At least she didn’t have a job where this could jeopardize her career like it would for many others. Himself included. He had to maintain a certain credit standing and never thought he’d have a problem.
He had his social security number locked down so that no loans or credit cards could be taken out in his name without his knowledge. He was guessing Hailey Bond was going to inform Ava of all those steps she could take now, though it wouldn’t change the past six months.
There was a knock at his door and he glanced up to see Carolyn Sanders standing there. “You’re here because of Ava Mills?” he asked.
Carolyn was the loan officer that had filed the application. Carolyn also had an eagle eye and a blabbermouth. No, she wouldn’t talk about a client outside of work, or at least he hoped not. But she’d find it interesting if she knew what was going on and then start gossiping about the rest of the family.
“I am. I saw her leaving the building and then went to check the status of her loan. I’m not able to access it.”
“No,” he said. “I’ve taken it over and will deal with Ava directly.”
“Oh,” Carolyn said. “Typical of the Bonds to do that.”
He sighed and wasn’t going to get into a pissing match. “I called her myself. You know that I maintain a relationship with most of the Bond family members on this island.”
“Deep pockets,” Carolyn said. “Good for business.”
“It is,” he said. “I hadn’t known she came in for the loan, but you know I see all applications and I reached out to her.”
Carolyn nodded as if what he was saying was common enough. It made the most sense though he wouldn’t have done this if her credit hadn’t come back so bad. “No worries. I don’t even know why she is taking out a mortgage when she probably has enough money in the family somewhere or her trust to pay cash.”
“How she wants to spend her hard-earned money is up to her,” he said. “As long as she keeps banking with us, it’s not our concern.”
Carolyn snorted and he knew it had to do with the hard-earned comment. “Most Bonds are born with that golden spoon in their mouth. Catherine’s line—where Ava comes from and most of the doctors in the family—and Patricia’s line don’t have the money that James’s and Edward’s lines do. William’s doesn’t have much compared to the rest of them.”
He sighed. “It’s not our place to make those comments or judgments. Their money is green like ours whether they’ve got more of it or not.”
“A lot more,” Carolyn said. “But you’re right. I’ll just take this off my desk then if you are dealing with it.”
“Thanks,” he said and watched the older woman leave. She’d been here thirty years or more as a loan officer and started out as a teller. She’d lived on the island her whole life. Plenty did that weren’t related to the Bonds but you wouldn’t think that if you didn’t know the facts.
Seth had been coming to this island for years on vacation and weekends. He always enjoyed it. Ellen did too. They talked about getting their own place one day if they could afford a second home. But with two kids and Ellen wanting to take a year off of teaching after the baby was born like she did with Adele, summer homes were way off into the future.
None of that happened though. Not the year off to stay at home with their son. Not the summer home he’d share with her in their retirement. Instead he sold the home they had in Boston and then was able to move into the house the bank owned on the island. It was here for the bank president since it was so hard to get anyone to move to the island due to limitations.
There were schools on Amore Island, but not a lot of sports for the kids or other activities unless you wanted to be running on and off the ferries. Many did but just as many didn’t want to be bothered.
Real estate was hard to find here, jobs were limited to tourism. It wasn’t the life for many and the bank was thrilled someone his age was willing to take the job rather than a candidate closer to retirement having one foot out the door.
This wasn’t the life he thought he’d have, but maybe his mother was right when he talked to her a week ago. He had to make the best of things and he had to move on. He wasn’t hardwired to do this alone and three years had felt like thirty to him.
And why was he thinking of any of this after his meeting with Ava Mills?
5
Make A Plan
“Ava. What are you doing here?”
Ava sniffled a little and wiped her hand under her nose when she walked into her parents’ house. She didn’t see her father’s car when she peeked in the garage and the tears started to fall. Her mother would comfort her like she always did. She’d let her cry it out and then they’d get down to business.
Lacy Mills was the wife of a successful surgeon and she held their family together while her father worked the long hours he did. Her parents met when her mother was a nurse and the love was instantaneous and long lasting. She’d heard the story for years.
Ava and her brothers grew up in Boston but spent a lot of weekends and summers on Amore Island. They all had the same plans to end up here and her brothers were lucky enough to make it before her. Not by much though.
Hudson, the older of the twins by six minutes, was an ER doctor. They had a greater need for that here and
