Kate suddenly smiled. “Oh, Eby. I knew it! It’s not too late. I think I have the solution. I want to discuss something with you.”
Eby was taken aback by her ebullience. “Discuss what?”
“If you had enough money to travel without having to sell the lake, would you still sell?”
Eby put the cold bottle of water to her forehead, then to her chest. “Probably.”
“Oh,” Kate said, and Eby could almost see the wind blow out of her sails. “All right, then.”
“Mainly because there would be no one to run it in my absence,” Eby continued. “Lisette couldn’t, for obvious reasons, even if she wanted to. And it would take even more money I don’t have to hire employees.”
Kate straightened in her seat. “What if I buy Lost Lake?” she asked. “Or at least buy into it? You’d have money to travel that way. Devin and I could even stay here and run the place while you’re gone. That way you’d have something to come back to.”
Eby laughed before she could stop herself. It was so pie-in-the-sky, like some great scheme a child would make up. “Kate…”
“You haven’t signed anything yet,” Kate quickly reminded her. “You don’t have to give this place up. I have money. What if I invest in it? I love it here. So does Devin. A year. Give me a year.”
Eby stared at her, beginning to understand that she was serious. Kate wasn’t that child who used to spin stories any longer. Eby was seeing that now. “Can you really afford it?”
“It’s the money from the sale of my house. The house you bought. It makes sense to invest it here. I’ve been thinking about this for a few days now. I could put a lot of time and energy into advertising and promotion. It’s what I did with Matt’s shop. I even created the logo. I’m good at it. I could get business up.”
Eby smiled at the thought. But then she shook her head. She couldn’t get her hopes up, not this late in the game. “It’s too late. Lazlo and his lawyer are already here. They want the papers signed today.”
“Wait,” Kate said, confused. “If he has a lawyer, shouldn’t you too?”
“No. I just want to get this over with.”
“It’s not too late, Eby.”
“You should use your money on a better investment than this.”
“There is no better investment than this,” Kate said, turning to stare at her daughter on the dock. Three girls Devin’s age had now joined her. They were laughing, their hands animated as they talked. The girls ran back up to the lawn and beckoned Devin to follow them. Devin looked behind her at the lake once, before running after them.
“You need to move on,” Eby said. “We all do. Even Wes.”
That got Kate’s attention. “What does Wes have to do with this?”
“He’s going into business with his uncle, Lazlo.”
“Wait. Uncle?” Kate’s entire demeanor changed. “Lazlo is Wes’s uncle?”
“He didn’t tell you?”
“No. What do you mean, he’s going into business with him?”
“Once my deal with Lazlo goes through, Wes is going to give his land to his uncle as an investment in the development. That’s one of the reasons I can’t go back. Everything is already in motion.”
It took Kate a moment to respond. “So he has a vested interest in your selling this place.”
“I don’t know if I would call it that,” Eby said, picking up her plastic fork and knife, getting ready to tackle the overcooked steak in front of her. Her last meal as owner of this place. At least dessert was going to be good. “Wesley’s relationship to this place is complicated.”
They both turned when Lazlo called out over the crowd, “Can I have your attention everyone!”
Kate stood, then hesitated. “Don’t sign anything. Not just yet. Promise me you’ll wait just a little while today.”
“All right,” Eby said curiously, and watched her disappear into the crowd.