It took her longer than it should have to find her voice. Mack had changed. He’d be thirty-four now, two years older than her, and the years had been very kind to him. The tall slender boy she remembered had grown into a very handsome man. His six-foot frame had developed a pair of broad shoulders that spoke of his strength. His dark brown hair, once so long and careless, was now trimmed neatly, wavy enough so it invited a woman to run her fingers through it. His sky blue eyes still held a perpetual sparkle, and his crooked smile was still very much in evidence and hadn’t lost any of its charm. “You’re the other beneficiary?”
“It appears so.”
She should have known. Her father had always loved Mack, his surrogate son, more than her.
Holt opened the file and Mack leaned forward, looking over at Ella. “Yours?”
“Yes.” Carly tried to not look at him, but he was still very hard to ignore. Dressed in dark slacks and a pale blue shirt, he looked professional. Not like the jeans-and-T-shirt-wearing boy she remembered. Pushing her hair behind her ear, she refocused. She wanted to get through the reading and go home. Holt began explaining about the unusual nature of the will, which sent a small frisson of concern along her nerves.
“To my daughter, Carly Porter Hughes, I leave the Longleaf Lodge and all its contents.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. This was the first light at the end of the dark financial tunnel she’d been in for the last few years. Things had been hard enough after her husband had died, but the addition of Ella’s surgery had only made things worse.
“To my dear friend, Mackenzie Scott Bridges, I leave all the land on which Longleaf Lodge sits, including the cabins, canoe livery, pool and campgrounds.”
Mack rubbed his forehead. “This doesn’t make any sense. Why not divide it up equally between us?”
Holt peered over his glasses. “There’s more.”
He read a long passage of legalese that left Carly more confused than ever. “I’m sorry, but could you just spell it out for me.”
The attorney sighed, removed his glasses and then leaned back in his chair. “Basically it comes down to this. Neither of you can sell your portion of the estate unless both agree. You are required to live at the lodge for the next two months, reopen the business and run it for the duration of this agreement. At the end of that time if you haven’t agreed to either keep the estate and continue to run it jointly or mutually agreed to sell, then the estate will be put up for auction and the proceeds given to charity.”
Carly’s mind was reeling. “Can he do this? We either follow his dictates or we get nothing?”
“I’m afraid so. I understand this is an unusual situation, but I assure you it’s all legal. Of course, if you both agree to sell, we can start that process right now.”
“Yes. I want to sell.”
Mack gave her an incredulous look. “No. Wade loved that lodge. He wouldn’t want us to sell out.”
Holt nodded. “Then until you are in agreement, you’ll be required to follow your father’s requirements.”
Carly’s pulse raced and heat crawled up her neck. “This is absurd. Isn’t there anything you can do?” The pleading in her voice was embarrassing.
“Nothing. It’s in your hands now. However, I’ll be here to help in any way with advice, and there’s an account set up for you to use to make any repairs and small upgrades to the estate.”
Her concern slid into fear. “Repairs? What kind of condition is the lodge in?”
Holt stood, signaling the meeting was over. “The lodge has been closed for the last two months. Your father was too sick to manage the place, and the Thompsons, who have managed the business for thirty years, couldn’t run it alone. But it was your father’s greatest desire to see the lodge up and running again.”
Of course it was. It was the only thing Wade Porter ever cared about, certainly not his wife and daughter. Carly stood and held out her hand to Ella. “Let’s go, sweetie. I’m all done.”
She was keenly aware of Mack following her out into the reception area. The scent of his spicy aftershave made him hard to ignore.
“Uncle Mack. Are you rich?”
A little blond-haired girl about Ella’s age jumped up and hurried toward Mack.
Carly spun and looked at Mack. He returned the child’s hug with a wide smile. The look of affection in his blue eyes made one thing clear. He loved the little girl.
“It’s not polite to speak about money, but no, I’m not. I told you this wasn’t about money.”
What did he mean by that? Was he making a not-too-subtle dig at her request to sell the estate? It probably had sounded mercenary, but she had a good reason. What did he hope to get out of this bequest?
He met her gaze, and one corner of his mouth arched as if amused. “This is my niece. Lucy, this is an old—This is Mr. Wade’s daughter, Miss Carly, and her daughter, Ella.”
Despite her roiling emotions, she couldn’t resist the sweet smile on Lucy’s face. “Hello, Lucy. Is she Valerie’s child?”
“Yes.” His expression turned serious. “We need to talk. Why don’t we meet at the lodge in an hour, get settled in and see what we can work out?”
“I’m not staying at the lodge.”
Mack lowered his voice and pinned her with his steely blue gaze. “I believe Mr. Holt stated that staying at the lodge was one of the conditions of the will. Would you like to double-check with him? Or are you ready to let your dad’s estate go up for auction tomorrow?”
She hated being forced to do things. How like her dad to die and leave a complicated mess behind. She wanted no part of it. But if she had any chance of inheriting even a small sum, she had to go along. Her only hope was to convince Mack to sell his portion, then they would both be free. Surely he had no desire to run the business.
“Fine. I’ll see you there.” She took Ella’s hand and walked out of the office. Her heart filled with old resentments and new frustrations. There had to be a way around this ridiculous will. Why would her father do this to her? He knew how she and her mother hated the lodge. It was the reason her parents had divorced.
But Mack was right. She couldn’t allow the estate to go to auction. She needed the money she could get from selling. There was no hope of paying off Ella’s hospital bills otherwise. Her father owed her that much. At least then the lodge would finally justify its existence.
Somehow she had to convince Mack that it was in everyone’s best interest to cut their losses and sell. There were too many memories here, too much pain and sadness. Adding Mack into the mix was only making it worse and stirring up another collection of painful incidents.
There was nothing at all at Longleaf Lodge and Campgrounds that she wanted. Except out from under it and hopefully enough money to be free of debt.
Mack watched Carly stride stiff-backed through the office door, pulling her daughter along with her as if she couldn’t
