Beach House Reunion (Beach House #5)(99)

“What’s this all about?” Palmer asked. “Everything is so formal. I feel like I’m being sent to the executioner.”

“Hardly,” Cara said with a short laugh. “This is more likely your release from prison.”

Palmer shook his head without understanding. “Okay then, sister mine. I raise the white flag.”

“I know you do,” she said gently. Cara paused, then began, “I’ve asked you here to tell you a story. I’d appreciate it if you’d just listen to the whole story before you interrupt with questions.”

“A story? About what?”

“Palmer . . .” Cara said with exasperation.

“Sorry.”

She folded her hands on the table. “This is a story about our mother.”

Palmer’s eyes flared with interest.

Cara cleared her throat and began to tell her brother about the great love story of Olivia Rutledge and Russell Bennett. She told it as she herself had heard it, simply and without embellishment. The love story was so profound, it didn’t need any. Then she moved on to the more difficult part.

“When Mama gave me the beach house,” she said, “she bid me to keep her story secret. From everyone, including you. I agreed. When I did, Mother entrusted me with the rest of the secret. One that had been troubling her, knowing her death was imminent. You see, her love story and what I’m about to tell you are intricately connected. One can’t know one side without the other.”

Cara reached out to move the two folders to the middle of the table. She pushed the navy folder with her fingertips toward Palmer.

Palmer didn’t move. He simply stared at it.

“Read it.”

Palmer flipped open the folder and read. She watched as he leaned forward over the papers . . . as his face colored. When he finished, he closed the folder and laid his palms upon it.

“Let me get this straight,” he said, aghast. “You own the beachfront lot?”

“Yes. Mama left it to me with the beach house.”

Palmer leaned back in the chair as if he’d been dealt a blow. “I can’t believe it. After all these years of begging you to sell the beach house, to build another house, you were sitting holding that lot. You knew I was digging to find out who owned it!”

“Yep,” she said with a short laugh. “It used to drive Mama crazy.”

“Well, shit.” Palmer burst out laughing, slamming his hand on the table. “Sister mine, you’re one helluva poker player.”

“I know. But, Palmer, I haven’t yet played my final hand.”

Palmer’s expression shifted. Cara saw again the vulnerable child in the man. The brother she’d grown up with. A curious boy, even hopeful. One without a scheme.

“You see, I promised Mama I would never tell anyone about the land. To do so would force the story of her love affair with Russell to become public. At least to her family. She paid the highest price to keep that secret. She let Russell go. He was the love of her life.”

“I’ve got to say, that makes me happy to hear. I’m glad she found some happiness.”

“You know Mama. She didn’t want to hurt Russell’s reputation or his wife’s. Or bring shame to us, her children. So she stayed with Daddy. I think we know what a sacrifice that was. But that’s why she came to the beach house. It was her sanctuary. Knowing that, Russell left her the land so that she could, if she ever chose, leave Daddy and provide for herself. A private form of insurance. Before she died, she instructed me to put it into conservancy.”

“But you didn’t.”

Cara shook her head. “I tried. As it turned out, to do so I would have had to expose her secret. I made an executive decision. I decided to keep the land as though it were in conservation. Unsullied. Open to the countless people who walked past it on the way to the beach every day. Palmer, I did my best to keep her secret.”

For a long time Palmer said nothing. Then he asked, “Why tell me now?”

“Because it’s time for you to know. I gave this a great deal of thought. I wrestled with it for many nights. But I believe it’s the right thing to do. Palmer, you’re my knight in shining armor. I’m so proud of you. Of what you’ve done for yourself and for your family. Mama would be proud, too. You’re truly the patriarch of the family now. One we all look up to and admire.”

Palmer put his palms up. “Hold on. While I appreciate the kind words, let’s be realistic. I’ve fallen off the white steed. I’m flat on my back, broke, and, I don’t mind telling you, a little bit scared.”

“That’s a good start.”

He laughed. “You always were a ball-buster.”

Cara laughed too, owning it. “Seriously, you’ve made some great strides. Joining AA—”

“Cooper joined with me.”

“I know. How did your meeting with Bobby Lee go?” she asked, referring to the family’s longtime lawyer.

“As good as a meeting with Bobby Lee can go, under the circumstances. He’s a good man, served our family well. I’m in a fine mess, but we’ll sort it out. I’ll sell the business. The name and the history associated with it hold value. And . . .” Palmer paused, and rubbed his palms together. He appeared guilt-ridden. “Julia and I have decided to put the house on the market. I’m sorry, Cara. I feel like I let you down. Let the whole family down. But I had no choice. I can’t afford to maintain it, and I need the money. I’ve lost most of our savings. My inheritance is gone. And now the house.”