Page 19 of Secret Baby for Mr. Grump

My father shook his head. “We’ve tried everything. Short of another bank loan, there is nothing else that can be done.”

“How long do we have with the place?” I asked, trying to see if I could maybe figure out something in that length of time that would allow us to keep the place.

But my dad knew what I was thinking, and he gave me a sad look as he crushed my hopes. “It’s already been bought.”

“What? You didn’t mention you put it on the market yet.”

“I had to. It was the only way to get an extension from the bank. I told Larry to hold off on selling it, but he said they got a buyer yesterday, and they couldn’t refuse the offer.” My father’s face looked so sorrowful that I felt bad for lashing out at him.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” I muttered then. “I didn’t mean it like that. I know this is hard for you.”

“Yes. And I understand this is hard for you too. Which is why I called this meeting today.” He took a deep breath. “We’re meeting the new buyer here in a few minutes. He wanted to see the place and look at the potential. If you could show him around, Allie, I’d appreciate it.”

I nodded even though I felt some misplaced animosity toward this stranger that I’d never met.

“Show him what this resort is,” my dad said. “And try to convince him to keep it as the town resort. We can compete with the Holiday Inn, I know it. The place is just a fixer-upper, is all. If you can’t convince him, then just know that we tried our best. But I hope you’ll continue working for him to make his transition easier.”

“When is he coming?” I asked.

My father checked his watch.

“He should be here….” Just then, we heard heavy footsteps leading up the stairs. “That should be him right now.”

We all waited, watching the doorway in anticipation of the stranger who was taking away our family resort.

But when he finally walked through the door, I felt my jaw drop to the ground.

Marcus walked into the room confidently, his face squeezed in its trademark scowl. His eyes ran over everyone in the room until they landed on me. And then he went right back around.

“You!” my brother gasped, expressing the stunned shock we were all feeling. “You’re the new owner.”

“Impossible.” My father shot up to his feet, agitation bouncing off every line in his body. He pointed a finger at Marcus. “Absolutely not! I didn’t sell this place to you. I know I didn’t.”

“Calm down, Abe,” my mother admonished. “Your blood pressure….”

“Screw my blood pressure. I know I didn’t sell it to this….”

Murderer.I knew that was what went through his mind even though he didn’t come out and say it.

Marcus’ expression didn’t show any type of reaction to the insult. It was like he barely heard it.

This was going to be a disaster.

EIGHT

MARCUS

I could see the unbridled resentment emanating from everyone in the room, and frankly, I didn’t give a damn.

I was already used to people hating me, and the truth was that no one’s opinion of me mattered anymore.

No one but her.

Allie’s face was alive with surprise. She was gaping at me, still shocked by my presence, even as she held her father’s arm, trying to calm him down. The old man was practically steaming at the ears, furious at the thought that he’d possibly been had.

I had to admit it was amusing and a little satisfying to see the entire family up in arms.

Unfortunately for them, everything was already on the dotted line, and there was nothing they could do about it at this point, even if they did have several million dollars lying around.

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