My mouth fell open when I saw what was behind the orange fence. Standing under an impressive archway that reminded me of the Navy Pier in Chicago were Courtney, Seth, Joe, and Joe’s son, Jonah. Jonah was bouncing with excitement, looking happier than I had ever seen him in the months he had been with Joe. All four of them were beaming ear to ear. I was starting to dare to hope that this might actually all work out okay.

Before I could ask any questions. Jonah started talking in a flurry. “Wait until you see the rest of it. It’s so awesome! It has tons of huge, cool fish tanks, and I get to help choose the fish and take care of them, and dad says we can name it JJ’s. That’s one ‘J’ for dad’s name and one ‘J’ for me!” He said the last part proudly.

The boy’s enthusiasm was contagious. Laughter bubbled up out of me, but I still wasn’t sure exactly what he was talking about. “Is this…?” I paused as I took a step forward. I didn’t have to finish the question because Sam started filling me in on his plan.

“This is Joe’s new restaurant,” Sam indicated the enormous, beautiful two-story structure that sat at the end of the pier. I looked at him, thrilled. I was really starting to like the sound of this. “Joe has just agreed to use the money from the sale of his current establishment to purchase a 51% share of this new restaurant. He will run it as his own business. Davis Industries will remain a silent partner until he is ready to buy us out.”

Sam paused to give me a gorgeous, crooked grin. He knew that he had nailed this. I couldn’t have dreamed of a better outcome for the restaurant or its owner. I wrapped my arms around Sam’s neck, hugging him as close as I could around my enormous belly. “This is amazing!” I was so grateful and happy, but he wasn’t finished.

“Joe has also agreed to hire my suggested person as the restaurant manager. I have someone who is smart as a whip. She’s good with people, and she has direct experience in the food services industry.” By this point, I had figured out whom he was talking about, and I grinned at my best friend.

Court looked elated, and I was so excited for her. “Thank you,” she mouthed the words in our direction.

“You deserve it.” Sam reassured her.

Jonah had endured about all of the chitchat that he could stand. He grabbed my hand and led me towards the restaurant saying, “Come see the rest of it. It’s awesome!” I had never seen the boy say more than a few words. It was wonderful to see him so thrilled.