Blue Heaven (48 page)

Annie was still squeezing his hand. “Like Laura told you, Annie, I don’t care what you do with it as long as you benefit from it. You can sell it to developers, or divide it up, whatever you want to do. Jim had some good ideas on how to keep most of it intact. He was a smart man, and Laura is just as smart. You and your mom should listen to what she has to say.”

Annie flushed and rolled her eyes, saying, “Jeez.”

Monica moved further into the room and put her hands on Annie’s shoulders. “This is a lot for Annie to understand right now. I can’t believe it myself. You’ll likely want to change your mind when you get better,” she said, chuckling softly.

Jess reached up and brushed a strand of hair out of Annie’s face. She had tears in her eyes. She knew.

He felt suddenly exhausted and happy, as if he’d just had a huge meal in the middle of the day. He felt sleep reaching up and pulling him back to somewhere dark, shadowed, and peaceful, and when he opened his eyes, it was light again, and he was riding Chile, his legs firm and strong, the sun high, the sky cloudless, and the air smelled of pine and cattle.