The Summer of Us (Mission Cove #1) - Melanie Moreland Page 0,69
out of the car as Gerry opened the front door, stepping out on the porch. He was older, his hair gray, but he still walked tall, his shoulders straight. He approached the edge of the porch.
“Can I help you?”
Sunny opened her door and she slid out. “Hi, Gerry.”
He beamed at her. “Hey, Sunny.” He indicated me. “Who’s your friend?”
I pulled off my sunglasses. “Hey, Gerry.”
His eyes widened. “Well, son of a bitch.” He hurried down the steps, shouting over his shoulder for his wife, then grabbing me in a bear hug. “Linc.”
Cindy came out the door. She hadn’t changed, although her hair was white and her face had a few more wrinkles. But her warm smile was the same, and her hug was firm.
They insisted we come in. Cindy bustled around getting coffee, Sunny offering to help her. Gerry showed me around, explaining how they’d remodeled the large building. “Cindy had knee surgery a while back, so we needed one floor. This is perfect for us.”
“It’s great, Gerry.”
We sat on the porch they had added, facing the lake.
“I often wondered about you, kid,” he mused. “Your father—he made you disappear?”
“Yeah,” was all I could get out. Memories of that summer, that perfect summer Sunny and I spent here, were overwhelming me.
“I should have done something.”
I shook my head, facing him. “There was nothing anyone could do, Gerry. My father was too powerful and determined to keep me away from Sunny or anything that made me happy.” I slouched back in my chair, staring at the water. “But he’s dead now, and his control is gone.”
Sunny and Cindy joined us, a tray of coffee and cookies sitting on the table. I grinned around a mouthful of the oatmeal raisin cookie. It was another memory come to life. “So good,” I murmured, reaching for another.
“We use Cindy’s recipe at the bakery,” Sunny informed me. “They are one of our biggest sellers.”
I grabbed a third, not at all embarrassed.
Cindy chuckled. “I see your appetite hasn’t changed.”
“Nope. I was denied all the things I loved for so long. Now, I have them anytime I want.” I met Sunny’s gaze with a subtle wink, causing pink to spread across her cheeks.
Gerry caught me and chuckled. “Nice to see the two of you together.”
I lifted Sunny’s hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “It feels nice. Really nice.”
We all laughed, and Gerry and Cindy caught me up on their life.
“About four years after you disappeared, we decided to close the camp,” Gerry mused. “We were getting on, kids didn’t want to be counselors anymore, and our numbers were dwindling.”
I nodded, already knowing what he was about to say.
“We put the land up for sale, with the stipulation we keep a small piece for our retirement.” He sighed. “It was a hard decision, but we knew it was our nest egg.”
He rested his arm on the chair. “Imagine my shock when we got an offer—a really good offer on the land—that allowed us to keep, in what was my opinion, the most valuable piece of the property. I was given a free lease that expires when both Cindy and I are gone.”
I took a sip of my coffee, not meeting his eyes.
“A further shock has been that the land has never been developed. A crew shows up twice a year, cuts back trees, makes sure it’s clean, even does the same work on my property, then leaves. No surveyors, no real estate people, no developers have ever been here.”
“Hmm,” I muttered. “Odd, I agree.”
No one would ever develop the land around them—I’d made sure of that. They had been good to me. Treated me well. It had been one of the first things I had bought when I put my plan into place. I was determined to look after them.
“It’s amazing,” Gerry mused. “Same thing seems to be happening in Mission Cove. Unexpected gifts of property. Houses being rebuilt and sold at a fraction of their value. Almost gifted, some say.”
Sunny looked between us, putting the pieces together.
Gerry rested his elbows on his knees. “What are you doing these days, Linc?"
I waved my hand. “This and that. Finance mostly.”
“Uh-huh. Any property investments?”
“I have my fingers in a lot of pies, Gerry,” I said smoothly.
“I bet you do,” he said with a smirk. “I bet you do.”
I let his remark pass.
Cindy and Sunny got up and took the tray inside. They were talking about recipes and a new cookie for the bakery for Sunny to try.