“And I want to make a donation to Venture,” Lynn said to Derrick. “Or however you need to work it. At least five years of operating expenses. Consider it a lifetime membership for the three of us.”
When Derrick tried to gently protest, Marcia spoke up and shut him down with a smile. “Thank you,” she said. “That’s very generous of you.” She glared at Derrick. “We’ll take it.”
Derrick glared back at his wife and slave. “The club’s supporting itself.”
“I know, but as the corporate treasurer, I’m overruling you, dude.”
“Consider it a donation to Kaden’s memory,” Lynn said. “I’m fine with that.”
Everyone went quiet for a moment.
Ed scrubbed his face with his hands. “Holy shit, he’d be wanting to smack you, too, Derrick, for turning down free money for the club.”
Marcia’s smile looked wistful. “There were plenty of times he gave us stuff for the club and wouldn’t let us pay him back.”
“There you go,” Lynn said. “That’s what the place is for.” She held Terrie’s hand. “It’s a good place. I’m sorry I haven’t been around much lately, but I’m going to be coming back regularly now. I’m ready reconnect with my friends.”
Everyone sitting at the table knew what she’d been through, and she loved them all even more for not mentioning Paul.
By the time the meeting ended around six, Lynn felt like a weight had lifted from her shoulders.
“Dinner?” Terrie asked as the three of them stood by their cars in the parking lot.
Lynn started to say no automatically, but then stopped herself.
“Yeah,” she said. “My treat.” She smiled. “Don’t argue with me.”
Mark grinned, pulling her in for a hug. “You always did joke when you earned Stephen King money that you’d be hiring her full-time. Never thought it’d be like this.”
“Neither did I, but dammit, we deserve this. I won’t let you two feel guilty about it.”
They headed for dinner at a steakhouse Lynn had frequently wanted to go to but denied herself because of the expense.
As they sat around the table and stared at the menus, Terrie leaned in and whispered to Lynn. “Normally I’d be shitting bricks at the prices and looking for the cheapest thing.”
“I know, right?” She grinned. “Isn’t this great?”
“We’re not going to eat like this all the time,” Mark said. “This is a treat.”
“I know,” Lynn said. “I don’t want to be stupid and blow it. I just…” She blew out a breath. “I want to live. I want to enjoy life. This is like some karmic blast in a good way. I finally decided to try to move forward, and look what happened? Good luck. Boom.”
She couldn’t interpret the look on Terrie’s face and decided not to try. “Yeah, boom.”
* * * *
Lynn did something unheard of for her, especially for the past two years.
She forced herself to take several days off.
And she didn’t take the time off just because she had to travel up to Tallahassee, to the state lottery office, with Ed, Terrie, and Mark to file to claim their winnings, either. They refused the press conference, though, not wanting the attention.
Lynn took the time off for her.
She went shopping and allowed herself to spend, guilt-free, several hundred dollars on new clothes for herself.
She also upgraded her laptop.
That was her own money spent, though, because the state lottery commission said it’d take up to fifteen days for the payout to be wired into their bank accounts. Since Powerball was a group of several states, they had to collect the other states’ shares of the payout.
But it was a done deal.
Another thing Lynn did was go to Venture with Terrie and Mark the following Friday and Saturday, including dinner at Sigalo’s.
Ed, Derrick, and Marcia were sworn to secrecy about their winnings, and Terrie, Mark, and Lynn weren’t going to tell anyone, either. Eventually they knew the news might slip out, but they wanted to delay that as long as possible. Media outlets were already reporting that the winning ticket had been sold in Sarasota, but fortunately it wasn’t a store close to Lynn’s condo and one she didn’t frequent.
Rachel, Andrew, and Justin were at dinner on Saturday.
As were Wade and Glen, who definitely seemed to have latched onto the younger man.
Later, at the club, when Lynn could, she had a quick word with Rachel. “Well?”
She smiled. “He’s made the decision to move. Now it’s just a matter of when. He refuses to let me and Andrew pay for it.”
That only strengthened Lynn’s resolve.
Later, as they left Venture and were standing in the parking lot, Lynn told Terrie and Mark about her plan. “I want to help Justin move to Florida.”
Terrie cocked her head. “What?”
“I want to pay for it. Everything. You said it yourselves. I need to get out and get back into life. Road trip. We’ll go up early and pay for the truck and stuff and sightsee. Maybe I can get some ideas for a book. Mark can fly up to Omaha, and you guys can go visit his family and drive the truck back. Or I can drive the truck. Hell, I drove one when I got divorced. It’s not hard.”
Terrie studied her for too long of a time. “What’s really going on?”
“We have freedom. Let’s go do something.”
“Most people don’t win the lottery and say, ‘Hey, my dream trip is to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, or Omaha, Nebraska.’ They usually pick someplace more exotic. Like…here, at least. Florida.”
Mark snorted. “True story.”
“I’m a native Floridian who’s never really traveled,” Lynn said. “What little traveling I’ve done, it’s been to writing conferences or conventions. I see the inside of an airport and then a hotel shuttle on the way to the convention hotel and back again. Not exactly exploring-the-country kind of stuff. I’d love to take a long road trip. Come on. It’ll be fun.”
Terrie and Mark exchanged a long look. “You sure you want to do this?” he asked. “You could pay a moving company to do it.”
“No, I want to do it. It’s not like he has a lot of stuff. Terrie and I can fly up ahead of time, and then you can fly up to Omaha. She can drive down to meet you there, visit your family. I’ll bring the truck down, and we can caravan to Florida. Justin can drive ahead and get here and be looking for a job. We can stop in St. Louis and see the Arch!”
“Again,” Terrie snarked, “not exactly the landmark most lotto winners say they want to see.”
“Please? I don’t want to go crazy. I don’t want to spend like there’s no tomorrow. But this is something I can do. I can make a difference in his life. They had it rough growing up. You heard Rachel talk about it. Are you with me?”
Mark shrugged. “I guess so. I was going to take some vacation time anyway. I’m due to take it. I’m not quitting my job, though. I’ve been with the company for too long. I can get my pension in another five years. A drop in the bucket compared to what we have coming, but I’m like you. I won’t be stupid.”
“Perfect!” She hugged her friends. “I’ll talk to Rachel, and then I’ll talk to Justin.”
Terrie cocked her head at her. “If he refused Rachel and Andrew paying for his move, what makes you think he’ll let you?”
Lynn grinned. “I’m a sneaky writer. I’ll tell him I want to use it as research for a book, and that it’ll make it a tax-deductible research expense for me.”
Mark slowly shook his head, even as he smiled. “You are an evil genius, girl. I’ll give you every bit of that. I think he’ll buy that excuse.”
“If he doesn’t, I’ll resort to a tried and true standby,” she said.
“What?”
“I’ll guilt-trip him into it and say he should be living near his sister. That she worked her butt off as a kid to help him have as good a childhood as they could, so he owes it to her to get his butt down here as soon as he can so she’s not alon
e anymore.”
“Oooh, emotional blackmail for the win,” Terrie teased.
“Damn straight. I want my friends to have happy endings.”
Mark laughed.
“Not those kind,” Lynn said. “You have a dirty mind.”
He hooked a thumb at Terrie. “Have you met my wife?”
* * * *
Lynn had arranged to take Andrew, Rachel, and Justin out to dinner the next week on Thursday evening, the day before Justin was scheduled to fly back to South Dakota. Andrew and Rachel would be driving him to the airport the next morning for his afternoon flight.
That’s when Lynn sprang her surprise on them.
“So, you’ve decided to move here?” Lynn asked him.
“Yeah, when I can figure out how to afford it.”
“Stubborn won’t let us pay for it.” Rachel tossed a scowl at her little brother.
“Well, you’re in luck,” Lynn said. “I’ve got a book I’m working on where the characters make a cross-country move.” She turned to Justin. “I’m not taking no for an answer, so don’t even try. Terrie and I already booked our flight, too. We’re flying up to Sioux Falls on Monday and renting the truck for you. You can get everything packed next week, and then we’ll drive the truck back for you while you drive down to Florida and get started on the job hunt. Mark’s got family in Omaha, so we have the perfect excuse to do this. There’s an old dresser or something that was his grandfather’s that he’s been wanting to get, anyway. One way or another, we’d be doing a cross-country drive.”
Justin stared at her, stunned. “I…I can’t take—”
“Did I ask you to take it?” She smiled. “You don’t get to say no. I’m telling you this is what’s going to happen. I can afford this, and I want to do it. The fact that it gives me, Terrie, and Mark a ready-made reason to deduct the cost as a business expense is a bonus.” She wagged a finger at him. “So Monday, we’re flying in on the morning flight. I need to get your cell number from you, and your address. By next Monday, you can be driving down to Florida.”
He looked understandably shocked.
Andrew sat there wearing a smug smile. “I’d suggest you say, ‘Yes, ma’am, and thank you,’ to her before she threatens to go all toppy on you. I’ve seen her top people in the past, and she wields a mean cane.”
That seemed to startle Justin out of his shock. “Thank you.” He leaned in, hugging her tightly. “Thank you so much. Yes. But I’ll pay you back.”
“You can try, but I won’t take it.” She patted him on the back. “Hey, you and Rachel and I have something in common, and that’s childhoods where we had to fend for ourselves. I consider you both adopted family. I genuinely want to do this for you. It also means when I need someone to help test my game modules, you won’t be able to say no. So, ha.”
That drew a laugh from him. When he finally sat back, he reached for a napkin and dabbed at his eyes. “Thanks, Lynn. Absolutely, I’ll be your game guinea pig. That goes without saying.”
“I didn’t have a little brother. I won’t have kids.” She shoved away the sudden thought of Paul that hit her from out of the blue. “Honestly, in all seriousness, I can afford this.”
She could, too. The money would be hitting her account in a week or so, and she had more than enough in her regular account to pay for the expenses even before that.
“But what about you working?”
“I was planning on taking time off. Terrie’s been riding me to go somewhere. So we’re going to South Dakota.” She smiled at Rachel. “That means you two need to get your moving plans finalized.”
Andrew pulled Rachel in for a kiss. “That’s right. No more excuses.”
“See? This is perfect timing. Justin has a place to live without worrying about it. You guys are taking the next step in your life. This is the way it’s supposed to be.”
By the time they’d finished dinner and Lynn said good-night to everyone before she headed home, she’d quit counting the number of times she’d heard Justin mention Glen and Wade. If there wasn’t something serious between the three men already, she suspected there soon would be once he moved to Florida.
Good for them.
Glen and Wade were sweeties. They’d even offered to play with her if she ever needed someone safe to scene with, but she’d gently turned them down.
She knew she could trust the men, but her heart wasn’t in it. Bottoming to someone wasn’t in her future.
Not anymore.
She’d resigned herself to that. Although she could eventually see herself maybe topping someone some day, if the right person and right opportunity presented itself.
Yes, that’s how she’d first met Paul, at a private Suncoast Society party at Tony’s, before Tony had met Shayla. Lynn had been topping Gilo—who was now married to Abbey—and Paul had been there with Sarah.
Sarah had looked decidedly uncomfortable, clutching a bottle of beer in her hand all night like it was a protective shield. Over the next couple of months, Lynn and Paul had started playing together, him topping her with Sarah’s permission and blessings. Sarah had apparently been submissive to her ex but wasn’t currently playing.
Then she’d dropped out of the scene altogether, leaving Paul and Lynn to play, and eventually to do…more.
Stop it.
Tonight she didn’t want to think about Paul. She’d been doing pretty good lately between the good luck that had hit her and starting to reconnect with her friends.
The last thing she needed to do was think about Paul.
She would be grateful for everything that had happened over the past couple of weeks and spend her life looking forward.
Meaning she needed to enjoy her friends, enjoy her life, and focus on her work.
She wished Paul well, and would always love him, consider herself His, but that couldn’t be the focus of her life any longer.
Chapter Eight
“Our trip is still a go, Mom,” Lynn told Terrie during their call the next morning.
“You made the kid an offer he couldn’t refuse?”
“Hey, I’m forty-four. Don’t make me sound like his mom.”
“You’re almost old enough to be his mom.”
“I’m going to play mean tricks on you in the hotel room.”
Terrie laughed. “I’m sorry. It’s just I never thought I’d ever get to tease you like that. I already arranged for an airport shuttle van to pick us up tomorrow afternoon. They’ll get me first, then you.”
“And we can’t drive up and leave a car parked at the airport…why?”
“Because of parking fees I don’t feel like paying, and I don’t want it getting stolen. Hey, we might be rich, but I’m still going to be stingy. I worked it out. Hiring the shuttle only costs a little more than Mark would have to spend in gas money to drive us up and back. Is Cali still cat-sitting for you?”
“Yeah, she’s coming by later today to go over everything.”
“Did she make her guys promise not to turn him into an Internet star like they did Baxter?”
“Hell, I told them they could, if they wanted to. Vinnie’s already got a huge ego.”
Hearing her name, the cat strolled into the office and started rubbing against Lynn’s legs.
“Mark’s brother’s looking forward to seeing us,” Terrie said. “I haven’t seen them in about a year. He got to visit them while out that way for work a few months back.”
“You guys going to tell them about the boom?”
That had become their code word for the lottery winnings.
“No. I wanted to, but Mark said no. While we’re there, we’re going to scope out the situation. If they’re doing okay, we might go ahead and set up a college fund for each of their kids. If they’re struggling, we’ll have Ed look up their mortgage info and stuff and set up a separate LLC to buy it and take care of it on the sly. Besides, if you think Mark’s stubborn, Barry’s twice as stubborn. If we tried to make them take money, they wouldn’t. It’s going t
o be hard enough figuring out a way to pay off Mom and Dad’s mortgage without them throwing a fit. Ed researched it for me. They still owe twenty thousand on their house. I want to buy them each a car, but I know they’ll say no.”
“I guess it’s a good problem to have,” Lynn said. “Too many people have creeps crawling out of the woodwork to mooch off them.”
“Yeah, well, we might still have that problem,” she said. “When are you getting a fricking alarm system?”
“After we get back. I promise. I have the info Mark sent me.”
“Okay. I’ll sic him on you if you don’t.”
“I promise, Mom.”
“Smart-ass. Did you buy your lottery ticket today?”
“Duh.” She still stuck to her routine, Wednesday and Saturday Powerball tickets, ten dollars each. Same set of numbers, except for the one winning set, which she’d changed out. “You?”
“Of course.” Terrie laughed. “Wouldn’t it be a hoot if we hit it next and then had to force you to take money?”
“Hey, it’s a problem I’ll be happy to have.”
* * * *
Sunday afternoon, Lynn checked her list one more time before she finalized packing. After weighing her checked bag, she was satisfied that she wouldn’t be over the weight limit and get whacked with an extra baggage fee.
Just because I’m rich doesn’t mean I’m going to throw money away.
Lynn looked at her winnings as a cushion. From what Ed, Derrick, and others had told her, it was way too common for lottery winners to blow through their earnings on stupid shit and end up broke. With the trust Ed set up paying her a fixed salary, which would last her well into her eighties even without earning interest, it meant her writing earnings were now her “gravy.”
She felt an incredible amount of freedom over that.
It meant writing only what she wanted to write, when she wanted to write it. It meant a freedom to spend more time on research, not having to worry about markets or salability or anything else.
It meant being able to employ Terrie full-time and have the burden of promotions and formatting and all of that completely taken off her shoulders.