She's Got a Way (Echo Lake #3) - Maggie McGinnis Page 0,40

screwy. Long story short, they lost their loan, and after a lot of legal wrangling, the property ended up in a nature conservatorship of some sort. Can’t ever be developed.”

“And now my rich-chicks’ school has bought Luke’s camp property.” Gabi nodded, things suddenly becoming clearer. “He’s not having a very good year, is he?”

“That would be putting it mildly.”

“Does he really think Briarwood aims to turn Camp Echo into a little lakeside paradise for the rich and richer?”

Piper raised her eyebrows. “You don’t?”

“No. Why would they? We, I mean? It’s an investment property, as far as I can tell.”

“Exactly. And how much return on that investment do you think they’ll get if they continue to cater to underprivileged kids?”

“I’m sure it’s not about … profit.” Was it?

“Does Briarwood do a lot of other community-support types of things? Because if you do, that might be something Luke would really like to hear. Might make him believe things are remotely on the up and up here.”

Gabi nodded. “Of course we do.” She’d sat through enough board meetings where a hundred dollars was approved for the food bank, or fifty bucks went to the homeless shelter, but she cringed internally when she pictured Priscilla asking—every damn time—whether Briarwood would get public credit for the donation.

Then she pictured Laura, the board chair, gaveling Priscilla.

And really? Was fifty dollars here or there really making a difference in anyone’s universe? Gabi knew the size of their endowment. It was crowed in every annual report. But what did that money actually get used for? Priscilla’s salary? Renovations on a dorm that didn’t need them? A BMW van, for goodness’ sake?

When she’d first heard last week about the purchase of Camp Echo, she’d entertained momentary hope that finally this endowment was being used to actually serve a needy population … that Briarwood was finally embracing a role as a steward of a community that needed one.

That was what they were doing here. It had to be.

She took a deep breath. “I had no involvement in the purchase, obviously, but I guess I’d like to think my school is acting in good faith.”

Piper looked at her sidelong. “I don’t want to insult your school, Gabi, but have you seen the list of projects they gave Luke? It doesn’t look like they have any intention of keeping things running the way they’ve always been run.”

“I’ve only seen a list that Luke showed the girls one day when they were prioritizing projects, but it had silly stuff on it like a TV lounge and a performance stage. It was just a joke list he printed up so they’d all agree that a bathroom was top priority.”

Piper looked out at the river, and Gabi could tell she was trying to choose her next words carefully. “That wasn’t a joke list, Gabi.”

“What?” Her stomach jumped. No way. “It had to have been.”

“That’s the list they presented Luke with when they did the site visit in May … the same site visit where they told him they were shutting the place down for the summer.”

“Oh, no.” Gabi’s head spun as she pictured a bunch of suits walking the camp property with Luke, then handing him that ridiculous list as they tried not to make eye contact with each other, lest he smell a rat.

“So you can see why he’d be worried.”

“I’m—this can’t be—I don’t know what to think. Couldn’t it be possible that they’re just trying to improve the property? Bring it up to the standard of others in the area?”

“With a performance stage? A workout facility?” Piper’s eyebrows were heading higher up her forehead, and Gabi didn’t know what to say to bring them back down. It didn’t look good. It really, really didn’t look good.

She lifted her coffee cup to her lips, staring at the cascading water. Was Piper right? Was Luke right? Was Briarwood turning this decrepit—yet gorgeous—little property into some sort of sparkly girls’ camp, without being honest with Oliver and Luke?

Her voice was unsteady as she replied. “I’m not sure that’s automatically damning, though I can see why it would have Luke’s and Oliver’s hackles up. But boys use stages and workout rooms, too. Maybe they’re really trying to improve the place.”

“It’s possible.”

“But not likely.” Gabi nodded slowly. “I can hear that loud and clear in your tone.”

Piper shrugged. “I just call it as I see it. And what I see doesn’t look good for Oliver and Luke, which makes it really hard to sit back and watch it