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“We wanted to give this to you sooner, but it didn’t work out at The Pink Ski…and everyone had to rush off after the staff meeting,” Wyatt says.
Everyone looks at Sutton and so I do too, and he pulls a long envelope from the inside pocket of his suit jacket. He hands it to me.
“It’s only fitting that you have this,” Sutton says. “We all feel terrible about you not being included in the will and we want you to have the freedom to do whateveryouwant to do next.”
I smile even though I could easily cry just from looking at their solemn faces.
Callum lifts his chin toward me and the envelope. “Open that up and see if it helps at all.”
I rip it open and pull out a check, gasping when I see the amount with all the zeroes. “What?What?”
“After we paid the ridiculous fees at Dunleavy & Smithson and we paid for the—well, it was actually a very reasonable list of repairs from the Ledgers compared to what it could have been, but it still took out a chunk—we divided what was left five ways and then each added more to yours since you’re the one who’s given your life to this place,” Sutton says.
My eyes are wide and stinging with tears, and as hard as I try, I can’t keep them in. They each look at me in horror and start talking at once.
“Aw, please, Scarlett, please don’t cry.”
“You deserve it.”
“We still took some, don’t think we weren’t selfish too.”
“Where are the tissues? She’s leaking.”
“We love you and hope this helps you do something you love…your own thing…”
“What did the goat say to the hound?”
I put my head in my hands and bawl and their buzz just intensifies, but they circle around me and envelop me in a group bear hug, Theo getting tossed out from Wyatt early on, and all the panic and uncertainty that’s been pressing in on me from every side just alleviates.
I take a deep, shaky breath and wipe my face with the tissue they hand me, blowing my nose next.
When I look up, they’re all staring at me like they’re afraid to move.
“So what did the goat say to the hound?” My voice is all trembly, but I manage to get it out. I look around them and to Theo, who’s standing by the window. I think he’s the one who said that.
“Uh…I have no idea,” he says. “Hold on...” He lifts his finger and grins. “He said, ‘Leaf me alone. I’ve goat to go.’” He lifts his eyebrows. “Eh? That was pretty good, right?”
I laugh, but everyone else groans.
“I love you guys.” I wave my hands in front of my face and they freeze again. “Oh, relax, a woman’s tears won’t kill you.”
“You’re not a woman, you’re our little sister,” Theo grumbles.
“Exactly,” Wyatt adds. “Wait. Sorry. No. Not exactly…”
“Our hearts just can’t take seeing you sad,” Callum says quietly.
See? Melt.
Theo and Wyatt chime in like that’s exactly what they meant.
“We love you too,” Sutton says. “And we can’t wait to see what you decide to do next.”
* * *
The Dancing Emu is hopping when I arrive a few minutes late.
Mostly a bar but with a few delicious food options now that Pierre has taken over from his dad, it’s one of my favorite places in Landmark. It looks like hobbits and fairies could coexist inside, the rounded arches and coved ceilings lit with twinkling lights. The plus or downside, depending on who’s up and what a person’s ears can handle, is that there are half-hour karaoke sets throughout the night.
