Everyone keeps asking for "more" and "faster" (pun intended). Anyway, just to give everyone an idea of what and when I try to post. When you get 1.5 to 2 pages on Literotica, it equates to 10 to 12 pages of typed text in Word. That's about all I can manage each week. I do stay a couple of chapters ahead, but I only do that to give myself a cushion, in case something comes up and I don't get to work on a chapter.
I try to post once a week. Because of the way I submit each chapter, Literotica can sometimes take up to three days to upload the story. I try to submit a new chapter every weekend. The last chapter was rejected because I made a mistake. I had to correct the mistake and repost it, which meant an even longer delay. Sorry. However, in most cases, if you check back the first part of each week, that's when you'll likely find a new chapter.
Hope this helps. And, please post feedback and tell me how you liked the chapter. Also, don't forget to vote.
WARNING: This one's a cliff hanger. A Grand Canyon sized cliff hanger.
Chapter 9
After Liam dropped off the kids at school, he headed over to the mall. With morning traffic, it was almost a forty minute drive from their little suburb to the mall, which opened at ten. He ended up getting there about twenty minutes early and had to wait in the parking lot until they opened.
The swim trunks for himself and Chris were an easy purchase. However, the bathing suits for the little girls were a real shocker. He couldn't believe they actually made bikinis for toddlers.
'Who, in their right mind, would put a bikini on a two year old?'
He grumbled to himself, as he held up one to inspect. It had little fish right in the spots that would cover the front top portion.
'Yeah, she doesn't even have anything to help hold the fish in place. No way in hell is my little girl wearing that.'
He mumbled, again to himself. In the end, he chose a nice one piece that had several of the Disney princesses on the front.
After he made his purchases, he started the forty minute drive back to their little burb. Robert lived up in the hills, not too far from where Julie and Adam had lived. His house was in a slightly more affluent neighborhood. The houses were more secluded and had more land surrounding them. It was a beautiful home with a long drive that circled around the front of the house. There was a huge recessed double entry door with a large arched transom.
Robert was at the door to greet Liam before he even got out of the car.
"Liam, I'm so glad you could make it. Hopefully you found the place easily enough." Robert said, stepping outside and extending his hand in friendly greeting.
"Hello, Robert, thanks for inviting me and yes, I found the place just fine. This is a very beautiful home." Liam replied, shaking Robert's offered hand.
"Yes, it is, why don't I give you a tour. Lunch should be ready by the time we're done." He said as he showed Liam into the house.
The house was amazing. The first floor had a formal living and dining room appointed with columns, flank by a two-story foyer. The living room was warmed by a hearth and the family room, also hearth-warmed, opened to a nook and the kitchen. The dining room adjoined the island kitchen via a butler's pantry. A covered porch opens just beyond the nook. Down a short hall was a home office, one half-bath, one full bath, the laundry room and access to a multi-car garage. On the opposite end of the main level was a magnificent master suite with sitting room, fireplace, and pampering bath.
The upper level had two family bedrooms, a guest suite, a library, an exercise room and an entertainment room.
Liam was in awe. He had driven up through the hills in the past, but had never actually had a chance to see the inside of one of the homes. Julie and Adam's home was extremely large, almost the same size, only without the library and exercise room, but it definitely wasn't as grand as this house.
Lunch was waiting for them outside on the back porch. The back yard was complete with children's playground, swimming pool, and tennis/basketball court.
While they ate lunch, Liam filled Robert in on how the kids were doing, the state of the investigation, and the situation with their living arrangements.
"Yeah, I talked to your dad yesterday and he mentioned you were looking for a place. He also mentioned this morning that you were probably going to be staying with them until you found someplace. That's one of the reason's I wanted to meet with you." He said, pausing to take a drink of his tea, and then continuing.
"As you know, there is a substantial settlement coming from the insurance company that you can put towards your purchase. I know that you were fairly comfortable to begin with, but now that you've added to that with Adam and Julie's estate, you have more funds at your disposal than you probably realize." He finished.
"I hadn't really given much thought to the amount of money coming from their estate. I just don't feel right using that money. I don't know why, but using that money just feels wrong." Liam responded.
"Yes, I can understand that, but you know that Julie and Adam would only want the best for Chris and Cassie. They would want you to use the money to make sure they had everything they need. The sole purpose of the money is to take care of Chris and Cassie. You shouldn't feel guilty for using it for that purpose. Now, with that said, I have a proposition for you." He said, before pausing to take another drink of his tea and, Liam supposed, waiting for a response from him.
"A proposition? Okay, I'm listening." Liam said.
"Yes, well, my wife and I bought this house just after Adam and I made partners at the law firm. It was sort of a gift to us. However, it has always been a dream of ours to have our own house built. We purchased the land over a year ago and construction has already started. It's expected to be finished in about sixty to ninety days. We would like to sell this house to you." He said, pausing again for another drink.
"What?" Liam asked, thinking that he couldn't have possibly heard Robert right.
"You heard me, we would like to sell you this house. We're willing to offer you a price well below market value. Besides, since we won't have to put the house on the market, we can expect to save a substantial amount just from that alone. Please understand Liam, that I loved Adam and Julie very much. Adam was like a brother to me and I miss him tremendously. We, my wife and I, would very much like the opportunity to do something for the kids and for you." He finished.
"Wow, I'm… I'm…Speechless. Can we really afford something like this once the estate's been settled?" Liam asked.
"Yes, most definitely, like I said, there will be a substantial settlement coming from the company that insured Julie and Adam's house. That will cover a large portion of the purchase price. Their estate can easily cover the balance. Plus, we'll be offering you a very good price. And, please don't think that you have to accept right now. You can think about it over the weekend, maybe talk with your mom and dad. We can discuss it more next week. Right now, I just wanted to put the offer out there." Robert said.
"Thank you Robert, I don't know what else to say, except thank you." Liam said.
"No thanks are necessary. My wife and I really want to do this for the kids." He said.
After that, discussion moved on to the subject of Julie and Adam's estate. Robert had several documents that needed Liam's signature. The will had gone through probate and the law firm was now working to transfer all holdings over to Liam. Robert explained that this would still take some time, probably a couple of months before everything would be transferred, but now that the will had gone through probate, they could actually proceed.
Later, while Liam was driving over to pick up the kids from school, he started thinking about Robert's offer. The house was amazing. He could easily see the kids growing up in that house. He wasn't sure if the kids would still be in the same school district though and that could be a problem. He felt that it would be more important to keep Chris in the same school, than to have that house. In the end, he decided that he would talk to his mom and dad and get their opinion. If it still sounded like a good idea after talking with them, he would talk to the school principal to see if something could be worked out.
Once Chris was in the car, he talked non-stop about his day at school, especially about his math test.
"I got all the math problems right on my math test. I missed school all last week and I still got all the problems right. Mrs. Piper said she was proud of all my hard work." He said, the self gratification obvious in his voice. "Oh, and I also got invited to Peter's birthday party next week. Can I go?" He asked.
"Yeah, you can go. And, I want to see your test. We'll have to put it on the fridge at Grandma and Grandpa's." Liam responded.
