Home / The Captain's Dirty Little Secret / Chapter 187 - What Needs To Be Done

Read free on Ficlyn

The Captain's Dirty Little Secret

Chapter 187 - What Needs To Be Done · Oct 26, 2026

Prev Chapter Novel Info Next Chapter

Chapter List (410)

Page number / 9

151 Chapter 151 - Rules 2026-10-26
152 Chapter 152 - Choking On It 2026-10-26
153 Chapter 153 - The Far One 2026-10-26
154 Chapter 154 - We Should Talk Soon 2026-10-26
155 Chapter 155 - Complication 2026-10-26
156 Chapter 156 - I Like You 2026-10-26
157 Chapter 157 - Route 9 2026-10-26
158 Chapter 158 - You Kept Me Alive 2026-10-26
159 Chapter 159 - Done Begging 2026-10-26
160 Chapter 160 - Raven’s Point 2026-10-26
161 Chapter 161 - Slow Down 2026-10-26
162 Chapter 162 - Rumors 2026-10-26
163 Chapter 163 - Terrible Way To Announce 2026-10-26
164 Chapter 164 - That’s Enough 2026-10-26
165 Chapter 165 - The Record 2026-10-26
166 Chapter 166 - One Breathe 2026-10-26
167 Chapter 167 - One Yard 2026-10-26
168 Chapter 168 - The Weight of the Record 2026-10-26
169 Chapter 169 - I Love You 2026-10-26
170 Chapter 170 - Monday Again 2026-10-26
171 Chapter 171 - Who’s Taking You 2026-10-26
172 Chapter 172 - Where No One Could See 2026-10-26
173 Chapter 173 - Winter Dance 2026-10-26
174 Chapter 174 - Babe 2026-10-26
175 Chapter 175 - Jealousy (R) 2026-10-26
176 Chapter 176 - Too Right (R) 2026-10-26
177 Chapter 177 - Date 2026-10-26
178 Chapter 178 - One Day 2026-10-26
179 Chapter 179 - Four Hours Away 2026-10-26
180 Chapter 180 - Catch Me 2026-10-26
181 Chapter 181 - Under the Bleachers (R) 2026-10-26
182 Chapter 182 - Escape 2026-10-26
183 Chapter 183 - Back To Briarwick 2026-10-26
184 Chapter 184 - The Call 2026-10-26
185 Chapter 185 - Claire Never Came Home 2026-10-26
186 Chapter 186 - Thirty-seven Dollars 2026-10-26
187 Chapter 187 - What Needs To Be Done 2026-10-26
188 Chapter 188 - Whatever Costs Nothing 2026-10-26
189 Chapter 189 - Back on the Mat 2026-10-26
190 Chapter 190 - Act Normal (R) 2026-10-26
191 Chapter 191 - Go Home 2026-10-26
192 Chapter 192 - You Shamed Us 2026-10-26
193 Chapter 193 - In My Arms 2026-10-26
194 Chapter 194 - I Changed My Mind 2026-10-26
195 Chapter 195 - By Tomorrow 2026-10-26
196 Chapter 196 - Ultimatum 2026-10-26
197 Chapter 197 - I Chose 2026-10-26
198 Chapter 198 - Their Son 2026-10-26
199 Chapter 199 - Everybody Knows 2026-10-26
200 Chapter 200 - Practice 2026-10-26

Chapter 187: Chapter 187 - What Needs To Be Done

Ethan froze.

Zac stopped too.

Roxie looked between them and felt too tired to care about whatever problem was forming.

Ethan’s eyes dropped to the envelopes in Zac’s hands.

”You stayed here?”

”She asked me to,” Zac said.

Ethan looked at Roxie.

Roxie rubbed both hands over her face. ”My mother is dead. Pick another morning.”

The tension left Ethan’s expression.

”Right.”

Zac lowered the envelopes. ”We’re sorting her paperwork.”

Ethan stepped around him and entered Claire’s room.

He stopped near the bed.

Clothes covered half of it. Papers filled the other half. The dresser drawers remained open, and several piles had spread across the floor.

”You started all this today?” Ethan asked.

”I couldn’t sleep.”

He removed his jacket and placed it over the chair.

”What can I do?”

Roxie pointed toward the papers. ”Anything connected to Claire personally. Medical debts, county letters, legal papers, old accounts.”

Ethan sat on the edge of the bed and pulled a notebook from his backpack.

Zac handed him an envelope from a collection agency.

Ethan opened it and scanned the page.

”Old hospital debt.”

”Medical pile,” Roxie said.

He placed it beneath the hospital papers and wrote the company’s name and number in his notebook.

Zac watched him. ”You know how to handle this?”

”No. I know how to make a list.”

Zac returned to the envelopes.

Roxie picked up another shirt.

For several minutes, the only sounds came from paper, opening drawers, and clothing being folded.

The process should have been simple.

Shirts went together.

Jeans went together.

Dresses went together.

Every item still required a decision Roxie could not make.

Keep it.

Throw it away.

Donate it.

Wash it.

Leave it where Claire had dropped it.

Roxie folded everything and placed it on the bed.

Ethan found a county assistance letter.

”Her benefits were suspended.”

”They probably stopped when she stopped answering them.”

”There are forms attached.”

”Keep them with the county papers.”

He wrote another name in the notebook.

Zac opened an envelope and pulled out a pawnshop ticket.

”Did she pawn something?”

”She pawned lots of things.”

Ethan held out his hand.

Zac gave him the ticket.

”The claim date expired weeks ago,” Ethan said.

”Then throw it away.”

He read the item description.

”A bracelet.”

Roxie stopped folding.

Ethan noticed.

”What kind?”

He handed her the ticket.

The description listed the silver bracelet Claire kept inside a small jewelry box at the back of the dresser. It was the only piece she owned that was worth anything.

Roxie turned the ticket facedown.

”Keep it with her personal papers.”

Ethan placed it beside his notebook without asking anything else.

Zac opened another envelope.

”This came from a lawyer.”

Roxie looked up immediately.

”What lawyer?”

He handed her the letter.

The first paragraph concerned the bungalow.

Claire had contacted the office weeks earlier and asked whether she had the legal right to sell the property.

Roxie read the paragraph twice.

Her grandmother’s name appeared near the top.

Roxie’s name appeared beneath it as the beneficiary and legal owner.

Claire had no right to sell the house.

The lawyer had already told her that.

Claire had still tried.

”Did you know about this?” Ethan asked.

”I knew she wanted to sell it.”

Zac’s expression hardened. ”This was after you learned the house was yours?”

Roxie checked the date.

”Weeks before my birthday.”

She folded the letter and placed it with the house documents.

Claire had started looking for a way around Roxie’s ownership before Roxie even knew the bungalow belonged to her.

Roxie returned to the dresser.

Nobody spoke.

Ethan continued writing down account names and contact numbers.

Zac checked each envelope for insurance, a burial policy, or an emergency contact.

Roxie folded Claire’s clothes.

Her phone began ringing on the bed.

The number was local.

Roxie grabbed it immediately.

”Hello?”

”May I speak with Roxxane Jones?”

”This is her.”

”This is Denise from the county medical examiner’s office. I’m calling regarding Claire Woods.”

Roxie placed the phone on speaker and set it on the dresser.

”Yes.”

”We’re confirming your contact information and checking whether you have selected a funeral home.”

”Not yet.”

”That’s fine. The examination is scheduled for this morning. Once it is complete, your mother’s remains can be released to the funeral home you choose.”

Roxie stopped moving.

Her mother’s remains.

The black shirt stayed open between her hands.

Denise continued speaking, but the words stopped connecting.

Roxie stared through the open doorway.

Ethan looked at her.

Then he leaned toward the phone.

”She hasn’t selected one yet,” he said. ”Can she call back this afternoon?”

”Yes. That will be fine. Are you helping Ms. Jones with the arrangements?”

”Yes.”

”We’ll need Roxxane’s permission before discussing details with anyone else.”

Ethan looked at her. ”Roxie?”

She blinked.

He pointed toward the phone.

Roxie swallowed. ”He can help.”

”Thank you. We’ll make a note on the file.”

Denise gave them the number to call once Roxie selected a funeral home and explained which information the funeral director would need.

Ethan wrote everything down.

Roxie folded the black shirt.

The first fold came out crooked.

She opened it and started again.

When the call ended, Ethan placed the pen beside the notebook.

”She said this afternoon.”

”I heard her.”

Zac was watching Ethan.

Roxie saw his jaw tighten.

”He’s better at talking to offices than either of us,” she said.

Zac picked up another envelope. ”I didn’t say anything.”

”You were going to.”

”I was opening this.”

Ethan glanced at it. ”That’s junk mail.”

Zac stared at him before dropping it onto the trash pile himself.

A knock came from the front door.

All three of them stopped.

Roxie looked toward the hallway.

The knock came again, followed by Coach Miller’s voice.

”Roxie?”

The pressure in her chest eased.

She stood.

”I’ll get it,” Zac said.

”It’s my house.”

Roxie walked into the living room and opened the door.

Coach Miller stood outside carrying a paper bag and a cardboard tray with coffee.

His attention moved over her face.

”You didn’t sleep.”

Roxie stepped aside.

Coach Miller entered and noticed Ethan’s backpack beside the couch.

Ethan appeared in the hallway.

Coach Miller looked at him.

They had never met.

”This is Ethan,” Roxie said. ”We work together.”

Ethan nodded. ”Sir.”

”Coach Miller.”

His gaze moved to Zac, then back to Roxie.

”They’re helping me sort Claire’s things.”

Coach Miller placed the food on the dining table. He noticed the clear bag containing Claire’s belongings and moved the breakfast to the other end.

”Has the medical examiner called?”

”They’re doing the examination today,” Roxie said. ”I need to choose a funeral home before they release her.”

Coach Miller nodded. ”All right.”

He looked at Ethan. ”Does your school know you left?”

”I sent a message before I came.”

Coach Miller left it there.

He opened the paper bag and removed sandwiches, fruit, and crackers.

”I brought breakfast.”

”I’m not hungry.”

”I expected that answer.”

”I need to finish sorting.”

”You can eat first.”

”I can eat while I work.”

Coach Miller looked toward Claire’s room.

The bed remained covered with clothing and papers.

”You’re taking a break.”

”I’m almost done with this part.”

”What part?”

Roxie looked back at the room.

She had no answer.

Zac spoke quietly. ”You should stop for a while.”

Roxie turned toward him.

”No.”

”You haven’t slept.”

”I know.”

”You can finish later.”

Her anger rose before she could control it.

”I need to choose a funeral home. I have to call the medical examiner back. I need to figure out what happens to her debts. I have to call the grill. I still have to tell Karen and Angela.”

Nobody interrupted.

Roxie looked toward Claire’s room.

”People keep asking what I want done with her like I’m supposed to know.”

The bungalow became quiet.

Zac set the envelope down.

Ethan closed his notebook.

Coach Miller pulled out a chair.

”Sit long enough to eat something.”

Roxie remained standing.

He unwrapped one sandwich and placed it on a plate.

”Then you can continue.”

She looked at him.

”You’re letting me?”

”I wasn’t aware I could stop you.”

Roxie sat.

Coach Miller placed the sandwich in front of her.

She took one bite.

Zac leaned against the counter.

Ethan returned to the notebook.

Coach Miller passed food to both of them before taking his coffee into Claire’s room.

They continued working after Roxie finished half the sandwich.

Ethan organized the personal debts, county notices, and contact information.

Zac searched for insurance and compared nearby funeral homes on his phone.

Coach Miller helped separate items that could remain untouched until later.

Roxie kept folding.

Nobody touched the gray sweater in the kitchen.

Nobody moved the blue mug beside the sink.

By early afternoon, the piles had labels.

MEDICAL.

COUNTY.

LEGAL.

FUNERAL.

PERSONAL.

UNKNOWN.

Claire’s room remained full.

The labels only made the amount left behind easier to see.

Coach Miller stood in the doorway while Roxie folded another pair of jeans.

”I spoke with the principal before I came,” he said. ”You’re excused from Briarwick for the rest of the week.”

”I’ll be there tomorrow.”

”Roxie.”

”We have state.”

”The team can practice without you for a few days.”

”I’m captain.”

”You identified your mother last night.”

Roxie placed the jeans on the bed.

”I know.”

”You have arrangements to make.”

”I can handle them after school.”

”You need sleep.”

”I’ll sleep tonight.”

Zac looked up from his phone.

Ethan’s pen stopped moving.

Coach Miller stepped farther into the room.

”You have nothing to prove here.”

”I’m not proving anything.”

”Then take the time.”

Roxie looked around Claire’s room.

The shampoo bottle remained beside the toiletries.

The old school photograph lay near the documents.

The dress from the principal’s office sat folded beneath two shirts.

Beyond the doorway, Claire’s sweater still hung over the kitchen chair.

Her mug remained beside the sink.

Staying home meant another full day surrounded by everything Claire had touched.

Another morning watching the front door.

”I’ll be at practice tomorrow,” Roxie said.

Coach Miller watched her for several seconds.

”Then I decide when you’re finished.”

Roxie picked up the next shirt.

”We’ll see.”

Prev Chapter Novel Info Next Chapter

Recommended Novels

Venerated Venomous Consort Mu Danfeng

Hidden Marriage Jiong Jiong You Yao

War Sovereign Soaring The Heavens Feng Qingyang

My Youth Began With Him Baby Piggie

Stealing Spree Dyrem

The wife of a powerful family: Huo Shao, how dare you flirt with me Gu Rong Rong

The Indomitable Master of Elixirs North Night

I Get A Random New Occupation Every Week No Right

Reborn : Space Intelligent Woman ZerahNeko

The Female CEO's Personal Bodyguard Eight Difficulties

The 99th Divorce Wan Lili

Fully Leveled Bigshot Becomes A Farmgirl Three Dates

Quick Transmigration Cannon Fodder's Record of Counterattacks Hen Shi Jiao Qing

Hello, Mr. Major General Han Wuji

Young Master Mo, Are You Done Kissing? Qingqing Who Laughs