“I won’t, Jo. I promise.” I hope she hears how much I mean it.
“Cal said you’d like a little quiet,” she says, leading me to the guest room. “Make yourself at home and yell if you need anything at all. If you’re planning to stay the night, I’ll round up some clothes and toiletries for you.”
“Thank you. But do you need any help in the grove? Anywhere else?” I ask her, already feeling like a burden.
She stops in front of the guestroom and offers a tight smile. “No. We don’t have a reason to pick right now.”
I know what she’s referring to, and I tell her the same thing I told everyone at Flamingo. “I wasn't part of what they were doing, Jo. But I’m working on fixing it.”
She really looks at me for the first time today, studies me for a sec, before a genuine smile slowly appears. “I trust you,sweetheart.” She rubs my arm encouragingly, then adds, “And I was sorry to read about your dad.”
“You saw the obit?” I swallow hard.
“Read the story on the front page of the Daily.” Her eyes are kind, but the bit of pity there makes me uncomfortable.
“It wasn’t very flattering.” I wish I could tell her how wrong it was, but that would be a lie.
“That’s okay. There’s always more to a person than you can put on a page. Cal said you were taking care of him. That was really kind of you.” Her expression widens with more pity.
“You’re the one who told me to love him where he was at. I’m grateful for that advice.” I shift my eyes downward with the weight of her gaze.
“I don’t even remember saying that, but it sounds like good advice,” she says in her usual cheerful voice.
I bring my eyes back to hers which are warm and lovely. I may have mistook understanding for pity. Her smile, though, clears up any lingering doubts that things will be okay.
“Do you mind if I do a bit of work before Cal and Junie get home?”
“Go right ahead. I’ve got things to do, but you know your way around.”
She leaves me, and even though Archie said he’d talk to the solicitors, that’s something I can do. Then I won’t feel so guilty for showing up on the Holloways porch after I’ve threatened their ranch again. It’s the least I can do to repay their kindness.
For the next hour, I talk to a solicitor at the firm we’ve hired to work out this mess. My partners at Wild Coast aren’t willing to budge on renewing contracts and the loopholes they’d found to break them will be hard to fight. But we’ve stopped the landscaping they’d planned to limit beach access. The trucks that blocked Cal and Junie on her birthday won’t be back.
The only way now to force them to renew contracts withproducers like the Holloways and Gerry, is to buy out the other investors and restore the contracts myself. But Archie wasn’t wrong about it costing a pretty penny. It’ll take a big chunk of what’s in the trust I finally have access to.
By the time I hear Cal and Junie in the hallway, I’ve made a little progress, but not enough to report. I didn’t get the quiet time I wanted, but I’m ready for playtime. Or, at least, a four-year-old’s adoring smile.
When I walk into the hall to meet them, though, instead of running to greet me, Junie eyes me warily.
“Hi, Junie.” I wave to her.
She tucks her face into Cal’s legs and mumbles what I think is, “Hi, Frankie.”
Cal sends me an apologetic look and pats Junie’s head. “Aren’t you excited to see Frankie, Bug?”
She doesn’t answer.
Instead of waiting for her to come to me, I walk to her and crouch down to her level.
“How are you? I’ve missed you.” I rest my hand on her back, but she arches away from it and buries her head deeper into Cal.
“You want to give Frankie a hug?” Cal asks.
She shakes her head, and I lower my hand. “Yeah, alright. You don’t have to. Sometimes I don’t want hugs either. Your choice who you want them from.”
At this, she peeks at me.
“Hi.” I smile. “Do you want to play a game or do something together?”
