The Inn at Dead Man's Point by SUE FINEMAN Page B

against Alessandro.
    After she put Katie down for her afternoon nap, Jenna called Gerry with the Social Security numbers he’d requested. She also gave him the information on the accounts she’d found. “Gerry, is there any chance the money is still in these accounts?”
    “I’ll find out, Jenna. Give me a couple days.”
    “Okay.” She’d waited seventeen years. She could wait a couple more days.
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    Al worked with Blade and Vinnie to get the new gate posts set and bricked in. He didn’t think Brian would have the moxie to come back here again, but you never could tell about people like that. He and his old man were obsessed with meeting Cara Andrews, and if they thought taking one of the Donatelli brothers to court was the way to accomplish it, they wouldn’t likely give up anytime soon.
    “You’re not going to fence this whole place are you?” Blade asked.
    “There’s no point to it. If someone wants in bad enough, they’ll find a way in.”
    Jenna came outside to the porch and waved, and Al waved back. They’d slept together for most of the night last night, but they hadn’t made love. He wondered what would happen with their relationship if she found some of that missing money. Would she leave him and go back to Seattle? He didn’t think she’d try to get the inn back, but he didn’t know her well enough to know what she’d do.
    He was twenty-nine years old, and this was the first time he’d lived in his own home. After high school, he’d lived at home with his mother, Tony, and Angelo. They all worked and pitched in to help Ma. He lived in a small studio apartment when he was in college, and he spent some weekends at Cara’s estate near San Francisco. After college, he returned to Gig Harbor. By then, all his siblings had moved out and Ma was left alone. Since she’d had a stroke a couple years earlier, nobody wanted her to live alone, so he’d stayed. Now Ma had Vincent, her oldest grandchild, living with her, and sometimes she stayed with one of Al’s siblings. In any case, she wasn’t alone now, and Al no longer felt responsible for taking care of her.
    Looking down toward the house and beyond, to the water sparkling in the sunshine, he knew he’d make the old inn his permanent home. It was a whole lot more room than he needed right now, but he couldn’t see himself ever leaving here. The inn was old and weathered and rundown, but it already felt like home. He could see a sun porch on the south side, a bigger garage with a workshop in the back, a paved circle driveway in front, and a swing or two on the front porch. Someday he’d have kids playing ball in the front yard, a wife making lasagna in the kitchen, and a dog for the kids. He’d combine that round room on the second floor with another room and turn it into a nice master suite. He might even build himself a separate office and studio for displaying his plans.
    Jenna shook out the throw rug from the entry. She was cleaning again, a never-ending task in a place that size. He hadn’t thought of ongoing cleaning when he bought the inn. There were a lot of things he hadn’t considered, like getting stuck with all Mattie’s cats. The little fur balls left tiny footprints and fur all over the house and his car. Come to think of it, Katie left her mark on the house, too. So did Jenna. Somehow, he couldn’t picture the place without them.
    Vinnie nudged his arm. “If I wasn’t married, I’d order one of those for myself.”
    Blade smirked. “That one is taken. Right, Al?”
    Yeah, she was taken. But would she stay for the long term?
    Blade pointed at the house. “The new roof looks good. Sure makes a difference, doesn’t it?”
    “Paint will, too. It goes on next month, if I can find the time.”
    “I’m free for most of the summer. Give me a call when you’re ready.”
    Al nodded. “Okay, I will. Thanks, Blade.”
    “Anything is better than staying home and changing stinky diapers. I don’t mind the wet ones, but