On the other side of her, Sabrina pshawed. “If you have a roof, it’s not roughing it.”
I tipped my glass toward her in agreement.
The three of us sat there, each with our drinks in hand—Sabrina’s, a cola; Brooke’s, a two-toned fancy cocktail complete with an umbrella—and watched as the men tried to decipher the architect’s plans.
The sun climbed above us, heating my body. I toed off my flip-flops and sat cross-legged.
“Ten bucks says Kane’s going to take his shirt off first,” Brooke said out of the blue.
I smirked at her. “Are we talking American dollars or Canadian?”
“American.”
“Hmm. Pretty rich, but I’ll take that bet. Landon’s going to be first.”
We both looked at Sabrina at the same time. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll take the bet with Walker. For the record, I think it’s going to be Kane too.”
“Can’t pick my man,” Brooke replied, taking a sip of her over-the-top girly drink.
Movement by the cabin earned our attention. It appeared the men were back in action, sorting through lumber and taking it to different parts of the space they’d cleared for the project.
This cabin wasn’t in a tropical location by any stretch of the imagination, but as the sun crested over us, the temperature rose. Until, finally, Landon unbuttoned his shirt and slung it to the side.
The pair of sisters hooted and hollered at him like he had performed a top-notch strip show—but I was the one who got the five-dollar bills thrown at me.
“Thank you very much.” I tucked the cash into the top of my bathing suit. Holding money seemed the only thing it was good for. I might have gone swimming, except both sisters said I’d probably get hypothermia. These northern lakes didn’t warm up much.
“Damn,” Brooke murmured. “Landon is more cut than you’d expect under all those suits.”
“Mm-hmm,” I agreed. When the quiet continued around us, I popped open one eye.
Landon was perfect. And he was mine. I had the mark on my neck to prove it. Satisfaction warmed me further.
Sabrina lifted up off her chair to see me around Brooke. “What are you going to do next, Jolyn?”
Now that I’d finished setting up all the trusts for Emerson’s victims, I’d had a lot of time to think about that question. “I want to go back to school.”
Brooke groaned. “That sounds dreadful.”
“Actually, I’ve always loved school. I was just never allowed to study what I wanted. This time I’m going to become a veterinarian. I think I’ll specialize in dangerous animals.”
The two other women snorted, then laughed at the same time. The effect was rather melodious.
I liked it up here, but I was also excited to have my own vacation spot. Dismantling Mahn BioIndustries was an ongoing process. Selling it to the highest bidder wasn’t enough for me. It would still be MBI with a different name. I didn’t want any of it to survive.
But there was one property I wasn’t selling—our family home in Goldenlach Ridge. The monstrosity was in the process of being torn down. I didn’t have many happy thoughts associated with the place, the only ones being from before my mother had her accident. I wanted to reclaim the family land, build a home I’d be proud to invite our friends to, and conquer the bad memories.
“There he goes,” Brooke murmured.
Kane took off his shirt. The two women beside me hollered again. I laughed, delighted by their enthusiasm. Besides Marley and Alina, I’d never had close girlfriends, and these two were always entertaining.
“And you, Sabrina?” I leaned up to see her better. “What are your plans?”
“We’re staying where we are for the time being. Both of us like my place in Michigan, and I love my job.”
“Alina said she saw Walker at Clyborne’s HQ.”
“Yeah,” Sabrina said, peering up at the sky. “I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. He’s not supposed to be taking dangerous jobs, but he feels like he owes her, so…” Her voice trailed off and she took a big swig of her cola like it was something stiffer.
