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Alex turned to her. “Yeah. They didn’t have any problems. Katie and Dave were sad to go, but we talked to them about something that cheered them up a bit.”
Hope wrapped one arm around Alex’s waist as she gestured at the chair Sara was standing behind. “Please sit down. We have something to share with you.”
CHAPTER 2
Thirty minutes later, Sara sat numb in her chair and tried to pick her jaw up off the floor. Hope and Alex sat across the table from her, both wearing identical smiles. She alternated her gaze between them. “Are you serious? You found a treasure? As in pirate booty?”
“Well, I wouldn’t necessarily classify Barnaby as a pirate,” Alex said. “He was more of an opportunist.” Hope rose and removed a bottle of red wine from the cooler, placing it on the table before heading toward her office at the front of the house.
“Getting it out of the cave was a bitch, but Hope and I got it done,” Alex continued. “Now we have the whole area fenced off and the tunnels are covered with steel gates, above and below water. The whole thing is top secret. Hardly anyone knows about it.”
Hope returned and set two golden chalices on the table, placing one in front of Sara. “Go on. Take a look.”
Sara gaped at the work of art before her. The goblet was around eight inches tall and inlaid with emeralds and diamonds around the broad cup. It tapered to a long stem with four columns of diamonds running vertically to the flaring base. Sara tentatively stroked a finger down the golden surface, hardly daring to touch it. “Is this real?”
“Pick it up,” Hope said. “That will answer your question.”
Sara slid her hand to the base of the cup and lifted. She barely got the chalice an inch off the table before the weight nearly made her drop it. With her heart hammering out of her chest, she used both hands to lift the goblet close to her face, slowly spinning it to inspect every angle. Then she deliberately set it back down and clasped her shaking hands together on the table. “Wow.”
“Yeah, that was our reaction,” Alex said with a small smile as Hope uncorked the wine and poured some into each chalice.
She lifted hers, also using both hands, and held it toward Sara. “How about a toast to interesting possibilities?”
With a laugh that came out only slightly unhinged, Sara touched her goblet to Hope’s. The two cups made a solid clunking noise, then Sara raised hers to her mouth, still in shock as she rolled the decadent, dark wine around in her mouth. “And there’s more like this?”
“A lot more,” Hope said. “We’ve got it divided into two safe deposit boxes at different banks. Earlier this month we auctioned off a portion of it.” Hope passed her goblet to Alex, who took a long sip, his muscular bicep flexing as he lifted it. “That’s why we wanted to tell you about it. We came away with a lot of money, Sara. We’d like to share $100,000 with you.”
Sara’s jaw dropped again. “Huh?”
“Katie and Dave are getting the same amount,” Alex said, leaning forward. “It’s very important to us to spread some of this around. Please say you’ll accept.”
Sara turned her gaze back to Hope as goosebumps rippled down her arms. “$100,000? Hope, that’s a ridiculous amount of money. I can’t accept that much.”
“I promise, you can. Sara, we grossed close to four million dollars. Even after the auction house took their percentage and our CPA took out the portion for taxes, we’ve still got a lot left.”
Sara just sat there, staring at the chalice. The diamonds glittered in the light.
“We’re leaving it in the bank for now,” Alex said. “We still haven’t decided what improvements we want to make to the resort. But sharing some with you and Katie is our highest priority.” He glanced at his wife. “And I think Hope has something else to discuss too.”
I’m not sure I can handle anything more.
Hope glanced at the clock. “We need to head to the airport soon, but I really miss you. Once I installed the hair station in the spa, I could only picture you working there. I need someone to do manicures and pedicures too, which is right up your alley. But what I really need is someone to manage the spa. Someone experienced, and you’re the perfect fit. The spa isn’t very busy yet, but that will change with you in charge. You’ve always wanted to run a salon, and you mentioned you’re not happy anymore where you are. This is a pretty nice setting, isn’t it?”
Sara firmly pushed her goblet away. The last thing she needed was her head spinning even more. “I don’t know, Hope. Of course it sounds amazing. All of it. But I refuse to be a charity case. I’m not going to just let you pay my way. I have absolutely no idea what I’d do with $100,000, but I’d need to earn enough to support myself.”
“We wouldn’t expect anything less,” Alex said. “No one wants to feel like they aren’t pulling their weight.” Then a grin split his face. “Besides, I can’t see you as the begging type.”
“That’s for damn sure,” she said, some of her usual fire coming back now. “Hope, my head is about to explode. I need to think about this. I can’t give you an answer right now.”
“No, of course not. We have your money set aside in a separate bank account. We can leave it there, or wire it to your account, whichever you prefer.”
“Leave it there for now. Please.” Sara picked at her fingernails for a long moment before raising her gaze to look them each in the eye. “Thanks. Both of you. I’m pretty speechless, which doesn’t happen very often. Just the fact that you want me to move down here means a lot to me.” Then she smirked at Alex. “Well, that Hope wants me to move.”
With a laugh, Alex leaned back in his chair and raised both hands. “This was a joint decision, Sara.”
Sara’s smirk relaxed. “I know. I can’t resist elbowing you a little.”
“There’s always a place for you here.” A glint entered Alex’s eyes. “Though I’m not sure St. Croix is ready for both Collins sisters.”
