Melanie burst onto the veranda, her fiancé, Tristen, in tow, the last couple to arrive as they said goodbye to the cottage before heading down to the tax office. Snacks and a pitcher of margaritas were set out, but nobody was diving into them.
“Mr. Valos from the municipality got arrested.”
The sisters and their men all whirled to gape at Melanie.
“He was taking money under the table.”
“No!” exclaimed Maya in disbelief.
“Of course he was,” Tristen said, slipping an arm around Melanie’s waist.
“Thank goodness. One less jerk to worry about in your life,” Evander said, cozying up behind Daphne to give her a kiss on the ear.
“You were worried about him?” she asked.
“Of course. He was part of the Aaron-Mistral mishap.”
“And Aaron Bloomwood is up on charges, too,” Melanie said.
“Mistral?” Daphne asked, and Evander’s grip tightened around her waist.
“Nope.” Melanie gave her a smile. “Although I heard through the grapevine that he’s officially no longer part of Rubicore.”
Connor raised his eyebrows at Evander, who slipped away from Daphne to stand with the other men.
“We have something to tell you all,” Evander said.
“We bought Baby Horseshoe Island,” Finian announced.
“What about your charity?” Hailey asked, her mouth hanging open. Finian had been supporting piles of charities back in his old neighborhood. How could he afford an island, when he barely fed himself half the time in order to make sure others in need got enough?
“I’m going to fly kids out to the camp to spend time in nature. What better way to make a difference in their lives? Daphne was telling me that time spent in nature reduces blood pressure, anxiety, depression, ADHD, and all sorts of other stuff.”
“The camp?” Melanie interrupted, hands clasped in front of her.
“I was talking to Polly Pollard, who’s on the camp board,” Tristen said, taking Melanie’s hands in his, “and she says they would be more than happy to reopen Camp Adaker on the island again.”
“I always liked Polly,” Maya said, pouring herself a margarita. She took a big sip and, wincing, gripped her forehead. “Ugh. Brain freeze.”
The sisters laughed, turning to see who was coming up the steps to join them.
“Simone!” They all got up to hug their friend, who had turned in her usual fashionista look for old cutoff jeans and a dinosaur T-shirt.
“What’s with the new look?”
“I was painting a few walls in my boutique.” She waved her checkbook in the air and the mood turned somber. “I brought money to save Trixie Hollow.”
Daphne checked her watch. “We have three hours until the tax office closes.”
She swallowed hard. She knew that she, for one, was short on the amount she needed to save the cottage from the tax sale. Turning down Environment Canada had felt like a relief, but it also meant she didn’t have a signing bonus to bring her to the amount she needed to cover the tax bill.
“Your money is no good here,” Hailey said crisply. “We made a deal among us.”
Melanie and Daphne shared a look. “Do you have enough?” Melanie whispered.
Daphne gave a minute shake of her head and Evander, at her side again, gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. He already knew she was short and wouldn’t accept a loan. How could she? She was a single mother starting a new eco-retreat venture with four billionaires. It wouldn’t be easy to pay him back.
But it had felt right, choosing Baby Horseshoe Island, even though it meant she might have to say goodbye to the cottage if destiny felt it was time to let the island go.
Trading one for the other.
Because the one thing she’d learned in her life was that you couldn’t have it all, and sometimes you had to make sacrifices to keep what was truly important.
Tears streaked down Daphne’s cheeks, and with one arm, Evander effortlessly pivoted her into his hold, cradling her.
“Please? Will you let me help?” he asked.
She shook her head. She wanted to nod, but he’d already done so much. Besides, she and her sisters had been clear when they made their pact last month. They had to do this on their own, because if they couldn’t do it now, how would they ever be able to keep doing it through all the years ahead? The cottage definitely wasn’t getting any younger, and its maintenance costs would go nowhere but up.
“How is my money no good?” Simone was saying. “You’ve let me use the place like I own it for years, but you won’t let me contribute to it? I say we take a vote.” Simone slapped her checkbook on the table and took a large gulp of Maya’s drink.
“I vote yes,” Melanie said, her back straight, her hand in the air. “All in favor?”
“We can’t change our minds. We made a deal,” Hailey said.
“Is that heritage claim stuff going to get us a tax break, Melanie?” Maya asked.
“We won’t hear back for a bit yet. But even if they say yes it won’t be an immediate tax break.”
Maya took a careful sip of her drink. “So getting a heritage-related tax break this year is out of the question.”
“Oh!” Melanie turned to the men. “You own Heritage Row now!” She wildly pointed across the water to where the old cottages stood.
Tristen nodded. “Yes. All of it.”
Melanie froze. “Are you going to—”
“Save Heritage Row? Don’t be ridiculous. Of course we are. My fiancée would have my head if I didn’t.” He grinned as she launched herself into his arms.
“Wait…back up a second,” Daphne said. “Rubicore really bought the Fredericksons’ cottage?”
“I told you they did,” Maya said, arms crossed.
“I thought you were speculating.”
Maya smiled modestly and shrugged. “I was.”
Connor explained, “Rubicore had just taken possession of their cottage, and seeing as we bought every stitch of land from them, it’s now ours. We own Heritage Row and Baby Horseshoe Island in its entirety. Even Camp Adaker. The island and everything on it has officially been saved.”
The sisters cheered, then slowly grew quiet.
“We’re going to lose Nymph Island if we don’t accept help from others,” Daphne said quietly, turning away from Evander’s broad chest and the aftershave she’d come to equate with love and security. “I vote yes to help. Simone is one of us. She’s a sister and we said sisters.” She whispered, “Sorry, Evander.”
He gave her a squeeze in reply.
Hailey blinked twice at Daphne’s response, then waited for Maya to vote.
“I don’t care one way or the other,” Maya stated.
Tigger came bouncing through. “I saw a chippie!” She crooked her finger at Evander, who dutifully lowered his head questioningly. The girl placed a noisy kiss on his cheek and then scuttled down the veranda steps. Evander, looking bashful and pleased, called out a warning about the rotten step.
“I know, Evander-dander!” Tigger called back.
“Help would be nice.” Maya elbowed Connor in the ribs. “My boss here just spent all of his money on an island and won’t give me the size of advance I surely deserve for finding him wonderful new venture capital clients, so I’m in. I’d like to be able to eat between now and my next paycheck.”
“I bought that island for you. And it wasn’t all my money,” Connor said darkly. “Plus, if you’d let me help with the taxes this could all be resolved in five seconds.”
“No,” Maya said. “Haven’t you been listening? We don’t want to get behind again. It’s do or die. Not beg and borrow.”
“So it’s settled?” Simone asked Hailey.
Hailey froze for a moment, before stepping forward and embracing their friend in a massive hug. “It’s settled,” she said. “Pay up.”
Laughing and wiping tears from her eyes, Hailey said, her voice shaking, “Okay, let’s see if we have enough to save this place.”
The men looked solemn as the women counted what they had between them.
“Are you sure we can’t help?” Tristen asked quietly.
Melanie held her breath for a long moment, then slowly shook her head.
“We’re four dollars short.” Maya laughed, sitting back in an old wicker chair, hands on her knees.
The men shared a look and dug into their pockets.
“No,” the sisters said at once.
“I’m sure I have change in the ashtray in my car,” Maya said.
“In the couch,” Daphne said.
“I have four dollars,” said a small voice. Daphne turned to see Tigger watching them quietly.
“Do you, Tigger?”
“Yeah. The fairies won’t mind if I take their decorations. It’s to save their island!” She dashed off and the sisters looked at each other.
Destiny.
You just never knew what she was going to pull out of her hat next.
* * *
Daphne stood beside her sisters, Simone, and Tigger in front of the municipal tax office.
“Shall we?” Maya asked.
Daphne turned back to where Evander was waiting, leaning against his truck. He smiled and nodded. He was at ease, an entirely different man than he’d been only days ago.
Love conquered the world. Saved the day and changed men.
Everything was going to be okay. Everything was working out.
For the first time, Daphne was really and truly happy. While her earlier happiness had never been an act, her old self felt like a sepia photo compared to where she was now. She was blessed to be a part of something bigger—a true, loving relationship with Evander. They were good for each other. Not just today, but tomorrow, and in the coming months and years. He was a keeper. Evander made her want to try harder. To be a better person and to make a bigger difference and she knew she could with him by her side.
Nate from Environment Canada had texted her on the drive over, asking her if she’d work as a consultant here and there. She’d said yes. She could still help change the world, but still have the freedom to be where she needed to be. For Tigger. For Evander. For herself.
She blew her boyfriend a kiss, waited for him to catch it with a shy smile, then turned to go inside with her sisters, who were holding the door for her.
They had the money. They’d done it with their talents and skills and a lot of good luck. Daphne looked up at the ceiling, silently thanking destiny for not only the island that kept the sisters together, but for the men who had come into their lives that summer.
Love.
Lots of love.
She caught up with Tigger, who hadn’t stopped smiling since Daphne had asked if she’d like to move in with Evander and Florence permanently. Tigger would be starting kindergarten after the long weekend, with a whole lot of love in her life thanks to Evander and his mother. Tigger would finally have that father figure in her life, as well as someone to build a tree house for her in the backyard. A man who loved her, doted on her and taught her all the things Daphne was afraid to, such as how to defend herself physically.
And as for Mistral, she agreed with Evander. He had to man up. A lot. She’d give him a chance when he was ready, but she wasn’t going to pin her hopes on him as she had for the past six years. She had someone else in mind when it came to dreaming about her and Tigger’s future.
The sisters stepped up to the counter along with Simone and Tigger. The five adults put checks in front of the clerk as Tigger carefully laid out her coins, one by one, counting softly under her breath.
“This is for Nymph Island,” Daphne said, speaking for all of them.
It was time she stopped acting like the baby in the family, because in many ways she was the most grown-up, the only mother in the group. Well, as far as she knew. Her sisters had each spent a lot of time on the island over the summer and, as Daphne knew, destiny had a way of spreading her love by adding new members to the Summer family.
~ The End ~
Thank you for reading the Summer Sisters Tame the Billionaires. Do you want more Summer Sisters books? Let me know by leaving a review of this book online.
XO,
Jean