"I have given this a lot of thought. There are people we can hire to ensure things run smoothly."
"Rebecca, I don't know how many other ways I can tell you that I'm not comfortable with the idea."
"I didn't expect you to be comfortable with the idea immediately. I'm just asking you to continue being open to hearing the details. Tomorrow I was hoping all three of us could talk through it at Mom and Dad's house."
"I have to get back to work," Payton concluded.
Convincing my sisters to get on board was proving itself to be a lot harder than I thought.
Payton
Sundays had become our new family day, which now included Emmie and Cole. We set up a volleyball net on the beach near my parents' cottage. It was fun watching Cole and Wyatt engaging the kids in a few rounds while the women sat on the deck to talk.
"Mom, do you think you could ever live somewhere else besides Pelican Beach?" I asked.
"I don't think I've ever considered it. Your father and I have lived in this town for so long I can't imagine living anywhere else."
"You're in a dreamy location. I would give anything to be right on the beach,” Rebecca said.
Mom nudged Rebecca with her elbow. "You didn't do too bad for yourself, Rebecca. Your home is lovely, and you're not that far away. Your only problem is you work so much you don't get to spend enough time enjoying it."
I wondered if what Mom was saying was sinking in for Rebecca. Even she recognized that Rebecca didn't have time to do anything besides focus on her career. How on earth would she be able to take care of a renovation in Savannah?
"Is there room for me to join you, or is this a ladies-only affair?" Cole joined us from his game of volleyball, and I gladly pulled out the chair next to me.
"I have a seat waiting right here for you. Who won the game?"
"Technically, Wyatt and I won, but we allowed the kids to have the final victory,” he said.
Emmie ran over and sat beside me.
"Emmie, guess what?" I said.
"What?"
"I was thinking we should have a special date for you, me, Maggie, and Aidan to hang out soon. How does that sound?"
"That would be awesome! Maybe we could go for milkshakes or go swimming or maybe both?"
"I like the way you think. Milkshakes, swimming, or both… hmm."
I turned to Cole.
"What do you think? Does that work for you?"
"It's your call. I'm just jealous I'm not invited,” he said.
Emmie took out her dad's old cell phone, which she carried around for fun.
"Payton, as soon as you name the date, I can put it on my calendar."
"Oh, wow, okay. How's next weekend?" I said.
"That works for me!"
She truly was the sweetest kid ever. I didn't know how I got to be so lucky to have Emmie and Cole in my life.
Dad slid the screen door aside and joined us outside. Abby followed behind him with a tray of snacks.
"Hi, Dad. How are you?" Rebecca said.
"I'm pretty good. I just had my mid-day nap. It doesn't get any better than this."
Dad positioned himself to take a better look at Emmie.
“Well, who's this fine young lady?" he said.
"Hi, Mr. William. It's me, Emmie. Don't you remember me?"
"I think so."
Dad looked at me to be sure, so I nodded in agreement.
"It's nice to see you, Miss Emmie,” he said. He mosied over to find a place to sit in the shade.
"Whose birthday are we celebrating today?"
"No birthday, Dad. It's just the family getting together to eat." Rebecca rearranged herself to sit closer to him.
"Hey, Dad, do you remember our great Uncle Samuel?" she said.
While they talked, Abby continued to set up the snacks and threw a dagger my way. I knew she didn't want to hear Rebecca bring up the property.
"Good old Sammy. I have to give him a call."
"He's no longer with us, Dad."
"He's gone?" he said.
"Yes, he passed away. But he has a home in Georgia that his daughters want to give us. I was wondering if you ever had a chance to visit his house? Or if you remember him saying anything about it?"
Mom perked up to listen to his response.
"Yes, I've been to his place. It's been many years, but if I can recall, it was a big place. I used to wonder why he had so much land but hardly anybody to share it with."
"Oh, so you do remember?" she said.
"Yes, I remember. I need to give Sammy a call." He repeated.
"Dad, Uncle Samuel is no longer with us, remember?"
He looked at Rebecca and fell silent.
"Your father is right, Rebecca. He always used to get on your great uncle's case about living on all that land by himself. I guess his daughters never had an interest after they grew up and moved out. His wife passed away several years earlier. Sometimes it's hard to leave a place where you have so many memories. It would be nice if whoever takes over the house can restore and maintain it's original character."
Cole rested his hand on my knee. "You didn't mention anything about inheriting property in Georgia."
Rebecca and Abby were waiting to see what I would say.
"It's not an inheritance. We're being gifted the property. Me and my sisters would have to sign the deed together. The reason why I didn't mention it is because I don't plan on getting involved."
I should've filled him in on the details later. I could see Rebecca positioning herself to get ready for round two of this daunting conversation.
"Cole. You're the perfect person to weigh in on this,” she said.
Abby cut her off. "Rebecca, don't start. Can't we just enjoy a family day without you imposing your agenda on us?"
"It's our agenda, and I think Cole could give us some wise advice, Abby."
Rebecca proceeded to share the details of the property with Cole. She covered everything from the square footage, the taxes, and even her business ideas. He patiently listened. I secretly hoped he would say something to put this silly idea to rest.
"So, what do you think, Cole?" she said.
"I hear the enthusiasm in your voice. However, I think it would be a tall order to take on something like this without actually being there to oversee things. Even if you lived in Savannah, the first thing I would caution you about is who you hire to do the renovation work. You want quality craftsmanship at a good price. Nobody wants to be ripped off. Now imagine trying to ensure that you're getting what you paid for from a distance? No bueno."
"But what if I were to make arrangements to check in on the project frequently?"
Cole shrugged his shoulders. "It's not impossible. But would I do it? No."
Abby interjected. "Thank you for talking some sense into her, Cole. Maybe now we can finally put this to rest,” she said.
"No, we can't. Where there's a will, there's a way. I respect your advice, but what I really hear you saying is to make this work somebody would need to be there to supervise, right?"
She turned to Cole for clarity.
"That's one major aspect. Of course, there are other things to consider. If you were just talking about flipping the house, that would be one thing. However, if you're bound to keeping it for a certain time, and you want to turn it into a business opportunity, that's a whole other ball game."
"I'd be willing to let go of the business ideas. At a minimum, we should acquire this property and keep it among us to sell in five years for a profit. If not, we're just throwing money away. The house has a zero balance on the mortgage. And it's worth well over a half a million in value. It's a no brainer."
Abby raised her voice. "You're not even taking into account how much the renovations would cost. Wait, here's another logical thought… have you even seen the place in person yet? No! It could have an oak tree growing right through the living room floors for all you know. I can just see it now. We all arrive to see the house for the first time, and
you look at us and say something simple like, 'I didn't know it had an oak tree growing through the floor.'"
"Abby, the kids can hear you." I tried to encourage Abby to calm down, but as usual, Rebecca had already pushed the wrong buttons.
"Mom, where did you put the contract? I want to read it over one more time,” Abby asked.
"It's in my stationery drawer in the kitchen."
Abby stormed off to get the paperwork while Rebecca rolled her eyes.
"I hope I didn't say the wrong thing. I just wanted to give you honest advice about how I would approach this, Rebecca. If you ask a contractor, they're going to tell you whatever you want to hear just so they can make money."
"Thanks, Cole. I know you're just trying to help. I'm taking what you said into serious account. I just think there are ways around it, and I wish my sisters would get on board."
Abby walked back out on the deck with the paperwork in hand.
"Here's what I think about this letter, the deed, and anything else associated with this house."
She ripped the papers in two. "Now, have I made myself clear?"
"Are you crazy?" Rebecca said.
"Crazy to listen to any more of this foolishness."
I held my head down and massaged my temples. I should've known this was leading nowhere good. It had been a while since Abby and Rebecca had a major disagreement. I just wished it didn't have to be a full-on performance in front of Cole and Emmie.
"Cole, how about you help me round up the kids so we can all prepare to wash up for dinner?"
"Sounds like a plan,” he said.
Thankfully the kids were caught up in a game and didn't appear to be paying much attention to Abby and Rebecca.
Rebecca took a deep breath. "Abby, I'm going to be the bigger person and ignore what you just did. Instead, I'd like to propose an idea that would make this nice and easy on all of us."
We waited for her to continue.
"I'll have a letter drawn up to present to Uncle Samuel's daughters. It will clearly state that the two of you are not able to accept their offer, but you're willing to turn the house over to me if they agree to make the necessary changes. The only thing I would need from the two of you are your signatures on the letter. Agreed?" she said.
"I agree. Just provide me with a copy of the letter, and I'll gladly sign,” I said.
We all turned and looked at Abby. I love my sisters, but the two of them were as stubborn as mules and tough like bulls.
Mom being the peacemaker, took Abby by the hand. "What do you say, dear?"
"I'll sign the letter if it means we can be done with the topic once and for all."
"Great. I'll have the letter ready by midweek and will take over from there,” Rebecca said.
Mom seemed relieved. "Oh, thank God. The last thing I ever wanted is for there to be any strife between you three,” she said.
I know they were still irritated with one another, but at least the whole thing was smoothed over for now. Rebecca is so independent and strong-willed. Always ready to take on the world and crush anything that gets in her way. At times I think that bothers Abby. If I know right, Rebecca was going to figure out a way to flip that house. Even if it meant doing it all by herself.
Cole
On Monday, I returned to Helen and William's house counting on Payton to be at the store. Helen and I made prior arrangements for us to talk privately with Will. It may seem a little old fashioned, but I planned on doing things the traditional way. Today I was going to ask them an important question that would impact the rest of my life with Payton.
"Cole, we've been waiting for you. Come on in."
Helen gave me a warm hug and always made me feel like family.
"Hi, Helen. How are you today?"
"I'm pretty good. Follow me, Will's in the living room sitting in his favorite recliner."
She announced my arrival to Will.
"There's my guy. Make yourself comfortable over here on the couch. You're just in time to catch the sports line up,” he said.
"William Matthews, Cole didn't come here to participate in your afternoon rituals. He wants to talk to us about something else."
She grabbed the remote and lowered the volume to a decibel that was more suitable for talking.
"I can't seem to peel him away from his daily routine no matter how hard I try. Every day it's the same. Wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, and then fall asleep while reading the newspaper. In the afternoon repeat the process, except he's already dressed and instead of the newspaper, it's sports. Deviating from the routine is completely out of the question." Helen laughed.
"Well, I won't take sides, but yesterday it seemed like Will did a fine job of deviating to spend time with the family."
"You're right, Cole. I'll give him that much. William has always been the kind of father that puts family first."
Will continued to sit in his chair and listen but wasn't as talkative. It's one of the things I started noticing first as his dementia started settling in. Surprisingly, I felt a little nervous and thought it would be best to get down to the reason for my visit.
"Speaking of the family, I thank you for having Emmie and me over yesterday. It's been nice to be apart of the Matthews family gatherings. I know Emmie would agree with me if she were here."
"It's our pleasure. We love you guys." She glanced over at her husband.
"Isn't that right, Will?"
He agreed. "Yes, dear."
"We love you too. Which leads me to why I'm here today."
We were interrupted by the sound of keys unlocking the front door. Payton came in with a few bags in hand. Helen and I hopped up quickly and tried to act natural.
Payton looked surprised.
"Cole, I thought that looked like your truck out front. What are you doing here?"
I tried to think fast, but Helen answered on my behalf.
"He came to help me with the kitchen sink,” she said.
"The sink? I just used the sink this morning before I left for work, and everything was fine. What's wrong with it?"
"I was cooking breakfast for your father, and I don't know if I got something stuck down in the disposal or what. I called Cole because I figured he could recommend someone. Being such a gentleman, he came over to take a look at it himself."
Payton hesitated.
"You left work to come over here and fix the sink?" she said.
"Yeah, I wasn't far from here. I figured since it was my company that installed your parents' entire kitchen, it was the least I could do."
"That's right, you did the renovations for the cottage, silly me. Mom, next time, call me. I could've lined up a plumber to come out in no time."
"It really wasn't a bother," I said.
Payton gave me a kiss and walked over to the counter to lay the bags down. Helen was using her best form of sign language to express that she didn't know Payton was coming home. We stopped mouthing back and forth to one another just in time before Payton turned around.
"Cole, if I would've known you were going to be here, I would've brought you lunch too. I can't stay long. I left Natalie at the store, and I have to get back."
Helen answered. "That's okay, dear. I was just about to make lunch for Cole as my way of thanking him for his help."
She urged me to play along by giving me a look.
"Cole, surely you have time to stay for a little lunch before you head back?"
Before I could answer good, Will yelled from the living room, "I thought he was here to talk about…"
Helen didn't let him finish. She spoke right over him.
"Will, it's time to eat your lunch so you can take your medicine, dear."
This was pure comedy at this point. It felt like the best-laid plans were slowly starting to unravel. If we could manage to pull this off without Payton figuring out why I was really there, it would be a miracle.
"Okay, well, I brought all of your favorites. There are a couple of chicken salad sandwiches wit
h a side of fruit and an assortment of cookies."
I loved the way Payton took care of everyone. There were a lot of qualities about her that reminded me of my late wife, Laura. Of course, Payton had her own unique way that drew me in and allowed me to fall in love.
"A woman who knows how to spoil her family. I like it,” I said.
"This was a nice surprise. Seeing you made my day."
We embraced briefly as she prepared to head back to work. I wanted to kiss her and hold her for a little while but thought it would be best to save it for when we were alone.
"Mom, Dad, Cole…love you. Enjoy your lunch." She blew a kiss goodbye and headed out the door.
"Love you too. Thanks for lunch, sweetheart,” Will responded.
As soon as Payton was out the door, I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Wow, that was a close call!" Helen said.
"Yes, but you handled it like a pro. I was desperately trying to come up with something, and you saved the day with the sink excuse."
"I've had my fair share of having to keep secrets in this family. With all the birthdays, holidays, surprise parties, you name it. If you don't know how to keep a secret with three kids, you'll quickly find yourself up the creek without a paddle."
"I'll bet. Well, before we go any further, I feel like I have to get this out before anything else crazy happens today."
Will joined us in the kitchen to prepare for lunch.
"As I started to mention on the phone, Payton is very special to me. I never thought in a million years that I would ever meet someone who would captivate my heart and win over my daughter's heart the way Payton has."
They stood still and listened intently to what I had to say.
"I find it to be rather amazing that the three of us began forming our own bond well before I knew Payton existed. From the beginning, I've always regarded the two of you as more than just clients, and I hope you feel the same way about me."
"You know we do." Helen placed her hands over her mouth in anticipation of what I was about to say.
Sunsets At Pelican Beach (Pelican Beach Book 2) Page 9
