Page 30 of Hideaway Reunion

“Gleason resigned his county post and packed up his house,” Connor was saying. “He bought a fifty-thousand-dollar center-console sportsman boat three days later. Paid with a personal check. His account was a fraction of that on his last day of work. The boat is currently registered at a slip in Key Largo. Following the prior ownership on the boat is a tangled web of shell corporations, but the head of the snake is Deepsouth Excavation.”

Again, with the bogus company. “Which means Indigo Reef bought themselves a county registrar to attempt to annex thirty feet of Hargrave land,” Brayden rumbled, his jaw clenching. “This is criminal, right? Bribery, land fraud, and whatever else goes with falsifying the plat map.”

“You’re exactly right. Gamble is working on the best legal strategy.” Connor sighed. “Proving any of this will take serious time. Weeks, maybe months. If Indigo Reef requests a town council meeting to get approval for the easement, Vanbeck’s legal team will walk in there with their certified document. Under local municipal codes, without a conflicting, legally binding historical survey to challenge it on the spot, the council is obligated to recognize the active record. They’ll have to grant the easement.”

“Even through the protected forest?”

“Odds are good, they’ll ask for access from the Hargrave side, making it look like they care about the environment,” Connor said.

Brayden had never been happier that Roni wasn’t close by. If she heard this conversation, she’d be fuming and stressing out even more.

The line clicked, and a second voice joined the call. “Hello,” Patrick Gamble said. “I wanted to jump in here and give you an idea of what we’re thinking. Officially, Gamble and Swann now represent the Hargraves. Celeste’s signature is on file. Based on the false witness that triggered the warrant and what we know of the wayward ECMs you found, we can file a civil suit for fraud tomorrow morning, but it won’t trigger an automatic stay on the easement if Indigo Reef chooses to push.”

Brayden swore under his breath. “If the council grants that easement, the developers will have trucks rolling before the meeting adjourns.”

“You’re probably right,” Gamble allowed. “The best defense is the original plat map.”

“The Hargraves are looking,” Brayden said, his chest tight. “But they don’t have it. Celeste says the plat map in the safe deposit box only holds the nineties deed description, which lacks the original easement language. The best source is David Hargrave, but he’s notoriously poor about communicating. Maybe you could use your legal influence to encourage a swift reply? I can have Veronica send you his contact information.”

“I’ll do my best,” Gamble promised. “Right now, that piece of history is the best shield the Hargrave sisters have. Keep your eyes open, Leggett.”

“Will do,” Brayden said, swiping the screen to end the call.

He slipped the phone into his back pocket, leaning his broad forearms against the deck railing as he stared out toward the ocean. The normal waves were higher, the whitecaps plentiful as they charged the shore. The wind shifted again, sending a limb rattling blast through the live oaks. Tattered streamers of Spanish moss whipped across the yard with dried leaves and palm fronds. Over the ocean, the horizon was heavy with storm clouds gathering, tumbling layers of gray.

That sky was promising a challenging night ahead.

Which would prove worse, the storm rolling in or the reaction from her sisters if Roni succeeded in contacting their father?

Maybe when it was over, she’d be able to use Gamble’s contact as an excuse they might accept more easily.

All three of the sisters struggled with their father’s abandonment. The man’s occasional interactions with Roni didn’t magically cure everything that was wrong with the relationship.

Brayden scrubbed at his jaw, wishing he could fix it all with a hug and some reassuring words. Given the chance, he’d shelter her from every struggle. He’d carry the whole damn world on his shoulders just to ease her way.

She deserved that. And so much more.

As the first fat drop of rain splattered against the hot wood of the deck, Brayden knew that some battles could only be fought from the inside out. All he could do was stand watch, keep the developers at bay, and be ready to catch her when the real storms in her life finally broke.

CHAPTER 10

The glowing screen of Veronica’s laptop felt like a portal for trouble. Doing the right thing when Celeste and Natalie would be furious was harder than she’d thought. But they needed their dad’s guidance.

As soon as they reached the house, she’d thrown herself into more research. Environmental protections for that forest would hold up if Indigo Reef tried anything. But the threat of steep fines wouldn’t be enough to stop them from doing something stupid and damaging first.

And how long would it take the government agencies to respond anyway?

No, they needed to stop this now. Before the construction crew simply cut a swath through the trees closer to the dunes or came over and paved a section of the Hideaway property to ensure their beach access.

The state and local laws gave her even less reason to hope. The town council could only make decisions based on the evidence presented. They’d approved the development for the Indigo Reef condos. With tourism rising, they’d seen it as a benefit to overall revenue. Without the original, the new plat map would be honored and the beach access easement likely granted.

How could this happen when everyone knew it was wrong?

They’d been residents for nearly two decades. Upstanding members who cared about this community. Good grief, they’d had food for weeks after their mom died with folks constantly coming by, offering sympathy and casseroles.

Popularity and community respect wasn’t going to keep Indigo Reef on their side of that forest.

She closed her eyes, willing her sisters to understand her decision. Someday. To her sisters, their father was little more than an unexpected villain these days. She didn’t blame them. His abandonment stung her too. Losing Mom had been horrible. None of them expected their dad to hand them what felt like another death before they’d had a chance to mourn their mom.