The Magic in her Gift (7 page)

“
You’re telling me my own
mother didn’t leave me anything?” Gwendolyn asked.

“
That’s not what I’m saying
at all. With the exception of Mr. Everett, Ms. Weller bequeathed
something to each person here.” He picked up the copy of the will
he’d dropped when Gwendolyn began screaming. “You’re the sole
beneficiary of your mother’s life insurance policies. There are
three of them with a combined death benefit of four point two
million dollars.”

“
What’s the estate’s total
worth?” Bart inquired.

“
I’m sorry, Mr. Everett. I’m
not at liberty to divulge that information to the group. My
instructions are to only give the information listed in the will
itself. Sara will be given separate documentation letting her know
the value of the property and monies she receives. It is her
discretion at that point who she shares that information
with.”

“
Then what does he get?”
Gwendolyn nodded toward Elias.

“
Elias Jacobs is to be given
the title to the
Magic Gift
free and clear in honor of his years of service
and friendship.” Clinton gazed up at Gwendolyn. “I’m authorized to
tell you that he already owns fifty percent of the boat. He and Ms.
Weller were partners.”

“
So, Sara inherits
everything else, free and clear?” Bart rose to his feet and went to
stand behind Sara’s chair.

“
Not exactly.” Clinton
looked annoyed at being questioned. “There are stipulations that
must be met for Sara to claim her inheritance.”

Sara’s head came up. “What kind of
stipulations?”

Clinton gave her an apologetic look.
“You’re required to spend seven days here, on the island, beginning
tomorrow.”

“
I can’t wait around here
for another week. Can’t we put it off until this summer so I can
rearrange my schedule?” Bart’s voice rose as he walked over to
glower down at the smiling attorney.

“
I’m afraid you don’t
understand, Mr. Everett.”

“
What don’t I
understand?”

“
Sara will have to stay here
alone for the next week. That’s what Ms. Weller’s will
demands.”

“
Alone! I can’t stay here
alone. I wouldn’t feel safe.” Sara could feel a tingling up her
spine belying her statement.

“
What happens to the estate
if Sara can’t fulfill Mother’s demands?” Gwendolyn
asked.

“
If she forfeits, then
everything is auctioned off and the money will be donated to
several specific charities.” Clinton turned his attention back to
Sara. “I didn’t really explain things well enough, Sara. You won’t
actually be alone. The will stipulates that you remain here alone,
without family. It also requests that Mr. Jacobs, or someone of his
choosing, remain in the caretaker’s cottage near the docks during
this next week. Either he, or another person, will be responsible
for making sure you have supplies and that your time here is spent
in safety.”

Bart glanced at Elias. “You’re willing
to do this? You’ll stay here with her for a week so she can
inherit?”

Sara didn’t give Elias time to answer.
“Bart, I can’t stay here for a week no matter who’s willing to stay
with me. I’ve got my own job I have to get back to. They’ll have
trouble finding a replacement with such short notice.”

“
Would you excuse us for
just a moment?” Bart took Sara’s arm, pulled her from the chair and
then led her out of the room.

“
Let go of me,” she
whispered, her voice tremulous.

“
Listen to me, Sara. This is
too good an opportunity for you to mess it up. Think about it,
please. You’ve just inherited this island. I’ve already been
looking into selling it for your mother.”

“
You want me to sell the
island?”

“
Hell, yes, I want to sell
it. Do you have any idea what this place is worth?” At her frown,
he tightened his hand on her arm. “It’s going to bring us a
fortune, Sara. It’ll make Gwendolyn’s four million look like pocket
change.”

“
Is money all that matters
to you, Bart?”

“
Of course not, but money is
very important in life. It can make all our dreams come true, Sara.
We can have a huge estate built in Atlanta, and vacation homes in
France and Italy. With that kind of money, I can cultivate big,
moneymaking clients that will advance my position at the firm.
Hell, I could conceivably make senior partner. How does Everett,
Everson, Adley and Walker sound?”

Like all your dreams would
be coming true, but none of mine. I’ve never wanted a big estate or
houses in France or Italy.
Sara could see
the greed in Bart’s eyes and it saddened her. “What do want me to
do, Bart?”

“
Stay here like your
grandmother wanted. Spend the week just relaxing and planning the
wedding. Do this for our future, Sara.” Without waiting for her
answer, Bart pulled on her arm, leading her back into the
study.

Clinton looked up from his papers when
they came into the room. “Well, Sara, what’s it going to
be?”

Sara glanced at Elias and felt
strangely comforted by the smile reflected in his eyes. Sighing,
she turned her attention to Clinton. “Okay, I’ll stick around for
another week.”

“
Excellent,” he beamed.
“Then I’ll just get everyone’s signature to show they’ve been
notified of the will’s contents and Mr. Jacobs can return the rest
of us to the mainland.”

“
Wait, I thought he had to
stay here with me.” Sara tried to keep the panic from her voice,
but didn’t think she’d succeeded by the compassionate look on
Elias’s face.

“
Don’t worry, Miss Sara.
I’ll only be gone half a day at the most. I’ll take them to the
docks at Keestria and they can get a taxi to the airport from
there. I’ll just grab some groceries and turn around and come
straight back.” He looked at her thoughtfully. “Would you like to
come along for the ride?”

Sara thought about spending several
hours on the boat with her mother and Bart and decided time alone
on the island didn’t sound so bad. “No, that’s okay. I’m not all
that anxious to be bobbing up and down in the ocean for several
hours. I’ll just stick around here. Maybe I’ll spend some time
drawing. Grandmother’s studio is stocked with pretty much anything
I could possibly want.”

Gwendolyn came to her feet. “Does this
mean we can leave now? I, for one, can’t wait to get back home.
I’ve always hated this place.”

“
We can leave as soon as you
and Mr. Everett are packed.” Elias took Sara’s hand. “Can I speak
to you, alone, for just a moment?”

“
Sure, I’ll meet you on the
porch in just a minute.” Elias nodded before walking away. Sara
turned to her mother. “Do you need help with your things,
Mother?”

“
No, I packed up everything
this morning. I’m ready to go if someone will carry my bags
down.”

“
I’ll get them,” Bart
offered. “It’ll just take me a minute to throw my things together.”
He narrowed his eyes at Sara. “I want to talk to you before I
leave.”

“
Okay, I’ll meet you
upstairs in just a minute.”

“
Fine, just don’t be long.”
Bart turned and headed toward the stairs.

Sara turned to Clinton and offered her
hand. “Thank you so much, Clinton, for everything.”

He shook her hand and smiled. “You’re
quite welcome, Sara. It’s been my pleasure to meet you. I have your
address and contact phone numbers in Atlanta. I’ll be in touch with
the final paperwork once you’ve fulfilled the stipulations of the
will.”

“
Thanks, now I guess I’d
better go see what Elias wants before I go upstairs to say goodbye
to Bart. Excuse me, please.” Sara turned and went outside to find
her protector for the next week. He was sitting on the porch
swing.

“
I don’t want you to worry
about anything, Sara. This has always been a perfectly safe place
to live. Elizabeth never had a moment’s trouble here and neither
will you. I won’t be away for long and you have both a short wave
radio and satellite phone for emergencies.”

Sara laughed. “I’ll be fine, Elias. I’m
not afraid to be here.”

“
But you said—”

“
I know,” she interrupted.
“I’m not sure why I said that. I think I wanted to see what my
family would do.”

“
Did you get the reaction
you wanted?”

“
No,” she said sadly, “but I
got the one I expected.”

“
I’m sorry, Miss
Sara.”

“
Don’t be, I’m gonna be just
fine. You just be careful taking them home and get back here as
soon as you can. I might not be afraid, but I have a feeling I’ll
be lonely, here all alone.”

“
Don’t worry. I’ll be back
before you know it.”

Sara smiled and made her way upstairs
to Bart’s room. He was sitting on the bed waiting for her. “Get
everything packed?”

He nodded and indicated he wanted her
to sit next to him. He slowly clasped her hand in his. “Did Aames
tell you how much money you would be getting along with the
house?”

“
Uh,” Sara was speechless
for a moment. “No, I didn’t think to ask him.”

“
I’ll make sure I get the
paperwork from him before we go our separate ways at the airport.
I’ll just tell him I’m your attorney of record and he’ll have to
deal directly with me.”

Now wouldn’t be the best time to argue
so Sara decided to ignore his statement. “I’ll get my ticket
changed to fly back in a week and call you with the flight number
and arrival time.”

A frown wrinkled the skin between his
eyes. “I’m going to be pretty tied up with work between now and the
wedding. You should either make other arrangements or plan on
taking a taxi home from the airport.”

“
You wanna make senior
partner using my money and you can’t take time out to pick me up at
the airport?” She knew it was the wrong thing to say as soon as it
left her mouth and, from the thunderous look in Bart’s eyes, he
agreed with her.

“
I can make senior partner
without your help, Sara. I stupidly thought it would be nice to
have our dreams come true sooner rather than later.”

Sara sighed. “I’m sorry, Bart. I guess
the strain of everything is just beginning to get to me. I just
know how much I’m gonna miss you after you leave and I know I’ll be
anxious to see you when I get home.”

He gave her a long, measuring look and
then smiled. “That’s all right, dear. It won’t be long before we’re
married and spending all our free time together. This week is a
wonderful sacrifice you’re making for our future.” He stood. “Now,
give me a kiss goodbye and I’ll go round up your mother’s
luggage.”

Sara stood and stepped into his open
arms. Gently their lips pressed together. Suddenly, visions of
Sara’s dream lover flashed across her mind, causing her to step
closer, pressing her breasts against his chest. Her tongue licked
slowly across his lip.

Bart stiffened and pulled quickly out
of her arms. “I need to get going. Gwendolyn’s going to come
looking for me if I don’t hurry. She’s very anxious to get home.”
He grabbed up his bag. “Come help me carry your mother’s things
downstairs and you can say goodbye to her.” Not meeting her eyes,
Bart turned and walked out the door.

Sara stood, looking out over
the ocean as the boat disappeared from view. Peacefulness settled
over her, one that she’d never known before.
What would it be like to live here?
“Don’t even think it, girl. Bart and Mother would join
together and have you committed!” Laughing, she began walking
toward the trail that would take her back to the house.

She watched the waves sliding smoothly
over the sun-kissed sand, the blue water topped with white frothy
foam. Azure sky stretched endlessly, filled with huge, white,
fluffy popcorn-like cumulous clouds. The perfect summer day just
begged to be captured on canvas. Grinning, Sara hurried toward the
house.

Reverently, Sara pushed open the door
to her grandmother’s studio and stepped inside. Taking a deep
breath, she took in all the scents that made her feel so alive. “I
wish you could be here,” she whispered. Blinking back her tears,
she went over to the corner table and gathered up some colored
pencils. Looking around, she spied a stack of artist’s tablets.
Grabbing one up, she hurried down to the second floor balcony and
moved the porch rocker so she could sit and have a clear view of
the ocean. Opening the book to the first page, she began to
draw.

Several hours later, Sara began to
notice the stiffness in her neck and back. Glancing at her watch,
she froze. She’d been working on the picture for over four hours.
“No wonder my butt’s asleep.” Standing, she stretched and then
carefully examined her drawing. The colors were perfect, but she
couldn’t help feeling as if something wasn’t quite right. “It needs
something, but what?” Watching the waves for several minutes, she
came to a decision. “There’s no rule that says I can’t embellish a
little.” Quickly, she sat back down with her pencils.

Almost two hours later,
satisfaction filled her as she gazed at the finished drawing.
Standing for a second time, she grimaced as tiny pinpoints of pain
swept up her legs, a protest of their long confinement. Feeling
exhausted, Sara went inside to her room. She laid her drawing on
the desk, stripped off her clothes and took a quick shower.
Elias won’t be back for several hours. I’m gonna
take a nap.
Washing quickly, she dried off
and then turned down the covers on the bed. The feel of the soft,
cool sheets against her naked skin soon lulled her to
sleep.