I took a sip of my coffee, not meeting his eyes.
“A further shock has been that the land has never been developed. A crew shows up twice a year, cuts back trees, makes sure it’s clean, even does the same work on my property, then leaves. No surveyors, no real estate people, no developers have ever been here.”
“Hmm,” I muttered. “Odd, I agree.”
No one would ever develop the land around them—I’d made sure of that. They had been good to me. Treated me well. It had been one of the first things I had bought when I put my plan into place. I was determined to look after them.
“It’s amazing,” Gerry mused. “Same thing seems to be happening in Mission Cove. Unexpected gifts of property. Houses being rebuilt and sold at a fraction of their value. Almost gifted, some say.”
Sunny looked between us, putting the pieces together.
Gerry rested his elbows on his knees. “What are you doing these days, Linc?"
I waved my hand. “This and that. Finance mostly.”
“Uh-huh. Any property investments?”
“I have my fingers in a lot of pies, Gerry,” I said smoothly.
“I bet you do,” he said with a smirk. “I bet you do.”
I let his remark pass.
Cindy and Sunny got up and took the tray inside. They were talking about recipes and a new cookie for the bakery for Sunny to try.
“She’s become a lovely woman,” he stated.
“Yes.”
“She part of your future, Linc? Or only for now?”
“My future,” I stated firmly.
“Good. She suffered greatly when you left.”
I snorted. “I didn’t do so well myself, Gerry.” I shut my eyes. “I was locked up, no way to contact anyone, and scared most of the time.”
“But you survived.”
“I survived,” I agreed.
He was quiet for a moment. “Are you living in your father’s house?”
I shuddered at the thought. “No. I’m having it destroyed.”
“Going to rebuild?”
“I haven’t decided,” I said honestly. “Maybe nothing.”
“That would be a waste.”
“As long as the monument to his stranglehold on Mission Cove is gone, I’m happy.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, rubbing his bottom lip. “Maybe you need to think again, Linc.”
“What do you mean?”
“You are obviously rebuilding this town, Linc. Don’t think I haven’t noticed that all the improvements that have happened are in some way connected to your past.”
I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t looking for thanks or glory.
“I get you want to destroy the legacy of your father.”
I snorted. “Legacy isn’t the word I would use. Reign of destruction, more like it.”
“Fine. Then think, Linc. Destroying your father’s house—fine. But leaving the land empty? You’re missing an opportunity.”
I faced him fully. “An opportunity?”
He nodded. “Your father was all about keeping everyone down. Being king. He never reached out his hand to help people—he liked to keep them beneath him. You want to purge his memory? Then do something positive with the land.” He grinned evilly. “Something your father would hate.”
“Do you have an idea?”
He leaned forward. “I do.”
We shook hands goodbye. “Don’t be a stranger,” Gerry said and waved his hand toward his house. “And I know, kid. I know this was you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He clapped me on the shoulder. “Okay. Keep your secret. But I am forever in your debt. It broke my heart, thinking I would have to leave this place.”
“That will never happen,” I vowed, then snapped my mouth shut.
He winked. “It’s okay, kid. Your secret is safe. Remember what we talked about. Think hard.”
“I will.”
I slid into the car, and we headed for Mission Cove. I knew Sunny was already thinking of the list of items she had to take care of. My head was swimming with Gerry’s idea. It was simple but perfect.
“It was you who bought his land.” Sunny’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
“Yes.”
She reached over and squeezed my hand. “Linc, you have so much good in you—even if you refuse to see it.”
“Gerry had an idea about the land that will be left when the house is gone.”
“Oh?”
I turned my head and met her gaze briefly. “He thinks I should build a library and community center. A place where kids could hang out after school, have access to computers, maybe someone to talk to if they need it.”
“That’s a great idea.”
“My father would have hated it. He never wanted to help kids. Not those less fortunate, anyway,” I added. “In fact, no one else less fortunate, regardless of their age. He thought it was his place, his right, to keep them down, not help them up.”
“That’s where you’re so different.”
I ignored her remark.
“The library in town is pretty small. I could triple its size. The whole top floor could be the library. The main floor, a place for kids to hang out. Play games, do their homework.” I thought of how often I went home to an empty house and hated it. “Have other people around.”
“That would be awesome. It would benefit someone like Michael. He’s always juggling to make sure his kids have a place to go to after school—even in a small town like ours.”
I warmed to the idea. “We’d have a shuttle bus. I bet I could get Gerry to help plan it. He knows kids and what they need. Maybe Cindy would want to hold some baking lessons. We could add a kitchen at the back.”
Sunny sealed the idea for me. “You could call it the Amanda Webber Community Center after your mother. Have her picture on the wall when you walk in. It would be hers then, not your father’s.”
My heart warmed at her words.
“Perfect.”
20
Linc
I dropped Sunny off in front of the bakery, then parked the car. I used the key she gave me and carried our bags upstairs. I took them to her place—there was no point in pretending I would stay next door. Wherever Sunny was, I would be as well.
I went downstairs, wandering through the kitchen and wondering why there was no one baking or cooking. That seemed unusual. I pushed open the door to the shop, freezing when I heard Sunny’s distressed voice. “I don’t understand. None of this makes sense.”
I hurried forward. All the staff, including Abby were gathered around a table. Sunny was standing, holding an official-looking document. Everyone turned as I walked in, and from the look on Sunny’s face, I knew it was bad. I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her close.
“Let me see.”
I scanned the document, my frown growing as I read it. “What the hell is this bullshit?” I muttered. “Health violations?” I looked around in shock. I had never seen a shop or a kitchen in a business as meticulous as Sunny’s. “When the hell did this show up?”