Page 103 of Summer with the Single Dad

Justine glanced away and bit the corner of her bottom lip. “New bed. Just getting used to it.”

“Just breaking it in, I’m guessing. Those bags under your eyes are like badges of honor.”

“Justine!” came a sweet, small voice from Bennett’s front door.

She was just climbing into Brooke’s vehicle, but paused to face Emme. “I haven’t forgotten about our date, sweetheart. I’m going to go to yoga with Brooke. Then when I get back, we’ll go do something fun together. Okay? You plan it and I’ll make it happen.”

Emme beamed and nodded. “Okay!”

Justine climbed into Brooke’s vehicle and fastened her seatbelt.

“A date with Emme?”

“Yeah,” Justine sighed. “I screwed up. I promised to do the cakewalk with her at the funfair, but after I choked when Barnacle was choking, I ran and basically stood her up. So I’m making up for it.”

Brooke nodded. “People make mistakes. What’s important is owning up to them and making it right. Emme’s a great kid. I’m sure she understands.”

“She’s a phenomenal kid. They both are.”

“These guys are definitely doing it right with their children. I don’t find any of them annoying.”

“Who? The guys or the kids?”

Brooke made a noise in her throat as she paused at the gate for it to swing open. “Both, actually.”

Justine huffed a small laugh. “I need to reserve judgment and get to know the brothers a little better before I declare an opinion.”

“Fair enough.”

The drive to the yoga studio was filled with lighthearted banter about the funfair on Friday, as well as the wedding for Satan and his bride. Justine felt comfortable enough with Brooke to let her in on the real deal story regarding her ex and his baby mama. She didn’t go into great detail when it came to Mr. O’Malley. She just said that Ashli revealed herself while Justine was in surgery and a patient suffered. Brooke could tell that Justine didn’t want to expand on the story. So she let it drop.

“Definitely a rock and a hard place for Bennett, huh?” Brooke asked, pulling into the parking lot of Go with the Flow.

“My feelings toward them can’t be factored into this huge, moneymaking opportunity. It sucks, but I’ll just make myself scarce while they’re here.”

“We’ll go to the spa for the day. Pamper ourselves like princesses while the Frog and his toad tie the knot around their necks.”

Justine barked out a very unflattering laugh—one that would have made her mother cringe and glare at her. “More like double nooses.”

Brooke chuckled and opened the driver’s side door.

Justine met her around the front of the truck. “I am dying to know more about Bonn Remmen’s land and what the guys’ interest in it is. Who was Bonn Remmen, and why is his land so coveted, and how come they can’t just buy it?”

Brooke’s blonde brows climbed her forehead and her green eyes widened. “Oh! That is a story.”

Brooke had a membership at the studio, and Justine bought a brunch pass and a yoga mat. The class before their class wasn’t quite finished. So they stepped back outside, found a bench among the wildflowers, and sat in the warm, morning sun.

“So,” Brooke started. “Bonn Remmen was an island Elder. One of the great founders of this weird, quirky little place. He was a squatter and draft dodger. Most went to Canada, but some fled to places like San Camanez where they basically set up their own semi-sovereign government. It’s impossibly hard to buy land here because it gets passed down from generation to generation. If you do buy land, it’s usually from an Elder, or OG’s heir, that doesn’t want the land. That’s how the McEvoys got their land. An heir from back east didn’t want the headache of dealing with the property, so they put it up for sale.”

“And Bonn Remmen’s land is up for sale?”

She shook her head just as a balmy, salt-scented breeze picked up the loose strands of hair around her face and jostled them across her cheeks. She batted them away, tucking them behind her ears. “No. Bonn made certain in his will that the land not be sold. He had no living heirs, so he’s put it in trust of the Elders’ Council to find someone who will honor the land and maintain its integrity and spirit. Or something like that. So whoever has interest in the land has to submit a proposal to the Elders for review, then they pick.”

“Is this even legal?” Justine asked. “Doesn’t it just become property of the state?”

“That’s what I figured, but there are some loopholes, I guess. Anyway, the guys really want it. They want to expand their property, build more cabins, grow hops for the brewery, and create a space for weddings.”

“Yeah, Bennett mentioned that.”

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