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“No, not really. My mother’s parents died when she was very young. My father’s parents were alive when I was little, but I didn’t see them much. My mother didn’t like them. My grandfather was an electrician. He worked on the subway systems in New York. My grandmother was a homemaker. Very common.” She rolled her eyes, waving her hands in the air.
“Was your grandfather’s name Henry?”
“Yes. How did you know that?” asked Gail. “Oh my, God! Is he here? Grandpa?”
“No. No, no, I’m sorry, Gail. He’s not here, but he sent a message through another ghost.”
“Oh,” she whispered in disappointment.
“It’s pretty simple. He just wants you to know that you are not responsible for the actions of your parents. You did the right thing in making your own choices. He also says that Tobias is a good man.” Gail tilted her head at Julia, rolling her eyes. “I swear! It’s not me. He really likes him.” Julia laughed at her expression.
Coming out of the maze were Miller, Antoine, Sven, Whiskey, and Hannu. They were carrying several large boxes on their shoulders, whispering amongst themselves as they headed toward the dock.
“Whiskey!” yelled Kat. “Hi, Julia. Hi, Gail.”
“Hi,” they said in unison.
“Whiskey English, stop right there!” she yelled, running toward him.
“Sorry, babe, I can’t hear you. Gotta run.”
“Ohhhh, they are so infuriating,” she said, stomping her foot. “I’ve been trying to get him to help me with something in the house for a week, and he always has some lame-ass excuse. What the hell are they creeping around here for?”
Gail just shook her head, smiling at the woman. Another beautiful woman at that. Julia shook her head as well, then watched as Kat stormed off toward the cafeteria. They smiled at one another but said nothing.
“Listen, Gail. I have no idea what you went through and no clue how to make you feel better about it, or if that’s even possible. But I can tell you this. Your inability to have children of your own truly does not matter to Tobias. Nor does it matter to Joseph and me. You are his choice, and we love you.
“The only thing you need to worry about is getting your mind right. Your parents screwed with your life, no doubt about that. I don’t understand it. Very few of us would, although we have a few that had similar experiences. You should speak to Aiden. He was a trust fund baby, upper echelon Boston snob. Not him, really, but his parents. They turned out to be something else. Disowned him when he joined the military. They turned out to be the disappointments, not him.”
“That reminds me,” she said, looking down at her phone. “I think my trust is still in effect. It was never under my father’s name. Maybe that was the one favor he did for me. Yes!” She turned the phone for Julia to see.
“That’s a lot of zeroes,” said Julia. “I’ll bet you could do some real good with that.” Gail nodded, then looked toward the docks and the disappearing boat.
“Yea. What do they say? Out of tragedy rises triumph?”
“Something like that,” smirked Julia. “For now, how about we head to the cafeteria and enjoy some hot gumbo, beignets, and wait for your man, my son, to come home. Besides, we have a wedding in two days. There’s still a lot to do.”
“There’s Dana!” she stood to run toward her friend, then turned back to Julia. She hugged her, kissing her cheek. “Thank you, Julia. I’m so glad I get to be a part of your family.”
“Me, too, honey.” Gail ran toward Dana, hugging her as they laughed their way into the cafeteria. Julia felt strong hands at her shoulders and reached for the fingers.
“You know, you’re still the sexiest fucking woman alive,” growled Joseph. Julia stood, turning in his arms.
“And you are the sexiest, most amazing man ever. I’m not quite hungry yet. How about we work up an appetite?” He lifted Julia over his shoulder and ran toward their cottage.
“Done!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“Man, this is seriously fucked up,” said Tobias. “Quinn is making quasi-pornographic films by convincing online users of his exercise platform to bend, twist, and strip for better results. He films the whole damn thing, sells it to the perverts he works with, and isn’t liable because the customer signs a waiver at the beginning of the online training experience.
“He makes a shit-ton of money, but he’s got some serious spending and gambling habits. To offset that, he uses the men and women who work for him, plus their families.”
“You forgot the part about him actually working with the Irish mob,” frowned Titus.
“Right,” nodded Tobias. “Kat confirmed that a while ago. Did we get anything off the servers?”
“More than we wanted,” said Jean, coming into the room. “Sorry I’m late. I was finishing something at the office. I’ve reimagined Mr. Quinn’s books.”
