Page 117 of Summer Tease
“We’ve gotta run,” I tell her, “but I’ll catch you up on everything else later, okay?”
“Okay. Take good care of my sister, Beau. Love you, Gem.”
We hang up and hop into Beau’s cart.
“You look far too happy for what we’re about to do,” I say as Beau parks the cop cart in front of the retirement center.
“We’re about to tell Grams she just got $30,000 richer,” he says. “What’s not to be happy about?”
“I love that you assume she’ll even accept the money,” I say as I step out. “She may chuck the check in the fire. She hates being a charity case. You know this.” Grams’s stubbornness and pride know no bounds. I love her so much, but if she lets that get in the way of this island-wide gesture, I will have a very hard time not being angry about it. You can’t complain about being mistreated for decades and then reject attempts to make amends. Unless you’re Virginia Sawyer, and you sort of thrive on drama.
“Maybe you’re right,” Beau says as we head for the front doors. “But, for the record, youaren’tright.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.”
I stop in front of the doors and face him. “And how much do you want to bet on that, Officer?”
“Well, I can’t place any bets in my official capacity,” he says, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, “but as a civilian...” He thinks for a second. “How about this? Whoever’s wrong plans and pays for our date for tonight?”
I put out my hand. “Done.”
He shakes it, then yanks me into him, looking down into my eyes with his perfect smile. “Better get planning, Gemma Girl.”
“I don’t think so, Beau Boy.” I go up on my tiptoes and kiss him, then we head inside. I hope he’s right, though.
We’re informed by Sandy that Grams just finished chair yoga and is in her room. When she opens the door to our knock, her eyes narrow at Beau, but she steps aside for us to come in.
“This had better not be you two coming to ask for my blessing,” she says. “Because I won’t give it.”
I shoot a look at Beau, who’s smiling like he can’t get enough of her sass. Thank heaven. If he didn’t have such a confident personality, he’d be crushed by her in a New York minute.
“That’s not why we’re here, Grams,” I say. “Beau has something to tell you.”
“Unpaid parking tickets?” she asks.
Beau chuckles and pulls out a chair for me, then himself. “Definitely, but that’s also not why we’re here.”
“Well? Spit it out.”
Beau goes on to calmly explain how the fundraiser came about, including Elaine Pruitt’s role in it, which makes Grams’s brows go up for a split second since she knows Elaine’s always been Team Palmer.
“Everyone wants to make it clear that both you and Gemma—and any Sawyer who cares to live in Sunset Harbor—are valued parts of this community. We know what happened in the past caused your family to leave; we hope this will allow you to remain here at Seaside Oasis until you and Gemma can sort things out with the house.”
My heart thuds nervously against my chest as Beau pulls thecheck from of his pocket and hands it to Grams. “We blew past our projected fundraising amount, and I’d like to present the full amount to you.”
Grams takes the check and adjusts the glasses on her nose, peering at it through the thick lenses. Her eyes take in the number, then flit immediately to Beau—the only indicator of how surprised she is. Her gaze moves to me, and I wait, breathless, for what comes next.
Grams shakes the check in the air. “It’s about time!”
My breath comes out in a gush, and my eyebrows shoot up. “What?”
“If we Sawyers took this island to court—which I’ve considered a number of times, mind you—this is a fraction of the damages we’d be awarded.”
I glance at Beau, who nods humbly, a little twinkle in his eye. “Very true, Grams.”
She shoots to her feet. “Whatdid you just call me?”
