Chapter 5 #3
“None taken. It’s definitely a challenge to introduce life-changing skills in such a short amount of time, and I would never lay claim to being a miracle worker. I believe you already know that guy.”
I forced a small laugh, hoping it sounded legitimate and clueless.
“I introduced these short retreats more as a way to show people the value of such a program in their lives,” he continued.
“And the occasional retreat to re-center, to learn new things, and to fellowship with others seeking a path to better living are highly beneficial. Most of my clients are repeats and come several times a year.”
I nodded. “If it brings people comfort, then you’re offering an excellent service for people.”
“If you don’t mind my intrusiveness, what is burdening you about the legalities of the situation? Surely your aunt had everything arranged if she went to the trouble of establishing a trust.”
“She left me everything, which is fine when it comes to the bank accounts and all of that. It’s her resort that I don’t know what to do with.”
I watched him closely and saw the slight change in his expression as soon as I said the word resort.
“What kind of resort did she have?” he asked.
“Not anything big. Just some cabins on an island in Florida. It’s where I was raised.
My aunt and uncle bought the place right after they got married.
He’d had a small inheritance and back then, the property was a lot cheaper, so they decided to make a go of it.
He passed before I was born, but she told me it was practically falling down when they took it on. ”
“It sounds lovely now. I don’t understand what the problem is. Assuming you have no interest in running it, surely you could sell it for a fair price.”
I frowned and shook my head. “No. Well, I mean, I could. Legally. But that place meant the world to my aunt, and she made me promise that I wouldn’t ever sell it.
I know it probably wasn’t fair of her to do so, especially as I’ll never have children myself to keep it in the family.
And that’s why I’m so stressed. I can’t run the property myself, I can’t let it just sit there and deteriorate, and I don’t know that I could find someone I trusted to do it for me.
Right after my parents died, my aunt tried briefly to live inland to raise me, but the people she hired stole money and let things get run-down.
She said she’d never let strangers oversee something she loved again.
But I can’t focus on my purpose if I’m worried about her legacy. ”
“I understand your dilemma. You have some very hard decisions ahead of you. Hopefully your time here can help with your clarity and then the decisions won’t be as difficult to make.”
“If you could help lessen the burden of this load, I would be forever grateful,” I said as we stepped up to the cabin. “Don’t tell the sisters, but I brought some of the paperwork and pictures with me to pray over. They wanted me to leave it all back at the convent, but I need answers.”
The door to the cabin flung open and Gertie stood there, glaring. “Took you long enough. I need my biking shorts. These leggings are hot as heck. The humidity is just rolling off that bayou. I sweated so much on the walk down here, I didn’t even have to pee.”
Zion stared for a moment, then finally found his voice. “I hope you settle in well. Introductions and our first meditation start in thirty minutes down by the bayou. Just take the path to the right and follow it all the way to the water.”
“Thanks,” I said as I grabbed the remaining bags and headed inside.
Ida Belle peered out between the blinds, then let them drop. “He’s headed back to the office.”
Gertie lifted the blinds. “No butt at all. Such a disappointment. Still, he’s kind of hot in a tree-hugger sort of way. Which means there is zero chance that guy was having a romantic fling with Eleanor because of unrelenting passion.”
“He’s not my taste at all,” Ida Belle said, “But I’d have to agree with that. He’s way out of Eleanor’s league, even when she was twenty years younger.” She looked over at me. “So did you get anything out of him?”
“Despite the outfit, I can’t perform miracles,” I said. “But I did lay the groundwork.”
I filled them in on our conversation.
Ida Belle gave me an approving nod. “You managed to get a lot into a short conversation. Did he take the bait?”
“He wants to,” I said. “He was straining to control his excitement. I’ve got the fake paperwork along with some pictures of the cabin in my backpack. I’m just going to leave it on the bed when we head out. He knows which pack is mine.”
“After talking to you, he’ll sneak in here to check them out,” Gertie said confidently.
“How’s he going to do that if he’s the one leading the classes?” Ida Belle asked.
“There’s always meals and for all we know, there are other instructors…maybe his wife even,” I said.
Ida Belle held up crossed fingers. “So now that the setup is in place, what do we do otherwise?”
“I say we break into his cabin and put a bug in there,” Gertie said. “We don’t have much time to make this work. And since we couldn’t risk bringing the parabolic because of size, a bug is the best way to go.”
Ida Belle raised one eyebrow. “And I suppose you’re carrying all that tech equipment in your giant, unnecessary suitcase?”
“Don’t be foolish. I have snacks in the suitcase. I’ve been this route before, remember? They think people can live off smoothies, cucumbers, and water. Not doing that again. I put the tech stuff in the secret compartment in the SUV along with my spare guns.”
“How many spare guns do you need?” Ida Belle asked. “How many do you have under that habit?”
“The only way you’ll ever know is if you pull it off me,” Gertie said. “But I’m warning you, Ronald helped me pick out new exercise clothes and they’re all butt floss. Most have sequins.”
“Then where the heck are you keeping your guns? Don’t tell me they’re all in a sports bra.”
“Of course not. I’m wearing a waist holster. Real Old Western sort of stuff, except no revolvers.”
Ida Belle stared at her in dismay, and I cringed at the mental picture of butt floss leotards and a gun holster.
“Thought so,” Gertie said. “And to answer your first question you can never have too many guns—backup or otherwise.”
Ida Belle frowned but since neither of us could exactly argue the point, she remained silent.
“So what about bugging the cabin?” Gertie asked.
I shrugged. “If an opportunity presents itself, it’s not the worst idea. Even if he found the device, who would suspect nuns?”
“Exactly,” Gertie said. “If he’s a scammer, he’d probably attribute it to someone he took money from before. Not a new target.”
Ida Belle nodded. “We better set up that paperwork and head out. We have to do that fake slow walk everywhere or we blow our cover.”
“Who’s faking?” Gertie asked. “My legs are killing me. Jeb and I are trying this new workout. It’s a pre-sexy time workout and it’s supposed to make everything more intense.
So far, it’s just intensified the arthritis in my knees and aggravated Jeb’s back, but we committed to trying it for a month.
If we call it quits after that, there’s this massage chair with—”
“No!” Ida Belle interrupted. “I let that go on three sentences longer than I should have.”
I grinned. “Then I guess we best get to hobbling down to the lake for our hour of enlightenment.”
“I have to change first,” Gertie said. “I put on my exercise outfit. Meditation is different.”
Ida Belle sighed as Gertie pulled a smaller bag out of her huge suitcase and headed into the bathroom. “The things we do for this job.”
“You went to the Middle East to assist with a rescue mission that even our military couldn’t have pulled off.”
“And you think that was more dangerous than me doing yoga?”