All characters belong to S. Meyer, but the plot belongs to me. Please don't steal.

Deadly Whispers

Summary: When single mother, Bella, inherits the house of the elderly woman she had been taking caring of, she decides to have the house remodeled, and finds that she feels an instant attraction for the contractor she hires. Things were finally looking up for Bella. Or so she thought.

BPOV

Shelly Cope was the reason we had been summoned to law offices of Wickham & Wickham in downtown Cary, North Carolina. It was a beautiful Friday in May without a cloud in the sky. Normally, I would have been at home, working in Shelly's garden. However, she had passed away a couple of weeks prior and had unexpectedly written me into her will.

Her two daughters sat beside each other on one side of the oval table while I sat across from them. Worried about what they must be thinking of me, I couldn't bring myself to look at them. Instead, I looked down at my hands that lay upturned in my lap. I could feel the weight of their eyes on me. Filling with dread, my body began trembling uncontrollably, and I found it hard to breathe. I felt as if I were a sheep being led to slaughter, and they were waiting to inflict the deadly blow. I shouldn't be here, I thought. Shelly had already given me everything she had promised to me in her will. Maybe it was just a formality? Proof that what she had given me was meant to be mine.

A man cleared his throat as he entered the room, and my head jerked up at the sound of his gruff voice. "Good Morning," he said as he offered his hand, first to Melissa, the eldest of Shelly's two daughters, and then to Gina, before shaking my hand as he introduced himself. "I'm Thomas Wickham, Mrs. Cope's attorney, and the executor of her will." Mr. Wickham placed his briefcase on the table in front of him before taking his seat at the head of the table.

"Excuse me, Mr. Wickham," I said in a small, timid voice, hoping that I wouldn't draw Shelly's two daughters' attention to our conversation.

Yeah, good luck with that.

Melissa's and Gina's attention was off the lawyer and on me quicker than you could swat a fly. When I turned to look at them, I saw nothing but loathing in their eyes. They had never even met me before that day, but I could tell by their mirrored expressions they truly hated me. But, why did they hate me? That was what I couldn't comprehend. I took care of the mother they both abandoned after she married a man they didn't approve of. He had done nothing to deserve their hate. His only crime had been falling in love with and marrying their mother. He had provided for her while she was able-bodied, and took care of her when she was no longer able to care for herself. When he was no longer able to, he had hired me to take care of both of them. Mr. Cope had been a man that any daughter could be proud to call their step-father, but sadly, he had been a man whose skin color was not to their liking. You see, Mr. Cope had been an African American.

Shelly's daughters should have been grateful that she left them in her will at all, because every penny of that money had been earned by Mr. Cope. When he was still alive, they had wanted nothing to do with him or their mother. Hell, they hadn't even resumed seeing their mother once he had passed away! Had they been my children, I doubt that I would have been so generous. I would have cut them out of my will the way they cut me out of their lives, and given all of my money to charity.

"I don't really need to be here, do I?" I asked. "Shelly has already given me everything that she said she was going to leave me in her will." I didn't want to be there; I had more important things to attend to. Priority number one was to finish packing, moving mine and my son's' things into the apartment that I had rented the week before. I was sure that the moment Shelly's daughters took possession of the house, they would evict us. I wasn't going to give them the satisfaction. More importantly, having remembered the choice phrases Shelly had told me they bestowed upon her when she had started dating her husband, I didn't want my son to witness the racist rhetoric I was sure to hear once they realized that my son was bi-racial. I knew that there was no way I could shield my son from racist remarks every day of his life; but when it was within my power to do so, I would.

Mr. Wickham averted his gaze from me to look at the papers he held in his hand. He skimmed through the first few pages before stopping on one in particular. After reading the next few pages, he smiled. "Bella Swan, is it?" he asked as he returned his attention to me.

"Yes, sir."

"I believe it would be in your best interest to stay."

Melissa and Gina were none too happy about the outcome, each having received only one hundred thousand dollars. They threatened to contest the will, but Mr. Wickham assured them that it was iron-clad, all loopholes had been closed. They turned to look at me, eyes narrowed in anger, as if they thought all of this was somehow my fault. I, on the other hand, was astounded when Mr. Wickham told me Shelly had left the majority of her estate to me. At first, I thought there had been some kind of mistake and I said as much. He then handed me one of the letters Shelly had written to each of us. I began reading, and I soon felt a lump rise in my throat and tears well up in my eyes as I got to the last part of her correspondence.

"When you love someone, you want nothing more than for them to be happy. That's all I wanted for my daughters. My love for them was unconditional, but they set conditions on returning that love. Don't get me wrong, Bella. I love my children, but I can't reward their despicable behavior by leaving them everything my husband worked so hard for. It would be as if I condoned it. They disowned me simply because I fell in love with a man whose color they didn't approve of, and I will be damned if I let them get their hands on everything he worked so hard for. You, on the other hand, even though we share no blood ties, have given me your love freely, and expected nothing of me in return. You have been more of a daughter to me than my own, and there isn't anyone else I'd rather leave my belongings to. Please accept them with my blessing. I wouldn't have left them to you if I didn't think you deserved it. If you feel that the house is too big for you and little Seth, feel free to sell it, it's yours to do with as you wish.

"All my love, Shelly."

Melissa let out a huff, causing me to look up across the table at her, and I saw Gina roll her eyes.

"This isn't over!" Melissa stood up from the table, grabbing her sister by the hand and storming out of the room.

Mr. Wickham walked over to me and put his hand on my shoulder. "Bella," he said, handing me a tissue. I took it from him, wiped the tears from my eyes, and blew my nose. "They can contest the will if they like, but I'm positive it will be upheld it court," he said handing me an envelope.

"What's this?" I asked. My eyes narrowed in curiosity as I took it from him.

"It's the deed to the house," he began. "Shelly transferred the property to your name over a year ago, when her doctor told her the cancer was terminal." He placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "She really loved you and your son, Bella, and she was worried that her daughters might try to contest the will. This was her way of making sure that, if nothing else, you and your son would be able to keep your house."

"I loved her too and I'm going to miss her. Thank you, Mr. Wickham, for everything," I said, offering my hand to him.

Taking my hand in his, he smiled, saying, "It was my pleasure." I nodded and then I made my way outside to my car and drove back to my mother's house.

My mother, Renee, was out on the front porch, playing cars with Seth, when I pulled into her driveway. I almost strangled myself getting out of my car. I was in such a hurry to tell my mother what had happened at the reading of the will, that, I forgot to unfasten my seatbelt.

Great.

My mom let out a roaring laugh. "Are you alright?" she asked through broken laughter. Leave it to my mother to find humor in my pain.

"I'm fine. I just bruised my ego a little, is all. I was in a hurry to talk to you," I said, rubbing my neck, hoping the belt hadn't left a mark.

"What's so important that you'd risk strangulation to tell me?" she asked with a chuckle.

Seth ran up to me, and wrapped his little arms around my legs, squeezing tight.

"Momma, can I sleep at Bama's house tonight?" he asked in his sweet little voice, tilting his head up to look at me. When Seth first began speaking, he couldn't pronounce grandma; instead, it came out as Bama. Mom thought it was precious, so we never encouraged him to call her anything else. My son was the cutest child in the world as far as I was concerned. His eyes were a bright, beautiful shade of brown, almost the color of warm caramel, and his hair was so black it was almost blue. I had to admit that I was a little jealous of his skin color, because he would never have to worry about a tan; his tone being just a few shades lighter than that of his father's, Jacob.

I gently pulled his arms from around my legs and knelt down in front of him. "I don't know, little man. Bama might have other plans for tonight," I said as I looked up at my mother.

"I told him he could, if it was alright with you."

Returning my gaze to Seth, I smiled. "I guess its okay then, but why don't you go play in the toy room for a while? I need to speak to your grandma for a few minutes." He gave me a quick hug, and then he trotted along to the other room to play with his toys.

"I think you need to be sitting down when you hear this," I said, taking her hand and leading her into the living room.

After going over everything that had happened at the law firm with my Mom, I kissed her and Seth good-bye, then drove home to my house.

"My house," I breathed as I pulled into the driveway, loving the sound it made as it rolled off my tongue.

A/N

I still have a lot to learn before I can even consider what I write as good, but, I am living proof that if you want something bad enough and you listen to the advice of those who know more than you do, you can improve.

I have a few people I want to thank, who encourage me when I think "Why bother, I'll never get it right." First and foremost is jjulibee. (Meant to Be) She has always been a pillar of support, and I am forever in her debt. Julie, if it wasn't for you, I would have given up a long time ago. venis-envy, (Pisces Reverie) and (Dear Alice) who is very strict when it comes to repeat words. lol She is who I always go to when I need advice, and she offers it without ever complaining. Queenofgrey, (Porcelain Heart, A Secondhand Spark, In Bloom and Carpe Noctem & Fiat Lux) because her writing inspires me like no other.

Last but certainly not least, Kimmydonn, and ruthperk. They are my awesome beta's for this story, though any mistakes you find can only be blamed on me.

If you like what you've read so far, please leave a review. Also, if you see any mistakes, or something that I may need to improve upon, just send me a PM. I'm open to suggestions.