Kaleidoscope Summer (Samantha's Story) (17 page)

Our obvious attraction to each
other sent strong signals, b
ut other than fun flirtation
Logan hadn’t
shown any
serious interest in a
relat
ionship. Besides
,
I wasn’t here perma
nently,
especially if
funding for the school
came through.

He reached into his pocket, and flipped
a silver dollar
on the table
. “A good-
luck coin for you
r
thoughts.”

“
G
ood-
luck coin?
What happened to the good old
copper
penny?
”

“My Grandpa Donovan gave
it to me. I was still a kid, m
oping around, not talking
.” Logan
slapped
it on the table
and looked at me
. “Well?
”

“It’s my
meeting
with
Tayl
or Jones
this morning
—it’s unsettling
.”
I touched my fingertips to
my lips
,
hiding
more than
my smile.

“Y
our worried
smile?”
I
balled up
a napkin and
threw
it
. He ducked
but not quick
ly
enough
.
“I’ll drive you and
take care of some errands while you see
Taylor.”
Still chuckling as he spoke.

***

I strolled into th
e attorney’s office
.
From the look
s
of the dusty
receptionist
desk
,
I doubted
a secretary
existed.
I peered
into an open doorway. A
man
leaned
back in h
is chair with
headphones
clamped over his head
.
“Mr. Jones?
”
He sat up straight looking
startled
.
N
ot
at all what I had expected, with his f
lannel shirt and a bushel
of messy
,
dark hair. I wanted to ask how long he’d been off the farm.

“Ms. Forrester? Please, h
ave a seat.” He cast a suspicious look Goldie’s way.

“She
’s a trained
hearing dog
and well behaved.”
I motioned for Goldie to sit
. “
I’m deaf.
But
I
’m
proficient at
lip-read
ing
.
I need
you to
look
directly
at me as
you speak.”
Why was I
being
so staid
, almost ill
-
mannered?

“Enjoying your stay in
Serenity
Cove?”
He
glanced down and
shuffle
d through the
papers on his de
sk
.
His
laid
-
back
Huck
Finn demeanor surprised me
.

“I
t’s an in
ter
esting town.
” Not
in the mood for chitchat, I didn’t elaborate.

He
raised his head an
d focused on my face
.
“Your mother
,
Anne
Marie
Makenna
, l
eft her entire estate and holdings to you,
Samantha
Elizabeth
Forrester.
” He flipped through
a couple of pag
es, as though
refresh
ing
his mem
ory. “The land
and building
that
houses the
Sea Glass
B
ookshop
. And
there’s the property
at
8701 Whi
te Lane
.
White Lane has some stipulations attached, which I’m sure you’re aware of.”

I uncrossed my legs, and glared at him
. “I
’m
not aware of the property
or any
stipulations.
”

“
Anne
set up what’s called a Life Estate with Remainder I
nterest
. It simply means that h
er p
arents,
John
and Elizabet
h
Makenna
, will have use of
the property f
or life
,
and when they die
,
you’
ll r
eceive
possession
of it
.
When I suggested the remainde
r interest stipulation
,
Anne
hesi
ta
t
ed—l
ike most children
,
she
probably
expected to outlive her parents.
”

“
Are there any other
special
instructions
?
”
I needed to compose myself, my rudeness was being misdirected.

“Not as part of the will, but
I spoke with
Anne
’s parents
.
They’
ve requested you not
communicate with
them in any way.”

“They’re aware I’m here
and have forbidden me to contact them?”
This made what Logan
told me all too real.

“Precisely
. Shall I continue the
list of assets, Ms. Forrester?
”

I
simply
nodded
.

“In addition to the two properties
.
” He picked up an envelope. “In here are lists of
Anne
’s bank accounts and her investment portfolio
.
I suggest you review them with an accountant. If you have any questions
,
please feel free to contact me. I th
ink you will be
pleased.
You’
re acquiring a substantial
amount of money and investments. The
bulk of the value
is in
the real estate.”

“
I haven’t heard anything to be
please
d
about.
” I unleashed my temper on the poor man.
“
I find
this whole situation with my grandparents
disheartening
.
”
I stood to leave. “Mr. Jones, you’re only doing your job. It’s a case of the proverbial messenge
r. I do
apologize.”
I’d o
nly
taken a few steps when
Goldie tugged
on her leash and looked behind us
.
I turned.

M
r. Jones walked toward me
.
“You forgot the file
. And I need a couple of
signatures.”

I
scribble
d
my name
w
here he indicated, and left
. L
arg
e drops of rain poured down
in sheets and the
humidity
had spiked. On the wet steps
,
I
grabbed the metal rail
to steady myself
.

Logan
met me
halfway down the sidewalk. He s
lung his
arm around my shoulders and held an umbrella
over our heads.

“
Where did this downpour come from?
” I covered his hand with mine
on
the handle
.
“
It wasn’t on the weather report this morning.
”
I could
n’t
see his face
, so
I
wa
sn’t sure
whether
he answered as I scooted into the passenger seat.

He pushed the key into the ignition and
faced
me
,
his brown eyes dark with concern
.
“Not so good
?”

“I’d rather not
talk about it here
.
”

He
pulled away from the curb
. The
after
shocks
of the meeting
made it difficult to hold my emotions in check
.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I wanted to go home to Stone Valley.
A swoosh of air escaped between
my lips
when h
e
finally
stopped
behind the
bo
okshop
.

I reached for his hand
.
“
Thanks for not letting me be blindsided today. But I need a little space to deal with the reality of my grandparent
s’
rejection.
I’l
l book a room at the inn. E
verything is moving too fast.
”
I held up the
packet the attorney had given
me
. “I’ll send you a text later
.
”
I hopped
out of the cab and held the door for Goldie.
Thunder rolled in the distance. No doubt,
Logan would watch until we were safely
inside.

I
s
hed
my damp
clothes and crawled into bed
.
I cried for Anne
who gave me away
. I
cried for my
parents
who lied to
me. I cried for my
grandpar
ents
who refused to accept me. My
pores oozed with
self-pity.
I
must have finally fallen asleep.

When I
opened my eyes
,
an hour had easily passed. I
n
the ki
tche
n
,
I
brewed a pot of
tea
. The
message light on my phone was blinking.
Logan
?
Strangely, it
annoyed
me
.
Before I could read the message,
Goldie signaled me
and headed to the door.

When I opened it
,
Maggie brushed past me. “
Logan
sent you?”
My first impulse pushed to
send her away
, but I couldn’t find it in myself to be rude with
Maggie.

She
took charge. “Get your
things. W
e’re going to my house. Lounge
on the beach and let the healing sea air whisper on our skin—we might
even
get extreme and go in
to
the water.”

We were soon
zooming on the coas
tal road with the top down.
The rain had stopped and the sun was out in full glory.
Goldie
sweetly
turned her little nose
into th
e breeze
.
I cuddled her—t
hankful Maggie had rescued me a second time.

Chapter Eleven

Alec
secured his seatbelt and settled into the passenger seat of the truck.
“Not so good, huh?”

“
Sam
had an appointment with Jones
today
. She
took a direct hit in the
solar plexus
.”