“That’s terrible!”
“They better not ruin it.”
“They won’t.” Brandon says matter-of-factly. “I bought it.”
Stunned silence.
Pepper is the first to find her voice. “Dad! No, you didn’t! Really? Did you hear that, Annie? Lady Whimple is saved! Forever!”
Annie is speechless silent tears spilling down her cheeks as she smiles.
And just for a moment, Brandon’s expression shifts—something unguarded breaking through—before he looks away, a small smile tugging at his mouth.
It takes a good ten minutes for everyone to recover from their amazement, and for us to start explaining the plans.
“But wait—” Annie asks, “Why didn’t you say anything about it when Doug showed up with his evil chainsaw?”
“The property is still in escrow,” Brandon explains. “I’m not the legal owner yet. Also, it was clear that tree guy wasn’t going to listen to reason, so I had to take more... immediate action.”
“Good thing you did.” Annie gives Brandon a grateful smile before turning to me. “And Edward—you’re moving here! That means Elinor won’t leave us!”
“Yes, I’m going to live in one of the small cottages until we tear them down to make new ones.”
“You could stay with us,” suggests Pepper. “Those ones don’t have bathrooms.”
“He could,” says Brandon. “But remember, we’re only here for one more week.”
“Can’t we stay longer? Please, Daddy!”
“No, sweetie. But we’ll visit often, and we’ll be back next summer.” His eyes flick briefly to Annie’s, who appears dazed. I’m not sure what shocks Annie the most—that Brandon is rich,or that he and Pepper are leaving.
“I need to be upfront with all of you,” Brandon begins. “Our plans to preserve Norland Park include renovating the hotel and building a spa to make it the ultimate luxury destination for the high-end traveler.”
“Traitor!” mutters Annie. She turns to me. “Can you buy the park back from him?”
“I don’t have even close to that much money.”
“Hear him out,” says Elinor. “The profit we make from elite travelers will allow us to charge less for the campground and the smaller economy cottages for middle class families.”
“Oh . . . I do like that,” concedes Annie.
“It’s a brilliant idea,” says Brandon. “And it’s your sister’s. Edward and I just tweaked it a bit.”
Annie looks at Brandon like she’s seeing him for the first time. “What other secrets are you keeping from me?”
“So many,” he answers calmly as he dips his fries in ketchup two at a time and eats them.
Brandon’s total self-control makes me smile—but I can’t help but think of my phone conversation with him yesterday:
“I’m doing this for Pepper,” he said over the line. “And because it’s a good idea.”
“Is that all?” I teased. “I thought you might be interested in a certain redhead who wears flowers in her hair.”
Brandon made a noise somewhere between a grunt and ahmm. After a long pause, he said, “I’m not looking to date right now.”
“You didn’t contradict me.”
“I did not,” he said before promptly changing the subject.
