Стейси Кестуик - Wet

“So your parents cut him off?”

“No. We all have trusts. After college, we get yearly stipends as long as we’re gainfully employed. So basically, as long as we’re not sitting on our asses, we’re golden. Wyatt used his money to open the bar. Figured he was there enough, he might as well own it.”

“And West too, right?”

She hesitated. “Not quite. West is our half-brother. We have different dads. He tried to join the family business in Chicago. Went to Wharton, got his MBA. He played by the rules, jumped through all the hoops, was being molded into this perfect little clone of my Dad. I’m not sure what happened, but about a year ago he showed up here. Said he was sick of it all and was going to do his own thing his way. He runs a small charter fishing company.”

“So he used the trust money for start up?”

Hailey shook her head. “He refuses to use his trust money for himself. Said he doesn’t want it. So he dumps it all in Wyatt’s bar. Wyatt wouldn’t just take it though and made West a co-owner. West uses his half of the bar’s profits to run his company. That’s why he’s living with Wyatt too — because he won’t touch their money.”

Well, that explained why Wyatt was in the kitchen when I woke up in West’s bed. “And what about you?”

“I’m still in college, so I don’t have any restrictions on my trust right now. I’m taking some business classes. Just a few each semester because of Cody, but I want to be like my brothers — independent. I’m trying to start up a jewelry company.” She shyly held up her wrist so I could see the bracelets hanging there, braided cord with a nautical feel.

Wait a minute… “West wears some of your work, doesn’t he?”

She blushed. “Yeah. He’s sweet about it and tries to support me. He’s trying to teach me about networking and commission sales. Maybe reaching out to some of the tourist shops on the nearby islands.”

“That’s a great idea, Hailey!”

She nodded. “I’m still working on product design and building up an inventory. We’ll see.”

We walked past a pool, a separate pool house, and a wide, curving stone patio with an outdoor fireplace before reaching an open spot. The grass was perfect — not one weed to be seen. Cody was climbing on the chair we had set in the middle of the yard, tugging on the balloon strings we tied to the back of it. I took out my camera and started snapping some candids while we talked. “So West fishes for a living?”

“Basically!” Hailey laughed. “He always says he has the best life now. He gets paid to take rich guys fishing. He does a bunch of those tournament things too, out of Charleston. You know, ten thousand dollars to the guy that catches the biggest mackerel or whatever.”

I lowered my camera, stunned. “There are contests where people can earn five figures for catching a fish ?”

“I know. Crazy, right? But some of these guys get super competitive about it. They think using a local guide with insider knowledge of the best spots will guarantee them a win. Too much money and too much free time, if you ask me.”

I raised the camera again and went back to shooting Cody, who was wrestling with Edison now. Edison was very tolerant. My mind was on West, though. He hadn’t mentioned his business to me. He had let me think he was just a bartender. I wondered why.

Putting West out of my head, I focused on my photo shoot. We undressed Cody until he was just wearing his shorts and hat and then posed him with the balloons and the chair. I got a bunch of Hailey and Cody together. Them lying on the ground with their heads together but their feet going in opposite directions, so that one of them looked upside down. Some of Hailey throwing Cody up in the air, with Cody surrounded by the puffy clouds that were meandering across the sky. A few of them together with Edison, laughing and playing on the perfect lawn. Hailey had even made one of those cakes that looked like a giant cupcake, and we got a bunch of great shots of Cody diving into that, with Edison right there with him getting covered in blue frosting. Just sheer cuteness everywhere.

After cleaning up the worst of the cupcake mess, I showed Hailey some of the raw photos. I still had to edit everything, and they would look better when I was done, but it would give her an idea of what I’d captured that day. Cody was setting the balloons free one at a time, watching each one dance its way up to the clouds, getting smaller and smaller until he couldn’t see it anymore, and then he’d let go of another one. “Bye bawoon,” he called, waving as one twisted away on a breeze, pulled out over the water.

I was packing my camera away when two couples and a young woman walked around the corner of the house, gesturing to the huge lawn spread between the mansion and the ocean. Hailey waved at them, and the older lady waved back. They were too far away for us to hear them as they stood at the corner, deep in discussion.

“The older couple is my grandparents,” Hailey said. Hailey’s grandmother was stylish in a summery dress with a wide-brimmed hat topping her gray hair. “And that’s the Perottis with them. Aubrey is the same age as Wyatt.”

Glancing over again, I studied Aubrey. She looked exotic, with olive skin and dark, glossy hair. She was dressed in white linen pants and a shiny high-necked navy top that left her arms bare. She looked like Yacht Club Barbie. Her parents looked like they had just stepped off the tennis court. I scanned my frosting-smeared tank and shorts and patted my haphazard bun, feeling inadequate.

The group was headed our way, and I stood, cursing myself again for not dressing nicer. As they got closer, Aubrey’s tasteful gold jewelry flashed in the sunlight. Her hair was pulled back into a classic French twist, not one strand out of place, even with the ocean breeze. I wondered if perfect girls like her ever did normal things, like sweat or get a pimple. Probably not.

When Cody saw his great-grandma, he went running. She bent down and scooped him up, cuddling him close, heedless of the blue frosting still smeared in a few places. I instantly relaxed, that action alone telling me what kind of woman she was at heart. Separating herself from the group, she walked over to us, assessing our messy outfits and the two balloons still tied to the chair. “So I take it the photo shoot this morning was a success, dear?” she asked Hailey, warmth evident in her tone.

“Oh, Grandma, just wait until you see what Sadie’s done! She’s amazing!” Hailey gushed. “Sadie, this is my grandmother. Grandma, this is my new friend I was telling you about, Sadie Mullins.”

The elegant gray-haired woman reached her hand out to me. “You can call me Margaret, dear.” I took her soft hand in mine. She had a firmer grip than I expected.

So this was the grandma West kept mentioning.

I couldn’t help but smile at her, genuinely pleased to meet her. She seemed like the type who would keep her grandkids in line.

“Your house is beautiful,” I said.

She smiled. “You’re welcome here anytime.”

Hailey reached for Cody and nodded toward the others. “What are the Perottis here for?”

Margaret glanced back at the well-dressed group. “We’re having an early meeting about the gala.”

“What’s the gala?” I asked.

Hailey rolled her eyes. “Every year Grandma and Grandpa host the annual Sailing Regatta Gala. It’s where everyone on the island with money comes to see and be seen.”

Margaret tsked. “It’s not that bad, Hailey. You know we raise a lot of money for charity every year. Anyway, this year Aubrey is the event organizer. She wanted to come look over the space and start brainstorming.”

Hailey snorted. “Sure. That’s why she wanted to come over.”