Chapter 3

The little incident with Lynn definitely got Aaron’s mind off the will and the bank accounts for a while. Now it seemed like all he could think about was Lynn wanting to play with his dick and that very sweet body decked out in the sexy nightie. It had him in turmoil because he knew it was wrong to be thinking the thoughts he was thinking. But like he said himself, biology is biology, and it was hardly any mystery that he got turned on. He’d just have to be damned careful around his little sister from now on.

Aaron was no virgin, but he suspected Lynn was. He’d lost his cherry two years earlier to the lady down the road whose weeds he’d been cutting all summer. Four times during the season, her old man was out of town doing something or other when Aaron showed up with his weed-whacker to cut the hillside, but the work was delayed while she dragged him into the house and fucked his socks off. She wasn’t a bad looking woman, either, so Aaron had no trouble getting into it, even thought he was scared all the time her husband was gonna walk in on them. He never did. Aaron hoped the arrangement would continue the next summer, but the people sold their house and moved to Bluefield.

Now his body wanted Lynn so bad he popped a boner about every time he looked at her, but his mind or his conscience or whatever kept slapping him down. It was wrong, what he was thinking, and he found himself looking for ways to avoid even being in the same room with her for the next couple of days. Fortunately school was back in session on Thursday, so that took care of most of the day and most of his problem.

But it didn’t take care of Lynn’s problem. It was apparent that she didn’t share his need for separation. She was like a clinging vine, finding little ways to be close and to touch him with her hands or bump her hip against him or press her tits against his chest as they passed each other in the narrow hallway. She was blatantly coming on to him and she wasn’t the least bit shy or apologetic about it.

He was beginning to think he shouldn’t have been so forgiving after he caught her rubbing his dick in his sleep. She must have taken that forgiveness as at least tacit permission, that it was okay for her to express those feelings, siblings or not.

Adam seemed to be oblivious to whatever dynamic was in play between Lynn and Aaron, probably because he was so caught up with Christmas being right around the corner that he was practically blind to the world around him.

But of course Aaron hadn’t really forgotten about the money thing. He’d been trying to think of some way to verify the will and insure all his grandad’s legacy was coming his way when he turned eighteen. He knew the smart thing to do would be to hire a lawyer to guide him through the legalities, but there was no way in hell he could afford one, and he’d owe that money whether the will was valid or not.

No, he needed to talk to someone else, someone who wouldn’t feel the need to poke his nose into his personal life and try to involve his deceased mom. And after mulling it over for a while, he thought he might have a way. He knew his calculus teacher was the nephew of the county clerk. Aaron didn’t know for sure if the lady could tell him what he needed to know, but she was a high-up public servant and she could probably tell him what he needed to do, or at least who else he might talk to.

He caught up to his teacher in the parking lot after school on Thursday. “Hey, Mr. Martin, could I ask you a favor?”

“Sure Aaron. What’s up?”

“Well, um, I have a legal thing that I need to ask someone about and I really can’t afford to go to a lawyer. I was wonderin’ if your aunt over at the County Clerk’s office might be able to help me out. Do you suppose you could ask her if she’d have some time to see me?”

Mr. Martin gave it some thought. “Yes, I can ask her, but she’s not a lawyer either. You know there’s a legal aid office right across the street from the courthouse, don’t you? Those people are there specifically for folks who can’t afford a big time attorney. If they charged you anything, I’m sure it would be minimal, based on your ability to pay. I’m thinking that if you want information on a legal issue, you’d best be talking to somebody who’s in the business.”

Aaron was relieved. “Damn, I didn’t even think about legal aid. I’ll try to get by there tomorrow. Thanks for the tip.”

“Sure thing. Uh, what kind of legal thing are you talking about, Aaron?”

“Oh, it’s, um, my grandad’s will. I just need to make sure it’s still valid.”

“What about your mom? Shouldn’t she be the one to look into something like that?”

“Yeah, but, um, well she’s been pretty sick lately. She doesn’t even feel like gettin’ out of bed in the morning, so I’ve been takin’ care of everything for her.”

Mr. Martin laid his hand on Aaron’s shoulder and said, “From what I hear around the school, you’ve been pretty much singlehandedly raising your brother and sister. That’s an awfully big load for a kid who’s still in school. Don’t you have any relatives around who can lend a hand?”

“Nope, not a one, but we’re doin’ okay. Anyhow, thanks for the help, Mr. Martin.”

“You’re more than welcome, Aaron. Good luck, and merry Christmas to you and yours.”

“Oh, yeah. You too. See ya.”

Aaron sped into town hoping he might still catch someone in the legal aid office before they all escaped for the holidays. He found their office next door to the bank and walked inside, triggering a buzzer as the door opened.

“I’ll be right with you,” someone called from behind the counter.

He asked tentatively, “Legal aid?”

“That’s me,” said a woman in her forties sitting alone in an office with three other desks. “I drew the short straw for holiday duty.”

Aaron leaned on the counter and asked, “Well, um, I was wonderin’ if someone could help me with a legal question.”

The lady, mid-forties and overweight but pleasant-looking, rose from her desk and walked toward him with a smile. “I might. Lucky you walked it when you did though, because in another five minutes, this office would have been closed until Tuesday. What’s your question?”

Aaron pulled the will out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her.

It took her less than a minute to read it over. She handed it back to him and said, “Looks pretty straight forward to me; signed, notarized and official. So again I ask, what’s the question?”

Aaron was at a loss as to how much to reveal to this woman. She seemed nice enough that he wanted to trust her, but she was, after all, a lawyer. But at this point, who else could he trust?

The lady sensed his mind was struggling and figured she’d need to take the lead in the conversation. “My name is Fran MacMillan. What’s yours?”

“Uh, Aaron. Aaron Hatter.”

“Well, Aaron Hatter, why don’t you come around the counter and have a seat by my desk and we’ll see if we can’t get this thing figured out for you.”

He felt relieved by her friendliness. “Right. Thanks, Ms. MacMillan.”

“Fran will do. Now, I’m guessing by your nervous state that you have something complicated going on here and that the will is just part of it. Am I right?”

Aaron sat on the uncomfortable oak chair beside her desk. “Um, well, there’s a lot of things I’m wonderin’ about, but I’m not sure where to start. I kind of get the feeling I might be gettin’ in over my head, if you know what I mean.”

Fran felt some sympathy for his anxiety and tried to put him at ease. “I think I do. Aaron, my job as a legal aid attorney is to advocate for you, that is, if you ask me to. I’m not the county prosecutor, so if you’re in some kind of a fix, you need to be completely honest with me.” She saw the doubt in his expression and pressed on, “Do you have a dollar in your pocket?”

He looked confused as he fished a five out of his jeans. He handed it to her saying, “This is all I have.”

She took it. “Thanks. Now I’m officially your lawyer and anything you say to me is protected by lawyer/client privilege. I can’t rat you out to anybody, so tell me what’s going on.”

That wasn’t strictly true, of course, but it seemed to help alleviate his concerns. Aaron studied her face for several seconds and decided she really did want to help. He took a deep breath and began, “Well, a couple of weeks ago my mom died...”

It took a few minutes to explain everything in detail. She interrupted several times to ask for specifics as she made notes on a legal pad. When he got to the point where he walked into her office, she put down her pen and said, “Okay, Aaron, first of all, you haven’t really done anything all that terrible, but I’m sure glad you came in when you did because you were about to perpetrate a felony crime. You absolutely must not forge your mother’s signature on that next welfare check and cash it.”

He looked disappointed and sighed, “Well then what are we supposed to live on?”

Fran patted his hand and said, “I’m sure we can work something out. Now, as far as you cremating your mother’s body, that was illegal, but we can work around it. From what you tell me, she had a long, well-documented history of substance abuse, so premature death isn’t a big shocker. If we have to, we can verify that a body was cremated up on that mountain with a little bit of forensic investigation, but for now, let’s try to avoid even mentioning it. Looks to me like the main issue for the next two months is to make sure you and your brother and sister have food and shelter.

“Now, once you turn eighteen and have legal access to your grandfather’s bank accounts, some of these questions will become moot. Some people might voice some concerns about guardianship of your siblings, and that’s something we’ll need to address at some point, but in this case, it’s better to deal with it after the fact than before. The last thing you need is for a bunch of do-gooders making decisions for you and uprooting your lives. So how much money do you have on hand right now?”