Page 148 of This Heart Of Mine (Chicago Stars 5)

As he made his way down to the gray, empty kitchen, he told himself there was no reason to feel guilty about Molly, but that didn’t seem to matter to his conscience. Until he figured out some way to make amends, he’d never be able to stop thinking about her.

Then it came to him. The perfect solution.

Molly stared at Kevin’s attorney. “He’s giving me the campground?”

The attorney shifted his weight closer to the center of the packing box that held Molly’s computer. “He called me first thing yesterday morning. I’m finalizing the paperwork now.”

“I don’t want it! I’m not taking anything from him.”

“He must have known you’d react that way, because he said to tell you if you refused, he’d let Eddie Dillard bulldoze the place. I don’t think he was kidding.”

She wanted to scream, but it wasn’t the attorney’s fault that Kevin was high-handed and manipulative, so she controlled her temper. “Is there anything to prevent me from giving the campground away?”

“No.”

“All right, I’ll accept. And then I’m giving it away.”

“I don’t think he’ll be too happy about that.”

“Hand him a box of tissues.”

The attorney was young, and he gave her a halfway-flirtatious smile, then gathered up his briefcase and made his way through the furniture to the door. In deference to the July heat, he wasn’t wearing a suit coat, but her apartment didn’t have air-conditioning, and there was a damp spot on his back. “You might want to get up there fairly soon. Kevin’s left, and there’s no one in charge.”

“I’m sure there is. He hired someone to take over.”

“They didn’t seem to work out.”

Molly wasn’t a swearing person, but she could barely hold back a big one. She’d had only forty-eight hours to get used to being a successful children’s book author, and now this.

As soon as the attorney left, she crawled over the couch to

retrieve her phone and call her new agent, the best contract negotiator in town. “Phoeb, it’s me.”

“Hey, big-time author! Talks are going well, but I’m still not satisfied with the up-front money they’re offering.”

She heard the relish in her sister’s voice. “Just don’t bankrupt them.”

“It’s so tempting.”

They chatted about the negotiations for a few minutes before Molly got to the point, doing her best to say it without choking. “Kevin’s just done the sweetest thing.”

“Walked blindfolded in front of speeding traffic?”

“Don’t be like that, Phoebe.” She was definitely going to strangle on this. “He’s a great guy. As a matter of fact, he’s given me the campground as a surprise.”

“You’re kidding.”

Molly gripped the receiver tighter. “He knows how much I love it there.”

“I understand that, but…”

“I’m going to drive up tomorrow. I’m not sure how long I’ll stay.”

“At least this will get you out of that fleabag apartment until we finish negotiating your contract. I suppose I should be grateful.”

It had been humiliating telling Phoebe that she’d been forced to sell her condo. To her sister’s credit, she hadn’t offered to bail Molly out, but that didn’t mean she’d kept quiet.

Molly got off the phone as soon as she could and glanced over at Roo, who was trying to keep cool under the kitchen table. “Go ahead and say it. My timing sucks. If I’d waited two weeks, we’d still be in our old place basking in air-conditioning.”

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