten there were kids there, and now both boys were asking their mother if Kim was going to get in trouble, because that was super bad, wasn’t it?
I clenched my jaw tight so no smile would come, no laughing, nothing.
“You’re a class act, Kim,” Bitsy called after her, taking the seat beside Ash. “I’m not sure what to call you. Ash? Ashford? Uncle Ash?”
“Ash is fine.”
She was beaming at him. “Thank you for making my wedding happen, that’s huge, and for taking into consideration what I had to say about my trust fund.”
“Well, so you know, your trust fund is being paid out. I made the arrangements, and the paperwork will be here tomorrow.”
She slapped a hand over her mouth. “Really?”
“Why on earth would I care what your parents think of your life choices, unless we needed to use your trust fund to pay for rehab or rodeo-clown college.”
Her eyes were filling fast.
“Actually,” Ash went on, “there’s nothing wrong with being a rodeo clown. And you wanting to start your own salon with three other stylists, I think that’s great. With all the followers you have on TikTok and Instagram, more sponsors signing on daily, and partnerships with some high-end brands, you’re off to a great start.”
She hugged him then. He’d basically ridden to her rescue like a knight in shining armor. What I liked about her was that as soon as she saw people start to get up, wanting to see Ash, she immediately waved her hand at Ainsley and then pointed to the front.