Page 47 of Hooked on a Feeling

His mother shook her head and stood up to face him. “Why would I? You can’t tell your heart who to love. Well, you can tell it, but it isn’t going to listen. It loves who it wants to love.”

“Do you know what happened between Grandpa and Starr’s grandfather?”

“It was so long ago. It’s water under the bridge.”

“It really is, but it would still be a nice story to tell our children.” Did I just say that?

His mother put a hand on her hip. “Children? Things are moving quickly.”

“I didn’t mean it that way.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen with us. I’d love for her to stay. I love her, but it’s like I can’t let my heart love her any more knowing she’s leaving, if that makes any sense.”

“Completely.”

He checked the time on his phone. “I have to go. Starr asked me to meet with her and her grandfather’s attorney about the trust the marina is in.” He gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “I want another day off on Monday, and then I’ll put my tail between my legs and go to my daddy,” he said sarcastically. “For you.”

Chapter Seventeen

“Call me Albert, please.” Albert Velartti was well past retirement age and shorter than Starr, with pure white hair and a white moustache to match.

Starr shook his hand. “Thanks for meeting with us on such short notice.” She nodded to John, who was standing next to Deanne. “This is John Davenport.”

“How are your parents?” Albert asked Starr.

“Good, sir. Thanks for asking.”

It took Albert a few minutes to get his papers organized, and Starr waited patiently even though she was on pins and needles about the contents of the trust. He pulled a pair of glasses out of his breast pocket—the man still wore a suit even though it was a hundred degrees outside, bless his heart.

Albert cleared his throat and handed Starr paper copies of the trust and will. “Even though you already have digital copies, I always like to hold things and be able to point to the important parts of these documents. Is that okay with you?”

Starr and Deanne shared a smile. Could this old man be any cuter?

“Yes, this is perfect. But I have to be honest. I don’t really know what is in either document.” Starr glanced at John. “I’m not going to be able to sell the property, am I?”

“Oh no. It’s nothing like that at all. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The Harold and Nancy Young Trust specifies exactly how Emerald Port Marina and Yacht Club should be handled.” He handed Starr a highlighter. “I find if you highlight the important parts, it helps to retain the knowledge and it’s easier to find information later.”

Starr took the cap off and bit her lip. Albert was nice but deliberate. She bit her tongue to keep herself from shouting at him to move more quickly. She saw Deanne and John share a look of impatience and figured they felt the same way.

“I’m ready when you are,” Starr said.

“Alrighty then. Page two of the document. This is important because it mentions that the trust expires in one week, and the property automatically reverts to your parents, Katherine and Doyle Young. It was your grandfather’s intention that your parents keep running the property. His hope was that they would realize the value of what they were being given. He didn’t put the property in their names right away because he figured they would just sell it.” He grabbed her hand and helped her highlight that part.

“I’m sorry,” Starr said. “I’m falling down on my job.”

“That’s okay. This here is a copy of the survey showing the boundary lines of the property included in the trust. And here, you really want to pay attention to this part.”

Prickles of panic and fear covered her toes and fingers. “Got it.”

John squeezed her shoulder, and she was grateful that he was behind her. Literally and figuratively. When she made eye contact with Deanne, she was smiling like she knew a big secret.

“Now, if the Emerald Port Marina and Yacht Club, including but not limited to the Shipwreck and Seaside Store, is turning a profit leading up to the day the trust ends, the trust says the property will be gifted to said person or persons who are running it as long as they are above the age of eighteen and not a member of the Davenport family.” Albert cut John a look.

Starr gulped in a deep breath. “So, what are you saying? The property could go to anyone? Like, if Lyle had been in better health to keep it running and making a bunch of money, the trust would have granted him ownership?”

Albert nodded. “Exactly.” He pressed her marker down onto her copy of the paper and highlighted what he’d just gone over. Sheesh, he was a stickler about this highlighter thing. “I know you’ve been improving it, and according to Deanne, the dock slips are rentable. You painted. What are the finances like? Are you turning a profit on this place?”

“No.” She wished. Her eyes collided with Deanne’s, and then her gaze went to John. He raised his eyebrows, and that was when it hit her. “If I was turning a profit, I could inherit my grandparents’ marina.”

Hope bloomed inside her chest. The idea that she could keep the marina wasn’t something she’d considered—not seriously. She’d had daydreams about it, for sure. About what it would be like to stay here with John and raise a family, to run the marina and start an AquaYoga business on the side. About having cute little kids with brownish-blond hair and freckles from the sun, who would learn how to sail and would love being on the water as much as their daddy. Tears pricked her eyes.

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