“Want coffee?”
“No, thanks. It’s too hot.”
“Agreed. Water?”
“Perfect.”
Cody grabbed two cold bottles from the fridge and sat on the barstool he’d clearly been occupying before I knocked. There was a laptop open in front of him and a yellow legal pad covered in his handwriting beside it.
“Big morning,” he said.
“The fencing came down,” I said.
“I heard.” He nodded toward the window that faced the beach.
I took a long drink from the bottle. “Can I ask you something?”
Cody looked at me. “Okay.”
I figured it would be best to start with one of his family members than face all of them. I had met a few of them over the years, but that had been a long time ago and it was only in passing. We were entering into new territory. I wasn’t sure how they were going to accept me. Especially now.
“I cost you money,” I said. “Your family. The whole situation with the port, the pullout. I know there was a financial penalty. And I know there’s the lawsuit now.” I made myself look at him directly. “I need to know if there’s any bad feeling about that. Toward me.”
Cody looked at me for a long moment, the kind of look that was taking stock rather than finding an answer. Like he was deciding how honest to be.
“Summer, my brother has been walking around for four years looking like a man who left something important behind and couldn’t figure out how to go back for it.” He took a drink from his water bottle. “The money we lost on the Surfside deal is not even a footnote compared to watching him actually look like himself again.”
I nodded. “And the smear campaign?”
He shrugged. “Have you ever been to Texas?”
“No.”
“Well, we’re built a little different down there. Judd can try, but he’s not going to win. And the money, well, I don’t think you fully understand how little that money matters.”
“All money matters,” I said. “And I think rich people are more aware of their money than others.”
He chuckled. “You’re right about that, but we’ve learned money cannot buy happiness. But in this case, I think losing money has bought my big brother a life.”
“No hard feelings?” I asked.
“No hard feelings,” he said simply. “Not from me. Not from the family.”
“Thank you. I think ultimately you guys will appreciate it as well,” I said. “You guys own property here because it’s beautiful. No one wants an ugly, loud port.”
“Agreed,” he said. “You changed him. He’s different since he came back here. Better. More like the version of him that existed before he got so wrapped up in building things that he forgot why he was building them.”
I had no idea how much he’d told his family about his plans. I wasn’t going to reveal anything. But I wondered if they knew he was planning to stay here for good? That might be the thing that had them resenting me.
CHAPTER 48
COLT
Iwalked up to the door with the paper bags in both arms and a box of water guns. I wasn’t sure Becca was going to be cool with them, but I was very well versed at being the fun uncle—Funcle Colt.
I knocked on the door.
“It’s open,” Summer called from somewhere inside.