Page 14 of Sunset Tides
Within minutes, money started pouring in, along with words of support and encouragement.
Rob didn’t have a chance.
By Monday, they crossed half a million dollars raised. People were going crazy for the curated Orcas Island experiences, and Valerie’s promotion had launched them into the public eye.
Lucy couldn’t believe it. First, she was happy, but that quickly grew to paranoia that someone would hack into her computer and steal all the money. After one sleepless night, she asked Marty for his help in making the account secure.
He walked her through setting strong passwords and gave her a stern lecture about not clicking on links she received in emails.
“You know what?” he finally said. “Just let me monitor your email for now. I don’t mind, and I don’t want you making any mistakes in your manic state.”
Lucy laughed – or really, cackled, which only proved his point. She felt a little mad, but she liked that feeling. “Thanks, Marty.” She paused. “You know, I don’t care what people say about you. I like that you’re a nerd.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Thanks?”
Lucy had been keeping Fiona and the rest of the farm staff up to date on how the fundraising was going, and once they cracked the half a million mark, she came to Fiona with the plan.
“This is what you need to do,” she said, storming into the trailer Monday morning. “Talk to your guy at Carriageway and convince him that no one is going to show up for a farm auction on a distant island. Make up whatever you need to – say that no one will want these farm supplies until the fall, because it’s not the right time to plant apples, or something.”
Fiona made a face. “They don’t need to plant apples right away to – ”
“Yes buttheydon’t know that. Just make it convincing. Then tell them how much money I’ve raised, and tell them that I’ll be at the auction to buy everything anyway.”
Fiona bit her lip. “What if you can’t get everything? What if someone else outbids you and the farm is still split up?”
“I haven’t gotten there yet, but we’ll figure something out.”
“I don’t know, Lucy.” Fiona sunk into her desk. “I’ve been talking to Rob, and he thinks – ”
“Do not talk to Rob! He’s the enemy!” Lucy stopped and cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.”
Fiona was unfazed. She only laughed; her cheer had been coming back more and more these days. “He’s not so bad, you know. He’s been explaining things to me.”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “Really? Did he explain how he’s going to make money off the farm?”
“Sort of. I think I get it.”
She couldn’t let Rob get to Fiona. “No, listen to me. We have the entire county behind us. People are rooting for us! They want the farm to stay. We’ll beat this bankruptcy, okay?”
Fiona took a deep breath and smiled. “Okay.”
“So you’ll talk to Carriageway?”
“Sure,” she said with a shrug. “I’ll do my best.”
Lucy stood and leaned forward. “Maybe I should talk to them, too?”
Fiona’s “no” came a little too quickly. Lucy frowned.
Fiona rushed to speak again. “Leave the farm talk to me, okay?”
Fair enough. “Okay, fine. But let me know what they say.”
Chapter Eight
The migraine had only been the start of Claire’s problems. It ruined the weekend and her plans with Chip, much to Chip’s disappointment. He tried to hide it, but Clairecouldtell he was down about having to do the pairing tasting on his own.
He didn’t stay down long, though, and planned a romantic dinner for two on the mainland the following Friday. Claire was excited for it, but at work on Monday, she started feeling off again.
