“Yes, absolutely yes! She saved the one thing that means the world to me, and I have some serious groveling to do to make up for how I treated her. I know she says she’s already forgiven me, but I feel like I need to do more. I would totally make you guys do more if you messed up as badly as I did. Yes, let’s do this.” She claps her hands together. “It’s exciting. I’m going to call Hope, so she can get the marketing department to work on a logo for her.”
I look to my brothers, wanting to double check even though I know what their responses are going to be. “You all in?”
“Absolutely.”
“Let's do this.”
“What can we do?”
Before I can respond, Melinda throws herself at me and hugs me tight. “You are amazing. This is perfect, absolutely perfect.” When she pulls away, there are tears in her eyes. “Did you hear that, Chuck? Our girl is going to get her dream. The boys are going to help her with it.”
“I sure did, babe.” Chuck sounds choked up, and when he looks at me, I can see the pride in his eyes. “Jaxon Summers, you sure did grow up right. I can’t tell you how proud I am of you.” He looks to the other guys, adding, “All of you.”
“Okay, I’m going to call Dad about a few things. It sounds like they're bringing the tiger back here to the cage Harlow has, but there are other animals that need rehoming too. I need to get someone out to the property to start running an assessment on the enclosures. I know we donate to a zoo somewhere, so I’m sure we can get someone out there quickly. If not, Nana can scare up some connections pretty easily.”
I make my call, and the phone barely rings before Dad picks up. “Jaxon, I was just about to call you. We got the results, and it’s official. You and Jacinta are Count Bucataru's only living heirs. Congratulations, my boy, you just inherited a fortune.”
“Dad, you know that means nothing to either of us, right?” He should already know we don't care about any of it. More importantly than that, I want to reassure the man who raised us that he’s the best father a man could want.
“Oh, I know,” he chuckles. “I just know where I can get a loan if I find myself a little short.” I roll my eyes and join in with the laughter because Neighpalm is worth about three times what we inherited. My eyes flick to my sister, and she can see by the look in mine that the DNA results were confirmed. There are a whole heap more issues we’ll have to unpack, but for now, I'm going to put those on the back burner. Harlow comes first.
“Dad, I wanted to talk to you about giving Harlow the property across the road. I want to renovate it into a sanctuary for her and hire someone to help with her internship. We all want to open up a new branch to the Neighpalm Inc. family by using some of the donations from this year’s fundraiser to start up the Neighpalm Wildlife Sanctuary, or whatever Harlow wants to call it.”
There’s a pause, and I panic, thinking maybe I've overstepped the line. Are we allowed to donate to a company we own, even if it’s not for profit? Shit, I’ve never paid too much attention to the yearly ball in the past. I’ve just shown up, shaken hands, and flirted with pretty girls and older women in the hope their daddies and husbands would open their wallets and donate to all the amazing causes we support.
“Jaxon, that sounds like an amazing idea, but let's leave the funds raised for charities who really need it. I'm going to finance the zoo’s startup. It’s the least I can do after missing out on her life up until now. Not to mention I funded Neighpalm Ink too. But we’ll still have it registered as a charity so that other organizations can donate to it in future. We also need to get her some staff. I’ll get Nana and Poppy on it. We’ve supported the MacGinty Sanctuary in the past, so I’m sure I can find out who their head of Veterinary Services is, possibly their head of Zoology too, and convince them to consult with us. I mean, it’s the least they can do considering their board flat-out rejected our girl.”
“We’re going to poach their staff?” I ask, a little shocked at Dad’s ruthlessness. He doesn't show that side very often, though I guess if anything is going to poke Papa Bear, it’s someone mistreating one of his kids.
“Now, Jaxon, I wouldn't call it poaching. I would call it making them an offer they can’t refuse.” With that final smug line, we hang up so he can start working his billionaire magic.
“Okay, Dad’s getting things moving on his end. I just need to talk to Harlow and convince her this is the best thing for her.”
Melinda snickers next to me. “Pretty sure that’s not going to take much effort at all.” Her smile drops when she looks at me, and I can practically see her thoughts running through her head. “Does this place come with no strings attached, or are there strings?”
“You bet your ass there are strings,” Oliver says before I can answer, and I wouldn’t need to be his brother to see the irritation in his eyes. I know Melinda is just looking out for Harlow, but she could have worded it a better way. “Six strings, to be exact. Six strings that would do anything for her because most of us are halfway, if not all the way, in love with her. Six strings that will support her in anything she wishes to do, and if she doesn't want this, then those six strings will keep trying until they find the perfect fit for her.”
“No offense, Melinda, but it’s really none of your business. I can see your side of it, especially considering our relationship is unconventional, but it’s between Harlow and the six of us. I can assure you there will be absolutely no coercion or influence from any of us. Yes, we want her to take the house and property, and yes, we would like to be invited to live with her, but that’s all on her. We will abide by anything she says, and we will fight for this relationship and against anything that tries to get between the seven of us.” By the time Kai finishes his spiel, Melinda looks properly chastised, if not a little surprised that two of my brothers jumped in so passionately, but Chuck’s got a smile on his face.
“Good for you, boys. Melinda, leave them be. They have to make their own paths in life just like you and I did. Remember what you did whenmyparents tried to interfere.”
She blushes and looks down at her hands. “Yeah, you’re right, and I apologize to the four of you. That wasn't fair of me.”
“What did you do?” Jace asks what we all want to know, thankfully taking the attention away from us.
“I told them to kiss my lily-white poor ass, and if they didn't like me, we could go live in my little trailer and be perfectly happy without any of their money.” She and Chuck laugh at the memories, and the tension disappears.
“Okay, if you excuse me, I need to make that call to Hope.” Jacinta stands up and makes to leave, but I’ve got something I need to figure out with my sister before she wanders off.
“Hey, Jazzy, why don't we go outside for a walk before you do that? We need to talk.” Her eyes cloud, but she gives a slight nod.
“How about I call Hope and fill her in?” Holden offers before helping her out of her chair. “I want to talk to her about Ninja Starfish and what the fallout was like. I haven’t talked to her about it since we’ve been here. It’s been a nice vacation, but I guess real life goes on.”
She agrees, and the two of us step outside into the cooler New England air. I wrap an arm around her as we walk toward the converted stable block that Harlow calls home.
“Winter is coming; you can smell it in the air here,” she says quietly. “I can’t wait to see Aunt Mer at Christmas. As much as I love London, I’m so glad it’s our turn this year. So much is happening, and I just want to be in my own space and surrounded by my own things while I come to terms with all of it. How are you doing?”
I think about the question for a moment before answering. “I’m okay, actually.” I sound surprised even to my own ears. “This really doesn't change much except the fact that we finally have a name to put to a biological father. Biological roots, I guess, but it doesn’t change anything else. I’m still a Summers. Dad is still our dad, the rest are still our siblings, and Harlow... Well, Harlow is my girlfriend. Everything else is insignificant.”
