Page 84 of Vanishing Legacy

“What’s the note say?” Cash nodded to the envelope.

Alana peeled back the flap and pulled out the letter. “Should I read it out loud?”

“Yeah.” Cash cut his eyes to the kids, then back to Alana. “If you can.”

Alana’s eyes scanned the paper. “I think it’s good. It says,

‘Dear Alana and Elite Guardian family.

Thank you for allowing me to author a story based on your harrowing true-life events. I hope I did your characters justice, even if I embellished a bit here and there.

I am thrilled to hear about your plans to create a special place for at-risk youths at the Atlas Gym. The training and instruction they will receive will have a ripple effect throughout the lives of everyone involved in the program. I see the need for such a place and feel very much led by the Lord to support you in this endeavor. Therefore, it is my pleasure to donate all proceeds from the book sales directly to your newly established nonprofit. Enclosed you will find the first check, and I pray there are many more to come. Besides the proceeds from the book sales, I will support the mission with my personal finances on a monthly basis.

Please share copies of this book with the rest of the Elite Guardians and know that I’m thankful to you all.

Warmly, S. M. Warren.’

Cash smiled. They’d met the author a few times, and her thoughtfulness didn’t surprise him. She was charismatic and kind in all the best ways. Alana slid the check out of the envelope and stared at it. Her mouth fell open.

“That much?”

She handed the check to him, and his own mouth fell open a little. “That’s...generous...”

“More than,” she said. “We should be able to finish the dorms and classrooms.”

Rocco held the book against his chest. “You think Penny and I can read this?”

“Let me read it first. As long as it’s not too scary, then sure.” Alana held her hand out and Rocco handed her the book. “Now, you two run get ready for the game. We don’t want to keep Aunt Christina and Uncle Grey waiting.”

“C’mon, Penny,” Rocco said, helping her down from the stool. “We’re going to see Boss too!”

“Boss too!” Penny squealed down the hallway.

Cash tucked the check back into the envelope and handed it to Alana. “I can’t wait to read what Warren wrote about that stalker woman. Whatever happened to her anyway?”

“You mean Bethany Gould. Yeah, get this. The whole reason she was stalking Warren in the first place was because they’d met at a writer’s conference. Bethany was convinced Warren would get her book published, but then Bethany’s husband died unexpectedly. Heart attack, I think. That, coupled with the stress of writing novels and rejection after rejection, caused her to snap.”

“And she thought stalking Warren would help how?”

“She thought if Warren would spend a few days going over her manuscript, they could figure out why she was getting rejections.”

“And she thought Warren would want to help her after being kidnapped?” Cash shook his head.

“It doesn’t make sense to us, but Warren asked the judge for leniency. She said now that she knows why Bethany did what she did, she can sorta relate. Apparently, not just anyone can be a published author.”

“I don’t know. Sounds to me like this Bethany woman is born to be an author.”

Alana scrunched her face. “Why do you say that?”

“You’d have to be a bit crazy to put yourself through all that stress on purpose.”

“Hmm, maybe you’re right.” Alana left two books on the counter and closed the box. “All I know is I’m glad these crazy people keep writing books so I can enjoy a little escape from reality.”

Cash tapped the cover. A picture of a woman who resembled Alana had her arms folded. Behind her, a fiery helicopter spiraled toward a sinking yacht. “Yeah…an escape from reality.”

She smiled and kissed him. “Speaking of reality…go change while I take care of getting the kids ready.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

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