Legacy by M.A. Foster

June

_____________________________

Dylan

“Dylan!” Katie’s scream pulls me from a deep sleep.

I jump from the bed and run downstairs.

“Go away!” she shouts, hysterically crying as she bangs on the glass door facing the patio.

I rush to her side, and my heart stops in my chest when I spot a huge cat—no, scratch that—a bobcat trying to get into Rocky’s tree.

“Fuck!”

“What do we do?” she cries.

“Calm down and let me think.” I rake my fingers through my hair.

“Where did he even come from?”

“I don’t know.” I blow out a breath. “Where’s the hose?”

She scans the patio. “It’s right outside the other door. Go through the guest room.”

I turn on my heels. “Call animal control,” I instruct over my shoulder as I round the corner.

I cut across the guest room to the patio door and carefully open it, then poke my head around the corner to check the bobcat is still there.

It is.

Picking up the hose, I wrap one hand around the nozzle and twist the knob on the spigot with the other, squeezing the trigger to check the water pressure. Then I edge closer, lift the hose, and squeeze. The water startles the cat, and he takes off. I don’t stick around to see where he goes. I slip back into the guest room and pull the door closed, my heart pounding, hose still clutched in my hand.

“He’s gone,” Katie calls out.

I step back outside, keeping a tight grip on the hose. Katie is already working to get Rocky out of his tree house.

“Where did he go?” I look around.

“He jumped the wall.” Her voice is shaky.

“Grab everything you need for him and take it inside.”

“Okay. Just stand guard.”

After Katie moves everything of importance inside the house. I shut off the hose and head back inside.

Katie is on the couch with Rocky on her lap. His little chest heaves as she tries to feed him a treat. To be honest, I’m surprised he didn’t die of a heart attack.

“Are you okay?” I ask Katie.

“No,” she breathes. “I know he’s just a squirrel, but he’s my baby, Dylan. I raised him, and if he dies, I would rather he die naturally. Not from being mauled by a fucking bobcat.” She looks up at me, pain and worry etched on her face. “What if I had been out there?”

I wince. I don’t even want to think about that. “Did you call animal control?”

“I did. They said they would send someone out.” She shakes her head. “Who knows when that will be?”

“Do you have a cage for him?”

“Yeah, but he can’t live in it permanently.”

“But he’ll be okay in it for the day, or at least until we can figure something out?”

“Yeah, he’ll be fine.”

“Okay.” I cross my arms over my chest. “I was going to wait to talk to you about this later, but it looks like I’m out of time. Get dressed.”

“Talk about what? Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

* * *

“You’re bringing me to your apartment?” Katie asks as I pull into my driveway.

“I want to show you something.”

Shutting off the engine, I climb out and open the back door to grab Rocky’s cage. Katie collects her overnight bag, purse, and Rocky’s treat pail and follows me to the door.

I unlock the door to my apartment and push it open. Katie steps in first and sets down her stuff before taking Rocky’s cage from me and setting it on the floor in front of the window.

“I’ll be right back,” I tell her before jogging up the narrow steps leading to the overhead loft also known as my office.

Grabbing the blueprints, I descend the stairs and find her sitting at the kitchen counter.

“Whatcha got there?” she asks, eyeing the plans.

She’s a designer, so of course she recognizes a set of blueprints.

“I want to show you something. It’s just an idea, and you can say no, but I hope you’ll love it as much as I do.”

“I’m intrigued.” She props an elbow on the counter, tucking a fist under her chin. Her icy blue eyes dance with excitement.

“I told you how my grandmother owns this building,” I start as I unroll the blueprints.

“Mm-hmm.” She dips her chin.

“So, of course, I talked to her about it first, and she is 100 percent all for it.”

“Okay,” she drawls.

I place the blueprints on the counter and turn them toward her. “I want to remodel this building and turn it into a home for us.”

Katie lifts her gaze to mine. “Really?”

I nod, reining in just how excited I am about this. “I thought about buying us a house, but I think this is more our style.” I tap the blueprints.

Katie’s gaze moves over the plans. “You designed this?”

“I didn’t draw it myself, but I laid out every detail for the architect.”

She lifts her head and smiles. “You’re very creative. Why didn’t you go to design school?”

I shrug. “I’m only creative when it comes to things I want.” I pause. “What do you think?”

“Of course I love this idea. What about Alex?”

“Alex is a millionaire. He can get another place,” I say, and she chuckles.

“What about my place?”

“Keep it, rent it, or sell it. It’s your place, so do whatever you think is best.”

“Okay, but….”

“What?”

“Can you afford this?” She winces. “I don’t mean to be nosy, but with the Legacy remodel—”

“You’re cute.” I kiss the tip of her nose. “Do you want to know how I came up with the name Legacy?”

“How?”

“My great-grandfather, Laurence Edwards—”

“The man whose name is on the football stadium.”

“Yes. He was Mimi’s father. He owned a lot of the property on this island, and over the years, he sold off pieces to home and business developers. When he passed away, he left everything to Mimi. Everyone who knows the Mackenzies knows we have money. Mimi could’ve never worked a day in her life and still lived a very comfortable lifestyle, but instead she used a small fraction of that money, built up her design business, and made a name for herself. She backed my grandfather when he started the medical center, and now she has more money than what she started with. Because she worked for it. My grandparents have always said there’s no room in this family for lazy motherfuckers.”

Katie barks out a laugh, and I grin.

“Actually, it was Mimi who said that.”

“I’m not the least bit surprised. She’s—”

“Unfiltered,” I finish with a chuckle. “She is. Though her words of wisdom are a bit unconventional, she makes sense. The one that stuck with me was ‘No matter how far we fall, we always land on our feet. We’re destined for success. It’s our legacy.’”

“It’s perfect.”

“Thank you. I think so, too. To answer your question, yes, I can afford it. Mimi has money set aside for all her kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids. Whether we need it or not, it’s ours to do whatever we want with. And I want to turn this place into a home for us. So, what do you say?”

Her gaze drops to the blueprints, then to me. “I say let’s do it.”