“Yeah, you did great, though. Even if money was tight.”
Claire smiled. “Over the years, Uncle Robert kept trying to send more and more money. It was odd, but he’d become quite successful over the last ten years or so. He started a building company and things took off. But last year, he got sick and declined pretty rapidly. It was awful for everyone.”
Margie reached out and grasped Claire’s hand. “I didn’t even hear about this!”
“I know. It all happened so fast. Two weeks before he died, he asked me to come and visit him. And I did, of course, because he meant so much to us. The girls were at school, and we thought we’d have more time, but…. Anyway, he had his attorney there. He said that…”
Claire trailed off.
Margie leaned in. “What?”
She flashed a pained smile. “He asked me not to tell anyone this. He made me promise, but you’re one of my best friends.”
“Ah.” Margie was starting to see where this was going. “You don’t have to tell me, Claire.”
“It’s too late!” she said with a laugh. “He said that he regretted spoiling his kids so much. That he’d never wanted money for the sake of having it. He’d wanted to give his kids a better life. He had two boys and a girl.”
Margie nodded. “Right.”
“He said they got disconnected. None of them wanted to put in any work themselves. They just came to him with their hands outstretched. When he was sick, none of them were willing to help at the business. He realized he’d made a mistake.”
Margie had a sudden flash of worry that Saltwater Cove might become wildly successful and her kids would become too spoiled, but then almost laughed at the thought. Her kids were too old to lose their heads. And Saltwater Cove would never make that much money.
Claire continued. “He changed his will, and though he left the company to his kids so they could earn a living if they chose, he left almost all of his money to… me.”
Margie sat back, eyes wide. “Claire.”
“I know,” she said, shaking her head.
“Is it a lot? I won’t ask how much, but – ”
“You don’t have to ask.” Claire looked down, then up again. Dropping her voice to a low whisper, she said, “Six million dollars.”
Margie gasped, then immediately clasped a hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry. I just wasn’t expecting that.”
“I know!” Claire said. “I wasn’t expecting it either! At the time, he thought that he still had at least a year left. But he passed away two weeks later, and when his family found out that he left all of the money to me…”
Margie made a face. “Oh. They were happy for you?”
Claire laughed. “Not at all. They accused me of manipulating him, and of being a thief and forging the will. I never wanted the money, Margie! I felt awful!”
“What are you going to do?”
“That’s the thing. He made me promise to do something good with it. He said that I needed to create the life I dreamed of.”
“Isn’t that nice!”
“Ihavea nice life, though! And I didn’t know what to do, so I just kept going to work. I like my job, and I’m good at it. Or, I was good at it, until the layoffs came.”
Margie frowned. “I see. So that’s why you haven’t been worried about finding another job.”
Claire nodded. “Yes. I felt so bad not telling you. But it’s silly. I know I can trust you.”
“I will not tell a soul.” Margie said. Then she paused. “Although, you know I’m not always great with secrets.”
They both started laughing.
“I’m trusting you, Margie.”
