“The money?”
“Proof that the money was there. Now all I have to do is find the paper trail.” She yawned. “God, I am so tired.”
“Too tired for me?”
She walked over and put her arms around him. “I could fall asleep right here on your shoulder.”
He scooped her up and carried her into his bedroom, kicked the door shut, and set her on his bed, but by the time he brushed his teeth, found a condom, and pulled off his clothes, she was curled up on top of the covers, sound asleep.
So much for the power of his sex appeal.
He grabbed a comforter from the closet shelf, lay down beside her, and covered them both. She snuggled in, and they both slept.
Chapter Seven
E
arly the next morning, a man knocked at the door of the inn and asked for Alessandro Donatelli. As the man drove away, Al opened the envelope he’d just signed for and stared at the papers. Brian Baxter was suing him for assault. He claimed to be permanently injured from the unprovoked attack and he wanted ten million dollars. “Only ten million?” Al muttered to himself. He had to be kidding.
Al went inside and called Gerry, who said, “That ambulance-chasing attorney he found will sue anyone for anything. This isn’t going anywhere. You have three witnesses, four with Jenna, and I can’t imagine that a judge will take the claim seriously.”
“Can I counter-sue for harassment and trespassing and whatever?”
“You can, but it’s not worth the time and expense. I’ll get statements from the witnesses and we’ll take it from there. Brian has no witnesses to corroborate his claims. This won’t ever get to court.”
Al trusted Gerry. With her money, Cara could have hired a high-profile attorney, but she didn’t. She hired Gerry Merlino. Now the entire family used him. He handled their legal affairs with a trained legal mind and a large dose of common sense. Gerry would take care of the problem with Brian Baxter.
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Angelo brought his pickup over and helped Alessandro load Mattie’s chair, television, and a small dresser to take to the nursing home. Jenna packed some clothes, but she refused to go to the nursing home with the men. She had no desire to see Aunt Mattie again, not when the sore on her arm was still inflamed.
As soon as the men left, Jenna went through Aunt Mattie’s closet and all the dresser drawers, looking for something, anything, that would point her to the missing money. But there was nothing there.
She cleaned the bathroom, stripped the bed, and moved on to the next room.
As long as Jenna had lived in the inn, Uncle Charlie had never slept in the same room with Aunt Mattie. His room was the one beside hers. Jenna stood in the doorway and scanned the room, wondering if he’d put something in here that would lead her to the money. Checking the closet and dresser drawers, all she found were clothes. His wallet was in the top drawer with his belts. She fingered the worn leather and then put it back where she’d found it. If there was something here, Mattie would have found it by now.
Uncle Charlie had been increasingly confused the last few years of his life, and then one day he’d gone for a walk and disappeared. They’d found his lifeless body on the rocks near the point. He’d been gone for several hours before they found him. Good thing Alessandro got the fence put up along the edge, so nobody else would fall over. The fence was pretty, black, with spiked spokes of varying heights. It was low enough that it didn’t obstruct the view and high enough to keep little girls back from the edge.
Alessandro’s oldest brother, Vinnie, came over to help him put in the posts for the new gate. They seemed to think the gate would keep Brian out, but Jenna knew better. If Brian wanted in, he’d find a way to get in. But he wouldn’t have the nerve to come here now, not after he’d filed the lawsuit against Alessandro.
After she put Katie down for her afternoon nap, Jenna called Gerry with the Social Security numbers he’d requested. She also gave him the information on the accounts she’d found. “Gerry, is there any chance the money is still in these accounts?”
“I’ll find out, Jenna. Give me a couple days.”
“Okay.” She’d waited seventeen years. She could wait a couple more days.
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Al worked with Blade and Vinnie to get the new gate posts set and bricked in. He didn’t think Brian would have the moxie to come back here again, but you never could tell about people like that. He and his old man were obsessed with meeting Cara Andrews, and if they thought taking one of the Donatelli brothers to court was the way to accomplish it, they wouldn’t likely give up anytime soon.
“You’re not going to fence this whole place are you?” Blade asked.
“There’s no point to it. If someone wants in bad enough, they’ll find a way in.”
Jenna came outside to the porch and waved, and Al waved back. They’d slept together for most of the night last night, but they hadn’t made love. He wondered what would happen with their relationship if she found some of that missing money. Would she leave him and go back to Seattle? He didn’t think she’d try to get the inn back, but he didn’t know her well enough to know what she’d do.
He was twenty-nine years old, and this was the first time he’d lived in his own home. After high school, he’d lived at home with his mother, Tony, and Angelo. They all worked and pitched in to help Ma. He lived in a small studio apartment when he was in college, and he spent some weekends at Cara’s estate near San Francisco. After college, he returned to Gig Harbor. By then, all his siblings had moved out and Ma was left alone. Since she’d had a stroke a couple years earlier, nobody wanted her to live alone, so he’d stayed. Now Ma had Vincent, her oldest grandchild, living with her, and sometimes she stayed with one of Al’s siblings. In any case, she wasn’t alone now, and Al no longer felt responsible for taking care of her.
Looking down toward the house and beyond, to the water sparkling in the sunshine, he knew he’d make the old inn his permanent home. It was a whole lot more room than he needed right now, but he couldn’t see himself ever leaving here. The inn was old and weathered and rundown, but it already felt like home. He could see a sun porch on the south side, a bigger garage with a workshop in the back, a paved circle driveway in front, and a swing or two on the front porch. Someday he’d have kids playing ball in the front yard, a wife making lasagna in the kitchen, and a dog for the kids. He’d combine that round room on the second floor with another room and turn it into a nice master suite. He might even build himself a separate office and studio for displaying his plans.
Jenna shook out the throw rug from the entry. She was cleaning again, a never-ending task in a place that size. He hadn’t thought of ongoing cleaning when he bought the inn. There were a lot of things he hadn’t considered, like getting stuck with all Mattie’s cats. The little fur balls left tiny footprints and fur all over the house and his car. Come to think of it, Katie left her mark on the house, too. So did Jenna. Somehow, he couldn’t picture the place without them.
Vinnie nudged his arm. “If I wasn’t married, I’d order one of those for myself.”
Blade smirked. “That one is taken. Right, Al?”
Yeah, she was taken. But would she stay for the long term?
Blade pointed at the house. “The new roof looks good. Sure makes a difference, doesn’t it?”
“Paint will, too. It goes on next month, if I can find the time.”
“I’m free for most of the summer. Give me a call when you’re ready.”
Al nodded. “Okay, I will. Thanks, Blade.”
“Anything is better than staying home and changing stinky diapers. I don’t mind the wet ones, but the others...” He gave an exaggerated shiver. “No, thanks.”
Al didn’t want to tell him that he’d never changed a diaper. Vinnie probably hadn’t changed many, since he was working long hours when his two boys were babies. He wondered what it would be like to have kids of his own, to walk them when they were fussy, change them, and rock them to sleep. And watch his wife nurse them.
He turned away and adjusted his pants, and Blade burst out laughing. “You’ve got it bad. Do you want me to take Katie down to stay with Sophia while you two—”
“No.” Was he that obvious? Yes, he probably was, because he couldn’t get his mind off her.
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Mattie asked to use a telephone. It took them next to forever to bring it to her, but as soon as she had it in her hand, she chased the aide out of her room and called the inn. Jenna answered, as Mattie somehow knew she would. She hadn’t moved out at all. She was still living there.
She knew one thing that would get Jenna’s interest. “I know where the money is.”
“You do?”
“Yes, I do, but I’m not telling you anything as long as I have to stay in the nursing home.”
“Don’t try to blackmail me, Aunt Mattie. It won’t work.”
The phone clicked and the dial tone came on. The stupid girl had hung up on her.
Mattie threw the phone and banged her right arm on the bedrail. She yelled for the aide. Her arm hurt like the dickens, and she wanted to see the doctor right now.
And she wanted to go home.
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The phone rang again almost immediately, and Jenna hesitated to answer it. She picked it up and listened quietly. “Jenna?” said Brian. “Is that you?”
She let out a long breath. “Yes, it’s me. What do you want, Brian?”
“It’s my afternoon to have Katie.”
“Where are you taking her?”
“To my parents’ house.”
“No, Brian. She coughs and wheezes all night after she goes there.”
“I don’t have anyplace else to take her, and you won’t let me visit her there.”
“I would if you’d call off that stupid lawsuit.”
“He hit me.”
“You had it coming, Brian. There are four people who saw what happened. You were being a pest and he asked you to leave. Instead of leaving, you took a swing at him. He was defending himself and his property.”
“Fine, I’ll call it off for one million and a dinner date with Nick and Cara Donatelli.”
She laughed. “It’s not going to happen, Brian.”
“Then I’ll see you in court. In the meantime, my parents are expecting me to bring Katie over this afternoon. Mom is cooking dinner tonight, and she’s making something special for Katie.”
“Okay, I’ll take her to your parents’ house around four and she can stay through dinner, but I don’t want your father smoking around her. Asthma kills people, Brian. She can’t breathe that cigar smoke.”
“I’ll tell him.”
As if it would do any good. Bruce Baxter didn’t give a second thought to what his smoke did to his granddaughter’s little lungs. “If she comes home wheezing again, it’ll be her last visit to that house. And tell your parents I’ll expect my child support payment when I pick up Katie at seven.”
She didn’t want to take Katie to that house, but if she didn’t, they’d all make a big stink about it, and she didn’t have the energy to fight another battle.
Not today.
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Sophia spent hours cleaning and cooking. Phillip was coming for dinner tonight. They’d been walking together every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and he’d taken her out to dinner once, but this was the first time she’d cook for him. He was such a nice man, and she enjoyed his company.
She changed clothes three times and finally settled on black slacks and a pretty light blue shirt that Gina had given her. Looking in the mirror at her reflection, she noticed her cheeks were pinker than normal. A woman old enough to qualify for Medicare shouldn’t be flustered, yet she was. She had a gentleman friend coming for dinner tonight.
Phillip was there at five-thirty on the button, and he insisted on helping in the kitchen. “Maybe you can teach me something about cooking.”
“Didn’t you help Helen in the kitchen?”
“No, she wouldn’t let me in the kitchen.”
Sophia flapped her hand. “Everybody in my family helps in the kitchen.” Sophia handed Phillip the olive oil with garlic and basil for the bread. “Was Helen sick long?”
“Three months. They said she could have chemotherapy, but it would make her sicker, and it wouldn’t extend her life by more than a few days. So we talked it over, and she declined the chemo.”
Sophia nodded. She would have done the same thing. Helen had brain cancer, and she had miserable headaches. Why would she want to extend her misery when God had something better waiting for her in heaven?
Phillip’s oldest son had become a partner in his law firm, and one day he’d take it over. “I’m retiring when Chip gets back from his vacation. I only have a few clients left now, and one is a handful and then some.”
“The elderly woman who sold the Inn at Dead Man’s Point?”
“That’s her. I guess your son told you what’s going on out there.”
She set the table while they talked. “I met her when we had a family dinner at the inn one Sunday. Alessandro was trying to help her out by letting her stay in her home, but now I think he’s sorry he ever got involved with her.”