Be My Love Song (9 page)

“Phone, Maddie!” Elaine called. “Take it in your office.
It’s studmuffin!”

“Oh, Lord. I hope she had him on hold,” Maddie muttered and
several guests laughed. Anxious to hear his voice, she hurried and shut the
door behind her, sliding into the seat. “Hello?”

“Maddie-mine, how’s my girl?”

Smiling from ear to ear. “Better now that I’ve heard from
you. How are you?”

“Oh, I’m good. Missing you. When can I see you again?”

Now. “I can fix dinner for us tomorrow if you’d like to
come.”

“Sounds perfect, I’m meeting Dallas and Aiden tonight. I’d
rather see you, but I’ve already promised.”

“No, that’s good.” She liked that he was a man of his word.
“I have some things to do around here, dealing with family and such. Folks are
checking out and we have a writer’s group heading in. Several romance authors
are coming for some quiet time. They’re writing a series set in Galveston and
they need to soak up some atmosphere.”

“I’m sure they’ll be inspired by Windswept. How did the
meeting with the bank go? Are we ready for Aiden to start ordering materials?”

Telling him no hurt her a great deal. “I don’t think so,
Weston. I’m so sorry. It’s not final yet, but without my family’s support, I
don’t think I’m going to be able to pull this off. I’m sure they’ll be wanting
to meet with me soon and read me the riot act. I still have to meet with my
lawyer but unless there’s a miracle, I’m going to have to go along with the
sale. I won’t have a choice.”

Weston was quiet for a minute. “Maddie, don’t give up. Just
sit tight. Talk to them, but don’t agree to anything until you’ve spoken to
your lawyer and talked to me again. Okay?”

“Okay.” She couldn’t imagine what he was thinking, but she
was open to any suggestions.

“All right. I wish I could hug you.”

“Me too. I need one right now.” She hugged her own self,
thinking how nice it would be if he were holding her.

“Okay, baby. Take care. I’ll see you soon or talk to you
sooner.”

With that, he was gone. A heavy weight seemed to lift from
her shoulders. Maddie though it was a bit strange. Even though things seemed
bleak, she didn’t feel hopeless at all. No matter how dark the valley she would
be called upon to walk through, the knowledge that she wouldn’t be doing it
alone made all the difference.

West made all the difference.

* 
*  *

By night, her prior good mood was shot to hell. Everything
she’d feared seemed to be falling down around her head. “Give up, Madeline.
Selling the Windswept is best for everyone.”

“Yes, here.” Hugh handed her the papers. “Sign. There’s
really no better alternative.”

“No, not till I talk to my lawyer.” She pushed them back
across the table toward him.

The old man’s face reddened. “You have no idea what you’re
sitting on.”

They were meeting in the conference room adjacent to the
office. Maddie looked down. “My chair or my bottom?”

Morgana threw a sofa pillow at her. She seemed recovered from
her heartbreak. Women like her sister didn’t get too emotionally invested in a
man. They got more invested in his money. “Don’t be impertinent to Mr.
Beaumont. He could buy and sell God.”

Instead of being insulted, Hugh looked pleased. “I’m going
to level with you. I’ve studied the history books and the legends all of my
life. And I think the Windswept is sitting on top of Jean Lafitte’s buried
treasure.”

Of course. Maddie shook her head. “Mr. Beaumont, you can
read hundreds of accounts and theories that put Lafitte’s gold at a dozen
places between here and New Orleans. There’s even some accounts of it being in
East Texas near the Sabine River. You can’t seriously think you’d find buried
treasure here, do you?”

He pointed to the floor. “Beneath this building or on this
property is buried treasure worth a fortune. The historical significance of it
alone makes it worth twice what the value of the gold itself would be. We’re
talking Jean Lafitte, one of the greatest pirates who ever lived. The man who
fought with Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans, the man who spied for
the Spanish during Texas’s war with Mexico. He claimed Galveston from
Karankawa. There is even a persistent rumor that Lafitte rescued Napoleon from
exile and they spent their last days in Louisiana!”

Madeline could see that Hugh Beaumont was obsessed by the
idea of the pirate Jean Lafitte. Her explaining to him how unlikely that buried
treasure could be found on Windswept property was like spitting into the wind.
“How do you intend to find it?” She dreaded hearing this part.

“No one will really know I’m looking.” He waved his hand
around. “We’ll tear down this structure, then we’ll dig out the whole area in
order to lay the sturdy foundation of a building that can endure a category 5 hurricane.
While we’re excavating and digging holes deep enough for the anchor pillars,
we’ll be hunting treasure. Heavy equipment will prove to be very helpful.”

Madeline was horrified. The idea that Beaumont intended to
dig up this whole section of beach, disturb the dunes and dislodge the very
sands of history turned her stomach. “You’ll do all of that and you’ll find
nothing. No one knows if there ever was treasure. Many think Lafitte was broke
by the time he died. Many also think the treasure he referred to was the coffin
where he buried the love of his life, Madeline Regaud.” Madeline always
remembered Lafitte’s wife’s name because it was her own.

“There was treasure.” He cut across the air with his hand,
trying to effectively make his point.

Realizing she was dealing with someone who had a couple of
screws loose, she tried to play the ghost angle. “Aren’t you afraid to dig?
Many say you can hear Madeline crying on dark nights. Many also say that if you
try to disturb the treasure, one of Lafitte’s black hellhounds will find you.”
Although his eyes widened, he could not be deterred.

“You must sell. You must sign the papers. I have worked a
lifetime to amass the knowledge to achieve this one goal. I will not be denied
this opportunity. Whatever it takes, however much it takes, I will succeed.” As
he spoke, his voice rose until he was almost shouting.

 Madeline stood. “I’m sorry, you’ll have to continue
this meeting without me. I don’t intend to sign anything until I have exhausted
every alternative.”

Juliana, who’d been silent up until this point, chimed in.
“Madeline, I know you feel like you are protecting your father’s legacy. But
Windswept’s time is over. All good things finally come to an end. Preserving
the past is not always the best thing. Mr. Beaumont is willing to compensate us
grandly. Spare yourself useless headaches and sign now.”

“No, Juliana, I’m sorry. I cannot give you my answer today.”

She marched out, leaving them angry and frustrated. Too bad.
She wasn’t in that good of a mood herself. More than anything, Maddie needed
West.

Chapter
Nine

West rubbed his eyes. His vision was blurry. He’d been
researching Windswept all night, gathering evidence and printing out old newspaper
articles. After talking to Maddie, he’d brainstormed with Dallas until they
came up with a plan. Hitting enter, he sent the last document to the printer.
Now, all he had to do was get with Dallas and see if he could get an injunction
to stop Maddie’s family from selling her home to be destroyed.

Looking at the evidence before him, Weston smiled. Sometimes
it paid to have a legal-eagle brain for a brother. Gathering up the papers, he
stuffed them into his briefcase and took off. He knew he was working on a grand
gesture. West wanted nothing more than to save the day for Maddie. The thought
of her people running over her infuriated him. And they wouldn’t get the chance
if he had anything to do about it.

Over at Windswept…

Maddie wanted to walk back into the closet. Sometimes there
was just nowhere else that seemed to do. She’d talked to the lawyer and the
banker and all doors were shut. She might as well start packing. Her only
recourse was to sell. During the last three hours, she’d cried a river. Calling
West was what she longed to do, but he was coming for dinner, there was no use
worrying him now. So, to relieve her tension and to just kick sand in the face
of fate, Madeline was planting roses. All of those bright red Knockout roses
were going to be planted in Windswept’s east garden.

One shovel of dirt after another. Maddie lost herself in the
monotony of labor. If she could just plant all the roses, their combined roots
reaching down into the ground would anchor Windswept and nothing could harm her.
Tears blinded her to the fact that her task was for naught.

Even though she had the answer, even though she knew the
fate, Madeline refused to make it easy for Juliana and Morgana. She might have
to sell, but she didn’t have to sell to Hugh Beaumont. As fifty-one percent
interest holder, Madeline intended to try and find another buyer, one who could
make the necessary improvements and preserve Windswept as it was. About an hour
ago, she had informed them of her intentions and to say they took the news poorly
was an understatement.

Even though she knew it wasn’t logical, Maddie wanted to be
like those homesteaders who refused to leave their homes when rivers would be
damned and farms would succumb to the rising waters. She wanted to be like
those tree-huggers who sat up in the branches of an oak and refused to leave
until the lumberjacks felled it with a chainsaw. In her mind, she could just
see them having to drag her kicking and screaming from Windswept when the
dozers came to push it down.

She would not do this easily.

Throwing down the shovel, Madeline returned to the storage
house to get some fertilizer tablets to put in the holes. Flipping on the
light, she walked into the back room to find the plastic blue bucket where she
stored the pellets. One moment she’d been stooped over, the next she was
slammed back against the wall.

A cry died on her lips when a hand covered her scream.

“You will sell me this property.” Beaumont was enraged. He
jerked Madeline by the arm and pushed her against the wall. There were hooks
and tools hanging on the wall, so something hard and sharp was pressing into
her back. Panicking, she struggled. He was old, but Maddie was little. His
strength was more than she could fight.

“You will submit to me. Women like you need to know their
place. A decision as important as this should never be in your hands.” He
brought a knee up and put it into her stomach at the same time he jerked her
top at the neck, ripping it down so that her front was exposed. Maddie screamed
and writhed. Was he going to rape her?

With a rush of adrenaline, Maddie twisted and jerked from
his grasp. “You’re crazy. Raping me isn’t going to convince me to sell, you
pervert!”

Hugh caught her by the hair of the head. “I don’t intend to
rape you. I intend to kill you and bury you here with Lafitte’s treasure. This
property will be mine.”

Fear rose in Madeline like a tidal wave. Was this how it
would end? Would she never see West again? “No! Help!” she screamed. Hugh
pulled a crowbar from the wall, raising it over her head…

* 
*  *

“She’s outside planting roses on the north side of the pool,
Mr. Rogers.” Tilly informed him with a sad smile. “Our Maddie is brokenhearted.
She just got out of a meeting with her family. There is no recourse but to
sell. The improvements have to be made by law and no bank will loan her the
money to do them without her family signing off. Her lawyer told her that she
doesn’t have to sell to Beaumont, she can find another buyer. When Madeline
informed her mother and the others of her intention, there was an ugly scene.
She just needed a minute to herself, but I know Maddie would welcome seeing
you.”

West held up some papers. “I think I have the answer, Tilly.
I think I can give Maddie what she needs.”

As he walked off, Tilly murmured, eyeing his sexy backside,
“I don’t doubt that for a minute.”

Exiting from the side door, West headed toward the pool. He
could see where she had dug dozens of holes and the five gallon buckets of
roses sat by each one. But where was Maddie?

And then he heard the scream. “Maddie!” West threw the
folder to the ground and ran. When he pushed open the storage house door and
saw Hugh Beaumont about to strike Maddie across the head with a crowbar, he
launched himself at the old man, knocking him down. “You psycho! How dare you
try and hurt my Maddie?”

Maddie crawled to one side, her breath coming in hard jerks.
“West, you came,” she whispered. She watched him struggle with Beaumont, but
the old man was no match for Weston. In a few moments, he had him subdued. The
noise had attracted a couple of guests who had called the police. A couple of
men had come to help West, leading the culprit out to await the arrival of the
authorities.

West ran to Maddie. “Are you all right?” He helped her up and
ran his hands over her. “Did he hurt you?”

“No, he didn’t, he just scared me.” She went into his arms
where he cradled her next to him, his hands stroking her back and her hair. The
relief of being in his arms made Maggie sag, giving herself over to his care.
“I’m so tired. I’ve lost, West. I’ve lost everything.”

He pulled her back a few inches so he could look into her
face. “No, you haven’t. You haven’t lost anything.” West smiled and kissed her.
“You have me and I have good news.” When hope dawned on her face, he whispered,
“Windswept is yours. Dallas has an injunction ready for your signature. We can
delay the code work and the sale long enough to have Windswept declared a
historical landmark. This place is more than a hotel, it’s more than a house—it’s
sacred ground. History was made here. Windswept will be preserved so
generations can come to see a grand old lady of the sea who has ridden out the
storms of life. Once the designation has been awarded, you can get grants to
bring and keep Windswept safe from the elements.”

Madeline looked at West in wonder. “You saved me.” She threw
her arms around his neck and held on for dear life. “Thank you. I can’t believe
you did this for me.”

“I’d do anything for you, Maddie-mine. From the moment I saw
you and you launched yourself into my arms, I knew I wouldn’t ever be willing
to let you go.”

“So, I can keep Windswept?” She was having a hard time
digesting the fact that her dreams were intact, she wouldn’t be forced to leave
her home.

“Yes, Windswept is safe.”

As she was sheltered in the arms of the man she loved—and
yes, Maddie loved him—she knew keeping Windswept wasn’t the only dream of hers
that was coming true. Maddie wasn’t alone any longer. She mattered to someone.
She had someone to watch over her, to care for her. She was someone’s treasure.

“Come on, let’s go in and celebrate. I’ll call Dallas and
you can sign these papers and know that your future and the future of Windswept
is secure.”

Windswept stood guard. Facing the roiling waves of the Gulf
of Mexico, she stood as a reminder that there are some things in this world
worth preserving, worth fighting for. Galveston is such a place. The sea winds
may blow, the tides may rise, but the indomitable will of those who love it
will survive.