Page 116 of Ghost Note

“Yeah,” she sighed.

I didn’t even have the energy to ask her about it, and I definitely didn’t need to know why he’d gone sooner rather than later. Hanging around would have done him no good, and a part of me was glad he’d driven away before I’d grown tired, weak, and decided to run to Florence’s home.

“He asked me to go with him,” I admitted, waiting for her to tense around me.

Instead, she continued to soothe my back before she whispered, “I know.” With a scowl, I pulled back and looked at her, my eyes asking the question my mouth couldn’t. “He came by earlier this morning… to my place.”

“To say what?”

“Actually…” Gina reached around into her back pocket, and she pulled out a white envelope that had been folded in two. “He wanted to talk to me about this. Come on,” she said, jerking her head in the direction of the road. “Let’s go to our favourite spot, and I’ll let you read it.”

“Gina, you’re scaring me.”

She took my hand in hers and swung it between us, a soft smile playing on her lips. “There’s nothing to be scared of. Lock up your house, and let’s go.”

I reluctantly did as she asked, even though I didn’t like it. The two of us walked through Hope Cove in silence, making our way up the hill and along the walkway that led to the bench on the hilltop that overlooked the beach and ocean.

We came here a lot when Gina’s parents had died. Some days, we’d talk the hours away, while watching the boats whizz by, the people paddle on their paddleboards, and the birds circle above us. Other times, we’d come here and sit in silence, needing nothing but each other’s company and the views to get us through our muddled emotions.

Gina asked me to be here a lot with her when she first realised that she’d have to raise Jackson alone. The two of us had shared a lot of secrets and fears in this space, and we’d forged a bond strong enough to withstand anything as we discussed our hopes and dreams for a brighter future.

I took my place, and so did she. Gina’s fingers worried the envelope in her hands before she looked up into my eyes.

“Danny said that if he’d have offered you this, you’d have told him where to go,” she began, “and he really wants you to consider what’s inside. He wants you to know that he’s not trying to own you or control you in any way, but that this was his plan all along… even before you, well, you know…”

I blinked at her, confused. “I don’t understand.”

“You will.” Gina handed me the letter, and I kept my focus on her as I peeled it open and pulled the folded piece of paper out that had Danny’s scruffy handwriting scrawled all over it.

I’d always given him grief for the quick, careless way in which he wrote, while I loved nothing more than to shape my vowels with perfect curves and elongate my consonants to make them look pretty.

“Don’t let your pride get in the way here, Dais,” Gina said quietly before she sat back on the bench and looked out across the ocean. “Pride wastes precious years.”

I dropped my attention to Danny’s letter.

Zee,

I’m writing this with Gina glaring at me, so forgive me for my scruffy penmanship. I know it gets on your nerves. Some things need to be written, though. They’re more personal, and Gran always said that it was important to sprinkle business with a little personal touch where possible.

I guess this falls under business rather than pleasure… although if you take what I have to offer without putting up a fight, it will definitely bring me a lot of pleasure to my life.

Here’s the deal.

Your rented house isn’t available for you to rent anymore.

It has a new buyer, and that buyer is you.

Although you never asked to know this, I’m telling you anyway. I have more money than I know what to do with. My parents left me everything they owned, and then Gran did, too. The rock star life treats me well—more than well—even though I’d honestly do this gig for free. I have no family to share this wealth with. The truth is, you’re the only family I have left now, which means everything I have, I want to share with you.

A solicitor will be in touch within the next few days. I’d love for you to cooperate and let me sign that house over to you.

The house….

And Daisy’s Devon.

I know you love that place and everything you’ve built from it. I’m so proud of you for going out there, chasing your own dream, and making a life for yourself. Devon is a part of your heart and soul the way music is a part of mine. I can’t ask you to give up your passion, just like you’d never ask me to give up mine. So, I want you to be happy there. We don’t have to understand each other’s dreams to support them.

I never want you to have to worry about rent, or the lease, or if someone is going to come and take your dream away from your hands and sweep it out from under your feet. You’ve worked hard to make it a success, and that success deserves to be cemented with your name carved across it.

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