My Family Abandoned Me in the Woods novel · Chapter 15 of 24
Chapter 15: The Contract
Callie's POV
My mother parked a rented SUV across the cabin gate and left it there.
I watched her from the porch with a mug in both hands.
Danny stood beside me in the green coat.
"That's her?" he said.
"That's her."
"She's dressed for a funeral."
She wore a pressed cardigan and a tight smile, and she carried a leather folder against her chest.
A man in a gray suit got out of the passenger side behind her.
He carried a briefcase, and he looked at the snow on his shoes with real sorrow.
"Callie," my mother said from the bottom of the steps. "Sweetheart. Look at you."
"Hello, Mom."
"You've lost weight. Is he feeding you?"
"Is who feeding me?"
"The ranger." She looked past me at the cabin door, and her mouth thinned. "The one who said those things on the porch. In front of the deputy. In front of your father."
"He said what he meant."
"Well. We'll get to that." She turned. "This is our family attorney. He's here to help us all put this behind us."
"I represent your sister's company," the man said. "And your mother, as a courtesy."
"That's not the same as the family."
"Callie." My mother touched her chest. "I came all the way up a mountain."
"You came up a plowed road."
Danny made a sound that might have been a cough.
My mother's eyes moved to him, and to the coat, and she did not know what she was looking at.
"Who is this?"
"Danny," I said. "Danny Orrick."
I watched the name land.
Her face did not move, but her fingers tightened on the folder.
"I see," she said. "Well. Can we talk inside?"
"No."
"It's freezing."
"Then be quick."
Keep reading free with an account. Start My Family Abandoned Me in the Woods from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.
← Chapter 14 · All chapters · Chapter 16 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend