Page 57 of Homemade Kisses

Milo shook his head. “No. You may never get that money back.”

Boone shrugged. “Then I don’t. I live here now. This is my home as much as Demarien’s. I don’t want to lose it, and I have the means to handle it.”

“He’s right,” Puck said, reluctantly. “Any of us here would do the same if we had the money to do it. It would take one headache off of us.”

“It’s a really big payment,” Milo pointed out.

“Grandpa left me a lot of money and property. Making payments would only be temporary.” Boone wanted to help them so much. The inn wasn’t his dream, but being with Demarien was. “I was saving it to buy my childhood home here in town if it ever went up for sale, but I like the cottage more. It has a Demarien that comes with it.”

“That is a really good perk,” Milo said, smiling fully now. “Your grandpa left it for you, though.”

“He would approve,” Boone laughed. “He knew I had a thing for Demarien. Used to tease me about it every day. He liked thefour of you, and I know he would like being able to help. So would Joe, Wilma-Jean, and Sammie, for that matter.”

Milo looked horrified. “They help enough. We would never ask them for money.”

“Okay. Family vote,” Felix called out. “All in favor of Boone making the payments with his grandpa’s money?”

Demarien, Patrick, Haley, Puck, and Felix raised their hands.

“Let it be noted that I am not in favor of this.” Milo glared at Felix. “That money should be spent on Boone’s future.”

“You know I don’t really take notes, right?” Felix asked. “I just doodle while everyone is talking.”

“This is my future,” Boone said softly, looking at Demarien for a long moment. “Everything I want is right here. Investing in it is the smartest thing I could ever do.”

Milo let out a long sigh. “Fine.”

“If I get a vote, I feel like I should be able to invest too,” Patrick said, pouting.

“You can only invest if you take part in building up the inn,” Milo said, hands on his hips. “Demarien has the restaurant, Puck has the gardens and walking trails, I have the inn, and Felix, Boone, and Haley handle maintenance, cleaning, and all the unfun stuff.”

“What would you offer, Patrick?” Felix asked, snickering. “You don’t like handywork or the outdoors. You’ve made that very clear. Plus, you have a job in town that you love. The inn doesn’t need a deputy. That doesn’t bring in the tourists.”

Haley raised a brow. “I mean, it could. What would Patrick be wearing?”

“No need for me to become the inn’s personal stripper,” Patrick smirked. “I knew you all would question me. That’s why I have a plan. I want to revitalize the winery. I have an army buddy who’s all into making wine. His family owns a fancy vineyard in California. He’s already agreed to move out here and give ita go. It’s a slow process, but Puck said the grape vines were in surprisingly good shape. All my money can go right into that, and a couple of years down the road, it would be bringing in the big bucks.”

Milo sighed, then stared at the ceiling, searching for divine help. The inn already had so many moving parts, but the idea wasn’t horrible. Aunt Dahlia would have loved to see the vineyard alive again. “Write up a business proposal, and we’ll review it at the next family meeting.”

Patrick laughed. “Already done.” He pulled out a file he had hidden beside Casanova’s tank. “My friend put it together. He’ll do all the work. Having his own winery has long been his dream. I did pick the cover, though.”

“You talking about Roman?” Boone asked, thinking of their large, jovial friend who had served with them for years before opting out right before Patrick did.

“Yes.” Patrick nodded, grinning again. “Think about it, Milo. Winery tours, tastings, maybe a little gift shop to sell wine and Felix’s glass baubles. More tourists mean more money.”

“We can get more sheep,” Puck said, yawning as he leaned back into the couch.

“Serving our own wine in our restaurant?” Demarien added, wagging his eyebrows. “Fancy.”

“Everything is happening so fast,” Milo said, sitting down on an ottoman. “It’s like as soon as one thing goes right, something bad happens, and we’re back to square one. This is a big risk, Patrick.” He pointed at all of them. “We’re a big risk.”

“It’s a risk I’ll take,” Patrick said with a shrug. “I believe in you all.”

“I believe in you, too,” Boone said, hugging his omega tightly.

“I believe in this place and each of you,” Haley added.

“We can do this.” Felix stood and hugged Milo. Puck and Demarien joined in. “Let’s make Aunt Dahlia proud.”