Eby got off the phone. She walked to the archway leading to the dining room and said, “I don’t know what to think of this.” She put her long hands to her cheeks. Bulahdeen always thought Eby had beautiful hands. She was trembling.
“What’s wrong, Eby?” Kate asked.
“That was Lazlo Patterson.”
“Is he coming by?” Kate asked. “Do you have time to get your lawyer out here?”
“He’s not coming by. He said he’s having a family situation. He told his wife he was divorcing her this morning. Between that and Wes not selling his land…” She laughed. “He’s decided to drop the project.”
Everyone got to their feet and surged toward Eby in the foyer with a flurry of questions.
“What game is he playing now?” Kate asked.
“I don’t think he’s playing,” Eby said in amazement. “I told him to give it to me in writing, and he agreed. And he sent his lawyer home.”
“So you’re not selling Lost Lake?” Bulahdeen asked. “Hot diggity!”
“Apparently not. Not to Lazlo, anyway,” Eby said. “Kate, are you still looking for that investment?”
“I am,” she said, taking Eby’s hand. “I am so ready.”
“Yes,” Devin said as she ran to the window as if looking for something outside, some immediate reaction to what was happening. “Wes is getting out of his van,” she said. “And Selma is driving up, too.”
Kate went quickly to the door and opened it. “Hi, neighbor,” Kate said to Wes.
“Lazlo is letting Eby keep the property,” Wes told her, excitement all over his face. “I saw his lawyer in town, picking up coffee before he left to go back to Atlanta. I wanted to be the first to tell you.”
“We just heard,” Kate said, laughing. “What happened?”
Wes shrugged, smiling back at her. “I don’t know.”
Eby walked to the doorway, beside Kate. “Wes, have you had breakfast?”
“No.”
“Then come in. We’ve got some business to discuss. Kate is going to take over the place while I travel, and she’s going to need a good handyman.”
Kate nodded and extended her hand to Wes. He held her eyes as he approached her and took it.
And with that, Wes walked inside, and finally came home.
Bulahdeen pushed past where everyone was now talking excitedly in the doorway.
“There you are,” Bulahdeen called to Selma, who had just gotten out of her car. No one was welcoming her back, though if they knew what she’d done, they would have. “You’ve been gone a while.”
Selma was wearing a stunningly low-cut red dress, and her hair was disheveled. She put her hand on her neck, to hide the love bite there. “Have you seen the hotel by the water park?” she said to Bulahdeen from the driveway. “It’s divine. What are we all doing here?”
“What, indeed,” Bulahdeen said. “Come in for breakfast. We’ve just had some wonderful news.”
“I’ve already eaten,” Selma said, closing her car door and walking toward the cabins.
“Then come to my cabin later,” Bulahdeen said, walking out of the house and following her. “We’ll have tea and some nice pinwheel cookies.”
“Why?” Selma asked suspiciously.
“Because that’s what friends do.”
“You’re not my friend, Bulahdeen,” she said, hopping from foot to foot as she walked away, taking off her heels. “I don’t have friends.”
“You are my friend.” Bulahdeen huffed after her. “You’re my best friend. And you know it. Why else would you have used your last charm on a man you’re disgusted by, in order to save a place you don’t even like? You did it for me. You did it for all of us. You do great endings. I like your style.”
“You’re a crazy old woman,” Selma said as she reached her cabin and walked up the steps of her stoop. She took her key out of her purse, but then turned. “How did you know I’d used my last charm?”
Bulahdeen leaned against the railing of the steps, out of breath. “I looked.”
“You went into my cabin without my permission?” Selma asked, indignant.
“I thought you’d been kidnapped by Bigfoot.”
“I would have had a better time,” Selma murmured, turning back and slipping the key into the lock.
“If you put ice on that hickey, it’ll go away faster,” Bulahdeen said, climbing the steps and waiting for Selma to open the door.
Selma put her hand on her neck. “Ice on my neck? That’s freezing!”
“That’s why they call it ice.”
“Are you really coming in?” Selma asked.
“Of course.”
“I’m never getting rid of you, am I?”
“Nope.”
Selma walked in and held the door to her cabin open, shaking her head impatiently as Bulahdeen walked inside.
And just before Selma closed the door, she smiled.