Page 55 of Spotted at Lighthouse Bay
“Why would they call you?” Sheila asked. “The contract was under Lawrence.”
She scowled. “I didn’t come here for a hundred questions. I came here to say goodbye.”
“What about your money?” Addy asked. “Did they mention that?”
“No, but I know you’re working on it,” Marilyn said, picking a piece of fuzz off her coat. “For now, it’d be nice to settle in. It’s too loud here and I hate being away from Lawrence.”
The poor old sweet man she’d abandoned? Sheila had to clench her teeth to keep her mouth shut.
“I’m happy for you,” Addy said slowly, “but it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Maybe I should talk to Flex Knock.”
“I don’t want you messing this up for us,” Marilyn snapped. “I’ll throw a housewarming party in a month or so and you’ll be invited. All right?”
A housewarming party? Sheila and Rick met eyes. They were thinking the same thing. There was no way Addy was going to be going to a housewarming party, not right under the noses of the guys who wanted to hurt her.
Of course, she would insist it was fine.
“Well, best of luck, Mom,” Addy said. She gave her another hug.
Sheila got up and gave her one too. “Talk to you later.”
“Goodbye, girls! Goodbye, silly little island! I hope I never see you again!”
Island life wasn’t for everyone. Sheila was thankful for that.
Once she disappeared, Rick took a seat on the lounge chair.
“Seems suspect,” he said. “That suddenly they’re letting her move back into the house.”
“Yeah…” Addy said, chewing on the cap of her pen. Her eyes were focused in the distance.
“I think your mom is right, though,” he continued. “We need to let it go.”
She snapped her eyes to him. “What about the money she lost?”
“That money is long gone,” Sheila said. “They were probably trying to scare you off, and now they’re trying to placate Mom, hoping it’ll go away.”
Addy frowned. “Maybe.”
Sheila shot Rick a look. He was watching Addy with heavy eyes, his lips hard and set. He knew she wasn’t going to give it up.
Sheila was more than happy to, though. Their mom had gotten scammed, and that was a real shame, but there was nothing to be done. She had a place to live. She had a nice boyfriend. What more could she want from life?
The real excitement, and the newcomer she’d been waiting for, was about to arrive.
Twenty-one
Whatever the reason Flex Knock had for letting Marilyn and Lawrence back into that house, Rick didn’t care. It was a stroke of good luck, and none of them should question it. IronClad Elite was giving him the runaround about getting more resources for Addy, so the further he could get her away from this whole thing, the better.
Naturally, Addy disagreed. The night after Marilyn gave them the good news, she emerged from her bedroom dressed in pajamas and walked into his room, quiet as shadow.
Rick sat on the bed, looking at the new comments from townspeople keeping an eye out for Julian and Sebastian. No one had seen them. He sighed. How had they managed to disappear? Andwhy?
“Is everything okay?” Addy asked.
He jumped. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“I know.” She grinned. “All this time I thought you had super hearing.”
