Page 53 of Your Every Wish

Bent is under his truck when I get to his house. You’d think a guy who owns a home like this could afford to pay someone to change his oil, but here he is on his back on the cold epoxy floor with his garage door open.

“You mind handing me that wrench?”

I grab it out of his toolbox and pass it to him across the floor.

“Almost done here,” he says.

He seems less surly than he usually is. Either that or I’ve grown used to his sour disposition.

I’m still stunned that he let us take down his beloved rock wall and even assisted in its destruction.

And when we finally found the money, he was more excited than anyone, except for maybe Misty, who was so proud of her magical prowess that she nearly peed herself.

But for Bent it was solely about the find.

He reminded me of a little boy on a treasure hunt.

Bent slides out from under the truck and eyes my thin sweater. In my haste leaving the house, I forgot a jacket.

“You want to go inside?”

“If you don’t mind.”

He leads me through the garage door, then to the great room before he lets the dogs out in the yard.

I follow him into the kitchen where he pulls two bottles of water out of the fridge, tosses me one, and downs his in one gulp, then motions for me take a seat at the center island.

“I want to write you a check for the wall.” I pluck my checkbook out of my purse, praying I have enough to cover the cost with what’s left of my dwindling savings. “How much do I owe you?”

He crunches the plastic bottle with one hand and tosses it into the sink like he’s doing a layup shot. “I’ll have to talk to my rock guy, so let me get back to you on that. You hear from the FBI?”

I shake my head. It’s only been a few hours since they hauled the golf bag away.

“I guess that bandstand and the pickleball courts are on hold now.” The corner of Bent’s lips curves up.

I’m too exhausted to return a pithy comeback. “Yep.”

“I’m still interested if you want to sell.”

“I wish I could, but I can’t.” Misty is right, a deal is a deal.

“Why not?”

“Because my sister and I promised we wouldn’t sell the park.”

Bent looks at me for a long time. “Then cut me in for a piece . . . a partnership that’ll ensure I get first dibs if you ever decide to sell.”

“What kind of piece?” My first instinct is that Bent is trying to pull a fast one.

We cut him in and the next thing we know, he’s tearing down the park to run his cattle—or worse, build a business park.

A month ago, I wouldn’t have cared. But now .

. . well, it’s the last stop for Harry, who retired here with his late wife.

It’s the bird sanctuary Trapper Bing lovingly built in his backyard.

It’s the place where Rondi can safely walk Snow White on a leash late at night.

It’s the home of Madam Misty, Universal Diviner Soothsayer.

Where would they go? And even if they found new places to live, why should they have to ? Cedar Pines is their home.

“Sell me a third share. Together, it would still give you and Emma a majority stake.”

“The question is, what does it give you ?” I stare at him pointedly.

“Security that the property isn’t sold out from under me again. In the meantime, it’s a goddamn eyesore. I’ve got the resources to fix it up.”

“Fix up how?” He has my attention.

“The pond, which I can smell from here; that sad case of a clubhouse, which I can see from here; the bocce ball and tennis courts, the pool and everything else that’s gone to rack and ruin.

It’s bringing down my property value. But Kennedy, if we do this, I want to be clear that it’s a business and I want it run like a business.

The park is woefully mismanaged. And these repairs need to pay for themselves at some point. ”

“Like hiking up everyone’s lot rentals? Most of these people live on a fixed income.”

“Do I look like a slumlord to you? Have you ever counted how many vacant spaces there are in the park? We fix, we fill. More revenue. Look, it’s up to you and Emma. But from where I’m sitting, this is a good offer. Think about it.”

I do, the whole way home.

* * *

“He lied to us,” Emma says as I come in the door.

“Who lied to us? But before you tell me, I was just over at Bent McCourtney’s house and he wants to partner with us on Cedar Pines Estates.”

“What?”

I tell her how Bent has offered to buy a third of the park and make all the repairs. “He says the only catch is that we give him the first right of refusal if we ever want to sell. Oh, and that we start running the place as a business and not a charity for freeloaders.”

Emma flinches. “Did he actually say that? Eww.”

“No. I’m exaggerating. What he said is that our vacancy rate is too high—which, uh, duh.

He says that if we make repairs, we’ll be able to attract new tenants and I assume we’ll charge the new folks lot-rental rates that are more consistent with the current market.

But who knows with him? Maybe he’s trying to swindle us. ”

Emma lets out a snort. “I don’t understand why you always want to think the worst of him.

The man let us tear down his wall on a lark that there might be money buried inside.

He seems pretty darn accommodating to me.

But it’s not as if we wouldn’t have a lawyer look over any deal we make with him.

That is, if you even want to make a deal with him. ”

I plop down on the sofa next to her. “I don’t see how we can’t. ”

“Okay. You want me to talk to Dex about it?”

Before I can make a snide remark about Dex, she surprises me by saying, “Actually, forget Dex. He’s such a know-it-all. Let’s call Mr. Townsend.”

I laugh. “Since when is Dex a know-it-all?” Since always, of course. But when did Emma finally open her eyes about him?

She tilts her head back and stares up at the ceiling. “I don’t want to live with him, Kennedy. The truth is I’m dreading going back to San Francisco.”

“Because of Dex?”

“Partly.” She turns sideways on the couch and takes my hand. “I like it here. And mostly . . . I’m going to miss you. This past month has been one of the best times of my life. The fact is I love having a sister . . . having you.”

My eyes well up because I feel the same. I can’t even hate Willy anymore because he brought me to Emma. “We have each other now. And no matter where we go—you to San Francisco, me to Vegas—nothing will change that. Ever.”

“I know. But it won’t be the same.”

“Of course it will. We’re just a quick plane ride apart.

Besides, I’ll be here for a while.” I don’t say the scary part out loud.

But we’re both keenly aware that, unlike Emma, I have no place to go.

Not until I figure out this money thing with Brock Sterling.

“I can drive up to San Francisco on weekends or you can borrow Dex’s car and visit. You love him, right?”

“Of course. I thought I might’ve had feelings for someone else but . . . I’ve loved Dex for almost a decade.”

“Liam? Is that who you have feelings for?” It’s obvious she does but I ask it anyway.

“Yeah, except he lied to us, Kennedy. He knew where the money was all along because he’s the one who buried it in the wall.”

My mouth falls open and I stare at her perplexed. “He told you this?”

“Yes. He was Willy’s security person and moved here specifically so he could keep watch over the money until we found it.”

“Whoa.” It’s a lot to take in. “Why? Why would he pretend not to know anything about the money? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“He’s an accessory to a crime.” Emma holds my gaze.

I swallow hard, letting it sink in. Liam Duffy did Willy Keil’s dirty work. If the feds knew, there’s no telling what kind of trouble Liam could get into. “He was protecting himself.”

“But he’s not the man I thought he was,” Emma says.

“Maybe not. But he’s a good man just the same.”

“How can you say that?”

“How can I say that? Think about it, Emma. For all this time, he knew where the money was. There was nothing to stop him from digging it up in the dark of night and keeping it for himself. With Willy dead, no one would’ve been the wiser.

And yet, he didn’t. He lives in a shit-box trailer in a run-down trailer park, fixing people’s broken appliances for free, while sleeping next to a pile of money.

More money than you or I can even imagine.

Instead, he guarded it. For us. Because he made a promise to our late father that he would.

So he may have lied about who he is to avoid going to prison like Willy.

I don’t know about you, but I’m willing to give him a pass for that. ”

Liam is twenty times the man Dex is. But let my sister, the advice columnist, figure that out for herself. With time, I know she will.

“He broke the law, Kennedy. He helped Willy hide money from the feds.”

“We don’t know that for sure. After all the assets the government seized from Willy’s estate, maybe the feds will determine that the money is free and clear. Ours for the keeping.”

Ours for the wish.