“Geez.” I look to both him and my mother with a bit of trepidation. “What do you mean by hot tip?”
Tad taps the side of his head. “My dreams. That’s my secret. I’m in perfect tune with the universe—have been for months. I purchased tickets for today’s big draw, and I already know I’m the winner.”
“That sounds…” I shake my head as I search for words.
“Illegal,” Logan finishes the sentence for me. “If I were you, I’d keep that deal you’ve got going with the universe a secret. Maybe don’t mention the dreams either. A man of fortune doesn’t tell.”
“Well, this one does.” Tad hardens his bloated features as he glares at Logan. “When you accrue a certain amount of wealth and status, you get to decide for yourself what you can and can’t do. Sorry, Oliver, but you don’t get to dictate how I run my life. Nobody does. That’s the beauty of being Tad Landon.”
“Great,” I say. “We’ll keep that in mind.”
Tad stalks off and plants himself on his throne, his paper already laid out for him by my mother.
I wrinkle my nose at my mother. “Just a few more weeks and we’ll be out of your hair.”
Her affect changes on a dime. “Skyla, please don’t bring that up to me. You realize I’m grieving all of you already. What are we going to do in this great big house without you?”
Mia pops up from behind. “Party? I call dibs on Skyla’s room.” After her brief marriage to Gabe, she’s been back to sharing a room with Melissa.
“No way.” Mom shakes her head. “That’s forever going to be Skyla’s room. So that if for any reason she and her family need to spend the night, they’ll have a place to stay.”
Mia groans, “Are you serious? That’s it. I’m getting married again and knocked up just so I can finally break free of Melissa and her snoring.”
“You had better be kidding.” I’m quick to deal with this. “Or I’ll strangle Rev myself.”
“Funny.” She makes a face. “And you do realize he’s still hurting from that night. But we’ll be there for your party.” She pulls me in close. “I love you, Skyla. You’re the best big sister in the world. I’m going to miss you when you’re gone.”
“I’m not leaving the island.”
“I know.” She pulls back with tears in her eyes. “It just won’t be the same without you living here.”
Melissa groans from behind, “I agree. It’s going to suck for, like, all of five minutes.”
The doorbell rings, and just about everyone in the room freezes. No one has used that doorbell in years. We’re aknockingkind of people on the island, so it sets off an internal alarm of sorts in all of us.
Mom rolls her eyes. “It’s probably Emma. Always prim and proper. I bet she’s come by to kiss Nathan.”
Mom takes off, and soon she’s calling for Tad and the entire lot of us escort him to the door.
Tad scoffs. “Pull out your phones, kids. You’ll want to upload this to social media asap. I entered that sweepstakes last week—the one that’s infamous for showing up at your doorstep with balloons and an oversized check for a million dollars. I’ve got this one in the bag, too.” He taps the side of his head as he winks at Logan.
Both Drake and Ethan fight to get their phones trained on him properly.
Nathan and Barron run up. Logan scoops up Barron, and I end up holding my birthday buddy. I land a kiss to his cheek as we watch Tad head to the door. A couple of tall men with navy satin jackets stand on the other side as he approaches them with that goofy grin plastered to his face.
“Let’s have it, boys,” Tad beams with a self-confidence I’ve never seen before. “Tad Landon, here. Winner at large. Give me all you got.”
The one on the right holds a badge out toward Tad and my mother.
“We’re here from the Federal Trade Commission investigating lottery fraud, and we need you to come down to the Paragon Police Department. We have a few questions we’d like to ask you.”
A chill runs through me as the entire Landon house ceases to breathe.
Tad bucks. “Ha! Hear that?” he balks as he turns our way. “Even the FTC wants to know how I do it. I’m telling you right now, boys, I’m on the up and up.” He snags his jacket off the coat rack and steps on out. “Don’t worry, Lizbeth. I should be back in plenty of time for today’s festivities. Don’t you dare eat a bite of that cake without me.”
I glance to Logan and frown as I squeeze his hand.Let’s pray the next cake in Tad’s life isn’t baked by my mother with a knife in it.
Amen to that.
