Chapter Five

Sara suppressed a yawn. She'd been up since four and she'd accomplished a lot. Sometimes she forgot what her life was like when she was writing full-time. She used to have fourteen-hour workdays, and it wasn't unusual for her to continue through the weekend. It was only later, when she started traveling, that her long days were broken up.

But last night and this morning had been full of things she wanted to accomplish. The feeling that she'd done it all gave her a sense of satisfaction that she hadn't felt in a long time.

The smell of bacon made her put her laptop aside and get dressed. She had a lot to tell the others.

The first thing she saw, intuited really, was that Jack and Kate had not consummated their relationship. There was still that brother-sister feeling between them. How very much she wanted that to end!

Randal, beautifully dressed, came in from the guesthouse and told them he'd cleared his calendar. He didn't fool his sister. She could feel his excitement under his cool exterior. It was easy to guess that he was looking forward to seeing Lea Oliver again. But at the same time, she could feel his trepidation. Older, years full of life, et cetera. There had been many changes.

When Sara got to the kitchen counter, they looked at her expectantly.

"I saw your light on at four," Jack said. "What have you found out?"

"Why were you wandering around the house?" Her meaning was clear. Why weren't you in bed with Kate and too "busy" to see lights under my door?

Jack knew what she meant and smiled as though to say it was none of her business. He handed her a plate of bacon and eggs and an almond flour muffin.

Sara ate quickly, then stepped back to look at the others. "I did the first part." She took a drink of her caffeinated water. "I called Billy and got the private number of his eldest brother and called him. I point-blank asked him about the cheap way he's treated his youngest brother and about clearing out Lachlan House over the years. Of course, nothing was admitted, but the expense of housing Billy in the best suite of rooms has been taken on by his family. And—" she paused, smiling "—we now have a carte blanche expense account for repairing and refurnishing." She looked at Kate. "Rico will meet you at the store at eight, before it opens, and you may buy whatever you want. Make Lachlan House beautiful."

"But I don't know how to do that," Kate said yet again.

Still, no one believed her.

"Who's coming?" Jack asked.

Sara looked at her brother and he nodded. "It looks like Lea Oliver will be there for sure. I hope you don't mind, but I gave us a date. Everyone is to arrive eight days before the expiration date stated in James Lachlan's will. The party is to last four days, which means that we'll have four days afterward to... I don't know what we'll need to do. Anyway, this gives us an entire eleven days before their arrival to clean, repair, and furnish the house."

"Eleven days?" Jack sounded ready to laugh at the absurdity. "Plumbing? Electrical? The kitchen needs to be gutted. I can't—"

Sara waved her hand. "Of course you can do it."

Randal was leaning back on his stool. "And what, may I ask, Sergeant Major, am I to do?"

Sara ignored his snide tone. "You're to help Kate. I suggest you get Jack's room measurements, then you and Billy go online and visit Rugs.com. What they have is in stock and they can ship it fast. If not, you can drive to South Carolina and pick up the rugs you two choose." She looked at the three of them. "Any questions?"

"Who else is coming?" Jack asked.

"No other acceptances yet, but the invitations have been sent out. My L.A. agent said it would be no problem to get a message to Barbara Adair. Billy's brothers know Rachel's family. He also told me that the grandmother of Reid is still alive, so he'll contact her. I'll let you know when I hear from them." She looked at Jack. "I need two strong men and a big truck. Not a pickup. Bigger. I'm going to empty those storage units."

"At last," Jack said. He oversaw a lot of Sara's accounting, so he knew she'd been paying rental fees for years. "How about Gil and Juan meet you there in thirty minutes?"

"Perfect," Sara said. "Any more questions? Everyone knows what they're to do?"

"How's Sheriff Flynn?" Kate asked. "He's alone in the house."

Randal spoke up. "I called his wife, Evie, and she showed up with wine and burgers. The top floor is locked, and Daryl said he has no plan to tell her what's up there. When I talked to him, he was feeling no pain."

"Good job," Sara said. "Jack, will you give me a ride to the storage units? Kate, take my car. Baer's doesn't deliver lamps and my back seat folds down. It holds more." With a wide grin, she started to her room. "I never did take photos of the house. I'm going to do a magnificent before-and-after spread."

When they were alone, Jack, Kate, and Randal looked at each other.

"I feel like I just survived a tsunami," Kate said.

"My sister is—" Randal began, but when they heard Sara's door click, they scurried apart. They had been given work to do.