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But that didn’t mean I was going to give up entirely. I still cared about that marina and the memories it held as much as anyone. It was the perfect project to keep me busy and hold my interest while I was looking out for Claire. I would just have to find some way to revise my game plan.
7
KEITH
The dreaded day finally came. It was time for what was left of the marina to be taken down. Derek and I came to watch, along with a few other people in town. My brother and I stood on one side from a distance to watch, and I could see Lana standing off on the other side. We exchanged a few glances as the crew got to work on tearing the place down, but we didn’t speak a word to each other.
I would have loved to get drunk afterward, but Derek had some work to do, and I was scheduled for a shift at the fire station. So we, unceremoniously, went our separate ways.
The guys at the station knew what I was going through and seemed eager to cheer me up. They made a big pot of spaghetti and set up a card game for us. And that would have cheered me up. I was feeling pretty good and was just about to play a winning hand when all the guys turned their heads and started shooting me funny glances. The game was obviously on pause.
I turned to see what they were all looking at, and of course, it was Lana showing up with perfect timing to finish ruining what was left of my day.
She walked up to the table and stood there, staring at me, while the rest of the guys tensed up and murmured things to each other.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked half-heartedly, not looking up from the winning hand of cards I wouldn’t have the chance to play until she was out of our hair.
“Jake told me I could find you here,” she replied. “Can I talk to you?”
A few of the guys held back a laugh as I stood up and reluctantly followed her off into a corner of the station where it was more private.
Her light blonde hair was tucked behind her ears, and she was wearing a light blue jean jacket with her arms crossed together, like she was hiding something under it. A gun, maybe? It was a good thing we stayed in the main part of the station rather than going into one of the private rooms. At least if she shot me, there would be witnesses.
“What do you want?” I huffed.
“I came to say…I’m sorry about the marina.”
I hung my head with a bitter laugh. She had some nerve.
“I know you blame me for it,” she continued. “But the building had to come down. It was dangerous. And even though people think Silver Point means nothing to me because I moved away, I do care about this place and the people here.”
“Sure, whatever makes you feel better, sweetheart. Is that all?”
She ground her jaw and closed her eyes slowly, simmering from me, calling her ‘sweetheart.’ She really did hate that. I would have to make a point to do it more often.
“I have a proposition for you,” she pressed on to say. “I want to rebuild the marina, but I can’t do that without the lakeside land. You have the land, but you can’t afford to do anything with it. But you do want the marina to be rebuilt, don’t you?”
“Yeah, sure,” I shrugged. “But you’re not the one to do it. On top of not knowing what you’re doing, I don’t trust you. I don’t know why you want to do this so bad or what your intentions are, but they can’t be good.”
“You can think that all you want, but you’re wrong,” she snipped, trying to maintain her icy calm. “Do you want to hear my proposition or not?”
“Only if you promise to leave me alone after I do.” I crossed my arms and stared into her crystal blue eyes, wondering if she’d end up just storming off instead. I was actually curious about what she had to say, so I was hoping not. But I was not about to let her know that.
“You don’t have to sell me all of the land. Just half of it. We’ll both own an equal share. We’ll work together to rebuild the marina, but I get to run it when it’s finished. When, or…if, I ever leave Silver Point and go back to LA, I get to have a say in who takes it over, as well as earn a share of the profits. But part of the marina will still belong to you, along with your portion of the profits.”
My face twisted up as I considered it. “Why the hell would I sign that much power and controlling interest over to you?”
“I’m the one fronting the costs of rebuilding it, so it seems only fair,” she stated plainly.
“Better question: why are you doing any of this in the first place?” I fired back. “Not why you think you can run a marina. I’ve given up on making any sense of that. Why would you offer to bring me in on this deal?”
“Obviously, I can’t do anything while you still own the land,” she admitted, in obvious pain as she said it. “But…also…because you’re right,” she sighed. “Your grandfather started that marina, and it should stay in your family. It wouldn’t be right to try and steal the whole thing from you.”
“Unbelievable!” My brows shot up in exaggerated, mock surprise. “Lana Miller does have a heart, after all. Or, at the very least, a small shred of a conscience.”
“Very funny.” She rolled her eyes. “Do you want the deal or not?”
“Let’s say I did. What do you wanna do? Shake on it? And then what? You think the place just magically falls into place? We need a business plan and details for your investment and a million other things. Like projected profits. If this place starts floundering, I don’t want you finding some way to pin it all on me…”
