Dani and Bella settled in the car, and she backed out, careful to keep her eye on the reflector she had nailed to the tree she’d hit once or maybe twice. On the main road, she followed the familiar route she had been driving since she and Bella had moved into this house ten years ago.

She wove through Southern Shores and then took a left onto the beach road. Ten minutes later, she pulled into Ivy’s driveway behind her van.

“Remember the deal. You’ll have to take care of the dog. That means feeding, walking, and cleaning up after it.” She was saying this out loud for the record, knowing many puppy duties would fall to herself during the school day. She’d already scoped out a spot for the dog at the gallery.

Bella wiggled, her excitement too charged to control. “I will. And the really good thing about a dog is that I won’t be on my screen as much, remember?”

Yes, her girl had played that card several times. “That’s the plan.”

Out of the car, she glanced toward the construction site, where the crew was surveying the foundations of the ten homes. When their dad told Dalton and Dani that he’d bought Ruth’s land, they were both taken aback. Ruth had never once mentioned her finances to Dani, but she’d always suspected the dollar amount to settle her debts was high. The hotel had been operating under slim margins for so long it was a miracle Ruth had kept the lights on. Needless to say, the land had not come cheap.

Dalton had already sold five of the ten lots before he’d started clearing and one more yesterday. The next four wouldn’t be a hard sell, and as long as none of the deals fell through, which she didn’t expect, PDD Construction would be fine.

Dalton had already handed out her card to several of the buyers and recommended her decorating service, her little side gig that filled the slow hours at the gallery and kept her from asking her dad or Matthew for money in the months she overspent.

As Dani approached the stairs, worry took root. She wasn’t sure how Ivy would react to seeing Bella, the physical product of her night with Matthew. There was no denying who had fathered this kid. She rang the bell. DNA, she well knew, was a powerful force.

Inside a dog barked, and Bella shifted from foot to foot with excitement. “Is that a puppy?”

“Sounds more like the mama dog, Libby.”

The door opened, and Ivy stood there with a small black-and-white puppy the size of her palm. She glanced at Bella, and if she saw all the traces of Matthew, she hid it well with a smile. “I understand there’s a little girl interested in a puppy.”

“That’s me!” Bella said.