Sunshine Beach (24 page)

“We have just about five hundred thousand dollars right now. What can we afford to do with that?” Nikki asked, pretty certain she didn't really want to hear the answer.

“Well,” Avery said. “Enrico has offered to be a sponsor, but his workmen will have to be paid, and even at cost the materials are expensive. But basically I think we can replace all the support beams, raise the ceilings, and finish the roofs on all the structures and complete the rooftop deck on the main building.”

“That's it?” Kyra asked.

“Well, if we can get Hardin Morgan's pool people on board, we can probably afford to resurface the pool. And I'm pretty sure we can redo the pool deck and all the walkways, which could include the new patios for the cottages if Chase will loan us his crew.”

“But that's such a small part of what has to be done,” Maddie said. “I mean, there's still windows and doors and plumbing and electrical and . . .” Her voice trailed off.

Avery nodded glumly as she turned to Nikki. “Do you think Bitsy would put up some more money?”

The “no” stuck in Nikki's throat. She cleared it. “I can ask. She really enjoyed the concert and meeting Will, but I
don't see it. Pathetic as we feel, I don't think
Do Over
qualifies as a charitable contribution. Which is much more Bitsy's thing.”

“What have you found out about the crowdfunding options?” Avery asked.

Nikki sat up carefully. Her head throbbed and her throat was as dry as the Sahara. “I've done some cursory searches on the Internet. Kickstarter looks like the best match for us, but we still need two million dollars. Since you have to wait until all the money is raised before you receive the funds, that leaves us in a really precarious position.”

Once again they stared at each other. No one ate or drank. Even Maddie, their resident “glass is half full” representative, had nothing positive or pithy to offer. The Sunshine Hotel and
Do Over
seemed to be trickling through their fingers like the sand in an hourglass.

“Let me take another look and follow up with the companies Ray and I have already reached out to.”

“Are you sure you're up to it?” Maddie asked quietly.

“Of course I'm up to it,” Nikki lied, even though all she really wanted was to climb into bed, curl up like a baby, and sleep for the next decade or so. Which would be just about how long it would take to forget about her brother's threats, the unlikelihood of raising enough money to save
Do Over
, and the fact that she'd pushed away the one person in the world she wanted to curl up next to.

Bella Flora was big but not, as far as Maddie could see, big enough to absorb the number of egos and emotions currently living inside her. With even the roofing, which was almost all they could afford, on hold until Enrico and his crew completed another job, there was nothing for them to do until they could raise more money. Which meant there were way too many people with far too much time—and stress—on their hands for comfort. Tempers had grown short and squabbles were more frequent.

Avery had taken to alternately pacing and scribbling with occasional indecipherable muttering. Nikki spent her days dialing for dollars and flinching whenever Joe Giraldi's name came up. It was clear she was operating on far fewer cylinders than usual. Like a high-performance vehicle running on regular gas rather than premium, she appeared in desperate need of a tune-up. Kyra and Troy recorded their collective misery, the largely abandoned hotel, and each other. As their sparring and jabbing grew nastier, even Maddie began to question just how full their collective glass really was.

The only occupants of Bella Flora who seemed oblivious
to the seriousness of the problems they faced were Dustin and Steve. Who'd eaten every morsel of food on his plate, drunk half the bottle of wine she'd opened, and devoured his dessert even more eagerly than his grandson.

“Is there more ice cream?” He looked at her expectantly.

“Yes.” She turned to the sink and actually stuck her hands in the soapy dishwater so that she would not be tempted to get it for him, serve it to him, or dump it in his lap.
He is not my responsibility. He's a grown man able to take care of himself.

“It's in the freezer, Dad,” Kyra said through what Maddie could tell were gritted teeth. “And maybe you could bring the carton to the table in case anyone else wants more.”

“Oh. Right.” She heard a chair scrape back and busied herself loading the dishwasher, but heat rose to her cheeks as she thought of how completely she'd catered to him in the long years of their marriage. How even now her first reflex was to jump before he had a chance to say how high.

Small arms wrapped around her thighs and Dustin's small head rested against her hip. She shut off the water and turned to lift him up. “Go night night, Geema?”

“Absolutely.” She buried her face in his curls and breathed him in, the most soothing scent in the world.

“I can take him up, Mom,” Kyra offered.

“I'll do it. Tonight we're going to read
Penguin on Vacation
.”

“Ackasun,” Dustin echoed, but his eyes were already getting sleepy.

She took her time reading and then tucking Dustin in. Rituals were important and not just for Dustin. She could use all the soothing she could get before she had to join the others to watch the third episode of
Do Over:
Keys Edition
. Another half hour of public humiliation packed with unflattering shots, her stammering fascination with William Hightower, and Deirdre once again in the flesh, so alive and determined to win back Avery. When all of them knew just how the season, and Deirdre's life, would end.

“Is he asleep?” Kyra asked, tapping the open seat on the sofa beside her.

“Before I even got him into bed.”

Kyra smiled. “Thank God he's such a great sleeper.”

“He's a great everything. You're doing a fabulous job with him.”

“I don't feel like I'm doing anything. I think it's living in the middle of all these people who care about him. I guess this is our village.” She made a face at Troy's back. “Although there are a few residents I wouldn't mind asking to move. I'd even pack his bag for him.”

Maddie was careful not to add “me, too” or look pointedly at Steve. “So.”

“So. I made you this.” Kyra handed her a piña colada. “I think we could all use some form of fortification for tonight's episode. It's mostly that first night at the Lorelei.”

Maddie did her best to hold back a groan. Last week's episode had spotlighted the tension between Avery and Deirdre, the discomfort—at least on Avery's part—with which they collaborated. It had also shown Maddie at her stammering worst intercut with far too many close-ups that revealed the adoration in her eyes as Will had so memorably shared a PB&J “handwitch” with Dustin, a moment that had begun to let her see Will in a more human, less rock god, light.

“This may only be a one- or two-drink episode,” Kyra said. “But there's a lot of Deirdre. And the, um, altercation at the Lorelei with those nasty fans.”

Maddie drew in a deep breath, settled on the sofa next to Kyra, and raised the glass to her lips. After a brief and still-embarrassing recap of the previous week's episode that included her openmouthed gaping/stammering/beached-fish impression, the opening credits rolled. The episode began with shots of them climbing into the Nautilimo, which resembled a floating pink Cadillac, leaving Troy and his audio guy in a spray of water. Somehow the Lifetime crew had gotten to the
Lorelei ahead of them and captured everything from their arrival in the Nautilimo to the nasty fan couple who'd tried to force a drink on Will. The last shot was a freeze-frame of Maddie as the couple yanked their camera out of her hands. Steve's bark of laughter was loud and automatic.

Good God
, Maddie thought.

“Great job, Troy,” Avery bit out.

“Yeah, stellar,” Nikki added, hoisting herself out of her chair.

“I don't understand how you can live with yourself,” Kyra said. “Especially here.” Kyra was no longer the only one glaring at Troy. If there'd been a rope and ladder handy, he'd already be swinging from the reclinata palm in the backyard. Maddie wouldn't have lifted a finger to cut him down.

Steve was chuckling and shaking his head. “That moment when the flash went off by accident in your hand, Mad? Priceless!”

“Dad!”

“What?”

“It appears the time has come to say good night.” Troy stood and offered a slight bow.

“Good-bye would be even better.” Kyra glowered.

With a wince, but no comment, Troy headed to the door. Still chuckling, Steve followed him.

“God, that sucked,” Nikki said. “Big-time.”

Maddie nodded. “It did.” Whatever serotonin had seeped into Maddie's system while she'd put Dustin to bed had evaporated shortly after the opening credits.

“Yeah.” Tears shimmered in Avery's eyes. “I can't stand watching Deirdre so alive when I know what's coming. And I can't stand seeing how I treated her.”

“I know.” Maddie put an arm around Avery's shoulders and pulled her close. “But you had good reason and she knew it. It doesn't matter how long it took you to reconcile, only that you did.”

“So much time got wasted.” Avery's words were a miserable whisper.

“Yeah.” For a long moment they leaned against each other.

“I'm done,” Nikki said. “See you guys in the morning.”

Avery straightened. “I'm right behind you.”

“I'm way too agitated to even try to go to sleep.” Kyra looked at her phone. “It's not even nine thirty. I think I'm going to get some air.”

“I'll come with you.” Maddie couldn't imagine trying to fall asleep, either. Stray bits and pieces of the episode zoomed through her brain like asteroids hurtling toward earth. “Will you guys keep an ear out for Dustin?”

They slipped on flip-flops and walked outside into the warm summer twilight. The breeze was gentle and salt tinged. The palm fronds stirred lazily. The Gulf breathed in and out, exhaling small waves onto the sand and inhaling them back again. Without discussion they took the sandy path toward the jetty and walked out onto the fishing pier.

“We need control over the show and our lives,” Kyra said tightly. “I can't stand what Troy and the network have done to our show and us.”

“I agree, honey. We all do. But we're completely on hold until we have enough money. And even if we can raise it, we have no guarantee we could reach a real audience with whatever we shot.”

“There's got to be a way.”

“I know.” If only she had some idea of how they could achieve this.

They watched the moon rise and the stars begin to come out, their images reflected on the water. Dark shapes glided beneath the surface and she heard the soft exhalation of air that signaled a dolphin nearby. A sound that Will had once pointed out to her as they'd floated quietly out off one of his favorite flats.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out. As if summoned by her thoughts, Will's face filled her screen.

“Go ahead,” Kyra said. “I'm going to walk a little way down the sidewalk.” She nodded up past the dunes and swaying sea oats to the first spill of streetlight.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Maddie-fan.” She felt a slight shiver of pleasure at the rich timbre of his voice. “You okay?”

“I'm feeling better now,” she said. “I'm pretty sure public humiliation isn't fatal.”

“No, it's not,” he agreed. “Or I would have been dead long ago.”

There was music in the background. The tinkle of glassware. Voices. “Hey, Will, hurry up!” The voice was female and impatient.

“Where are you?” She was careful not to ask about the woman who wanted him to hurry up.
Hurry up and what?

“The Lorelei. We came out to play a set but we took a break to watch the show. Imagine everyone's surprise when we realized how much of it took place right here. Everyone cheered when you stepped up to block the camera and tried to help protect me from that couple.”

“I think it was Hudson and the guys who sent them on their way,” she replied.

“But you were fierce, Maddie. Like a lioness protecting a cub.”

She blushed with pleasure. “Well, they had no right to demand things like that.”

Voices rose in the background. More than one of them was female. She clamped her mouth shut so she wouldn't ask whom he was with. But that was all it took for the doubts to surface and for her nasty subconscious to demand to know just what Maddie had expected.

“When do you think you can get down to visit?” Will asked.

“I don't know. We're on an enforced hiatus. We've got to raise more money before we can do anything else on the
property. But I'm not sure I should leave. It's a kind of ‘all hands on deck' time.” She missed him. Missed how she felt when she was with him. “What's going on with you?”

There was more laughter. She heard him cover the mouthpiece with one hand and immediately imagined some woman brushing up against him, trying to convince him to get off the phone and pay attention to her.
Stop it.
For all you know he's just ordering another Coke or a hamburger or something.

“Things are good. Just busier than I expected. The label wants us to do a mini tour of small venues. Apparently nostalgia is big right now. And I guess I'm old enough to be nostalgic as hell. I think there was a theater in Tampa on the list.”

“That would be great. Maybe you could stay on a few days or something.” Why was she afraid to come out and invite him?

“I'd like that, Maddie-fan. Let me check the schedule.”

“Come on, Will!” It was the same voice. Up close and personal.

She pushed herself off the dock and began to make her way to Kyra.
No.
Have a little faith. Will wouldn't have called you if he was with some other woman.

Ha!
her subconscious countered.
You know how that works. He doesn't have to be with them for them to want to be with him.

Don't start assuming things
.

All right
, her subconscious shot back when Will told her he had to go.
I won't if you won't
. This was followed by a derisive snort of laughter. Apparently her subconscious not only had an attitude; it had a nasty sense of humor.