Beware Falling Rocks [Suncoast Society] (Siren Publishing Sensations) Read online

  “Okay.” She squeezed Lynn’s arm before releasing her. “I don’t want to feel guilty for you having a setback.”

  “Not your fault even if I do. I have to start somewhere. I need to live. As much as I can, although it’s not what I wish it was.” Lynn sighed. “I feel like a broken record. This is the easiest thing for me to do right now.”

  “Well, good. I’m glad.”

  “Me, too.”

  * * * *

  This was the most Lynn had been to Venture all at once in nearly two years. Memories of Paul hit her, sharp, scraping her soul, but she pushed through it. She desperately wanted to prove to herself that, yes, she could do this.

  She had to move on or she’d end up slowly dying in the dead-end rut she’d planted herself.

  Honestly? She was shocked she hadn’t received a loving lecture from Terrie about her collar. She’d seen Terrie looking at it and suspected her friend didn’t agree with her wearing it.

  Didn’t matter.

  This was something she did for herself, self-care she wasn’t willing to give up yet. No longer would she say “never” in terms of removing it one day, but for now, it was what she needed.

  That was good enough.

  It looked like it was going to be a good crowd tonight. As Lynn, Terrie, and Mark staked out seats at a table in the social area, Rachel and Andrew joined them while Glen and Wade had apparently taken over introducing Justin to more people.

  “So?” Lynn asked, tipping her head in that direction.

  Rachel smiled. “I think maybe Justin’s going to move down here.”

  “That’d be awesome.”

  “Yeah.” Rachel’s smile turned wistful. “I hope he goes through with it. He’s still worried about getting a job and how much it’ll cost to move. But maybe having some ready-made friends to socialize with down here, he’ll be more willing to risk it.”

  Terrie dropped her voice. “How’d he take the news about…you know.” She pointed at Rachel’s new bracelet, which was her day collar.

  “He’s okay. We have an agreement that we won’t delve too deeply into each other’s bedrooms. Unless it’s to raid each other’s closets or something.”

  “That’s nice.”

  “Yeah. He’s not sure if he’s kinky. But if he does turn out to be kinky, neither of us wants to see the other playing.” She laughed. “I kind of suspect he does have a little bit of a subby streak in him.”

  Wade and Glen definitely seemed smitten with Justin. The longer Lynn watched the three from where she sat with her friends, the easier it was to see the chemistry between the three of them. The way Justin brightly smiled at something either man said. The way the three of them leaned in close, almost shutting others out of their little group. Not on purpose, but because they were so focused on each other.

  I hope that works out for them. I wish I could just pay for his move.

  Maybe she could. She had built up a decent savings account. Surely moving him couldn’t cost more than two grand, right? She could easily swing that without hitting her savings.

  Something good she could do to help someone else.

  Maybe Justin could get his happily-ever-after ending, even if she couldn’t.

  The more she thought about it, the more she decided to look into it. Justin would be in Florida for two weeks. She could talk to Rachel closer to the end of his visit and see if he wanted to make the move. If so, she’d offer to give or loan him the money to make it happen.

  Hell, she’d volunteer to go up and help.

  Road trip.

  Terrie had been bugging her to get out and go somewhere—anywhere—to escape her condo.

  To do something.

  She’d never been to South Dakota before. It’d be a nice change of pace for a few days, if nothing else.

  By the time she said her good-byes and headed home around eleven, Lynn had cemented it in her mind that she would make the offer. It’d suck for the guy to be stuck up there, basically alone, when he had a sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law down here in Florida who wanted him to move. Maybe he wouldn’t accept the help. All she could do was offer.

  Other than her divorce, and the implosion with Paul, she’d lived a relatively charmed adult life. She sympathized with the siblings, although they’d at least known their parents and had a more stable upbringing than she had.

  Still, things could be worse for her. A lot worse.

  Paying it forward in the form of helping Justin make a new start might be just the thing to help jump-start the next stage of her life.

  Chapter Six

  After returning home Saturday night, and sucking up to Vinnie for having the audacity to leave her alone for a few hours, Lynn did a little research on rental truck costs, one-way, from South Dakota.

  Not including the gas expenses, it was actually cheaper than she’d expected. Definitely doable for her. That made her even more determined to keep in touch with Rachel over the next two weeks and make the offer before Justin returned home at the end of his stay.

  Surprisingly, she’d slept like a rock that night, with no dreams about Paul to trouble her.

  Sunday morning, after starting a pot of coffee and scooping Vinnie’s litter box, Lynn settled in at her laptop to start her day. She even remembered to dig out the Powerball ticket she’d purchased yesterday on her way to dinner. She looked up last night’s winning numbers and then checked the Powerball ticket.

  Something…wasn’t registering.

  She looked at the ticket again, actually trying to process what she was seeing.

  And then the numbers on her computer.

  Ticket.

  Computer.

  Repeat.

  Again.

  She sat there for the better part of five minutes, struggling to verify, process, re-verify, more processing—but the numbers didn’t change.

  Across one line of the ticket, she’d matched not only all the numbers, but the Powerball number as well.

  Holy.

  Fucking.

  Shitballs.

  Her hand trembled so badly she nearly dropped her cell phone three times before she managed to punch in her code to unlock it and call Terrie, although instinctively it wasn’t the first call she’d wanted to make.

  But she couldn’t call Paul.

  Her friend sounded like she’d just woken up. “What?”

  “We won!” she screamed in Terrie’s ear.

  There was hesitation before Terrie responded. “Tone it down to eleven, would ya? What do you mean we won?”

  “My ticket won!”

  “Won what?”

  Lynn knew Terrie was as brain-dead as she was before coffee, so Lynn didn’t blame her for not grokking right away. “We’re rich!”

  “Huh?” Lynn heard Terrie groan. “What the hell, honey? It’s only nine in the freaking morning? What are you doing to me?”

  “I know, but this couldn’t wait. Listen, we won!”

  “Won what?”

  “The lotto!”

  Now Terrie sounded a little more awake. “Like, what, a couple hundred or something?”

  “No! The fucking Powerball!”

  “Oh, honey, that’s only like four doll—”

  “All the numbers and the Powerball number. Across the whole freaking line! Five hundred and sixty million dollars!”

  It sounded like Terrie was moving around in bed, maybe sitting up. She still didn’t sound completely awake yet. “Let me get this straight. You’re telling me that your ticket…won?”

  “Yes!”

  “Are you sure it’s last night’s numbers?”

  “I sat here for about ten minutes double and triple and quadruple and five-iple checking them.”

  “That’s not a word.”

  “I don’t care! Honey, we did it!”

  Terrie was slow to respond. “But that’s your ticket,” she said.

  “I don’t care! We always said if one of us hits it, we’re splitting it. That’s what I freaking meant.�
�

  “Yeah, but I don’t expect you to—”

  “Shut up, lady. You’re rich.” She laughed. “We’re rich!”

  Lynn could hear Mark mumbling something in the background. “Okay, step one,” Terrie said, sounding even more awake now, “call Ross and get Ed’s private number and talk to him today. Do not tell anyone else you have that ticket. No, wait. Step one, take a fucking close-up picture of that ticket, sign the back of it, and put it somewhere safe where Vinnie can’t destroy it or bury it in her damn litter box or something. Step two, call Ed and find out what to do. We need to protect you.”

  “Us.”

  “Okay, fine, us. But please, promise me you won’t tell anyone else about it. You don’t even have a damn alarm system at that freaking place.”

  “I don’t need one. It’s a gated community, and I’m surrounded by snowbirds. Most of them are up north, and the ones who are here I’m sure they’re not going to go on a rampage unless someone takes away their early bird all-you-can-eat discounts at their favorite restaurant. And get your butts over here. I don’t want to talk to Ed alone.”

  “First, I need coffee. Second, you don’t know if Ed can talk to you today. Try calling him first. Then we’ll go from there. Call me back when you know something.”

  “Will do.”

  Lynn said good-bye, ended the call, and used her phone to take a picture of the ticket before she signed the back of it. Then she took a couple of selfies with the ticket, both the front and the back of it, just to be sure.

  Looking around, she finally stuck the ticket to her office bulletin board with a pushpin, under an index card with notes written on it.

  It hid it completely and put it safely out of Vinnie’s reach.

  In the shower was when the shakes hit her. She closed her eyes, rested her head against the tile wall, and sobbed.

  Five hundred and sixty million dollars.

  She was set for life.

  In all her dreams about hitting the lottery, she’d kept herself grounded in reality. She wanted the freedom to be a writer.

  Now she had it, barring this wasn’t some funky glitch. And there was still part of her common sense telling her that—until she was absolutely positive she hadn’t misread the numbers or something—she needed to wait for official confirmation.

  Her dream job—she had it. The condo? She owned it. Her car wasn’t new, but it was paid off.

  What few bills she had—this would take care of them with a lifetime’s worth of surplus to allow her to live comfortably.

  I guess I can definitely afford to pay for Justin’s move now.

  That made her laugh.

  There was a lot of good she could do with that kind of money and not even put a dent in it. She could make a donation to Venture to make sure they had several years’ worth of operating expenses in a savings account in case they ever hit a slow patch.

  She could make a donation to the local animal rescue group where she’d adopted Vinnie.

  And she could afford to upgrade her three-year-old MacBook Air, something she’d been hesitant to do, despite having the funds, because it was still running fine and she hadn’t wanted to justify the expense.

  She could buy season tickets to the Lightning games, like she’d always wanted.

  She could give some money to Sue and George Carlisle, her last foster parents. They were good people who deserved to have something good happen to them for all the work they did as foster parents.

  She could…

  Closing her eyes again, she sucked in a long, deep breath. Those were all superficial things.

  The one thing she really wanted, desperately, to the very bottom of her soul, was the one thing money couldn’t buy.

  Paul.

  * * * *

  After her shower and another cup of coffee, Lynn got Ed’s personal number from Loren and called him. He was already her attorney and had handled both her divorce as well as all her incorporation paperwork when she’d started her writing career. Derrick’s CPA firm handled her taxes and had highly recommended Ed. It was a bonus that both Derrick and Ed were in the lifestyle.

  When Ed answered, he sounded a little cautious.

  “Hey, it’s Lynn Durran. Sorry to bother you on a Sunday, but I have a…problem.”

  “What kind of problem?”

  “Are you alone?”

  “Hold on.” It sounded like he had to walk into another room. “Have you been arrested?” he asked.

  She laughed. “Um, no. Not that kind of problem. You sitting down?”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re dealing with someone who hit the Powerball.”

  He didn’t respond.

  “Ed?”

  “You’re not talking just one or two numbers, are you?”

  “I’m talking five hundred and sixty million dollars.”

  “Holy shit.” He let out a low whistle. “It sounds like you need to talk to Derrick and Marcia.”

  “I know. I will. But Terrie told me to call you. I signed the ticket already. Can you like put it in your safe or something until you can talk to the lottery people tomorrow for me to find out what I need to do?”

  “Don’t you have a safety deposit box?”

  “The bank isn’t open on Sunday. And, obviously, I’m going to need your services. Will I need a new trust for all this? Like what you set up for me for everything else?”

  He made a noise that sounded like he was thinking. “That’s right, we set you up a trust. Yeah, it wouldn’t be a bad idea. Let me finish a few things around here. Do me a favor and please call Derrick and see if he can meet us at my office at three today.”

  “Okay. I want Terrie and Mark there, too.”

  “Why?”

  “Because we always promised each other we’d split it if we won. I won, and I’m splitting it with them.”

  Another silent pause. “Do you have a formal agreement?”

  “No, and I want one. I know her. She’s going to fight me on it and tell me no, she doesn’t want it, and I’m going to have to force her to take it.”

  He chuckled. “How can you be so sure of that?”

  “Because I know my bestie, and I know damn well that if our positions were reversed, I’d be fighting her not to split it with me if she won.”

  “Oh, boy. Okay, all of you, my office, three o’clock. If Derrick can’t make it, see if he can do a conference call with us in private or something.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  She called Terrie and updated her. Terrie sounded more awake, but also more wary. “We’ll be there, if you’re sure.”

  “Oh. My. God. Seriously? You’re fucking rich, lady. Even if you fight me on this, you’re still getting some of it, as much as I can make you take. This also means I’m calling full-time dibs on your services and giving you a huge raise.”

  Now Terrie finally laughed. “Okay, okay. Uncle. We’ll be there. But I don’t want you splitting it with us halfway. I won’t take it. Mark agreed with me.”

  “Well, we’re paying off all your bills, your mortgage, and at the very least you’re going to take enough that I know if you wanted to retire you could live comfortably. Deal?”

  Terrie sighed. “Deal.”

  “Hey, you are my family. This money is no good to me unless I can make a difference in my family’s life.” She fought the sudden tears threatening. “This is a dream come true for me. I’m still not sure I’m not asleep.”

  “You’re not asleep. We’ll meet you there at three.”

  “Do I need to come get you to make sure you show up?” Lynn teased.

  Terrie chuckled. “Stop using my tactics against me. We’ll be there. I promise.”

  “Love you.”

  “Love you, too, sweetie.”

  Lynn hung up, feeling relieved. Then she went back to her computer and looked up the lottery site to see what they’d have to do to claim the winnings. She definitely wanted Ed leading that process.

  Especially if any
of her family of origin tried to come crawling out of the woodwork to suddenly become chummy with her. Not that she had any trouble standing up for herself, but it’d be so nice to refer everyone to him and pay him to run interference for her.

  The last thing she wanted now was to complicate her life any more than she had to.

  Chapter Seven

  Derrick and Marcia were already at Ed’s when Lynn pulled into the parking lot behind the building. Terrie and Mark were only about five minutes behind Lynn.

  They gathered together in the conference room next to Ed’s office, where Ed studied the ticket and compared it to the numbers on his laptop.

  It was a little weird seeing her lawyer in shorts and a T-shirt, but Derrick was dressed that way, too.

  “Looks like it’s the winning ticket to me,” Ed pronounced with a smile. “Congratulations.”

  “Can you scan it or something and let me have the copy and keep the original here with you?”

  “Will do.”

  “And you’ll go to Tallahassee with me and Terrie, right?”

  “Hey,” Terrie said. “How’d I get volunteered?”

  “Because you’re my bestie, and I’m not doing that without you.”

  Ed sat back and studied Lynn for a moment. “How do you want to split the winnings?”

  Terrie started to protest, but Lynn shut her down. “I know she won’t let me give her half—”

  “Neither will I,” Mark said. “That was your ticket.”

  “But,” Lynn continued, “I want them to have something.” She stared at her friends. “You have to let me do this.”

  Terrie choked back tears as she threw her arms around Lynn, hugging her. “I can’t believe this is real.”

  “Believe it. We hit the jackpot. I know damn well you’d be doing this, too, if our positions were reversed.”

  Mark snorted. “I’d be threatening you with a spanking to take half.”

  “Well, since I can’t spank your ass, you’ll have to let me give you something.”

  “Are you thinking a trust?” Derrick asked Ed.