Chapter 6 - Thirty Days)
The morning after the confrontation, Shannon woke at 5:11.
For several seconds she couldn't remember why her chest felt tight.
Then she heard a cabinet slam downstairs.
Fiona.
Memory returned.
The documents.
Sixty-three thousand dollars.
The deadline.
Her mother's face.
Her father's silence.
Fiona's warning.
You shouldn't have checked the numbers.
Shannon stayed in bed until 5:30.
Then she dressed and entered the kitchen.
Fiona stood at the counter making coffee.
Neither spoke.
Shannon opened the refrigerator.
Fiona laughed softly.
"Going to label your milk now?"
Shannon closed the refrigerator.
"No."
"Maybe install cameras?"
"If I need to."
Fiona turned.
"Are you threatening me?"
"No."
"Everything you say sounds like a threat now."
Shannon poured coffee.
"That's because you're used to everything I say being negotiable."
Fiona stared at her.
For once, she had no immediate response.
Shannon sat at the kitchen island.
"I meant what I said last night."
"Congratulations."
"You can sign the agreement and contribute, or you can move within thirty days."
"What exactly do you expect me to do?"
"Work."
Fiona laughed.
"You think jobs with school hours are waiting outside?"
"I think you've had eighteen months to solve that."
"You're unbelievable."
"I've been paying for your life for eighteen months."
"You keep saying that number like you bought me diamonds."
"No. Mostly I bought groceries, gasoline, electricity, school supplies, repairs and all the invisible things you stopped noticing because I always paid."
Fiona's face reddened.
"The kids can hear you."
Shannon looked toward the staircase.
No one was there.
"Then we should keep our voices low."
That answer infuriated Fiona.
She stepped closer.
"You want me to beg?"
"No."
"You want gratitude?"
"No."
"What do you want?"
"Responsibility."
Fiona stared.
Shannon realized she had never said the word so directly before.
Fiona picked up her coffee.
"You're going to regret this."
"Maybe."
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
Fiona walked away.
Twenty minutes later, the children entered.
The tension altered Shannon immediately.
She smiled.
She made toast for herself.
When Eli asked if she was taking them to school, Shannon looked toward Fiona.
Their mother stood near the hallway.
"No," Shannon said gently. "Your mom is today."
Fiona's eyes flashed.
Noah looked between them.
"Are you guys fighting?"
"No," Fiona said.
"Yes," Shannon said at the same time.
Fiona glared.
Shannon crouched slightly so she wasn't speaking down to the children.
"We're working out some grown-up responsibilities. That's all."
"Are we moving?" Sadie asked.
The question hit Shannon hard.
Fiona had already told them.
Shannon looked at her sister.
Fiona folded her arms.
Shannon turned back to Sadie.
"Your mom is deciding what works best for you."
"She said you don't want us."
"Fiona."
Her sister shrugged.
"I didn't say that."
Sadie looked confused.
Shannon's voice softened.
"I love you. All three of you. Nothing about that changes."
"Then why do we have to leave?"
Fiona answered before Shannon could.
"Because Aunt Shannon needs her space."
Shannon stood.
"Stop."
Fiona smiled faintly.
"What?"
"Don't use them to punish me."
Noah looked uncomfortable.
Fiona's smile disappeared.
"You think everything is about you."
Shannon grabbed her bag.
"I have to work."
At the office, she called Desert Title Document Services.
A woman answered.
Shannon gave her name and explained that her card had been charged months earlier.
The woman searched.
"Yes. I see two payments."
"What were they for?"
"I'm limited in what I can disclose unless you're the client."
"The charges were on my card."
"The payment source and client aren't necessarily the same person."
Shannon felt cold.
"Who was the client?"
"I'm sorry."
"Was it Fiona Mercer?"
Another pause.
"I'm not able to confirm."
Shannon leaned back.
"What property were the documents related to?"
"I can't provide that."
"Can you tell me whether they involved my address?"
The woman hesitated again.
Then said carefully:
"If you're concerned about the status of your property, I recommend contacting the county recorder or a real-estate attorney."
Shannon's fingers tightened around the phone.
"Why would I need to do that?"
"I didn't say you need to."
"But you're recommending it."
"I'm recommending it if you have concerns."
Shannon thanked her.
Then immediately searched the Pima County property records.
The title still showed her name.
No obvious changes.
No transfer.
No lien that she could see.
She exhaled.
Maybe it was nothing.
Maybe Fiona had been researching hypothetical options.
Maybe the charge involved some document related to Kyle's house.
But why use Shannon's card?
At lunch, Robert called.
"Can we talk?"
"I'm working."
"Tonight?"
"About Fiona?"
"About all of it."
Shannon rubbed her temple.
"Okay."
Robert arrived alone at seven.
Fiona had taken the children somewhere.
Elaine didn't come.
That itself was a message.
Robert sat at the kitchen table.
For a while he studied his hands.
Then he said:
"I owe you an apology."
Shannon hadn't expected that.
"For what?"
"For not asking questions."
She looked at him.
Robert continued.
"I knew you were carrying more than you said. I didn't know how much."
"You could have asked."
"I should have."
"Mom thinks I'm horrible."
"Your mother thinks conflict means something is broken."
"No. Mom thinks conflict means I should surrender because Fiona won't."
Robert looked down.
Shannon immediately regretted the harshness.
Then she stopped herself.
It wasn't harsh if it was true.
Robert sighed.
"I found out Fiona asked us for money too."
Shannon stared.
"How much?"
He hesitated.
"Dad."
"About twelve thousand."
Shannon's mouth fell open.
"For what?"
"Different things."
"Does Mom know?"
"Some."
"What does that mean?"
Robert looked toward the hallway, as though Fiona might somehow hear from miles away.
"Your mother doesn't know I gave Fiona six thousand from our emergency account."
Shannon leaned back.
"When?"
"Over the past year."
"Why?"
"She said Kyle wasn't paying."
Shannon thought about the payment statements.
"Dad."
"What?"
"She lied."
Robert's face changed.
Shannon explained.
When she finished, Robert stared at the table.
The disappointment in his face made him look older.
"Don't tell your mother tonight," he said.
Shannon couldn't believe him.
"That's your response?"
"I need to figure out how to tell her."
"Dad, this is exactly how we got here."
"I know."
"No, you don't. Everyone keeps protecting everyone from consequences."
"I'm not protecting Fiona."
"You're protecting Mom from being upset."
Robert said nothing.
Shannon stood.
"I can't do that anymore."
Her father looked up.
"What does that mean?"
"It means thirty days is still thirty days."
Robert nodded slowly.
Then Shannon remembered the title-service receipt.
She brought it to him.
"Do you know anything about this?"
Robert read it.
His expression didn't change at first.
Then he looked at the date.
"Where did you get this?"
"My credit-card statement."
"Fiona used your card?"
"Apparently."
Robert looked at the receipt again.
"Dad?"
He handed it back.
"No. I don't know."
But Shannon had known her father her entire life.
He wasn't a good liar.
May you like
And at that moment she knew something else.
Robert had seen the name Desert Title Document Services before.
