At eight thirty, Max stepped away to call his mom, who was taking care of Lilly.
While he was gone, Logan got the skinny on Max’s situation. “So, what’s Max’s story? Lilly said her mom died?”
“Yeah,” Brody said. “It’s been about six months now. You might have heard about it actually. It made national news. A manhunt for a prison escapee that ended in a car accident where he and another driver were killed?”
“I do remember something about that,” Logan said.
“The other driver was Jenny,” Nick explained. “Max’s wife. They were high school sweethearts.”
“Oh, man,” Logan said. “That’s…heartbreaking. I lost my parents, but can’t imagine how hard it would be to lose a spouse.”
“Honestly, he hasn’t been taking it so well,” Nick admitted. “We’re all worried about him. I think Lilly’s the only thing that gets him out of bed in the morning.”
“He said he had renovations planned,” Logan said. “I take it her death was what put a stop to that?”
Nick nodded. “That and no money. Jenny handled all the marketing and hospitality stuff. Without those things, business hasn’t been great. This place should be packed during the summer.”
“Think he’d be interested in some help?”
“Ask him,” Brody said, pursing his lips over Logan’s shoulder.
“Ask me what?” Max said.
“Oh, um.” Logan wasn’t totally prepared to make a formal offer, but couldn’t back down now. “I was wondering if you’d be open to some help with your renovations.”
“You wanna help me?” Max’s brows narrowed. “Why?”
“It’s kind of what I do.” Logan shrugged. “I started flipping houses about fifteen years ago. And while I don’t technically do that anymore, I’m always looking for investments.”
Max cast a doubtful look. “Are you a contractor? Or a construction worker?”
Logan didn’t want to lie, but he also wasn’t ready to come clean about why he was really in town. Plus, spouting off his net worth and business prowess seemed braggadocious and might be a turnoff for Max.
“Not exactly,” Logan hedged. “But I have worked in that industry a long time. And I have some money saved up that could help.”
Max turned to his friends. “You put him up to this?”
“No,” Nick and Brody said together.
“First we’ve heard of it,” Nick said, softening his voice. “Wouldn’t hurt to have a partner though. Weren’t you just saying you needed to get back to the plan?”
“Yes,” Max conceded. “I’ll lose the business if I don’t. I’m at an all-or-nothing fork in the road.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
“How about we sit down tomorrow?” Logan offered. “Take a look at what you’ve accomplished so far, talk about your plans, and see what we can work out. No pressure. If it doesn’t pan out, no harm done.”
Max paused, but only for a second. “Yeah, okay.” Unless Logan was mistaken, he caught a glint of hope in Max’s eyes. “Another set of eyes on it couldn’t hurt.”
Nick and Brody gave Logan a nod of approval, both apparently aware that it sometimes took an outsider—someone removed from the situation—to give a needed push.
That night, he slept harder than he could ever remember. The next morning, he called Cooper to check in.
“Sorry, pal,” Logan said. “Your plan to kill me off failed. I survived.”
“I knew you would,” Cooper said. “How was it?”
“Interesting. Did you make the offer?”
“Almost. I talked to the attorneys yesterday, and they’re putting the finishing touches on it. Said they should have a draft by Monday morning. I’ll email it to you as soon as I get it, and once we both okay it, they’ll contact the seller.”
