there to enjoy the beauty of it for quite some time. She’d paid a local landscaper to keep it mowed and trimmed because it had been too painful to be out there after Evan’s death. Together they had planned it out and planted all the flowers and trees, and he had built her the most beautiful white gazebo for their third anniversary.
In the spring months, when she dated Colin, before he left for San Francisco, she never once took him out to the garden. She had physically and emotionally shut the door to that place, and now she wondered how painful it might be to watch her friend get married in Evan’s gazebo.
“Looked like Lucas was selling a lot of those resort condos last night after the presentation.” Emily changed the subject.
“Yes, they were sellin’ like hotcakes. Quite a few people put deposits down on their units. I’m so proud of my Lucas. Oh, and we have a special event set up next week where Lucas has chartered two luxury buses to take prospective Whitetail Resort members up to the mountain. He’s gonna show them around so they can see the lake and where the golf course is gonna be and all that. I think the foundation may even be poured for the first set of condos.”
“Wow, Maggie, that sounds exciting.”
“Lucas did take a lot of deposits last night, about thirty I think, but there were some people who said they just couldn’t visualize the resort from a drawin’. I think he’ll sell more of the condos if people can actually see the gorgeous scenery and the project underway.”
“Makes sense.”
“Would y’all like to go?” Maggie asked.
“I might,” Emily answered, thinking it may give her an opportunity to see what he’s really selling. She wanted to believe he was a great guy, honest and sweet, but something wouldn’t let her jump onboard. Maybe it was Isabel’s suspicions—maybe it was her own.
“He’s goin’ to be very successful with this resort, Em, and I’ll have the life I’ve always wanted.”
“Sounds like it,” Emily agreed. “Will all that money make you happy, Maggs?”
“Oh, it’ll be nice not havin’ to worry about payin’ the bills for a change, but I’ll be totally happy to have a wonderful man in my life, that loves me. I couldn’t be happier if I was twins, as my daddy used to say.”
“Then I’m happy for you, too.” That wasn’t a total lie. Emily was glad to see Maggie happy, but she hoped Lucas wasn’t setting her up for a fall. She resolved to keep digging.
~*~
His mother and her new boyfriend picked Josh up at the airport on Thursday around noon. She’d been so excited. On the phone, she’d told Josh that she couldn’t wait for her son to meet the man of her dreams.
Josh saw his mom and went to give her a big bear hug and then he politely shook Lucas’s hand.
“I thought you’d be wearin’ your uniform,” his mother said.
He shrugged. “It’s in my bag. I thought I’d go casual today and blend in.”
They went to lunch at the Blue Moon Café, which gave Josh a chance to get to know his mother’s future husband. The visit was pleasant and Josh could see his mom was happier than he’d seen her in a long time.
There had been other men, other boyfriends, but none she had committed to marry. He’d been surprised by the swiftness of their courtship and the rush to the altar, but if marrying this man was going to make her happy, he was going to be pleased for them and do his best to like her new man.
Once lunch was over, Lucas said he needed to get back to work. Josh thought he might drop by Lucas’s office later and have a man-to-man talk with him, without his mother there. In private, he would be able to talk more freely with Lucas.
~*~
Late that afternoon, Lucas sat at the desk in his office going over the Excel spreadsheets he had spent hours designing to keep track of the condo units and the sales. Twenty-nine units sold that first night. He looked at the screen with a satisfied grin.
“Total sales of nine million, four hundred and fifty thousand,” he said as Fiona walked into his office from the front area where she worked.
“So how much in deposits from Tuesday night’s meeting?”
“Let’s see…at twenty-five percent…that would be two million, three hundred sixty-two thousand and five hundred dollars.”