EPILOGUE
Jeff walked into the office with a smile on his face. “Check it out. I got an email from Dad.”
Gray didn’t bother to correct the title; in fact, he’d stopped doing so a long time ago. Jon was, unfortunately, the closest thing he’d ever known to a father anyway, and he was beyond the point of being bothered over trivial things.
Jeff was still conflicted about working at the resort he had expected to inherit, and while he was good at his job, he and Gray both knew it would probably be just a matter of time before he’d move on to something else. There was a small, mostly faded hotel not far from the resort. Jeff had the credit and work history to get a loan, provided Gray would help him with the down payment. Gray had every intention of offering that loan if that ever became a possible reality for Jeff.
“Yeah?” Gray stretched his shoulders. “Where is he?”
Jeff grinned. “Working as a concierge in Hawaii. He hates it, but it is what it is.”
Jon had indeed accumulated a healthy little nest egg by skimming off the top at the resort, and neither Jeff nor Gray would ever see a cent of it. Sadly for him, he was unable to hold on to the money he’d stashed away and, just three years later, he was struggling to get by. Gray had no doubt that when, not if, Jeff was able to purchase the nearby hotel, Jon would return to help run it. He only hoped Jeff would rein Jon in, and Gray had faith that his brother would do the right thing. It was a great relief that Jeff no longer suffered from blind hero-worship of his father, who was anything but a hero.
“Hawaii, huh? That has to be fun.”
Jeff’s lips trembled as he fought back a laugh. “You haven’t heard the rest of it. It’s a timeshare resort.”
Gray burst into laughter. “The scourge of the industry? How…fitting.”
Jeff grinned. “You did well in selling that block of rooms to that timeshare developer.”
“I know.”
There had been a lot of changes at the resort. The timeshare buy-in allowed Gray to pay off most of the LLC obligations to Riley, and that was an enormous weight off his shoulders, financially and otherwise. He had also implemented staff bonuses and issued day passes for the relatives of resort personnel to use the facilities a few days a month. The passes were a boon, but they did come with caveats: They couldn’t swarm the premises and overcrowd the guests, for one thing, but since most of the staff were too busy during the peak season, their families didn’t generally arrive to use the amenities until shoulder season anyway.
The amenities had changed as well. There was now a large, thrilling waterslide that shot guests out of an upstairs walkway, into the deep end of the pool. The bar was less formal, and there were more family-oriented activities, with plenty of things to do for all ages. Because of all the changes, those brilliant ideas Jon had refused to listen to, business was booming, and the resort was booked solid all year long.
“You ready for me to take over? I spotted Riley down at the beach a minute ago,” Jeff said.
Gray stood. “That’d be great.”
“See ya,” Jeff said as Gray walked out.
Gray headed straight to the beach, still smiling. His grin only widened when he saw Riley.
***
“Shell!”
Riley laughed as she bent closer to inspect the broken bit of shell that so fascinated Summer. “Oh, how pretty. Do you know what it came from?”
Summer stared at her, her face solemn and serious. She looked so much like her father, with jet-black hair and deep eyes. Riley couldn’t help being stricken all over again by a wave of deep and fierce love for her, every single time she looked at her. “No,” the sweet little girl finally said.
“It’s a clam shell,” Gray answered, swinging Summer up in his arms. When she settled down, he wrapped the other arm around Riley’s neck. He dropped a gentle kiss on her lips, and his heart let loose with the painful little throb it always gave off when she was around.
They started walking. Riley’s arm went around Gray’s waist, and Summer scrambled down to run ahead. The water rushed over their bare feet, and the gulls danced above the clear water, in search of their next meal.
“How was your day?” Gray asked.
Riley laughed softly. “Terrific. Yours?”
He dropped another kiss on her temple. “The same.”
They turned to face each other as Summer, ever the brave soul even though she was only 2, stood in the path of a small, oncoming wave. She giggled loudly when it knocked her onto her bottom on the sand.
Riley moved toward her in a panic, but Gray tugged on her elbow to stop her.
“Let her be,” he said. “She has to learn to swim sooner or later, since she’s growing up on the beach.”
Happiness flooded through Riley as Gray leaned against her.
“Tell me, babe…any regrets?”
She shook her head. “Not a single one,” she answered. “I’ve finally got everything I ever wanted, and that makes me the richest woman on Earth.”
He pulled in her close. “Me too,” he said dreamily. “Me too. Except I’m the richest guy on Earth.”
On the horizon, the sun dropped lower, shooting coral and scarlet rays across the sky and creating a perfect backdrop as they held each close while their Summer laughed and danced along the sand.
***
END OF THE SECOND STORY