Though she tried to pretend she was feeling better and strong enough to be on her own, she was tremendously thankful for all that they were doing to make her comfortable. Crawling into her own bed felt wonderful, especially surrounded by family and the scents of home. Still, the night was rough, peppered by both bad dreams and pain. And heartache.
When Natalie finally dragged herself out of bed the next morning, the deep, aching soreness was back with a vengeance.
Hearing her sisters moving about in the front of the house, she took her time with the gentle movement instructions Roni had left for her. The list would’ve struck her as boring ona normal day. Everything in her body confirmed this wasn’t normal and she needed to be nice to herself, so she took her time with each move. As limber as she could be for the moment, she slipped into a casual sundress and aimed herself toward the kitchen for coffee.
Celeste and Veronica were on the screened porch out back and she joined them, each step rattling through her body. “Morning,” she said, joining them.
“Oh, sweetie.” Celeste jumped up. “Over here.” She motioned to the chaise. “Roni has the heating pad ready for you.”
“Thanks.” She settled in, grateful beyond measure for her sisters. “All the thanks.” She sipped her coffee and just tried to push the aches out of her mind. “What did I interrupt?”
“We were taking one final look at the offer for the Hideaway,” Roni said.
“Why?” Her heart kicked on a surge of temper. “I thought you already told them no.”
“That’s my plan,” Celeste assured her. “But I’m not going to make a decision until we’re all on board. We’ve been losing reservations since the news broke about the body washing into the cove. We need to be prepared to pivot.”
“Okay. We pivot. We’ve definitely got a cushion, based on how you handle our money.”
“That’s true,” Celeste agreed. “I just want us to have a clear picture of the situation.”
“Got it. Still don’t want to sell. I’m fully aware of recent events. That dead body rolled into me, remember?” Natalie knew she was snapping at the wrong people, but she couldn’t reel in her emotions. “I don’t want to sell the Hideaway no matter what. Don’t look at me like I’m being childish,” she warned Veronica. “That’s our place. Dad bought it for our family. We made memories here summer after summer. Mom—” She had to pause and clear her throat. “Yes, Mom died there, but sheloved that house. She knew what it meant to us, that’s why she left it to us.”
“Hey. Take a breath,” Roni said. “You’re not being childish. For once.” She only grinned when Nat glared again. “We just said we aren’t selling.”
“But we said that last week,” Nat protested. “Why are we talking about it again?”
Celeste cleared her throat. “Because we’ve had more cancellations. The news story is getting more traction after the arrests of Royer, Corey, and the others involved with the boat thefts. We should expect the story will circulate for a while,” Celeste pointed out.
Roni groaned. “And all over again once the trials start.”
“I don’t care,” Natalie dug in her heels. “We are not selling. All of us are doing well enough these days that we don’t need the Hideaway income.”
“The Hideaway is Celeste’s main source of income,” Roni reminded her.
Crap. She should just keep her mouth shut during talks like this. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Is it inyourbest interest to sell, Celeste?”
“No. As far as I’m concerned that house will always be ours, whether it’s earning money for us or we’re just enjoying it ourselves.”
“Good.” Right now, the idea of moving back into the Hideaway with her sisters and hunkering down, reclaiming the family property, almost seemed like a good idea. But between Trent and the construction, she’d probably just feel haunted.
“Just for the record, it’s not my only source of income,” Celeste said in the most understated mic drop manner. “I should’ve said so earlier. I don’t want you two to ever make a decision thinking you’ve got to back my career plans.”
“What career plans?” Roni challenged.
“I’m actually looking into real estate investments,” Celeste confessed. “I really enjoy what we do at the Hideaway and I’ve been looking for ways to expand our brand.”
“We have a brand?” Roni teased with mock horror.
“Of course you want to expand,” Natalie said with admiration. “Just as long as we’re not selling the Hideaway?”
“No. I mean it. It’s ours. And our flagship location,” Celeste added with a wink. “The Hideaway will be in our portfolio and family forever through good PR and bad.”
“We should host an event for the community out there,” Roni said. “Give people a good look at just how fabulous it is out there.” She drummed her fingers on the countertop. “Maybe tie the event with a regional charity to boost the good press.”
“That’s an excellent idea,” Celeste said.
Natalie agreed, but she was too tired to do much more than listen as they discussed it.
