Saving Ms Gothel, page 12
part #7 of Middleton Prep Series
“Here.” Hank reached around her and grabbed his laptop off the coffee table. Opening it up, he brought up a few files and then settled the computer so Zellie could read it all.
As she read her eyes widened and then filled with tears. “H-how did you get all this information?”
Hank fisted his hands against his thighs. “I’m a computer programmer, which means I might or might not know how to do a little hacking from time to time.” His attempt to lighten the mood fell flat. “You’re killing me, Z.”
Zellie sniffled and rubbed her nose on her sleeve. “I’m sorry,” she said in a watery voice.
HANK COULD STAND IT no more. With a groan, he wrapped his arms around Zellie and held her while she cried. He had kept his hands to himself because he wasn’t sure what she needed, but when she burrowed further into his embrace and let the tears loose, he knew she was where she belonged.
For several minutes he held her and made soothing noises. After she had appeared to cry herself out, she sat up and wiped her face.
“Ugh! I’m a mess.”
Hank grinned and reached for a tissue. “But a beautiful mess.”
Zellie’s eyes closed momentarily while she snorted a laugh.
“In fact, you’re my beautiful mess.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead.
“Thank you,” Zellie whispered. Taking a deep breath, she sat straight. “I need to go see her.”
Hank narrowed his eyes. “You really want to confront her? You don’t have to. You can just live your life and never go back.”
“No. I need to give her a chance to explain.”
Hank pursed his lips and shook his head. “You’re much nicer than me. But okay, if that’s what you want I’ll take you over there.”
Zellie beamed. “You’ll go with me?”
Hank scowled. “Of course! I lost you once, I’m not losing you again. Not to mention I don’t trust that woman as far as I can throw her.”
Zellie’s face sobered and she nodded. Together they stood up and headed to Hank’s car. It only took a few minutes to arrive at Cassia’s house and she must have been expecting Hank and Zellie because Cassia stepped out of the door before the engine was shut off.
Holding out her hand, Cassia called to her daughter. “Rapunzel, come here.”
Zellie didn’t move and Hank walked around to her side of the car to stand by her.
“I don’t think so, mother. Or should I even call you that? Perhaps stepmother is more appropriate?”
Cassia’s eyes widened and panic skittered across her face before being school into cool indifference. She folded her arms and smirked. “I see. Well, well, well, look who has finally figured it all out.” Turning she started to walk back inside. “Come inside and we’ll figure this all out.”
“No,” Zellie said more firmly.
Cassia stiffened and began to turn toward them slowly.
Dang. She’s mad now. Hank stepped closer to Zellie and put his hand on her shoulder, ready to shove her out of the way if Cassia got any ideas.
“I am the woman who raised you. You don’t get to talk to me like that you little wretch.”
“You might have raised me, but you haven’t been a mother. And all that nonsense about my father leaving in the middle of the night? Why would you do that?” Zellie’s face held pain and she shook her head from side to side. “Do you have any idea of the bullying I received because of your rules? Or how terrified I was for the longest time to really live? How could you do that to me? To a child?”
Cassia laughed harshly. “It’s not like my life has been a dream either. I thought my troubles were over when I married your father. One of the richest men in the area, I could have everything I wanted. The only problem was his precious baby daughter.” Cassia sneered at Zellie. “He actually expected me to mother you,” Cassia scoffed. “I had plans to send you to boarding school as soon as you were old enough, but then you’re father went off and died. Got himself killed in a stupid airplane and never changed the will!” Cassia’s face contorted in anger. “I was his wife but he left me nothing. It all went to his stupid baby daughter.” Cassia growled. “As if someone like you would even know what to do with all that money.”
Zellie winced as if she had been physically hit by the words. Hank squeezed her shoulder to remind her he was there.
“You told me he abandoned you! That you were never married.”
Cassia waved a hand through the air in dismissal. “Obviously, that was a better story. Once he was gone my plans had to change, anything less wouldn’t have kept you in line.”
Zellie’s teeth were clenched as she pushed out the next words. “Exactly. All those years you spent filling my head with horror stories about men. All that work to keep me under your thumb just so you could have access to MY inheritance!”
“What was I supposed to do? I already said your stupid father never changed his will, even after we were married. And when he died, there you were, a tiny, snot-nosed brat with millions in the bank. And I was left with nothing! NOTHING!” Cassia screamed while pointing to her chest. Taking a deep breath, she composed herself. “By keeping you close, I could claim your monthly stipend for myself, since I was your guardian.” She put a pitying look on her face. “Did you really think you’re little job as a P.E. teacher, of all things, could take care of us?” She snorted and shook her head.
“Only you failed.” Zellie raised her chin up and Hank wanted to cheer. “I’m not twenty-five yet. And now I’m living on my own. When the bulk of the money is released in the next couple of months, it will go directly to me. Not you.”
Cassia’s face screwed up in rage and she clenched her fists. “I was so close. If it hadn’t been for him,” she pointed accusingly at Hank, “I would have gotten everything. Everything! Years of planning, ruined!” Cassia sneered at Hank. “I’d already lost huge chunks of money to that dumb jock back in high school, not to mention the greedy wench, Victoria. What am I supposed to do now? Haven’t I taken care of you?” Cassia stalked toward Zellie. “I deserve that money, you’ve done nothing for it.”
Hank tried to step in front of Zellie, but she refused to give up her ground. “What do you mean about that jock and Victoria?”
Cassia stopped and a smirk crossed her face. “Didn’t figure that one out, huh? Just proves how dumb and gullible you are.”
Hank opened his mouth, but Zellie grabbed his arm, holding back his anger.
“That kid at your school who asked you to Prom? Yeah, cost me a whole five grand. Had to keep raising the price just to get him to agree.” Cassia tsked. “He tried to demand more when you didn’t give him what he wanted, but I was able to shut him up.”
Hank could feel Zellie shaking and he ached to help her, but she had already made it clear she was standing on her own two feet. “And Victoria?” Zellie asked through clenched teeth.
Cassia rolled her eyes. “Really? You don’t get it? She was supposed to get you to break up with Hank!” Cassia threw her arm towards him. “She cost me a hundred grand. And she didn’t even get the job done!” Cassia huffed. “Useless.”
Zellie stepped back until her back touched Hank’s chest and he wrapped his arm around her.
“Who is my real mother?”
Cassia laughed, the sound dark and unhinged. “I don’t think so. I think I’ll just hang onto that little tidbit.” She turned and walked back toward the house. “Good luck breaking into those records, sweetie. If you want more, you know how to get my attention.”
Zellie was shaking so hard, Hank could feel the air movement between them. “Goodbye, Cassia. I hope we never see each other again,” Zellie whispered to Cassia’s back.
Hank’s eyes widened. She’s just going to walk away? Not threaten her with a lawsuit or anything? He leaned down to Zellie’s ear. “What about all the money she’s been gathering over the years? Or your mother and father?”
Zellie shook her head and got back in the car.
With one warning glance at Cassia, Hank walked around and got in the driver’s seat. He pulled out of the driveway and headed back to his house. “You gonna be okay?” He asked after a couple of tense moments.
Zellie sighed, then collapsed against her seat. “Yeah. Not right now, but eventually.” Her eyes never left the window.
Hank reached over and linked their fingers as he drove them the rest of the way home.
Once they were inside, he pulled her down next to him on the couch and wrapped his arms around her. He buried his face in her hair and spoke against her scalp. “You sure you don’t want to go after that money? We could put together a pretty good lawsuit. She should be jailed on her personality alone. She’s rotten to the core.”
Zellie shook her head. “No. Let her keep it. I don’t want it. The thought of going after that money makes me sick to my stomach like it’s been tainted by her or something. In a couple of months, when I turn twenty-five, I’ll have more than I’ll ever need.”
Hank nodded. “If that’s what you want.”
“It is.”
As they continued to sit cuddled up together, Hank heard Zellie’s breathing slow down and even out. A nap sounds good to me. He suddenly felt overwhelmingly exhausted. The events of last night coupled with the emotional upheaval of the day had drained them both. Resting his head on Zellie’s he murmured as his eyes closed, “I love you, Z.”
“I love you, too,” she whispered sleepily in return.
CHAPTER 16
“How do you feel Ms. Richy?” Hank teased as they walked out of the bank a couple months later.
“Huh. I thought becoming a millionaire would make me feel different.” Zellie rested her arms on the top of the car door. “I still just feel like me.”
Hank kissed the side of her head while he helped her into her seat. “Well, that’s good because I happen to like you.”
Zellie grinned up at him. “I like you, too.”
Hank smiled, making sure it showed off his dimple and closed the door. Once in the driver’s seat, he drove away from the bank.
“Hey. This isn’t the way to my apartment.” Zellie looked over her shoulder in the other direction.
“I have a birthday surprise for you,” Hank said with a smirk.
“Ooh! Really?” Zellie bounced a little in her seat.
Hank chuckled “Yep. Why do you think I told you to make sure you didn’t have any plans for the rest of the day?”
Zellie grinned. “I just thought you wanted to watch a movie and cuddle.”
“You mean and kiss,” Hank corrected.
Zellie closed her eyes and laughed. “And that.”
“As much fun as that always is, I thought we should do something different today.”
“Sounds good.”
AN HOUR LATER, ZELLIE watched Hank park on the street next to a large park. “Where exactly are we?” Zellie asked.
“Just one town over,” Hank explained.
“But why are we here?”
Hank walked to the trunk and pulled out a cooler. “To have a picnic, of course.”
Zellie’s smile widened and her heart swelled. “You remembered!”
“How could I forget the frozen picnic of twenty-eighteen?”
Zellie rolled her eyes and shook her head. “It wasn’t that bad!” She punched Hank in the arm.
He laughed. “Come on, Z. It’s not quite warm yet, but at least this time we won’t get caught in the middle of a blizzard.”
They sat down on a flat part of the ground and enjoyed the food Hank had packed for them.
“Let me guess,” Zellie said as she popped another grape in her mouth. “Tia did this for you.”
Hank’s dimple winked. “I’m no dummy. Of course, she did.”
Zellie laughed. “But what I don’t know, is why we came all the way over here for our picnic? Cassia left town a few weeks ago, she’s not around to bother us anymore.”
“Yeah. The poor devil she married doesn’t know what he’s getting into.”
Zellie snorted.
“But we came here for a specific reason.” Hank stood and held out his hand to Zellie, who grasped it and followed where he led.
Not far from where they had been sitting was the gate to a small cemetery.
Zellie felt trepidation hit her in the chest. “Hank?” Her voice trembled along with her bottom lip.
Hank pulled her back to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. “I may or may not have hacked into a database to find out more about your father. And then discovered where he was buried. Would you like to see?”
Tears were pooling in Zellie’s eyes and her throat felt closed off. Unable to speak, she nodded. Life hadn’t been normal since Zellie had left Cassia. Since Cassia had been unwilling to divulge any helpful information, it had taken Zellie and Hank weeks just to locate the lawyer and accountant who were in charge of the will and finances. Because of that, they hadn’t had any time to find out more information about Zellie’s real family, although they had discovered that Cassia had reverted to her maiden name and had changed Zellie’s last name to match after Zellie’s father had died. Zellie sighed. Just one more twist that Cassia tried to hide from us.
Hank led her to a certain row and then began studying each headstone before stopping.
“Here they are.”
Zellie stilled. “They?”
Hank looked at her. “He was buried next to your mother.”
Zellie’s hands covered her mouth as she looked at the two headstones. Tears trickled down her cheeks and she slowly reached out to trace the lettering carved in stone.
Benjamin Frederick
Rapunzel Frederick
Gasping she looked up at Hank. “Rapunzel! I was named after my mother! It wasn’t some weird hippy name after all.” She laughed through her tears and looked back down.
Hank crouched beside her. “They were your family,” he said softly. “Since neither of us has any family left, I thought maybe it would be nice to include them when I ask you if you would like to help me create a new family?”
Zellie’s eyes widened and she turned to look at the man she loved. “Are you asking me to marry you?”
Hank’s dimple deepened. “I don’t know. Is that something on your life list that I could possibly help you cross off?”
Zellie knew her smile was too wide, but there was no stopping the elation soaring through her. “I think this calls for a new life list. I’ve never done anything with a husband before.”
“Perfect,” Hank whispered as he leaned in to take hold of her lips. Reaching a hand around, he cupped the back of her head and kept her exactly where he wanted her. Right next to him.
THE END
THANK YOU!
I hope you enjoyed “Saving Ms. Gothel”. I have a great love of fairy tales and have loved writing my own versions in this series. If you enjoyed the book, I would encourage you to please take a moment to write a review! Every review makes a huge difference to us indie authors.
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Read on for a sample of book #1, “The Librarian and Her Beast”
SERIES ORDER
Prequel: “A Home for the Ugly Duckling” Available on AMAZON for free by subscribing to my newsletter.
Book #1: “The Librarian and Her Beast” (Piper and Nash)
Book #2: “Ms. Cinder’s Prince” (Charlotte and Christian)
Book #3: “Waking Ms. Briar” (Rory and Steven)
Book #4: “A Date for the Goose Girl” (Lucy and Mateo)
Book #5: “Running from the Wolf” (Ruby and Derrick)
Book #6: “Ms. Frogg’s Hidden Prince” (Tia and Brody)
Keep reading for a sample of “THE LIBRARIAN AND HER BEAST”
CHAPTER 1
Piper normally found teacher orientation horribly boring. Principal Grimm would introduce all the new faculty and then go over the same rules every year before dismissing the teachers to mingle and prepare their classrooms. This year, however, everything was different. Time stood still when the new high school math teacher/football coach, Nash Wilde, had been introduced. Tall, dark, and handsome barely covered what this man was.
She found she couldn’t breathe. Squirming, shuffling, and a droning voice existed in her periphery, but her world was stuck. He looked to be well over six feet. His shoulders showed he actually played the sport he had come to coach. His dark hair was longer on top, but short on the sides and it looked like he hadn’t shaved in about three days. Piper found she had the strangest desire to rub her fingertips over the stubble.
Ouch! Her concentration was broken when her best friend elbowed her in the ribs.
“Stop staring and wipe that drool off your chin,” Lucy teased. “People are gonna start to notice if you don’t get ahold of yourself.”
“Sorry,” Piper mumbled. Shaking her head, she tried to bring her attention back to what Principal Grimm was saying, but her eyes kept wandering back to where Nash had retaken his seat.
“I can’t say that I blame you,” Lucy whispered. “He is one nice specimen of the male species. A bit gruff looking for my tastes, but still, looking never hurt anybody. Better be careful though. Miranda Long Legs seems to have her eye on him as well.”
“What?” Piper snapped to full attention and honed in on the beautiful redhead. She grimaced when she saw Miranda eyeing the coach like a panther sizing up its prey. If Miranda was after him, she didn’t stand a chance. Miranda was 5’ 10” of runway model elegance. Her flaming red hair was always perfectly coiffed and her large, pouty lips perfectly glossed. Men didn’t resist her. They were simply lucky if they survived her.
