“No, no. But they’ve called eight times, and I’ve heard they’re already on the island. They’re staying at The Cove.”

The greedy assholes couldn’t be bothered to visit their mother and grandmother more than twice a decade when she was alive, even though they only lived a ferry ride away in Seattle. They’d left her care to Kenna without any offer of assistance. But as soon as she died, here they were, hungry for money, no doubt. My hands tightened on the wheel. “Well, they can just wait.”

Penny scoffed. “I’d agree, except I’m the one who has to answer their increasingly angry calls.”

I blew out a breath. “Fine. Tell them to come in at four-thirty. I have to bring in Kenna first.”

“I’ll give them a call.”

“Thank you.”

I hit End, and my thumb hovered over Kenna’s contact in my phone. I had the burning urge to shelter her from all that was about to come her way. I knew that Harriet had the best intentions, but things were going to get incredibly messy. Hopefully, Kenna could hold on for the ride.

7

Kenna

A string of colorful curses flew through my head as I glanced at my watch for the fifth time. I took a deep breath, trying to find that inner peace that Caelyn was always going on about.

I gave my head a little shake. I wanted to hold on to my mad. If I were angry, the grief couldn’t get a foothold. I glanced up at Penny, who sat behind her desk, studiously avoiding my gaze. “If Crosby isn’t going to have the decency to show up after he called me over here with some mysterious, ‘I need to talk, it’s important’ BS, I’m going back to work.”

Penny winced, her curls bouncing with the action. “He was coming back from Shelter Island. The ferry’s probably just running a little behind.”

More like Crosby probably got distracted by some shiny object or high-risk adventure he just had to try. I let out what almost sounded like a growl. “How do you work for that man and not go crazy?”

Penny chuckled. “He has certainly been an exercise on my patience.” Her eyes met mine with a sincerity that caught me by surprise. “But he’s got a good heart. The best.”

That might be true, but what good was a wonderful heart if it wasn’t present where it needed to be? I pushed to my feet. “I’m sorry, but I’m not waiting any longer. He can reschedule when it’s convenient for me. I’ve already lost too much time today.” Time I needed to stay on top of my pile of paperwork back at the office.

The door to the small, cottage office swung open. “I’m here. And I brought donuts.”