Page 122 of Just for Tonight

“And I was rocking it with his car until we got here. I only got into third because we didn’t go very fast, but still.” She winced. “Then I blew it. I parked in front of the café, but let out the clutch before I turned off the ignition.”

“Ouch,” Merrie says.

“You stalled it?” Cameron asks.

“Right there!” Sierra mimicks the car lurching forward then stalling, complete with sound effects. “And I thought he’d be mad, but Uncle Jake laughed. He said everybody has to do that once or twice. Then we had to recite together: Stop the car. Put it in gear. Pull the emergency brake. Turn off the ignition. Release the clutch.” She does recite this in a sing-songy voice, moving her fingers as if she’s conducting an orchestra. “Stop, gear, brake, key, clutch.”

“Words to remember,” Merrie says.

“Don’t forget: Gear down for the curve, and gear up coming out of the turn.” Sierra sighs. “I hope he lets me try again. It was fun.” She considers the box. “I wonder what he sent me.”

I have an idea that I know.

Sylvia gives Sierra a pair of scissors and she cuts the tape on the box, then tearing it with impatient fingers. Then she crows in triumph and pulls out the item inside. It’s a dark case, which she opens to reveal her own pair of Ray-Bans.

No note, of course. The man isn’t good with the details.

Sierra doesn’t care. She’s modelling them, even with the tags hanging from them, checking out her own reflection with pride.

I don’t actually care about the lack of a note, either. I love that he taught Sierra to drive.

“We should make Uncle Jake move back to Empire,” she says. “Then I can drive his car all the time.”

“Don’t count on that,” Sylvia says and points her toward the door. Mike is standing on the sidewalk beside his truck and he lifts his hand in greeting.

“I’ve got to show these to Una,” Sierra says, then waves to all of us as she grabs her things and heads out.

Make Jake move back to Empire. There’s a plan I can get behind – but only if he’s coming to me, too.

I check my phone yet again. No calls, no messages, and it’s charged.

37

Jake

It is interesting to watch my siblings and half-siblings decide upon their legacies.

I, of course, chose that first night. The portal then unlocked for Mike, who picked a little brick house on Caledonia Street beside the library. It was probably built after the war and the listing shows it having two bedrooms upstairs and a large sunny yard. He deliberates over it for a couple of days, which drove everyone else nuts – I know. I get the impatient emails – but it’s a solid choice.

Austin, who I expected to give major pushback, immediately chooses the Weatherby house when the portal opens for him. That puts him in for a sizable cash payment to make up the difference, which he transfers within the week. Candace is officially good at the house through the end of the year, which is enough to make me sing the Hallelujah chorus.

She calls me, thrilled, then I walk her though her credit card statement, steering her away from the seductive lure of the minimum payment amount. I think she’s got this.

Abbie, of course, chooses Grandma’s place. The difference is paid immediately by Luke. I don’t even have time to blink before he’s transferring the funds. I realize that completes his original plan of acquiring five properties from our father. His list included Grandma’s house, the parcel of land that Augustine Rhodes wanted, the Foreman place which is now Daphne’s office, Una’s house and the diner that became The Carpe Diem Café. Without a plan to do so, I’ve become part of Luke’s improve-the-world plan.

I kind of like that.

Luke himself chooses a note on The Maple Leaf Motel and I can guess what he’s going to do with that. Bruno, the owner, was always buddies with Luke.

Grayson goes for the one property in Havelock, a bungalow on a quiet suburban street. It’s priced at exactly the allotment, so he’s good to go. I wonder if he plans to sell it. It’s not a bad little place. Maybe he has plans to retire here. Maybe not. It’s not my business.

Madison has obviously been spending a lot of time with the database. She chooses the one retail building on Queen Street that is valued at the inheritance allotment. The retail is priced ambitiously, but Paula is sure the prices are fair, given Luke’s investment in Empire. This little building has a retail space that fills the ground floor with a big front window. There’s a parking spot out back and a small apartment on the second floor. It’s probably the smallest retail building in town. I think the apartment would need some renovations to be liveable, but the shop just needs a coat of paint. The previous owner – before my father – updated the wiring. Sunny side of the street too, so a great choice for her new business.

The whole thing stalls there. I have time to think that Ethan will be the thorn in my side forever, but a week later, my cell phone rings. I pick it up without looking, given my tendency to only surrender my number to people I want to talk to.

“The only thing I want isn’t on the list,” Ethan says with his usual charm. You understand, of course, that’s my way of saying he’s belligerent. “You told me to tell you what I want, and so I am.”

“And so nicely,” I murmur, hearing him catch his breath. “It’s enough to make a person want to rush out and fix everything just the way you like it.”