“Ivy always has a good time. She danced all night. I think Beck was kind of sweet on her. He was by her side a lot. I was supposed to drive her to the airport—”
“She can’t stay an extra day?”
“She’s student teaching, remember? She has to get back.”
“I haven’t seen her at all this weekend. I’ll take her to the airport.”
Lucy shook her head. “I was trying to tell you that Uncle Len is taking her. He’s—”
“Uncle Len’s in town?”
“Peyton, will you stop interrupting me?”
“Sorry.”
“He wants to talk to all of us together—” she began, and when Peyton started to ask another question, Lucy raised her hand. “He and Ivy will be here in about an hour. And, no, he wouldn’t say what he wanted to talk about. He sounded serious, though. You should have breakfast. Do you want some granola?”
“Later,” she said to placate her sister.
Peyton took a shower, washed her hair, and after she blew it dry, put on a pair of leggings and a long cotton sweater. All the while she was getting dressed, she worried about her uncle. Was it bad news? Was he ill? Whatever he wanted to tell them had to be serious because he asked all of them to hear it together. Was he dying? Please, God, don’t let him die. He was such a good man, and she needed him in her life.
She had to admit she might be overreacting. When Ivy and her uncle finally arrived, Peyton took a good long look at him. He appeared to be as fit as ever. His face was tanned from being in the sun. Len was in his early sixties but looked much younger, even though his hair was more silver than brown.
She hugged him, kissed his cheek, and told him how happy she was to see him. When she turned to Ivy to say hello, she laughed. Her sister looked exhausted. She wore a faded college sweatshirt over her gray sweatpants, and her hair was pulled back into a haphazard ponytail. With no makeup her complexion looked pale.
“I hear you had fun last night.”
“Too much fun,” Ivy admitted.
Len didn’t waste time. He asked the girls to sit on the sofa, and he pulled a chair up to the coffee table to face them.
“I know you’re all wondering why I want to talk to you,” he began.
“Are you okay?” Peyton asked.
“Yes, I’m fine,” he answered with a wave of his hand to eliminate any worries about his health. “I’m making some changes,” he continued, “and I have a proposition for you.”
Lucy looked at him skeptically. “What sort of proposition?”
“King’s Landing and Bishop’s Cove are no longer making a profit. It’s the economy,” he explained. “People are more frugal and don’t have the extra money for resorts. And both properties have been a bit neglected.”
“You’re selling both properties?” Ivy asked.
“I’d prefer not to, but that’s up to you,” he said, smiling.
“How is it up to us?” Lucy asked.
“I’ll give Bishop’s Cove to the three of you to run for one year. If, at the end of that period, the resort shows a twenty percent profit, then it’s all yours to keep or to sell.”
The sisters looked dumbfounded. Len laughed in response. “I’ve made you speechless, haven’t I?”
“Uncle Len, Bishop’s Cove is worth millions,” Lucy reminded.
“Yes,” he agreed. “And if you three don’t want to work together and run the resort, I’ll sell it now. I’d make a good profit,” he added, “but I’d rather see the property stay in the family. If you do decide to take it on and you succeed, you’ll be millionaires. But I’ll warn you, it’s going to take a lot of hard work to turn it around.”
“What happens if we don’t turn it around?” Peyton asked.
“Then I’ll get rid of it,” he answered. “And you can move on with your lives.”
He looked at their faces and laughed again. “I’ve run this by your father, and he looked as shocked as you three do.” He continued, “There is what I would call a consolation prize.”
“A prize for what?”
“Losing Bishop’s Cove. If you decide against taking me up on my offer and I sell it now, I’ll give each of you a gift of five hundred thousand dollars.”
Peyton shook her head. “No, you shouldn’t give us your money.”
“Why not?” he asked. “I have plenty, and I know you can use it. Lucy, you could open your design studio, and Peyton, you could buy a small restaurant if that’s what you want.” Turning to Ivy, he said, “You could pay off your student loans and have enough left over to supplement your pitiful teaching salary.”
“Uncle, why are you doing this now?” Peyton asked.
“I buy and I sell. You know that. I don’t hold on to things if they aren’t showing a profit. I want to concentrate on other assets. I guess you could say I’m trying to simplify my life.”
“Are you selling King’s Landing?”
“I made the same proposition to your cousin. I told Debi that, if she ran that resort for a year and showed a profit, it would be hers. I also gave her the option of taking the five hundred thousand now. Can you guess what she decided?”
“She took the money, didn’t she?” Peyton said, and both Lucy and Ivy nodded their agreement.
“That’s a no-brainer,” Ivy said.
“Yes, she took the money,” Len said. “Debi talked it over with her husband and decided on the cash. She wasn’t willing to make the effort even though she could end up with much more money at the end if she took the resort.” He stood. “I’ll let you girls talk it over while I make a fresh pot of coffee.”
“I’ll do it,” Lucy offered.
“No, let me. I like the way I make it, and you three can talk about what you’re going to do.”
He turned the corner to the kitchen and Ivy called out, “Uncle, I’m committed to student teaching right now, and I won’t be finished with school until June. How could I do this?”
He answered, “Your sisters can start the project and you can join them just as soon as you graduate.”
“What happens if after . . . oh, say, six months . . . we decide we can’t do it?” Peyton asked.
“I’ll sell the resort. I’ll compensate you for your time, but I want you to have some skin in the game. Your choice is simple. Do you want to take the five hundred thousand now, or do you want to be adventurous and create something that could be worth so much more?”
While their uncle was busy in the kitchen making coffee, the sisters whispered among themselves. Ivy was concerned that none of them would know what they were doing. Peyton agreed but argued they could learn and bring in help if they needed. She was so excited about all the possibilities, she could barely hold a thought. Lucy’s mind raced with design ideas for each of the bungalows. “I could leave right away,” she said. “The lease on my apartment is up in two weeks. Peyton, when do you finish your job?”
“I’ve got one more week before the chef I’m helping out comes back,” she said.
Their uncle returned to the living room carrying a tray with four cups. He handed one to each of the girls. “There’s one other detail you should know,” he said. “Since Bishop’s Cove needs renovation, I’ll fund the work. You won’t have to worry about paying for any of that.”
He could see that his nieces’ heads were spinning as they bombarded him with questions. After he answered the last one, he stood to go. “I’ll let you think about it, but I’ll need your answer in a couple of days.”
After he and Ivy left a short time later, Peyton and Lucy remained on the sofa talking.
“Think what this could mean,” Lucy said. “We could build something wonderful and we wouldn’t have to worry about money anymore. I could use my design training, and you could create the restaurant you always wanted.”
The more Peyton thought about it, the more excited she became. Uncle Len was giving them the opportunity of a lifetime. How could they refuse? This offer would allow her to make all of her dreams come true.
One other benefit popped into her head, too. If they left right away, her salary wouldn’t have to go to next month’s rent. She could use it for something else. And she knew exactly what that something else would be. She would get a lawyer.
When Ivy returned to the apartment an hour later, Peyton and Lucy were still talking about their uncle’s offer.
Knowing they didn’t have much time to discuss Len’s proposition before giving him an answer, the three sisters immediately began debating. It seemed obvious to Peyton that they would all agree to run Bishop’s Cove. They loved the resort, though she was more emotionally tied to it than Lucy and Ivy.
She wanted to accept it, yet she couldn’t help but voice her reservations. “We don’t have any idea how much work it will take to turn it around. Can we work together for a year and not drive one another crazy? And who makes all the decisions? Do we all vote? Is it majority rules? Two could always side against one. That’s not good.”
“Do you realize what each of us could do with half a million dollars?” Ivy asked. “To give that much money up for the possibility of making a profit running a resort when none of us has any experience . . . that’s crazy.”
“Are you saying you want to take the money?” Lucy asked.
“I’m saying we should consider what we’re giving up,” Ivy argued. “I would like to take the money,” she admitted, “but I know you and Peyton want Bishop’s Cove.”
“We have to decide together,” Lucy said. “We all have to agree to take the money or run the resort.”
“And if we don’t show a profit after a year, we lose it and the money,” Ivy reminded. “So it’s probably best if we all took the money. Let’s vote.”
It was unanimous. They were taking Bishop’s Cove.
EIGHT
After the decision was made and Ivy had gone home, Lucy left to run errands and then meet a friend for dinner. Peyton was happy to have the apartment to herself. She took out a pad and a pen and began to jot down all the questions she needed to ask an attorney. If she was going to stop Drew and Eileen Albertson, she wanted to do it right.
Once she’d finished her list, she went to the Internet to research legalities. There were a lot of contradictory articles. She took notes on what she learned and then closed the lid on her laptop. Now, all she needed to do was find the right lawyer. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and she went to answer it. Finn MacBain was standing on her doorstep, and she nearly burst into laughter when she saw him.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“You’re an attorney!”
“I am,” he answered, puzzled by her peculiar greeting.
“I was just thinking that I needed an attorney, and here you are,” she explained cheerfully.
When she saw the perplexed look in his eyes, she realized he had no idea what she was talking about. She opened the door wide for him to enter. She didn’t need to ask why he was here. He wanted to hear the story behind the bullet holes in her car.
He was just as handsome in casual clothes as he had been in his tuxedo. He wore jeans and a worn-out T-shirt. His gun and badge were at his side. When he looked directly into her eyes, her heart skipped a beat. He really was something else. Just staring at him made her breathless.
He certainly wasn’t feeling the same sensation. He was frowning and all business when he strode inside. “Are you alone?”
“Yes.”
He nodded. “Do your sisters know about the bullet holes?”
Ah, so that was why he’d asked if she was alone. He was actually respecting her privacy.
“No, they don’t know,” she answered. “No one but you noticed them.” He towered over her when he stood so close, but he wasn’t intimidating. “I’m happy to see you, Finn. Very happy.”
Finn didn’t respond. For some reason, he couldn’t move. Her smile was messing with his concentration. It was the dimple, he thought. And her beautiful eyes . . . and her sexy mouth . . . and her body. My God, did she have a great body. Even in that loose sweater, she looked sexy. He’d been with a lot of beautiful women, but she was different. Her scent drove him wild, aroused him like no other, made him want to take her into his arms. No, he wanted to do a whole lot more than that.
He was standing too close to her, and that was why he was having such an intense reaction, he reasoned. Yeah, right. Ever since he had seen her at the church, he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Peyton picked up her cell phone and went to the sofa and sat with her feet tucked under her. “Have a seat. Please,” she said sweetly. “Thank you for helping me.”
Finn blocked all the crazy thoughts racing through his mind and followed, sitting at the other end of the sofa, facing her. “I didn’t say I would.”
“But you will. It’s what you do.”
He nodded. “Because I’m an agent.”
She looked surprised. “No, because you’re Finn.”
He didn’t know what to say to that. “I want to hear the story behind the bullet holes. From start to finish,” he insisted. “Then we’ll talk about why you need an attorney.”
“I didn’t break the law.”
A hint of a smile softened his expression. “I didn’t say you did.”
“I’d like to play a recording for you first. Okay? I think you’ll enjoy it. It’s a conversation between my former employer and me.”
“Go ahead. Play it.”
Finn listened to the recording without showing a hint of emotion. He rubbed his jaw once, but other than that he didn’t move. It was only after it was over that he reacted.
“How is that son of a bitch still walking around?”
“He’s protected.”
“Not anymore. Did he touch you?” He couldn’t hide the anger that was building inside him.
“No.”
“Hand me your phone. I want to send the recording to my cell, and I’ll put my number in your contacts. If you need me, that’s the number to call.” The task completed, he sat back and said, “Now tell me what happened.”
It didn’t take as long as she thought it would to tell the entire story.