Aiden and Spencer had no intention of returning to Chambers’s office. As soon as they reached the lobby they were surrounded by a crowd of men and women holding balloons and cheering. The cameraman was there again, standing behind Kalie, the Channel Seven reporter, who stepped forward with a wide smile of greeting. She held the microphone up to Aiden and said, “And here are the new owners of Rock . . .” She stopped when Aiden shook his head. “You didn’t purchase the land just yet?”
“No,” he answered. He looked directly into the camera as he explained. “Congressman Mitchell Chambers changed his mind. He wanted more money than we originally agreed on. We won’t be buying Rock Point.”
“It’s disappointing,” Spencer interjected. “But we’re going to move on to another property.”
Kalie looked stunned. “Wait,” she pleaded as Aiden walked past her. “Are you saying Congressman Mitchell Chambers stopped the sale?”
“Yes, that’s what I’m saying,” Aiden answered.
“Then the Hamilton Hotel won’t be built here?”
“No.” His tone was emphatic.
Aiden walked out the door and didn’t look back. Spencer followed. The plan was to fly to San Francisco and stay at the Hamilton there while Spencer checked on the remodel he’d begun three months ago, but the plan changed when they received a text from their sister, Regan.
Aiden retrieved his phone from his pocket and looked at the screen.
“Oh no,” he said.
“What’s wrong?” Spencer asked.
“Cordelia’s dad died. Heart attack.”
Shocked by the news, Spencer didn’t speak for a few seconds. The Madison family had known Cordie and her father for almost twenty years, and Mr. Kane had always been so strong and vigorous.
“Andrew Kane was a good man,” he remarked.
“Yes, he was,” Aiden agreed. “Cordelia must be devastated.”
He immediately called Regan to find out when the funeral was scheduled. His sister was crying. “Cordie’s all alone now. Are you coming home? She’ll want you and Spencer there.”
“Of course we’ll be there. We’re on our way home now.”
Spencer opened the car door, then paused to look up at the building they’d just left. All that time wasted, he thought. The engineering reports, the back-and-forth negotiating with two of the most unpleasant men he’d ever encountered—all for nothing.
“Let’s go,” Aiden called out impatiently.
Lester Chambers stood at the window and watched the SUV pull onto the main road and drive away. “They’re on their way to the airstrip,” he said. “And you were so sure they would come right back up here.”
Mitchell went to the bar to freshen his drink. He dropped an ice cube into his glass, causing the whiskey to splash all over his hand. He grabbed a napkin to mop up the mess, then took a sip of his drink.
“They’re not coming back.” Lester continued to stare out the window until the SUV vanished. There was panic in his voice. “It was a damn good offer.”
“Stop whining. I know what I’m doing. I know how people think,” he boasted. “It’s why I make such a great congressman. Believe me. The Madisons will be back. Maybe not today, but soon. I’ll give them a week to come begging.”
Lester’s receptionist rushed into the office. “Sir, one of the secretaries . . . Jenny just mentioned that Channel Seven was in the lobby.”
Mitchell let out a loud, long-suffering sigh. “They’re here for me. I’ll let them wait a little longer before I go down and do the interview.”
“No, Jenny said the channel’s crew just left but that we should all watch the five-o’clock news.”
“They probably got tired of waiting for you,” Lester told his cousin.
Mitchell agreed. “I can’t be everywhere all the time,” he excused himself. He reached for the remote on the desk and turned the television on. It wasn’t quite five yet, so Mitchell put the sound on mute and sat on the sofa.
“Did you know Mayor Green is running against you?” Lester asked.
Mitchell snorted. “Of course I knew. She’s wasting her time and money. She doesn’t stand a chance. I’ll bet I get ninety percent of the vote.”
“The primary is not that far away,” Lester reminded him.
No one was going to take his job away. Mitchell loved being a congressman. He loved the power, the position it garnered, and the respect, though admittedly the public didn’t think much of Congress these days, probably because they knew so many of them were corrupt or just inept. There was talk of term limits. Mitchell had promised to push for those if elected, but once he was in office he changed his mind. Besides, no one in Congress was ever going to vote for that, and Mitchell planned to stay in office until he was well into his eighties. The governor had handpicked him for the job, and as long as Mitchell played ball and voted the way the governor wanted, he would remain a congressman.
“You know it was Mayor Green who got Spencer Madison interested in Rock Point,” Lester commented.
“So she says.”
“Oh, there she is. Turn the sound on. I want to hear what our mayor has to say.”
The segment lasted a good ten minutes without a commercial break, which was unheard of. The last footage Kalie showed was Aiden Madison explaining why they wouldn’t be building a Hamilton Hotel on Rock Point. He placed the blame squarely on Congressman Chambers’s shoulders.
Then the mayor was on again, telling the viewers what the hotel would have meant to the community: the new jobs, the improved schools, the revived economy. All these were gone now. She ended her speech with a promise that things would change once she was elected to Congress.
“Congratulations,” Lester said with a snide smirk on his face. “You’ve just lost your reelection.”
FOUR
They would be talking about Andrew Kane’s funeral for months to come, maybe even years.
Alec and Jack dropped Regan, Sophie, and Cordie off at the funeral home much earlier than necessary. It had been decided that Regan and Sophie would ride with Cordie in the limousine behind the hearse, and Alec and Jack would meet them at the church.
It was an unseasonably warm day. Cordie wore a simple sleeveless black sheath dress with a square neckline and black heels. She didn’t wear much jewelry, just a pair of diamond studs for her ears and a Hermès watch her father had given her for her last birthday. She didn’t try to do anything fancy with her hair but left it down. Her natural curls were straightened by its length, just past her shoulders.
Sophie and Regan, who sat on either side of her in the limousine, were also dressed in black.
Regan held on to Cordie’s hand. “When we get to the church, I’ll take your cardigan and your clutch. Is your phone in there?”
“Yes,” Cordie answered.
“Make sure it’s turned off.”
“I already did.”
“I can’t believe your father’s gone,” Regan whispered.
“What did he tell you just before he died?” Sophie asked. “You said there was one surprise, remember?”
If there was a secret, Sophie had to know what it was. She couldn’t help herself. She worked for a newspaper and was always looking for the next story. Her dream was to be an investigative reporter, but for now she was in charge of the food section and wrote about new recipes. Regan and Cordie thought the irony was quite funny since Sophie didn’t know the first thing about cooking. She had learned how to make one pasta dish that was passable, but that was it.