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“It lines up with one of the charities he already runs.”
“He runs a charity?”
“Apparently he and his brother set this one up years ago," he says. “Well, technically his brother’s wife runs most of it. His brother’s also his lawyer. The one I was speaking with today.”
“Ahhh,” I sigh. “That’s what all the secret messages and calls were about.”
“Mhmmm,” he hums taking another sip of his drink. “And his sister-in-law grew up in care.” I feel my heart squeeze. “They help disadvantaged children. And now…” His smile grows. “They want to expand the survival business.”
“How?”
“Specialist courses.” He says as he starts counting them off on his fingers. “Children, parents and children together. Corporate team-building.”
“Lennie, this is incredible.” I breathe. Then something makes me pause. “But why him? Why now? You’ve talked about doing something bigger for years and then you meet Jax and suddenly it’s happening in a weekend.”
He’s quiet for a moment, turning his glass slowly between his fingers. “Because when I found the money was gone, before I knew what it actually was… When I still thought it might be the cancer coming back. I kept thinking about what happens to the girls if I’m not here to hold everything together.” His voice catches. “I needed to know there’d be something solid left behind.” He looks up, eyes glassy. “I couldn’t fix whatever I thought was happening to you. So I tried to fix everything else instead.”
My heart aches all over again. “You were quietly planning a future without me in it.” His jaw works, like he wants to argue but can’t quite find the words to explain it away. I throw my arms around him instead. “God, I love you.” I sob into his shoulder. “I don’t deserve you, but I love you so much.”
He hugs me back tightly. “I love you too,” he says gently. “We’re going to help people Luna. James didn’t destroy us… He just sent us down a different path. We’ll come out of this stronger than we were before.”
Pride swells so fiercely in my chest it feels like I could paint the room with it. This man. This beautiful, kind, resilient, endlessly hopeful man. He deserves every good thing that’s coming his way, and for the first time in a long time, it feels like the universe finally agrees.
The smell of pizza is already drifting across the courtyard when we finally emerge from our room, hand in hand. I spot Jax near the veranda, looking like he's about to leave.
"I'll catch up with you," I tell Lennie, already moving. "Jax!"
He turns and smiles. “Luna.”
“Can I speak to you for a second?”
“Of course.”
“I just…” Emotion catches unexpectedly in my throat. “I wanted to thank you.”
He frowns. “You don’t need to—”
“I do. I really do.” I say, smiling at him. “You’ve helped Lennie’s business. You’ve helped us.” His expression softens. “I wanted to explain about—”
“Lennie told me," he says, his face softening.
“I’m so embarrassed,” I admit.
“You shouldn’t be. You were manipulated.” His voice is calm, certain. “It wasn’t your fault and from what I’ve heard, you’ve worked hard to put the money back.”
I look away. “I still hate that I kept it from him. That I put him through…”
“I know,” he says, giving my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “James will answer for what he’s done. And you don’t need to keep apologising, Luna. You’re carrying far more of this than belongs to you, trust me.”
My eyes sting. “Thank you,” I whisper. “For believing in an old man with a dream and for helping make it possible.”
He smiles softly before pulling me into a hug. “The dream will always be Lennie’s. I just have the honour of giving it somewhere to grow.”
As I hold him, it hits me—not just this moment, but everything this weekend has been. The confessions, the forgiveness, the way this strange, scattered group of near-strangers have become the people I trust most in the world.
Without even noticing, hope has found its way back into my life. And for the first time in a very long while, I’m looking forward to whatever comes next.
Chapter 40
