Angelo cleared his throat. “Phillip Collier?”
“Yes, that’s the friend.” She hadn’t told anyone in the family that she and Phillip were having dinner together nearly every week. She’d been alone for so many years, it had to be a surprise. “Maybe another time for dinner?” she said.
“Sure. Have a good time tonight, Ma.”
“Oh, I’m sure I will.”
She always had a good time with Phillip.
<>
Al watched Jenna go off to work every morning and come home looking pleased with herself. She loved working for Cara, Katie got to play with her new best friend, and he got to spend more time with Jenna. It was a classic win-win situation.
Tony had requested a couple of bigger plans for the retirement community, and Al had been working on them. All the plans he’d done for this project were of single-story homes, but one plan had an optional bonus room over the kitchen. The bonus room was big enough for an office or a place for the grandkids to play. He took that plan and expanded it, adding a bedroom and bathroom upstairs and putting a balcony off the bonus room overlooking the living room. It wasn’t a whole lot bigger, but it would look and feel bigger with the balcony and raised living room ceiling.
He couldn’t have chosen a profession that would be more suitable for him. When he was a kid, he’d look at big homes and wonder how the rooms were arranged inside, then he’d go home and sketch the house and draw a house plan with every detail right down to the power outlets. Now he was doing it for a living. Nick paid him well for his services, and they’d sold a few of Al’s plans to other builders. Nick and Cara’s house had been pictured in newspapers and magazines, and they always mentioned Al’s name as the person who’d designed it. With that kind of name recognition, he could work anywhere.
He and Nick had been talking about building luxury view condos, but they hadn’t found a piece of property big enough to put them on. Nick had jokingly asked about the property at the inn, and Al had turned him down flat. That was his home. There was a nice piece of property across the street and down from Nick’s house, so Al suggested he put the condos there. The five-acre parcel had a great view, but Nick had bought it to keep someone else from building there. The zoning wasn’t right for condos anyway, but Al had been trying to make a point. Nick and Cara liked their privacy, and Al liked his privacy, too. That was the last time they’d talked about the condo project.
Al called Nick to ask what projects he had lined up.
“I have two clients who want custom water view homes, and I don’t have anyplace to build them. They can both pay up to two million.” Nick told him what the clients wanted, and Al’s mind was already spinning with ideas. A couple projects like that could keep
Max and Company
solvent for a good long time.
He’d given Mattie eight hundred thousand for twelve acres and a big old house in sad condition. The more he thought about it, the more he knew he’d gotten a good deal. Zoning in that area was one house per acre, so he could divide it up, but he didn’t want to sell any of it.
He wanted to live there.
<>
Someone from the nursing home called Jenna to ask her to come by and check Mattie’s clothes, so Jenna went by the nursing home after work.
The nurse said Mattie had gone down to dinner, so Jenna quickly went through her closet while she was out. Mattie obviously hadn’t gone shopping in a very long time, because her clothes were about worn out before she came to live here. The nursing home laundry had finished them off. Taking note of the sizes, Jenna made a mental list of what to buy.
On the way out, a nurse gave her a catalog from a company that made clothes especially for people in nursing homes. She said they were comfortable, well-made, and easy to get in and out of.
Would Mattie appreciate her efforts? No, of course not, but Jenna would take care of it anyway. Mattie had enough money to buy new clothes.
Jenna bought fried chicken on the way home. Alessandro was up in his office, working, so she set the table and sent Katie up to tell him that dinner was ready.
Al looked up from his computer to see a little blonde urchin standing in the doorway. “‘Sandro, Mommy said... um... uh. . .”
He held back a smile. Katie was a cute kid. “Dinner’s ready?”
“Yeah.”
He saved his work and stood. Katie still stood in the doorway. “Sophie’s daddy gives horsy rides.”
“I know. Doesn’t your daddy give you horsy rides?”
She shook her head, and she looked so solemn, he couldn’t resist. Al got down on his knees and she climbed on his back and held on tight while he walked downstairs.
Jenna laughed. “How did she con you into that, or should I ask?”
“Sophie’s daddy does it, and I think she was feeling deprived.”
Al bounced a little and Katie giggled. Since he’d pulled her off the side of that hill, she came to him often for attention, and he always gave it. She’d never talked to him about her daddy, though, and it made him wonder why. What kind of father was Brian? Jenna hadn’t gotten any child support lately, but she could get by without it now that she was living here at the inn and working for Cara. Cara paid all her people quite well.
Over dinner they talked about Jenna and Cara’s upcoming trip to California. “Cara said I could bring Katie along, but I’m not so sure it’s a good idea. I could leave her with Brian for a few days. He’s not working, so he has time to pay attention.”
“Do you trust him?”
“No. I’m afraid he’ll take her to his parents’ house and she’ll end up in the hospital.”
“Then take her along. Cara has a big staff at the estate. They’ll take care of her.
“I talked with Nick earlier. He usually goes with her, but with Angelo taking time off to help with the babies, he can’t get away.” He helped himself to another piece of chicken. “I’m going this time.”
She dropped her fork. “You are?” What a wonderful surprise. Having Alessandro along would make the trip more enjoyable.
“I need to take Tony a couple more plans and there’s no sense in the plane making two trips.”
“What plane?”
“Cara has her own plane and there’s a landing strip on the estate. It’s about a two-hour drive from there to the retirement community Tony is building, so I’ll borrow a car and take care of business.”
Her own plane, a landing strip on the property, and a big staff? How big was this place?
<>
Al sat on the toilet lid watching Jenna give Katie her bath that night. Katie stood on the bathmat, her skin a little pink and squeaky clean from her bath, and he longed for a couple little girls of his own. He wrapped her in a big towel and carried her into her bedroom to find her jammies.
Jenna helped Katie pull on her pajamas. “You’re pretty good at this daddy stuff, Alessandro.”
“Honey, I’m from a big family and I’ve spent most of my life around little kids. I was in the fourth grade when Vincent was born. His brother was born two years later, and then Maria had her first. There were always kids around at family gatherings, and now the women in the family are multiplying like rabbits. There are babies coming out of the woodwork.”
Jenna giggled. “Alessandro, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but that isn’t where babies come from.”
“They come from mommies’ tummies,” said Katie.
“See,” said Jenna. “Even Katie knows they don’t come from the woodwork.”
Al leaned down close to whisper. “Can we do show and tell tonight?”
She kissed him. “Absolutely.”
He couldn’t remember any woman making him this happy. It wasn’t just the sex, although that was a big part of it. It was sharing her daughter, eating their meals together, talking over his work with someone who at least pretended to be interested, and sharing his home. He thought it wouldn’t last, that she wouldn’t stay with him.
But she was still here.
<>
Gerry called Jenna at work the next morning. “Jenna, a package arrived from your parents’ investment company this morning. There’s no money left, but that’s not why I’m calling.”
Jenna’s hopes for financial security evaporated in the air like hot steam.
“They apparently wrote several large checks in the month before they died. The largest one was to Charlie Worthington. It was for three hundred thousand dollars, and the notation at the bottom said
half ownership in the Inn at Dead Man’s Point
. Another was to a hospital in Seattle. That one was for a hundred thousand. The balance of that account was transferred to another account two months after they died. Since the other account wasn’t in their name or in your name, we can’t access those records.”
So Charlie was right. Her parents did buy into the inn. “Does this mean I can claim partial ownership of the inn?”
“I can’t advise you on that, Jenna. It’s a conflict of interest, because I also represent Al. If you want to explore the possibilities, you’ll have to find another attorney.”
“Maybe I should talk to Alessandro about it.”
“Good idea.”
Did she want to ‘explore the possibilities’? Two months ago she would have, but things had changed. As much as she wanted what was promised to her, Alessandro owned the inn now, and she loved him too much to fight him for it.
Chapter Eleven
J
enna was excited about the trip to California, and having Alessandro go with them made it all that much better.
On the morning of departure, Cara met them at the Tacoma Narrows Airport with two of her children. “Max decided he wanted to stay home with his daddy.” She smiled. “He has his own hardhat, so he can ‘help’ Nick with his work.”
They settled into comfortable seats for the flight and the plane took off. Jenna watched out the window as the plane circled over Tacoma and Gig Harbor. Alessandro pointed out Mount Rainier with the morning sun shining on the snow-capped peak.
The girls cuddled their stuffed toys and giggled, and Johnny quickly fell asleep in his special seat.
So this was how rich people traveled. No driving an hour or more to get to an airport. No waiting in line at the ticket counter or going through security screenings. No waiting hours for the plane to board. No checking baggage and hoping it actually arrived at the right airport. And no waiting at baggage claim and car rental counters on the other end. She could live like this. On the other hand, she wouldn’t want guards hovering around her and her children all the time.
Alessandro held her hand and leaned his head back. He’d probably flown this way so many times it was old hat to him. What would Brian think if he knew... Oh, no! She’d forgotten to tell Brian that she and Katie were leaving town. She hadn’t heard from him lately, but it would be just her luck to have him take her to court over visitation. And he would. His father had threatened to do it before, and Bruce controlled Brian’s actions where Katie was concerned.
The plane flew down the coastline, and just south of San Francisco, it circled around and landed on a private airstrip. Jenna tried to see out the window, but all she saw was a big building with a red tile roof and a magnificent formal garden. It looked like a luxury hotel. Cara’s house must be nearby.
Three men with golf carts met the plane. They rode down a paved path from the airstrip toward the big red-roofed building, and Cara realized that the building she thought was a hotel was actually Cara’s house. The Gig Harbor house was dinky compared to this.
The house and gardens were beautiful up close, and the house was magnificent inside, with simple, elegant furnishings, polished hardwood and marble floors, and beautiful artwork everywhere.
While Cara spoke with the staff about meals and such, Alessandro took Jenna and the girls upstairs to their rooms. Teresa’s sister, Tamara, a member of Cara’s staff, came along. She’d be helping with the kids. Sophie called her ‘Auntie Tam,’ and Katie quickly picked it up.
Jenna had a room near the girls, and Alessandro’s room was beside hers. Cara and Johnny would share a suite. Each room had a private bath, like the inn, except this was more like a luxury hotel than a rundown little inn. “Alessandro, why don’t Cara and Nick live here?”
“Because they were both deprived of a family for part of their childhoods, and they wanted to live close to the family. They wanted their kids to grow up with a grandmother, aunts and uncles, and cousins.”
“You’d never know those kids had a rich mother.”
“Yeah, I know. Cara was isolated and overprotected as a kid. She keeps the guards around to keep an eye on them, but she wants her kids to have a normal life. And they do. This house is nice, but I couldn’t live here all the time. Neither could Nick. Cara keeps the place staffed, and the family comes here to relax and play. She’s here at least four or five times a year for a week or so to take care of business, and we all come for her birthday party in April. This is where Angelo met Teresa.”
She turned to look at him. “Tamara is pretty, too.”