CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Because I hurry through my shower by the time Donna and Opie arrive at 730 the house is clean again, dessert is made and dinner is almost done.

Opie steps through the front door and inhales deeply. "What is that smell?"

I grin, coming out of the kitchen with a beer for Ope and a glass of wine for Donna, "Dinner duh!"

Opie rolls his eyes as he accepts the beer "Smart ass. You're always such a smart ass."

I shrug, "Guilty. But if you were wondering what exactly is for dinner I can tell you. We're having roast chicken and salad and bread rolls. The smell that you so easily picked up is dessert though, I made molten chocolate cakes."

Donna looks like she'd like to skip dinner and go straight to dessert. She follows me back into the kitchen and gathers plates, knives and forks and sets the table while I toss the salad and uncover the roasted chicken which had been resting on the bench.

"Go let them know it's ready?" I ask moving the dishes to the table and adding salt, pepper and a jug of water.

Opie and Jax come back trailing behind Donna and take their seats, Jax hands me his empty bottle as he goes past and my final trip to the table brings him a full one and the bread rolls that had been warming on the back of the oven.

As I sit down Jax starts dishing out the chicken from the dish in the middle, several minutes pass with quietly setting food on plates, passing dishes and adding seasoning.

Donna looks over at me and raises an eyebrow. "Do you really want to talk about money over dinner?" I ask, taking a sip of my wine.

She nods, "May as well start now."

I nod once, "Okay." Looking at Opie I see he looks slightly confused. "Donna and I were talking today about money and why I want to do the rebuild of your house, and refurnish of what you need. She thought that it would make you more comfortable if we had a discussion about why I'm so easily able to do it."

Opie nods and turns to his wife. "A little heads up woulda been good there Don."

Donna shrugs, "Didn't think you'd come if you knew we had ulterior motives."

I take a bite of my salad and consider where to start in the story. I know that Jax knows most of it, but there are still parts that he doesn't know; likewise there are parts that no on other than me know. Swallowing the mouthful I take another sip of wine. "Before I start, just be aware that I do want to eat as well, so this may take longer. But if you have questions please ask."

Donna and Opie both nod and I look over at Jax. "That goes for you too."

Jax nods and I take a deep breath and start talking. "So you both know my folks were rich, like beyond anything reasonable in Charming rich?" They both nod which makes it a bit easier. "When they died I found out that not only did they have an insane amount of money for their everyday use they had life insurance policies with 7 figures pay out amounts. When they died it all came to me."

Donna looks at me, the value that I've just said is vague enough to have them thinking while I eat a few bites of my dinner.

Jax looks over at me and phrases the first question in an unusual way, and I silently thank him for not revealing his level of knowledge. "You told me that most of it is in investments, what sort of percentage is it?"

"The invested portion is about 60% of my total worth."

I can see Jax's mind working to add the figures together, his eyes widen when he realises just how much I must have to play with. My eyes silently beg him not to say a thing and the nod that I get in return makes my shoulders relax and I wasn't even aware they'd tensed in the first place.

I leave the three of them in silent thought as I manage to finish my chicken, a roll and most of my salad before Opie clears his throat. "I know that you've obviously given Donna some information given that she's not at you like a Doberman on crack but can I get a bit more info. You said your folks had 7 figure payouts, that's millions. Are we talking low 7 or high 7?"

I sigh and set my knife and fork down on my plate and lean back preparing to fully divulge the information that I've tried to keep quiet. "First Ope, you have to promise that you tell no one at all." Opie nods so I take a sip of wine and continue. "Individually it was low 7, but combined it was mid 7's. When the houses were sold, the art, the life insurance policies plus the insurance payout for the plane it ended up in the low 8's."

Opie's eyes widen in an almost carbon copy of Jax's and he picks his beer up and drains the bottle. Before it's even set on the table I've pushed myself away and gotten him another and the bottle of wine to refill my glass.

"I want you to know something though Ope. I'm not offering to pay for your house to be completely renovated out of anything but love for you both, and sadness that I brought the shit storm to town that ended with your house being so demolished. I'm not offering to pay for any furniture, appliances, clothes, shoes, ornaments, shit even tools, out of anything but the fact that the pair of you have been my best friends through everything. Even when I wasn't here in body I was in spirit. I'm not sure if you know that I had even offered to rebuild from the ground up, but I am happy to. The money that I have is nothing without people around me who love me for who I am. None of you knew till today the stupidly high amounts of money that I have to play with, invest, throw away if I want. I'm hoping that the knowledge you have now won't change anything. I get it if you guys need to talk for a while without me here so I'm gonna go out to the yard. Come get me if you need me."

I push back from the table again, my now refilled wine glass in my hand. Stopping to press a kiss on Jax's head as I go past I walk through the back door and out into the yard.

I sit down on one of the chairs, purposefully picking the one the furthest away from the door and sip my wine slowly while agonising over what could possibly be being said inside. I'm not sure how much time has passed when Jax comes out and pulls me to my feet. "Come back inside, Ope wants to ask you some stuff. I did tell him you may not want to answer."

I nod and lean into his chest for a minute, inhaling the unique scent that comes from him. "Okay."

I follow Jax back inside and make a quick stop to put the dessert back in the oven, knowing it'll give me a break in 5 minutes when they have to come back out. The three of them have moved into the living room and Opie is sitting in the chair with Donna on his knee. Donna smiles and Opie meets my eyes, but no change in expression crosses his face. Jax sits at the end of the couch and I settle myself at the other end and rest my legs across the leather, my feet sitting on his knee.

"Fire away." I say, smiling a little and taking another sip of my depleted wine.

Opie looks over at me and I relax a little when I see he's not angry. "I know that you want to do this because you do feel guilty about leaving and the whole Craig issue. We were willing to let you pay for the expansion to kill any feelings of guilt. I'm not sure that even if you pay for the house to be demolished, rebuilt, redecorated and refurnished that whatever misguided guilt you feel would be relieved. I know that Donna told you I'd be against it cause of the whole 'man provides' mentality that we all grew up with and to a certain extent she's right. I'm not happy about someone else paying for things I should be able to afford. But because it's you, because we both love you, because you're one of our best friends, because you're the Old Lady of my brother, because my wife sees you as her sister and because you want to we will let you."