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  Susan X. Meagher - The Legacy

  Susan X. Meagher

  Brisk Press (2009)

  * * *

  The good news is that you’ve just been given a guest house in a great gay and lesbian resort area. The bad news is that your mother, who gave you away at birth, left it to you in her will.

  Noel wants to sell her gift as soon as possible. But when she makes a few trips down to Rehoboth Beach before putting it on the market she’s convinced that she’d get a much better price if she made some repairs.

  Enter Toni, handywoman extraordinaire and noted ladykiller. As Noel gets more involved in repairing the house she finds she’s more interested in the renovator than the renovations. Toni is just the kind of woman who gets her motor running.

  But there are so many complications: they live in different states, Toni’s is no hurry to settle down, and Noel’s still stinging from her recent breakup. But when she and Toni are alone, they can’t keep their hands off each other.

  Noel wishes she could just sell the place and walk away. But when she lies in bed and looks into Toni’s eyes, she realizes just how hard that will be.

  The Legacy

  Susan X Meagher

  The good news is that you’ve just been given a guest house in a great gay and lesbian resort area. The bad news is that your mother, who gave you away at birth, left it to you in her will.

  Noel wants to sell her gift as soon as possible. But when she makes a few trips down to Rehoboth Beach before putting it on the market she’s convinced that she’d get a much better price if she made some repairs.

  Enter Toni, handywoman extraordinaire and noted ladykiller. As Noel gets more involved in repairing the house she finds she’s more interested in the renovator than the renovations. Toni is just the kind of woman who gets her motor running. But there are so many complications: they live in different states, Toni’s is no hurry to settle down, and Noel’s still stinging from her recent breakup. But when she and Toni are alone, they can’t keep their hands off each other.

  Noel wishes she could just sell the place and walk away. But when she lies in bed and looks into Toni’s eyes, she realizes just how hard that will be.

  The Legacy

  © 2009 by Susan X Meagher

  ISBN (10) 09799254-4-4

  ISBN (13) 978-0-9799254-4-3

  This electronic original is published by Brisk Press, New York, NY 10011

  Cover Design By Carolyn Norman

  First Printing: October 2009

  This is a work of fiction. names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

  Acknowledgments

  A very big debt of thanks to Linda Lorenzo. Her skills, good humor and speed made what could have been a difficult edit into a pleasure.

  As always, Carrie made the book pretty. She’s a great cover designer and an even better girlfriend.

  By Susan X Meagher

  Novels

  All That Matters

  Arbor Vitae

  Cherry Grove

  Girl Meets Girl

  The Lies The Bind

  The Legacy

  Serial Novels

  I Found My Heart in San Francisco:

  Awakenings

  Beginnings

  Coalescence

  Disclosures

  Entwined

  Fidelity

  Getaway

  Honesty

  Intentions

  Anthologies

  Undercover Tales

  Outsiders

  To purchase these books go to

  www.briskpress.com

  Author website: www.susanmeagher.com

  twitter.com/susanx

  facebook.com/susanmeagher

  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgements

  Part One

  Part Two

  Part Three

  Part Four

  Part Five

  Part Six

  Part Seven

  Part Eight

  Part Nine

  Part Ten

  Part Eleven

  Part Twelve

  Part Thirteen

  Part Fourteen

  Part One

  Noel Carpenter opened her front door with one hand while trying to get a good look at the official-looking, heavy envelope wedged among her usual mail. She started to drop her things on the table by the door, but remembered halfway through the act that she didn’t have room for a table in her new apartment.

  Absently, she walked to the coffee table, dropped everything except the ivory-colored envelope, and spent a few moments scanning it. It was from a law firm in Delaware. Why would a firm in Delaware send her anything? She’d been there for a holiday, but she certainly didn’t know anyone who lived there. She was tempted to open up her computer and research the firm before going further, but the envelope was too enticing and, on impulse, she decided to open it.

  Noel almost laughed at herself when she realized she had been holding the letter as though it were a bomb. Boldly, she slid a fingernail under the flap and dumped the contents into her palm. She unfolded the cover letter and read, the words starting to swirl before her eyes. She’d never, ever wanted to know, but the woman had hunted her down. Why? Why now? What good would it do anyone? After re-reading the letter several times and beginning to feel sick to her stomach, she sat down and compelled herself to take a few deep breaths. When she was confident she wouldn’t lose her lunch, she reached for the phone. Whom to call first? April was the obvious choice, but she was emotionally invested in the whole mess. Her mom and dad would worry about her and probably hop in their car and drive down. That left Andy. He’d be able to understand the documents and help determine if this was some nasty mistake. Hitting the third speed dial button, she anxiously waited for an answer. Relief swept over her when she heard her brother’s voice.

  “Andy? It’s Noel. Can you swing by my apartment on your way home tonight?” She sucked her lip between her teeth and bit it lightly. “I just found out who my birth mother was.” Her stomach was in full revolt when she added. “No, I meant ‘was.’ She just died.”

  ***

  “You’re killing me. You’re absolutely killing me!”

  “Calm down, Toni. I’m only doing my job.” Heidi Naylor got up from her desk and put her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “You know I’ll do whatever I can to help you out, but I can’t lie to this woman.” Fondly, she reached out and tucked Toni’s dark, thick, straight hair behind her ears, knowing it would fall as soon as Toni leaned forward again. She kissed her tilted head. “I’m always a little disappointed when your hair doesn’t taste like chocolate.”

  Toni gave her a quizzical look, then smiled, her eyes losing the hooded character they took on when she was troubled. “I chewed my hair when I was a kid, but not because I thought it’d taste good.”

  Heidi gave her a quick hug, then sat back down. She started to browse through the commercial real estate listings on her computer and pointed one out. “Look at this one. This place has been upgraded and it’s selling for three hundred thousand dollars more than…say…this one.” She clicked on another listing.

  Toni leaned over to get a better look, and Heidi discretely sniffed to see if she could deduce what job Toni was working on. She detected new-sawn wood. “Are you working on that new deck for Jackson?”

  “Yeah,” Toni said as she read the listing information. “I’m half done. It’ll be ready for the first warm day. You know h
ow he likes to shove people out on that patio, even when it’s freezing out.”

  “He’s a good businessman. Using the patio gives him another ten tables.”

  “It’s more important to make people comfortable,” Toni groused. She used a finger stained with pitch to point out. “This one doesn’t have as many bathrooms. Maybe that’s why it’s less.”

  Chuckling, Heidi said, “You stick to construction. I’ll stick to real estate. An extra bath doesn’t add three hundred thousand dollars to a bed and breakfast.”

  “Well, you didn’t have to tell this woman…this Noel…to upgrade the whole place. If she does much work at all, I’ll never be able to buy it.”

  Heidi reached under Toni’s barn jacket and tickled her waist. The muted giggle that earned gave testament to just how miffed Toni was. “I’m sorry,” Heidi said. “I know how much you want The Sandpiper. But I’ve got to do my job.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Toni snapped her dark leather baseball cap on her head and adjusted it to perfection without aid of a mirror. “Everybody knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.” She turned and sauntered out of the office. Once she was outside, Heidi watched her lean into the blowing gale that pelted her with snow and hail.

  ***

  Toni Hooper paced in front of The Sandpiper, occasionally crossing her arms over her chest and jumping up and down to try and stay warm. She was early, as she often was, and underdressed for the winter weather, as she always was.

  Her head was bare, her gloves unlined, her barn jacket more appropriate for fall than winter. Her worn cowboy boots provided no warmth, and they made walking on the icy sidewalk treacherous. But she loved her boots, and their practicality was secondary.

  Even though it was frigid out, she was too occupied with her conflicting feelings to pay much attention to the weather. She aided in the search for Noel for months, cramming bits of research in whenever she had a spare moment. Her dedication to the quest was unstinting, and ordinarily she’d get a great deal of satisfaction from meeting the fruit of her labors, but it was all too late now. Months too late, and Toni couldn’t help but mentally kick herself for not working harder, for not coming through when she was most needed.

  She turned and looked at the house where she’d spent so much time and wished once again that Noel had appeared on the scene in time. Now, she was forced to admit, Noel was right on time for ruining her plans, and that made Toni want to slug her.

  A small, white car crept down the street, and Toni’s heartbeat quickened. She knew most of the cars that the locals owned, and this was not one of them. She peered into the car when it slowed down even further, and was surprised to see an attractive woman of about her own age, with slightly wavy golden hair. The window of the car rolled down and the driver called out, “Are you Toni or Heidi?”

  “Toni. Heidi’s not here yet.”

  “Want to get in while we wait? You look like you’re freezing.”

  “Oh, I’m freezing, but I don’t mind.” Toni walked over to Noel’s car. “You can park anywhere you want.”

  “I guess I’ll just stay here. Let me get closer to the curb.” Before Noel could move, another car approached.

  Toni said, “That’s Heidi,” and went to meet her.

  ***

  Once her car was properly parked, Noel took her first long look at the property she’d inherited. Heidi said it held ten guest rooms and seven baths, plus a good-sized apartment on the first floor, but from the front, it didn’t look that big. In fact, it looked like it could easily be a single-family home.

  It had been painted white—quite some time ago, given the flaking and peeling. It wasn’t an eyesore by any means, but it didn’t look distinctive or lovingly cared for. She glanced over and saw Toni help Heidi pull a big leather bag from the car and carry it for her to the walkway. There was something gallant about the way she did it; matter-of-factly, rather than the showy let-me-get-that-for-you-little-lady attitude that some butchy women adopted.

  Toni was definitely on the butch side, but Noel thought that her standing next to Heidi accentuated that fact. Noel had been around enough businesswomen to peg Heidi as someone who spent a lot of time and a good bit of money to look good. Her medium brown hair was accented with blonde highlights and her coat was more stylish than warm. Leather gloves that fit like skin also couldn’t have provided much warmth.

  When Heidi waved to her, Noel had to brave the elements herself. She got out of her car and stood on the sidewalk where the three of them raced through brief introductions, then darted for the front door. While they waited for Heidi to get the door open, Toni inserted the toe of her boot under several severely cupped boards on the porch. “That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen.”

  “Don’t even say things like that,” Noel said, her voice high. “Owning a piece of property like this terrifies me.”

  Heidi finally got the key into the lock and jiggled it to make it turn. They all stood in the entryway for a minute relishing the relatively warm air. “Is this the first time you’ve owned anything?” Heidi asked.

  “No, we, I had a house, but I…sold it.” She showed a smile that was decidedly put on. “But this is a whole different league.”

  “Not really,” Heidi said. “Real estate is real estate.”

  Noel took off her knit hat and flipped her honey-colored hair over her shoulder. Pale blue eyes narrowed and she said, “What is that smell?”

  Toni grimaced. “Probably the refrigerator. After Max died none of us had the sense to come over and check things out. It was a couple of weeks until it dawned on me. I cleaned the darned thing out, but I think it’s ruined.”

  “Maybe we should start in the kitchen,” Noel said. She gave the woman an encouraging smile. For the life of her she couldn’t understand why Toni seemed to feel responsible for cleaning out a woman’s refrigerator, that oddity added to the weird vibe she was getting from the handywoman.

  They walked down the wide hallway, with Noel following Toni. There was something about the way she ambled along that reminded Noel of a cowboy. Maybe it was the boots, or the worn jeans and barn jacket, but the effect was incongruous for the Delaware shore.

  They bypassed the staircase that led to the second floor, and Toni led them through a big parlor then turned left into a surprisingly narrow, very outdated kitchen. At the far end of the galley-like space, there was an ill-fitting door that was letting in far too much ice cold air. “Good thing you’re not open for the winter season,” Toni joked.

  “I’m not going to be open for any season,” Noel said confidently. “As soon as I can get this place into shape, someone else can worry about it.”

  Toni looked like she desperately wanted to say something, but she held back. Heidi took a quick glance at her and said to Noel, “If you’d like to get rid of it right now, Toni’s very interested.”

  Puzzled, Noel glanced from one woman to the other. “But you told me I’d be able to get more for it if I fixed it up.”

  “I think you can. But there’s always a risk…”

  “I’m sure that’s so, but you seemed pretty confident of your opinion before. Have conditions changed in the last couple of weeks?”

  “Well, no, but if you sold it now, you’d save yourself a lot of trouble. It all comes down to how you value your time and how much risk you’re willing to take.”

  Noel noticed that Toni was fidgeting. Because of what, she didn’t know. “What are you prepared to pay?”

  Toni’s chin was pointed at her chest and her dark eyes were almost hidden by the angle she held her head at. “I’m not sure. What are you asking?”

  Noel frowned slightly at Heidi. “I’m not sure. Did you print out the listings for comparable properties?”

  “Yeah, I did, but there isn’t much up for sale now. Prices have really taken a hit so people are only selling if they have to. The few I have are further down the Maryland shore.”

  “So they aren’t really comparable?”

 
; “Uhm, not technically. But take a peek anyway.” She handed her listing sheets for three properties. Noel looked through them, trying to ignore Toni, who was shifting her weight, still acting like she was about to burst.

  “These are pretty expensive.” She looked Heidi in the eye. “Is this place worth as much as these?”

  “More. Rehoboth is more expensive than these areas. More in demand, too.”

  “Well, Toni, if you can make me an offer that seems competitive, I’m more than happy to consider it.”

  “Well, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” she said, seeming more at ease now that she was speaking. “I could pay what it’s worth, but I’d need for you to carry a second mortgage.”

  “Oh.” Noel was just about to refuse her out of hand when Toni jumped in again. When she spoke, her voice had an almost desperate quality, and Noel found herself feeling sympathy for the woman.

  “I talked to someone at the bank. I only qualify for about five hundred thousand dollars, and that’s a lot less than you’ll want. But I’ll do anything to make this work. Anything,” she emphasized, her big brown eyes taking on a puppy-like sincerity.

  Noel was saddened when she said, “I’ll talk to my brother, who’s also my tax advisor, but I’m not crazy about doing that if I can sell it outright.” She watched Toni’s eyes, vividly seeing the disappointment. “But, like I said, I’ll think about it.”

  Toni sighed heavily. It was clear she’d been shot down, but she didn’t seem angry. Just sad. Noel hated feeling like she’d kicked Toni’s dream to the curb, so she changed the subject. “What would you do if you were to renovate, Heidi?”