Lucy narrowed her eyes. “I feel like I’m not in on the joke here, and I don’t like it.”

Claire knew that she needed to tell her the story of Uncle Robert’s inheritance, but she was so tired, it felt like she was melting into the chair. “No, honey, it’s not a joke.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been trying to find a good way to tell you this,” Claire said slowly. “I’m not sure that there is a good way.”

“That’s okay. Just blurt it out,” Lucy said.

Marty leaned forward. “I’ll tell her.”

That was one way to do it. Claire nodded. “Okay. Go for it.”

Marty retold the story of Claire’s inheritance the best that he could. He forgot Uncle Robert’s name, but Lucy got the gist of the story.

By the end, Lucy had her jaw hanging open again. “How much money are we talking, Claire?”

“A lot,” Claire said with a wince.

Lucy nodded. “Hm. I mean, I thought it was pretty crazy when you offered to pay off my student loans. I thought that was why I was getting some weird text messages from Bertie.”

“Who’s Bertie?” asked Marty.

“She’s my cousin – one of Uncle Robert’s kids. She was pretty salty, and now I get why.”

Claire hadn’t known about that. “I’m not working at the hotel, Lucy. I bought it.”

Her eyes widened. “You bought it? Why?”

Claire covered her mouth, unsuccessfully fighting a yawn. “I don’t know. I got laid off from work and it seemed silly to go back and try to find another job as a paralegal. Uncle Robert didn’t want me to tell you girls about the money, and I didn’t know what to do.”

“So you bought a hotel? Here?”

“Yes.” Claire nodded. “Well, I have a mortgage. I couldn’t afford it outright. I thought it would be nice to be close to Margie, and she has that barn – you know, where she has weddings?”

Lucy nodded. “Yeah.”

“Margie loves it here so much, and I wanted to build something on my own.” Claire paused. “Uncle Robert told me that I should build the life I’ve always wanted.”

Lucy pinched her lips together. “Aw! That’s so sweet! I’m so happy for you. I really am.”

Lucy jumped up to squeeze her into another hug.

Claire spoke again. “Do you want to see the hotel tonight? I’m heading over. They actually got a room ready for me.”

Lucy shook her head. “No way. I need to talk to the man of mystery here. Can’t you stay for the night?”

“I wish I could, but I don’t want to upset the housekeeping staff. They already prepared the room.”

Lucy put an arm around Claire. “Well, you should go then. You look exhausted. I can come over in the morning and check things out.”