“I just realized why that man who was driving you looked familiar, Aunt Emma. That was the man who almost bought this place out from under me.”
“What?” Aunt Emma’s eyes opened wide, and she blinked.
If Goldie knew one thing, it was when someone was acting. Aunt Emma was acting innocent.
“He’s the one who was going to make all those garish changes to this place. The one who I beat out to buy it.”
“Aunt Emma, what did you cook up?” Libby chimed in.
“Nothing, nothing.”
“What was his name? Oh yeah, Tate Patrick, a hotel developer from Ann Arbor,” Goldie said as the details came back to her.
“Oh, brother.” Libby put her head in her hand.
“You sly boots!” J.J. exclaimed.
Hope looked as baffled as Goldie felt.
“Look, he would have bought it if he could…” Aunt Emma started.
“—Aunt Emma, you hoodwinked Goldie!” Libby was angry.
Goldie was not quite sure what had happened. “Hoodwinked? I just did a major deal in Hollywood. I doubt Aunt Emma was able to hoodwink me.” She stepped over to the older woman and put an arm around her.
“Do you want to fess up, or am I going to bust you?” Libby pressed.
Aunt Emma frowned. She narrowed her eyes and then tilted her head. “Fine, I’ll share. My dear niece, you’re so by the book sometimes it’s just limiting.” Aunt Emma turned to Goldie. “His name is Patrick Tate, not Tate Patrick. We came up with his alias on the fly. It’s not great, I see.”
“And?”
“And, I had him pretend to want to buy this place and do the tackiest things we could think of, so you’d get the stick out of your?—”
“—Aunt Emma!”
“Sorry, niece. Um, so you’d not be a stick in the mud and buy this hotel. Like you should have from day one.”
“I’m so sorry, Goldie,” Libby said. “I had no idea she hadconcocted this scheme. I am horrified that you were lured into buying this place under false pretenses.”
Aunt Emma looked at Goldie with her innocent eyes. The rest of her Sandbar Sisters seemed to be holding their breath. Was the temperamental movie star going to storm out? Was she merely a fair-weather fan of Irish Hills?
“Oh, the drama! Aunt Emma, you are quite the actress.”
“I’d understand if you want to pull out. I can’t swing re-buying it from you right now, but I’ll put a plan in place. I’m so sorry,” Libby was babbling. That was not normal Libby.
“Not a chance. You’re all stuck with me, well, at least in the summer months.”
“Oh, thank goodness.” Aunt Emma let out a sigh. “La La Land hasn’t fried your brain. You have good sense!”
“I don’t know how wise it is to chuck my life and start a new one at my age, but I’m doing it.”
They circled her in hugs. Goldie didn’t even try to deflect the affection from her friends. She didn’t need to have armor here.
“I need a glass of Chardonnay for the road. I can’t stay,” Aunt Emma said.
“What?”
“You’re not the only ones with silver foxes at your beck and call.”
