Frank took it and read it over. His brows lifted. “Whoa, I wasn’t expecting this. You’re sitting on a gold mine—no, better than a gold mine. If you make this known, you’ll have plenty of companies willing to pay you top dollar. You don’t have to settle for being forced off the property.”
Mom wrung her hands. “But we don’t want to sell. What we’re doing here is important, Frank. The animals are happy, and we love our spot here.”
Frank nodded. “I get it, Jenna. When I was younger, success was the main goal, and while I always tried to be ethical and fair in my business practices, I kept an eye on the bottom line. I’m older and wiser now. Some things are priceless and no amount of money is worth their loss. Only you can decide that.”
Paradise glanced at Blake, then back to Frank. “We have 120 acres. There’s a 22-acre area we haven’t developed at all. Would it make sense to sell off that portion?”
Frank shrugged. “Maybe, but it takes a huge area to mine. Whoever bought it would want all of your acreage plus more all around. And something you might not know is that mining creates a huge environmental impact. Toxic water must be disposed of somehow, and there are other major problems. There have been numerous spills over the years that have had major negative consequences on communities. And even if this site becomes only a mine where the ore is dug out and sent elsewhere to extract the rare earth elements, a mining operation so close to the ocean could spread contamination. I doubt that’s something you want to do. New methods are in development though, and maybe an investor would be content to buy it and wait for the safer extraction methods.”
“I wouldn’t want to see the beautiful spot here become a gaping hole in the earth.”
“I wouldn’t either.” Frank nodded. “This is a great park. Maybe a donor campaign would be worth doing. I can pull together a list if it would help.”
“That would be wonderful, Frank, thank you.” Mom’s voice wobbled, and she stood to begin to clear the table. “Let’s put ourglum thoughts away. God will provide, and if he doesn’t intervene and we lose the park, he has something else planned for us. He’s walked me through some dark times, and I know he will do the same with this problem.”
Blake’s faith was strong, too, but the problem was, he didn’twantto let go of the park. Would God even ask it of them when they’d poured so much of their lives into this place? How could they walk away from their life’s work? He had no doubt he could place the animals in zoos or other refuges, but The Sanctuary was unique, and the animals had so much room to roam. He hated to think of them in cages or tight quarters.
Glancing at Paradise’s face, he knew she felt the same.
It was Paradise’s birthday, and it felt worse than usual for it to be unacknowledged this year. In previous years it didn’t matter because she wasn’t with people she loved. Why did it feel wrong that she’d worked at the park all afternoon without anyone wishing her a good day? She’d felt on the verge of tears all day.
She forced a smile and headed to Jenna’s cottage. She hadn’t seen the boys for several days, and they would cheer her up. Their smiles would make her day better. Jenna didn’t like her to knock but to go on in like Blake did, so she opened the screen door and stepped into the living room. The place felt quiet and empty. Where was everyone? Blake would have gotten off half an hour ago.
“Blake? Boys?” She walked on through the cottage but found it empty. Maybe they were out on the back deck. When she pushed open the back door, she caught the scent of grilling steaks and spotted Blake flipping meat.
Her gaze skipped over him to the crowd milling around thebackyard. Mason and Clark waved to her and she waved back. Honey and Evan were here with their kids, who were playing in the sandbox with Isaac and Levi. Her cousins were here too—Lily, Molly, and Rod as well as their kids. The yard was full of people in party hats.
Jenna turned and saw her. “You’re early.”
“I—I finished a little early.” Over Jenna’s shoulder Paradise spotted a long table with a banner that readHappy Birthday. A cake and all kinds of sweets weighed down the white tablecloth. Was this forher?
Blake put down the tongs and left the grill to embrace her. “Happy birthday, babe. We couldn’t let the big 3–0 pass without a celebration.”
He kissed her, and suddenly feeling woozy, she clung to him. “You remembered?”
“All these years I wished you were here for your birthday, and now you are. I knew the boys would blab it, so I kept them away from you for the last few days.”
She’d thought no one ever gave her birthday a thought, and yet Blake had remembered for the past fifteen years. If only they hadn’t lost all that time.
“Paradise, it’s your birthday!” Isaac ran toward her with a noisemaker. He blew it, and his eyes grew larger when the streamers flew out. “Did you see that?” He climbed her like a monkey.
“I sure did. Good job.”
Chocolate around his mouth, Levi rushed her. “We got you peanut M&M’s.”
“I think you ate them all.”
“I left you some.” He clung to her leg. “I made you a card. So did Isaac.”
“I can’t wait to see them.” She put Isaac down and the boys ranto fetch their presents. She turned to find Blake watching with a smile. “I can’t believe you planned this and I didn’t know.”
“Mom helped.” He nodded toward the group. “You’d better greet your guests.”
She hardly knew what to say as she wandered from person to person exchanging hugs and receiving well-wishes. One minute spooled into the next until they’d all eaten and she’d blown out the candle and admired the boys’ handiwork. Sunset came before she was ready for the party to be over, but she walked to the parking lot with her guests. The night air couldn’t cool the warmth in her heart from the amazing few hours.
No wonder people liked birthday parties. She hadn’t had one since her parents died, but maybe this was the beginning of an every-year occurrence.
Blake stood with his arm around her waist, and they waved goodbye to Abby, who was the last one to pull out of the lot. He pressed a kiss to her temple. “I hope it was a fun night.”
