Chapter Twelve #2
Chad couldn’t argue with that. He and Linc headed into the woods toward Kash’s fort. He was surprised when he spotted it in the distance and it looked like it was still standing.
“Damn, the kid did a good job rebuilding it,” Lincoln said.
There was some damage from the wind, and the back wall would need reinforcing, but it was still usable.
Getting to his knees to look inside, Chad saw that Kash had put his books and, of course, the precious telescope in one of the large plastic bins, and had then covered it with sticks to try to protect it.
As far as he could see, everything was intact.
He backed out of the doorway and let his brother look inside.
When he stood, Lincoln whistled. “It’s solid. Nice shelves, decent floor ... kid’s pretty smart. Smarter than we were when we built this place.”
“We were more interested in using sticks as swords and playing war with each other than having a place to sit and read a book,” Chad said with a laugh.
“True. Think the kid has any interest in engines? It would be kind of fun to have a youngster around to teach, like dad taught us when we were kids.”
Chad was surprised. “No clue. But I’m sure Victor won’t like that at all.”
Lincoln smiled. It was more of a smirk than a genuine smile. “That’s the point.”
He chuckled. “I like it.”
“Come on. Let’s get back to the house. Knox and Zach should be back soon. I want to check on Mom before we start working on the cabin.”
They walked back through the trees to the main house. Victor’s Outback was nowhere to be seen, and Chad was relieved he wouldn’t have to see the man again. At least today. He and Linc walked into the house, and he called out for his mom.
“We’re in here!” she said in return.
Walking into the living area, Chad saw his mom and Britt on the couch, drinking coffee and looking calm and composed. Whatever Victor had wanted couldn’t have been that upsetting, since neither woman looked concerned.
“What’d Victor want?” Lincoln asked, not beating around the bush.
“He said he was concerned about damage we might’ve had from the storm and wanted to check on us,” his mom said.
“And how often has he ‘checked on us’ in the past when we’ve had storms?” Chad couldn’t help but ask.
“Well, never. But that was ... before. When your dad was still alive.”
Those words still had the ability to make Chad’s heart hurt. He could only imagine what his mom felt every time she had to say them.
“He also wanted to know if we had guests who were scheduled to stay in the cabin that was damaged, and when Evelyn said yes, he offered to let them stay at his rental instead,” Britt added.
Chad was honestly shocked. “He did?”
“Yes. It was a nice thing to do.”
It kind of was—but it was also Victor trying to take advantage of a shitty situation by stealing their business. Victor Rogers definitely didn’t do anything out of the goodness of his heart.
“Of course I said no, because anything that man wants comes with strings. Big, fat, hairy ones,” his mom said, with a huge smile on her face.
Chad was relieved his mom had seen through their neighbor’s “nice” offer to help.
“And after she politely declined his offer, he turned nasty and told her she was an idiot. Said if she turned renters away, they’d stop coming, and then he questioned your mom’s ability to keep Lobster Cove going.
Said Austin was the businessman, not her, and he insisted that ultimately, he wouldn’t need her to sell to him.
He could just buy the property after she went bankrupt. ”
Chad’s mouth fell open.
“What the fuck?” Lincoln exclaimed.
“Language, Lincoln,” their mom admonished, then calmly took a sip of her coffee.
“Why aren’t you spitting fire?” Chad asked.
“Britt asked the same question. And the answer is because Victor Rogers is a pathetic, angry man. But he wasn’t always that way.
Before his wife died, he was tolerable. It wasn’t until she passed, and he had to figure out how to raise a daughter on his own while keeping his business going, that he turned bitter and ornery. ”
Ornery. What a joke. The man was an ass.
“Heard a story about you pointing Dad’s shotgun at him,” Chad blurted. “Any truth to that?”
His mom smiled into her cup, then she looked up at him and Lincoln and shrugged.
“That was blown out of proportion. He came over here a few days after your father passed and got pushier than normal, wouldn’t take no for an answer when I told him I wasn’t interested in selling Lobster Cove, to him or anyone else.
Since he refused to leave until I discussed selling, I decided to clean up a little.
I merely picked up Austin’s shotgun and moved it from behind the front door so I could sweep.
I wasn’t pointing anything at anyone. It’s not my fault if Victor thought I was threatening him. ”
Chad didn’t want to, but he couldn’t stop the snort of laughter that escaped.
“Mom. You didn’t,” Lincoln groaned.
“Didn’t what? All I was doing was moving the gun so I could sweep.”
Chad wasn’t surprised at all to hear that Victor had tried to bully their mom into selling Lobster Cove. The man had actually approached her when she was at her most vulnerable—at their father’s funeral. He had no shame.
The value in Lobster Cove was the land itself, not necessarily the businesses they were running.
Property values had skyrocketed in Maine in the last couple of decades, especially coastal property.
His parents had bought the place fifty years ago for practically nothing. Today, it was worth millions.
But Chad could no sooner see his mom selling Lobster Cove than he could see her falling in love with another man and getting remarried. She and Austin Young were soulmates, and nothing and no one would ever replace the love she’d had with her husband—or the home they’d created together.
Grateful all over again for making the decision to move home, Chad mentally vowed that his mom wouldn’t have to so much as look at Victor Rogers from now on. The man could deal with him or one of his brothers going forward. And he told her as much.
But their mom wasn’t having it.
“I love you both, and Knox and Zach too, more than you’ll ever know, but I don’t need you to run interference with Victor for me. I’ve lived next to the man for years, and I can deal with him. Did you know his daughter moved back home? And she has a young son too.”
“We know, Mom,” Chad said. “But I don’t think—”
“No,” she said firmly.
“You don’t even know what I was going to say,” he protested.
“Yes, I do. You were going to tell me that I’m elderly and fragile and I shouldn’t have to deal with the pressure from Victor to sell.
Well, forget that. I am elderly, yes, but I’m perfectly healthy, and I plan on being around for at least thirty more years, so I can see my grandchildren grow up and enjoy Lobster Cove as much as their fathers did when they were kids. ”
Chad shared a look with his brother, and they both rolled their eyes. Their mom wanted grandchildren more than anything, but since none of them had found the right woman, someone they wanted to spend the rest of their lives with, she was still waiting.
But now ... he looked at Britt. She was sitting next to his mom, looking at her with concern in her expression. He remembered how great she’d been with Kash. How she hadn’t hesitated to get on her knees in the dirt and compliment him on his fort. She’d be a wonderful mom.
And suddenly, all he could envision was Britt lying in their bed with an infant on her chest, smiling up at him.
Shaking his head, focusing back on his mother, Chad looked to Lincoln for help.
“We’ll back off, but if he keeps pressuring you, we’re going to step in,” Lincoln said firmly.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” Lincoln questioned.
“Uh-huh. To be honest, I feel sorry for the man. He’s got a beautiful piece of land of his own over there, and yet all he can think about is getting his hands on Lobster Cove. And for what? If he put half that energy toward his own place, he wouldn’t be so consumed with what’s going on over here.”
She wasn’t wrong.
The familiar sound of the chime that announced the arrival of a car coming down the driveway pealed from the front hallway. Linc walked to the front window and looked out.
“It’s Knox and Zach. Have you talked to the renters, Mom?”
“Britt did.”
Both Chad and Lincoln glanced her way.
“I explained the situation and told them they could either get a refund, a credit to be used for a future date—which included a twenty percent discount—or they could stay in the main house in one of the extra bedrooms. I warned them that the house had two family members and an employee living here, but that we’re all easygoing and friendly.
They were actually kind of relieved, because one of their sons decided he wanted to play soccer this summer and he has a tournament this weekend they were going to have to miss.
So they took the credit and will come back later this summer,” Britt explained.
Chad sighed in relief. That gave them two uninterrupted days to get the repairs done.
“Great,” Lincoln said. “Since they postponed, that will give us time to replace the roof so no one else should have to delay their trip. Thanks, Britt.”
“Of course.”
“I’ll go meet the others and catch them up,” Lincoln said, before heading for the door.
Chad’s mom shook her head in exasperation. “This place is worse than one of those soap operas I used to enjoy watching. Gossip spreads like wildfire.”
“We just want to make sure you’re safe and happy,” Chad protested. “And if you’re being harassed to sell, that’s not cool.”
“I can handle Victor,” Evelyn repeated firmly. “Besides, Britt was at my side, glowering as hard as you two were when you heard what happened.”