Page 73 of Patio Lanterns

Aidan exhaled. “Weird.”

“You think?” Robin tossed the pages onto the table. “Doesn’t that seem too coincidental to actually be a coincidence?”

“But I thought Polaris North was only buying prime locations on vacant land,” he told her. “No one told me they were buying up existing properties.”

“My guess? They’re targeting smaller, older cottages to make way for the sprawling estates they want you to build for overrated influencers and celebutants.”

“Well,” he said, crinkling his brow. “When you put it that way…”

“Aidan, don’t you see that if Polaris North mows down all the family cottages that make Lake Whippoorwill special, it loses its rustic charm?”

“Hey, I’m as much for rustic charm as the next guy, Robbie. But celebrities don’t appreciate the same things that we do,” he told her. “They want secluded waterfront mansions they can use to retreat from the public eye, but they also want all the high-end amenities their lifestyle affords them—the boathouses filled with toys, the spacious grounds, the stunning views. They don’t want neighbours spying on their every move, and they sure as hell don’t need older cottages driving down resale values.”

She shook her head in disbelief. Aidan loved Lake Whippoorwill. Deep down, he had to know that all the years they spent there together were responsible, at least partly, for making him who he was today.

It dawned on Robin that she could say the same.

Who would she be, she wondered, if her parents hadn’t brought her and her sisters up to the lake? The experiences they’d shared, good and bad, had shaped Robin’s life. They’d sparked her sense of adventure, and in many ways, nurtured her fearlessness, having learned the value of taking risks—even ones that didn’t pay off. They’d opened her eyes, her mind, her heart. She may have complained and whined too much about it, but being at the lake always had a way of settling her soul. The indelible memories, the lifelong friendships. Each and every one was irreplaceable. And if they were all to be suddenly erased…

She blinked, snapping her back to the present. “Are you telling me that you’re actually okay with this?”

“Robbie, come on. It’s called progress,” he said. “I’m sure no one’s being forced out of their cottage. Eighteen and a half percent over market value sounds like a pretty decent deal.”

“Oh my God, Aidan, you’ve been drinking the Kool-Aid. Mom was sick when she received that letter. How do we know that Polaris North didn’t know that? That they haven’t been preying on cottage owners like her who might be in dire straits and eager to jump at the first offer that comes their way?”

Aidan pinched the bridge of his nose. “I refuse to believe that could be true. But I promise, I’m going to ask those questions and find out what’s really going on.”

She rose to her feet. “I—I’d like you to take me home now, please.”

“Robbie, please, I’m begging you, don’t say anything to Lark or Dove. Give me at least twenty-four hours to get to the bottom of this, okay?”

“Mom’s celebration of life is tomorrow,” she reminded him. “The last thing I’m going to do is say anything to spoil it. I hope you’ll remember that too.”

“Of course. I know how much it means,” he said.

They walked together to the front door and Aidan grabbed his truck keys when he stopped in the vestibule. “Look, I really don’t want us to end the evening this way.”

“I don’t either,” she said sadly.

“Would it be okay to ask you for a hug?”

Robin nodded. “Anytime.”

Aidan wrapped his arms around her, and they hugged tight. Damn, he was a good hugger, she thought, as he held her with just the right amount of pressure and warmth and heart. In every way, a good, long heart-to-heart hug with Aidan was much better than a kiss, and she felt a comforting connection, a sense of calm, a special bond. It was not the hug of a coldhearted real estate developer.

“We’re gonna figure this out, Robbie,” he told her.

“I sure hope so,” she whispered into his shoulder.

SLAM!

They both jumped, startled by the sudden shockwave. It was like a gust of wind had nearly torn the door off its hinges and forcefully blasted it shut.

Robin gasped. “What was hell was that?”

A motor roared fiercely, and tires spun on the gravel. Aidan rushed outside to investigate as Robin followed closely behind.

Whoever had just been there, they were now nothing but a pair of red taillights in the distance disappearing inside a cloud of dust.

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