Take the Long Road Home - 7. Chapter 7

MILES

I was nervous as we boarded the plane. I felt guilty, too. Because I didn’t have any ID with my real name, Mr. Riggs had to book my ticket using my stolen identity. Now that the truth was out, it didn’t feel right using Morgan’s name. It had never felt right.

Mr. Riggs let me have the window seat. It was scary, yet thrilling to see the ground slip away so rapidly. I’d never flown before, so the whole experience was somewhat terrifying. Mr. Riggs’s presence was comforting and steadied me.

We had to connect in Chicago with a three-hour layover. I stuck close to Mr. Riggs as the airport was busy. I’d never seen so many people hustling to get somewhere. We had lunch at a sports bar showcasing every Chicago team. The burgers were decent, but Mrs. P’s were better. After lunch, Mr. Riggs called the lawyer he hired to confirm our appointment for the next morning.

It was mid-afternoon our time when we touched down in Ohio, but because of the time change, we didn’t leave the airport until after six o'clock. Neither of us was very hungry. We settled on stopping at a grocery store for some snacks before checking into the hotel.

Now, sitting on the bed with my back against the headboard, I called Troy. He had tried every trick in the book to get his dad to allow him to come with us, but Mr. Riggs didn’t fall for it. I knew he was pissed, though. Troy barely said goodbye to his dad, instead, he lavished me with hugs and a few kisses that held nothing but promises.

We talked for nearly an hour before my yawns made conversation almost impossible. I hadn’t realized how tiring travel was. After hanging up, I used the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and said goodnight to Troy’s dad. He was already in the bed by the door. I slid into the other one, closest to the bathroom, and was asleep moments after my head hit the pillow.

A few hours later, in that undefined space between night and day, I woke abruptly, bolting upright with a silent gasp. Remnants of the dream that tore me from slumber disintegrated like gossamer threads in the wind. As quickly as I had been thrust into semi-consciousness, torpidity pulled me back into the arms of the sandman; the faceless memory disappeared, leaving only a vague impression lingering in the forgotten recesses of my mind.

“Miles, wake up.” The voice came from a million miles away. “Wake up!” In the remnants of my dream, the earth began to shake. It took a moment before I became conscious enough to realize it was Mr. Riggs trying to wake me by shaking my shoulder.

“Mmphff,” I mumbled, utterly incapable of forming words.

The next sound I heard was laughter before he pulled the covers off me and said, “Up and at ‘em. I’ll be down at the restaurant if you want to join me for breakfast.”

I vaguely remember the desk agent explaining that the breakfast buffet was included. I grunted again and groaned after the door shut behind Mr. Riggs. I stretched and then headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. My belly growled, reminding me that I had only fed it a few snacks last night. I quickly showered and, less than twenty minutes later, joined Troy’s dad in the dining room. The hotel had a decent spread, and I loaded my plate high. That should keep my stomach happy.

“Are you okay?” Troy’s dad asked as he came back with another cup of coffee.

I looked down at my plate and pushed the remnants of my scrambled eggs around. I was starting to regret piling so much on my plate. Most of it sat in a knot, as my anxiety began to churn the contents. I cleared my throat and replied, “Um, I think so?”

Mr. Riggs reached across the table to lift my chin so I had to look at him. “It’s okay to be nervous. I know I am.”

Putting my fork down, I flexed my fingers. It was an involuntary thing I did when I was uncomfortable. “I’m kinda scared, too,” I admitted.

“Mmhhm. Me too, kid. But I trust the lawyer. He came highly recommended. He assured me that it’s possible for you to be transferred into my custody.”

I blew out a breath. “Possible, but not guaranteed.”

Troy’s dad gripped my arm. “Nothing in life is guaranteed, but I’m keeping my hopes up. I don’t see why the state wouldn’t do it. You have no other family, and I’m more than willing to shoulder the responsibility.”

Goosebumps broke out on my arms when he mentioned that I had no family. For some reason, it felt wrong. No one should be left without family. However, his words regarding the state allowing him to assume guardianship were reassuring. I pushed the rest of my food away and stood. When we were in the room, Mr. Riggs tossed a pair of black chinos and a blue button-up at me. “I got you these if you want to wear them. I thought it might be nice to make a good first impression.”

I grinned. My wardrobe consisted of jeans, T-shirts, flannels, and sweats. I didn’t think about needing something nicer when I left before. “Thanks.” I quickly changed and pulled on my boots. At least they were new and in good condition.

We were quiet in the rental car on the way to the lawyer’s. As the GPS updated us on our arrival time, I fidgeted more. By the time we parked in the lot, I was shaking.

“Take a deep breath, Miles.”

I did. Then promptly forgot to let it out.

“Breathe.”

All I could do was gasp. Mr. Riggs reached across the console and put a firm hand on my shoulder. “With me, Miles. Breathe with me.” He inhaled slowly, then exhaled the same way. I mimicked him. After several cleansing breaths, my shaking abated.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. You have every right to be scared and nervous. If you’re okay now, then let’s go before your brain starts thinking again.”

I snorted. He voiced my exact thoughts, and by doing so, broke the spell. “I’m good. We can go in.”

Troy’s dad led the way into the four-story building and pressed the elevator button. When we exited on the fourth floor, we turned left and went through the glass doors embossed with the names Clark, Danson, Quigley, and Wells: Attorneys-at-Law.

“Welcome. May I help you?” asked a cute red-headed receptionist at the desk.

“We’re here to see Anthony Danson. I’m Erik Riggs, and this is Miles Kenney.”

“Please have a seat. I’ll let Mr. Danson know you’re here. Would you like coffee or water?”

We politely declined, then sat in the comfortable chairs in the waiting area. I constantly reminded myself to sit still and not fidget. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before a tall, thin, middle-aged man came out to greet us.

“Erik? Miles? I’m Tony Danson. It’s nice to meet you.” He extended his hand to me first.

We exchanged pleasantries as he led us to his office. Rather than sitting at his desk, Mr. Danson made his way to a sitting area with a couch and three chairs arranged around a coffee table. I was grateful for the more casual setting.

“Thank you for seeing us on such short notice, Mr. Danson,” Troy’s dad said after he was settled.

“Please, call me Tony, and I’m happy to help.” He picked up a file and briefly thumbed through it before addressing me. “If you don’t mind walking me through what happened the day your uncle passed away, I’d appreciate it. Do you mind if I record the conversation? It’s easier than scribbling notes and then trying to decipher my chicken-scratch later.”

Erik looked at me, then nodded.

I couldn’t help it when my knee started bouncing as I retold exactly what happened as I remembered it. Tony stopped me a few times to ask a question, but other than that, it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it was going to be.

Tony tapped his phone screen to end the recording, then looked up. “Well, it’s all good news. Your story corroborates what the first responders found when they arrived on the scene. The police were worried something had happened to you, but other than your uncle’s head wound, there were no signs of foul play. I’m confident this will be closed out as an accidental death.”

I sagged with relief, and when I glanced at Mr. Riggs, he was visibly relieved too.

The attorney wasn’t done. “We still have the matter of your guardianship and your uncle’s estate, as well as the trust your grandparents created. You do have options regarding your future. The first would be to remand you into Ohio State custody.”

Miles’ face paled. He wasn’t sure what remand meant, but when combined with Ohio, he knew that was the least desirable option.

Tony continued, “Another option is to transfer guardianship to Erik, who has agreed to take on that responsibility.”

“That’s what I want,” I stated.

“Not so fast. I have a few other items to go over with you before you make a decision.”

I looked at Mr. Riggs, saw his brows furrow, and I wrung my hands.

“Before I go into that further,” Tony continued, “I need to talk to you about your uncle’s estate. He listed you as the primary beneficiary in his will.”

“What?” I exclaimed. My uncle hated me, or at least I thought he did. Leaving me whatever his meager estate consisted of was mind-blowing.

“He stated in the will that he explicitly did not want his, quote, ‘jailbird asshole brother,’ to inherit anything. He also stated that he didn’t want the state to get it, so he might as well leave everything to his nephew.”

Mr. Riggs leaned forward. “What kind of estate are we talking about?”

Tony pressed his lips together before answering, “Two years before he became Miles’ guardian, he hit the lottery and claimed it anonymously by establishing a revocable blind trust. After taxes, he received thirteen point seven million dollars.”

My fucking jaw dropped. That fucker made me wear thrift store clothes and clenched every penny like a miser when he was sitting on a damn fortune? I was pissed and wanted to kill him until I remembered he was already dead. I guess I should feel grateful that he saw me as the lesser of two evils.

“Whoa,” said Mr. Riggs.

I don’t know why, but I suddenly panicked, thinking that this amount of money would change his mind about becoming my guardian. My breath started coming in short pants, like I was an overheated dachshund.

Immediately, Troy’s dad gripped the back of my neck. “Easy, Miles. It’s going to be okay.”

Rationally, I knew that was true. Emotionally, I’d never been such a mess in my life. I did manage to get a grip and slow my breathing back to normal. Tony handed me a bottle of water, which I chugged gratefully.

“Better?” he asked as he took his seat again.

“Yes. I’m sorry I’m such a mess.”

“It’s a lot to process. I don’t want to overwhelm you, but you need to know all your options. Because you have the financial means, once the trust is transferred, you can ask the court to grant you emancipation.”

“What is that?” I asked.

Tony leaned forward. “Simplified, it means the court would recognize you as a legal adult. You would have all of the rights of one. You could sign contracts, make your own medical decisions, live independently, that sort of thing.”

As much as I had wished for something like that when I lived with my uncle, the reality of it scared the shit out of me. I wasn’t ready to be an adult.

I shook my head. “And if I don’t want that?”

“Then, asking the judge if I could have custody is still an option,” Mr. Riggs stated firmly.

Relief flooded me. “That’s what I want.”

Tony smiled. “I had a feeling that’s what you would want. I took the liberty of scheduling a three o’clock appointment with the family court judge. I’ll have my legal assistant transcribe my notes and send them over to the County Clerk’s office so they can be filed before the hearing. How about we meet for lunch at one o’clock? There’s a fantastic Italian place not far from the courthouse.”

Mr. Riggs looked at me, and I shrugged, leaving the decision up to him.

“That sounds perfect, Tony. Text me the address, and we’ll be there.”

We said our goodbyes and headed to the car. Once we were inside, I exclaimed, “Thirteen million fucking dollars. What the hell!”

“Thirteen point seven million fucking dollars,” Troy’s dad clarified.

We laughed at the absurdity of it all.

“Are you sure you’re okay with taking me on?” I cast my eyes down, unsure of what he would say. Taking on another kid was a huge responsibility. I didn’t want a repeat of becoming someone else’s obligation.

Troy’s dad gripped the back of my neck and gently turned my head so I had to look at him. “Miles, you are not a burden. In the short time you’ve been with us, I’ve seen an enormous change in Troy. He mentioned that he told you about Tyson and what happened. It was hard on all of us, but especially Troy. These past couple of years haven’t been easy, and I’ve done more than my fair share of worrying about him. Since you’ve been here, he’s been more like the carefree boy he was before his brother spiraled. I’ve watched the two of you, and you’re good for each other. The only thing I ask is that you don’t break his heart.”

“I would never do that on purpose, sir. I know we’re young, and I don’t know if I can label what we have as love, but I do know that I want nothing but happiness for Troy. If I could be part of that, it would make me happy, too. I want to spend every day with him. He makes me smile and laugh. For the first time in my life, I feel safe. A big part of that feeling is you and the ranch. I felt it the very first day.”

Mr. Riggs smiled. “I’ve tried to make the ranch a safe place for everyone there. I’m glad you feel that way. You will always have a home there, as long as I have any say in things.”

His statement reminded me of Troy’s confession that his dad had Parkinson’s. This wasn’t the right time or place to mention it, so I didn’t. Still, it was a reminder not to take anything for granted.

“Thank you. It means the world to me. My parents didn’t exactly create a warm and fuzzy home life. Even when I was really young, I knew our way of life was different. I always felt as though there was something better out there—like something was missing. I hoped my uncle would have been the answer, but we know how that turned out.”

“Well, now we have the chance to remedy the situation. We’ve got a couple of hours before we need to meet Tony for lunch. How about we go back to the hotel? I’ve got some emails to go through. You can chill out for a bit, maybe read or watch TV.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Once we returned to the hotel, I felt too restless just to sit around, so I decided to take a walk while Mr. Riggs took care of business. He mentioned a couple of phone calls he needed to make, and I didn’t want to eavesdrop. I bundled up and donned gloves and a scarf. Early winter had hit full force, and the air was most definitely cold.

There was a shopping area about a half-mile from the hotel. I wandered around for a bit, but didn’t see anything souvenir-worthy to bring home to Troy, so I meandered for a bit until it was time to head back.

The restaurant where we met Tony was casual yet charming. The tables all had red-and-white checkered tablecloths and decorative wine bottles with battery-powered candles instead of the real thing.

The hostess led us to the table where Tony was perusing a menu. He smiled and stood to greet us. After we were seated, I picked up my menu. Although everything looked delicious, my stomach reminded me it hadn’t been more than a few hours since breakfast.

“What kind of soup do you have?” I asked after we gave our drink order.

“Today we have Italian Wedding Soup, Pasta e Fagioli, and Zuppa Toscana,” she replied.

My face must have shown my complete lack of culinary knowledge. Our server explained each one, and I thought the Zuppa Toscana sounded amazing, so I ordered that with a side salad and added chicken.

“Are you sure that’s all you want, Miles?” Tony asked.

“Yes, thank you. I had a big breakfast, and honestly, my stomach is directly connected to my nerves.”

“I understand. If you change your mind, you can always order something else.”

I nodded and took a quick peek at the dessert menu. The only thing I recognized was cheesecake. Instead of deciding right then, I set the dessert menu aside and took a warm, buttery roll. Damn, they were good.

“So what can we expect when we get to the courthouse?” Mr. Riggs asked.

“It’s not going to be scary. We’ll meet with the judge in his chambers. Courtrooms are reserved for cases that involve lengthy testimony and witnesses. This is a straightforward guardianship assignment. The judge will ask a few questions of both of you. Erik, he’ll want to know things like the size of the household, whether there are other minors in the house and their ages, whether Miles will have his own bedroom, and how he’ll get to school—questions like that. Miles, the judge will explain all your options, just like I did, and ask you what you want to do. I’m not sure if we’ll see Judge Copeland or Judge Havers, but I’ve worked with both, so you don’t need to worry. They’re kind and fair.”

“That’s good to know,” Erik said before turning to me. “Do you have any questions?”

I shook my head. My mind was spinning enough as it was. I needed to trust Tony and Mr. Riggs. I didn’t have another choice.

Tony seemed interested in ranch life, and Mr. Riggs spent the remainder of our lunch explaining the ins and outs of running an operation the size of his.

When we were done, I decided to indulge in dessert. “May I have a piece of cheesecake?”

Tony grinned. “Ah, cheesecake— the holy grail of dessert versatility. Good choice.”

There were several cheesecake flavors offered, and I was torn between the original and the lemon. I asked our server which was better, and she didn’t hesitate to say lemon. I was not disappointed.

Tony handled the check, and as we exited the restaurant, he pointed to a public parking lot a few blocks away and instructed Mr. Riggs to park there. We met him at the courthouse's main entrance. After passing through security, Tony led us to the reception area and informed the administrative assistant that we were there.

It wasn’t long before we were called back. I took a deep breath and made sure my shirttails were tucked in before entering the judge’s chamber. Tony introduced us to Judge Copeland, a portly gentleman with kind eyes and a contagious smile.

“It’s nice to meet you,” the judge said. “Please, have a seat.”

I sat next to Troy’s dad, and Tony took a chair on the other side of me.

Judge Copeland scrolled through his laptop before addressing us. As Tony had mentioned, he asked Mr. Riggs about the ranch, his family, and his financial stability. The judge explained that, because the trust was revocable, its terms could be amended and suggested that Troy’s dad be appointed as trustee until the trust’s terms were met. My brain’s filing cabinet was already overloaded, so most of the conversation went in one ear and out the other.

“Miles?”

I looked up sheepishly. “Sorry, I kinda zoned out there for a minute.”

Judge Copeland chuckled. “You’re not the first teenager to do so. I’m more surprised when one of you doesn’t. I asked if you were comfortable with Mr. Riggs being the trustee?”

“Um, what exactly does that mean?”

“Well, it means that a third party, such as a local law firm, will take care of the day-to-day responsibilities of the trust. They would manage the investments and pay out any distributions. Mr. Riggs would receive a monthly stipend to cover the additional cost of you living with him. The stipend would be put into an account under both your names. He would also be the one to request additional funds for approved expenses, such as a car for transportation or money for extracurricular activities through school. Should you choose to go to college, the trust would cover that as well. When you turn eighteen, his responsibility ends, and a law firm of your choosing would manage the balance of the trust until you turn twenty-five, at which time the balance of the funds is released to you in full.”

“So I don’t have to do math?”

Judge Copeland, Tony, and Troy’s dad laughed. “No, son. That would be taken care of, including filing taxes every year.”

That was a relief. Math was not my strong suit. “Okay. That all sounds good to me.”

“Do either of you have any questions?” the judge asked.

Erik spoke up and asked, “Do we need to do anything regarding transferring Miles out of state?”

Tony shook his head and answered, “Our office will coordinate that with the circuit court here and social services in Wyoming. It may take a few months for everything to be filed and finalized. Unfortunately, the wheels of bureaucracy spin slowly.”

“Will I have to stay here?” I asked.

Judge Copeland answered, “No, I will approve the temporary transfer to Mr. Riggs pending the case being filed with the State of Wyoming, at which time it will become permanent until you reach the age of eighteen. Anything else?”

When no one answered, Judge Copeland banged his gavel and declared, “In that case, I hereby appoint Erik Riggs as guardian to the minor, Miles Kenney, effective immediately. Congratulations.”

As soon as we stood, Mr. Riggs pulled me into a hug. I squeezed back and whispered, “Thank you!”

Exiting the courthouse, I felt as though the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulders. I was grinning from ear to ear.

I couldn’t wait to get home.