The Summer of Us (Mission Cove 1)

“It must have been hard to start over.”

She pursed her lips. “It was. But I had my mom and sisters. Uncle Pete was great—older than my mom. He hardly knew us, but he made us welcome and gave us a home. He was a retired cop. Hayley and Emily adored him. We all did. I miss him,” she added simply.

“How did he die?” I asked.

“Heart attack. He was in his boat, fishing…” Her voice trailed off, then she cleared her throat. “He died exactly the way he wanted. Doing something he loved. After he died was when Mom got sick and wanted to come back here. She missed the water and the sun.” Sunny’s lips turned up into a sad smile. “Where we lived had a lot of fog and rain.”

“You never liked the fog.”

She rested her elbow on the table, meeting my gaze. “For a long time, the fog suited me, Linc. I was sad and withdrawn, even though I tried not to show it. Eventually my heart healed enough I was able to find my feet again.”

I hunched closer. “But it was never the same, right? There was always a part of you that was missing. Missing me.” I kept my eyes on hers. “Because that’s how it was for me. I missed you every goddamn day.”

“Yes,” she whispered.

My phone beeped, breaking the moment. I glanced at it, then shot off a fast reply to Abby.

“Is everything all right?” Sunny asked.

“Abby wanted me to know she is fine and going to bed.”

“How long do you plan on staying here?”

I shrugged. “A while. Abby brought a bag with her—she had no intention of going back to Toronto if I wasn’t there. She knew she’d be safer with me close. So, we’re both staying.”

Sunny’s fingers drummed on the table, and she tilted her head. That had always been one of her nervous tells. She wanted to ask me something and wasn’t sure how to phrase it. It made me smile to know I could still recognize her habits.

“Ask me,” I murmured. “Ask me anything, Sunny.”

“It’s you, isn’t it? The mysterious benefactor. You didn’t help fix up the town or fix what your father broke. You’re the person still buying up properties and basically gifting them back to the town. Making sure people who could never afford to own anything get the chance to do exactly that. My payments go to you.”

I didn’t deny it. “You can own the building now if you want it, Sunny. One call and it’s yours.” I told her. “If I had known it was you, it would have been yours free and clear from day one.”

I still couldn’t believe she had been here in Mission Cove and I didn’t know it. Her business was listed simply as Hilbert Inc. The name of the owner was Suzanne Hilbert. Neither had struck a chord with me when I scanned through her papers. She had been Sunny my entire life, and her new last name hadn’t been the least bit familiar. I preferred Sunny to Suzanne. She suited the name more.

“I don’t want it free and clear. I want to earn it.”

“You have earned it. Everyone in this town has earned it. What my father did to the people here was atrocious. The way he played with people’s lives. Took away their pride.” Now it was my turn to tap my finger on the table. “I’m paying it back. All of it. With interest.”

“A modern-day Robin Hood, Linc?”

I shook my head. “No, someone trying to make restitution.”

“For what? You didn’t do anything. It was your father.”

I pushed away from the table and circled Sunny’s apartment. She watched me pace, not speaking. I stopped by the window and lifted the edge of the curtain, peering down into the town. The streets were quiet, the house on the hill dark. I let the curtain fall back into place and turned.

“You may not like my answer, Sunny.”

“Tell me anyway.”

“I’m doing this because he would hate it. Because every time I spend more of his money giving back to the people he hurt, I know he must howl in rage as he burns in hell. I feel as if I finally have my hand on the knife, and I’m twisting it in him every single time I sign a check or write off another building. This is payback. Pure and simple.”

“At some point, I assume it will end.”

“No. I studied hard while I was locked away. Turned out I had a knack for investing. Numbers. I took my inheritance and tripled it in a year. I used the money and broke him, then took his dwindling funds once he died, added an equal amount of my own, and did the same again. That money will never run out, no matter how much I give away.”