Isabel's heart had started to move faster.
The hotel.
This coastline.
"I’ve seen those reports, but you didn't dig deep enough," Baxter said, and she could hear the satisfaction in his voice. "I also have it on good authority from a reliable source that they're renovating a swimming pool on the hotel grounds. According to an academic contact of mine, there's a rumor that the site could have historical significance. Something about an ancient settlement under the property."
There was another silence from the office.
"Send me the details," Darius said, and Isabel could hear the shift in her brother's voice once again. This time, he’d started paying attention.
"I can do better than that," Baxter replied. "My contact and I are already in Sanibel. We arrived this morning. We can come to you and discuss this in person."
"Why are you here?" Darius's voice had gone very quiet. "That's rather presumptuous of you, Baxter. If the hotel owners were about to make a historical claim, they'd have done it already. As far as I know, they haven't."
"Not yet," Baxter said. "But I've gotten word that a call was placed to Dr. Anna Caldwell. The renowned archaeologist. And the call came from a member of the family that owns theproperty you're trying to acquire, which could only mean that they are trying another angle to stop the acquisition."
A silence that lasted long enough for Isabel to count her own heartbeats.
"Or, Dr. Caldwell could just be a family friend.” He sighed. “But fine, fine," Darius said finally, and his voice was clipped in a way that told her he'd made a decision he wasn't entirely comfortable with. "I'll meet you, but not in Sweet Blossom Bay. There's a diner on the outskirts of town. Be there in one hour."
"Perfect," Baxter said, and his satisfaction was audible. “I’m glad I may be able to help you finally get to finish your father’s dream project.”
Isabel froze at her cousin's words.
Father's project.
What project was Baxter talking about?
“This still doesn’t mean you are on the project team,” Darius told him.
“I could help you, you know,” Baxter told him. “That way, your trip to Sweet Blossom Bay really could be more of a vacation than work.”
Isabel stiffened.So this really was a working trip after all.Anger flared. He’d promised her that this trip was purely a vacation and had nothing to do with any of his projects… The words trailed off as the harsh reality of it set in.Their father’s dream project.Her eyes widened.NO!Her mind screamed. Surely not. Flashes of their time here flickered through her mind, and as they did, her cheeks heated as her anger rose.
Of all the low-down dirty tricks.Red dots started to swim in her vision, and she was about to push the office door open to burst into the room, demanding an explanation, when a pair of hands grabbed her from behind. She was spun around and pulled into the bathroom across the landing from Darius’s home office, the door shutting behind them with a soft click.
"Penny," Isabel hissed, in the lowest voice she could manage when she saw who’d grabbed her in the bathroom mirror. "What on earth are you doing?"
"Stopping you from making a terrible mistake," Penny hissed back.
From the other side of the bathroom door came the sound of Darius's office door opening, his footsteps crossing the landing, and his bedroom door closing.
They both held their breath until there was nothing but silence in the hallway.
Isabel let out a long, very quiet breath and looked at Penny.
"How long were you behind me?" Isabel asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"Long enough," Penny answered, something flickering in her eyes that made Isabel draw a conclusion.
"You knew," Isabel said. It wasn't a question. “You knew the real reason my brother came here to Sweet Blossom Bay.”
Penny met her eyes and didn't look away. "I suspected," she said carefully. "I didn't know the full extent of it. I warned him that if he was lying to us, it would be the last time I'd work with him."
"And yet here we are," Isabel said.
"Here we are," Penny agreed, her jaw tightening and eyes darkening with anger.
