The Magic in her Gift (6 page)

“
And a good morning to you
too, asshole,” Sara mumbled.

“
What was that,
Sara?”

“
Nothing, Mother, I’m just
going over today’s schedule in my head.” She glanced at her mother.
“When do you wanna head down to the beach?”

“
What on earth are you
talking about? I’ve no desire to go to the beach.”

“
The memorial, remember? I
explained at dinner last night. Grandmother wanted us to just go to
the beach and spend some quiet time remembering her instead of a
formal memorial service. When do you want to go?”

“
Oh, for goodness sakes. I’m
perfectly happy to do my remembering here. I certainly don’t have
to get my shoes full of sand and have windblown hair to remember my
mother. I’m sure she’ll be just as happy with me thinking about her
in the comfort of the study.”

Opening her mouth to argue, Sara
suddenly changed her mind. “That’s fine, I’m sure you’re right.”
Her spirits began to lift at the thought of spending her time on
the beach alone. “Have you had breakfast?”

“
Yes, I ate with Bart a
couple of hours ago. There are sweet rolls here on the table, but
you shouldn’t eat any of them. I noticed some fruit and milk in the
refrigerator when I fixed my coffee. Eating the fruit should be
plenty to hold you until lunch and it’s not bad for you.” Gwendolyn
stood and walked to the kitchen door. “What time are we expecting
Mother’s attorney?”

“
I don’t really know for
sure. Elias just said he’d be back some time this morning with Mr.
Aames.”

“
Then I’m going to lie back
down for a while. Just wake me if they arrive before I get back
up.”

Sara watched her mother
disappear down the hall and childishly stuck out her tongue. “Yes,
Mother. Right away, Mother. Sure thing, Mother. Whatever you say,
Mother.” Snorting, she set the coffeemaker on
Keep Warm
and looked around the room.
Sighing, she walked over and opened the refrigerator. Glancing
inside, she stared for a moment and then turned and looked at the
table. With a wicked grin, she reached inside the fridge and pulled
out a can of Pepsi. Crossing to the table, she first glanced down
the hall and then grabbed up a large cinnamon roll covered in
frosting. Without wasting any time, she left through the back door,
hurried down the steps and began walking down the path toward the
beach.

Laughing to herself, Sara
popped the top on her drink and took a long swallow right before
taking a huge bite of the pastry. “Hmmm, this might not be
the
Breakfast of
Champions
, but I bet it’ll get me through
until lunch.”

Reaching the end of the path, Sara
stopped to admire the scene before her. Snow-white sand carpeted
the beach as far as she could see with the rolling white tipped
waves washing in and out. The bright sunshine warmed her face,
while the gentle breeze stirred the hairs in her braid. She stopped
to pull off her sandals, leaving them lying on the trail, and then
stepped out onto the clean, soft sand. Grinning, she held her arms
out and turned in a slow circle, basking in the warm, salty breeze.
With the feel of sand squishing between her toes, Sara took off
walking down the beach.

“
Oh, my God, it’s warm,”
Sara, cried, laughing as the seawater washed up over her
feet.
How could anybody not want to live
here? If Bart helps Mother find a buyer, I’ll never get to visit
here again.
Her thoughts sobering, Sara
trekked her way down the beach. As she made her way around a large
pile of driftwood, a cold chill crept up her back. Stopping to gaze
back the way she came, Sara felt the hairs on the back of her neck
stand up. It felt as if someone watched her every move and yet she
could see nothing to cause concern. Frowning, she walked a little
further and then stopped, staring down at the sand in
shock.

Her disbelieving eyes cut to the ocean,
then up and down the beach, before she turned and stared up at her
bedroom window. She knew this place, knew it intimately. In her
dreams, she’d made passionate love on this spot just last night.
“How could I picture this so accurately? I’ve never even seen
pictures of the island.” Confused, Sara stared down at the sand,
focusing on a dug out area just big enough to have been made by two
bodies thrashing around in passion.

“
Good morning to you, Miss
Sara.”

Startled, Sara turned quickly, lost her
footing and landed on her ass in the sand. “Jeez, Elias, you scared
the daylights out of me.”

“
I’m so sorry.” Elias rushed
over to help her to her feet. “Are you hurt?”

Sara laughed, brushing the sand off her
butt. “Only my pride.” She gave him a wry look. “You’re kind of
sneaky. I didn’t hear anything at all before you spoke.”

“
Been called a lot of things
in my life, but never sneaky.” Elias laughed. “You seemed to be
studying the sand here pretty closely. What were you looking
at?”

Feeling her cheeks getting hot, Sara
looked away. She couldn’t very well tell him she was reliving an
erotic dream. “I, um, I was thinking about Grandmother. You know,
like she wanted for her memorial.”

“
Uh-huh. Where’s the rest of
your family?”

“
Mother decided she would
rather remember in her own way and that didn’t include a walk on
the beach.”

“
What about your
fiancé?”

“
He’s conducting business
via the telephone. I’m supposed to call both of them when you get
here. Shall we head back?”

“
There’s no hurry. I left
Mr. Aames enjoying a cup of coffee and going over his files. He
needs a little time to recover.” He grinned and leaned in close.
“He’s not a seasoned sailor. Truth is, he’s a little green right
now.”

Sara laughed and then clamped her hand
over her mouth. “I’m sorry, that’s not funny. Is he gonna be all
right?”

“
He’ll be fine. He just
needs a little time to pull himself together.” He gazed out at the
ocean. “How do you like Elizabeth’s little island?”

A wide smile took over Sara’s face.
“It’s beautiful here, Elias. I can’t imagine her ever wanting to
live anywhere else.”

He sighed. “That describes her problems
in a nutshell. She never wanted to leave here.”

“
I don’t understand. You
sound like that’s a bad thing.”

“
Did you get a chance to
talk to Karl before he left?”

“
Ah!” Understanding flooded
Sara. “Karl wanted her to visit his home. What did he call it? Oh
yeah, he’s from someplace called Rysm. He never got around to
telling me where it is. Do you know?”

Elias cleared his throat. “It’s a
really long way away from here. The point I’m trying to make is
Elizabeth had some misguided sense of loyalty to an absentee
daughter. She never considered living anywhere else.” He gave her
an apologetic look. “I don’t mean to speak badly of your mother,
Sara. I just think it sad your grandmother never put her own
happiness first.”

Feeling uncomfortable, Sara gazed out
over the ocean. “It’s easy to speculate about what might have been,
but none of us can really know what would’ve happened if she’d made
different choices. I’d rather just remember her for the love she
felt for her family.”

“
You’re absolutely right.
Please accept my apologies, Miss Sara. I never meant to bring any
unhappy thoughts to this day. Your grandmother was a beautiful
person, inside and out, and that’s the way she’ll be
remembered.”

Blinking back her tears, Sara
impulsively hugged the rugged boat captain. “No apologies
necessary, Elias. It’s obvious you loved her, too.”

Awkwardly patting her back, Elias
sighed. “Yes, I did at that.” After a moment, he took her shoulders
in his hands and held her away from his body. “Shall we go get
everyone ready to hear what your grandmother’s last wishes
are?”

“
You bet.” She glanced down
the beach. “I need to pick up my shoes. I left them at the end of
the trail up to the house.”

“
Okay then, let’s go.”
Smiling, he offered her his arm and together they made their way
back to the house.

“
Mr. Aames, this is
Elizabeth’s daughter, Gwendolyn Weller, her granddaughter, Sara
Danner, and Ms. Danner’s fiancé, Bart Everett. Everyone, this is
Elizabeth’s attorney, Clinton Aames.” Elias finished his
introductions and sat in one of the armchairs near the
fireplace.

Sara studied the short, heavy-set man
and couldn’t help but notice the pallor on his face. “Mr. Aames,
are you all right? Can I get you something? Maybe some
tea?”

“
No thank you, Miss.”
Clinton Aames gave her a shy smile. “Please, call me Clinton.
Actually, I’m feeling much better since I drank the coffee Captain
Jacobs provided when we first arrived.” A slow flush crept up his
cheeks. “I’m afraid I’m not a boat lover and the trip over was
rather shaky.”

“
Shaky,” Elias snorted. “If
that’s what you call shaky, then I sure don’t want you on board
during a real storm.”

“
Wonderful,” Clinton
exclaimed, a beaming smile on his face.

“
What the hell does that
mean?” Elias growled.

“
It’s wonderful we finally
have something in common.” The wicked glint of mischief in the
attorney’s eyes had Sara stifling her own laughter.

“
Do you suppose we could
dispense with all this drivel and get to the purpose of your trip
here?” Bart’s angry tone successfully wiped the smiles off
everyone’s face. “Some of us are anxious to get back to the real
world.” He led Gwendolyn over to the couch and then took a seat
next to her. “I’m an attorney, and unlike some, I have serious
legal cases which need attention.” His demeanor made it abundantly
clear he considered Clinton Aames unworthy of the
profession.

“
Bart, what’s the matter
with you? You’re both attorneys. Aren’t you supposed to show some
kind of professional courtesy?”

“
That’s quite all right, Ms.
Danner. Your fiancé is quite right. We’re here to discuss Elizabeth
Weller’s last wishes and the disposition of her estate.” He
indicated the couch where Bart and her mother were sitting. “Why
don’t you have a seat and we’ll get started.”

For a moment, Sara hesitated. “Okay,
but I’m Sara, Clinton. She walked over and sat in the chair next to
Elias. Calmly, she let her gaze meet Bart’s furious glare before
glancing at her mother’s pale face. “Mother, is anything
wrong?”

“
Can we just get on with it,
please?” Gwendolyn looked ready to explode.

“
Very well.” Clinton took
the remaining chair and opened his briefcase. He slowly pulled out
a stack of papers, taking a moment to look each one over briefly.
He seemed lost in his own thoughts.

“
Well, are you going to tell
us something?” Bart’s tenuous control had snapped.

Clinton looked up at Bart and then
turned his attention to Gwendolyn. “Mrs. Weller, before I can
proceed, I need to know if you want Mr. Everett to
remain?”

“
What the hell are you
talking about?” Bart jumped to his feet. “I’m not going anywhere.
What are you trying to pull?”

Clinton kept his eyes trained on
Gwendolyn. “Your mother’s will has specific mention of you and your
daughter as well as Captain Jacobs. Since Mr. Everett is not
mentioned in the document, he’s not entitled legally to be here.
He’ll need your permission to remain.”

“
That’s, that’s…” Clearly,
Bart didn’t have a valid argument.

“
Oh, for heaven’s sake, I
want him to remain. He’s my legal advisor.”

“
Since when?” Sara
asked.

Bart narrowed his eyes at Sara as he
spoke to Clinton, “You heard her, she wants me here.”

“
Very well.” The portly
attorney seemed unaffected by the turmoil unfolding around him. “Do
you want me to read the entire thing, beginning with
I, Elizabeth Weller, being of sound
mind
? Or, do you prefer that I just give
you the highlights of who gets what? I also have copies of the will
for all the pertinent people.”

“
Just give us the
highlights.” Gwendolyn sighed as Bart held out his hand for a
copy.

“
All right, highlights it
is.” He glanced over at Sara, a pleased, satisfied look on his
face. “Ms. Danner, you’re to receive the island, everything on it
and the contents of Ms. Weller’s three bank accounts.”

“
What?” Gwendolyn screamed.
“You can’t be serious. My mother left everything to
Sara?”

Chapter 4

Sara could hear the whirr of the
overhead fan and feel the stirring of air around her face. It
amazed her to be aware of such insignificant things as her mother
railed at the taciturn attorney. Finally, she’d had enough.
“Mother, please, be quiet and let Clinton explain.” Surprised at
her own daring, Sara watched her mother’s mouth close, her eyes
narrowing, as she sat back down on the sofa.

“
Yes, Mr. Aames, please do
continue.” Bart had a disturbing, satisfied smirk on his
face.