“Really? Do you get to keep it after the movie’s done?”

“Absolutely. All the ‘improvements’ stay with the house afterwards, including the new cedar shake roof, the gazebo, and the barn. Although I still can’t believe they can make that garage look like a New England barn.”

“Yippee!” Ellis said, clapping her hands. “Air! How long will it take them to hook it up? I mean, I hate to complain, but the unit in Dorie’s room is dead, and the one in my room is close to it. Madison gave up on hers as soon as she moved in.”

Ty frowned. “Maybe you guys should consider moving over to a hotel. I told Simon I wouldn’t let him run you off, but if the air’s not working, that’s not good. I’ll make them pay for your rooms. I really didn’t think they were gonna get everything going this fast. It’s crazy, isn’t it?”

“It makes my head spin,” Ellis admitted. “You never told me if you were able to work things out with the bank. Did it go okay?”

“It did,” Ty said. “I finally got a face-to-face with an actual human being. I showed him my contract with the movie people and wrote them a check for twenty thousand dollars, with the understanding that there’d be another payment as soon as shooting is completed and I get the rest of my money. For now, the foreclosure sale has been canceled.”

“That’s great,” Ellis said. “You only gave them twenty thousand dollars? But you said Simon gave you twenty-five thousand.”

“Right,” Ty said. “I used the other five thousand to put an option on some land.”

“I don’t understand,” Ellis said. “I’m not trying to second-guess you, but Ty, don’t you need to put every penny back into saving Ebbtide?”

“Not every penny,” Ty said. “The land I optioned is right over there.” He pointed to the sandy lot next to Ebbtide, the one with the burnt-out foundation.

Ellis still looked puzzled. “You want to build a house right next to the house you already own?”

“Nope,” Ty said. “Not right now, anyway. I’m going to rent it out to Simon and his buddies for the movie. They need an old-timey country store because one of the characters in the movie runs one. They’ve been looking all over the Outer Banks, but everything here is too shiny and new. So Joe and his people are going to build a store.” He gestured with his chin. “Right over there.”

“How did you know?”

“Simon asked me Sunday night, when we were negotiating, in a casual kind of way, about that lot. I figured they wanted it, and I told him I’d look into it.”

“You knew who owned the lot?”

“Of course. Ruthann Sargent owns it. Her mother was my grandmother’s best friend. Ruthann hasn’t been to Nags Head since before Miss Penny passed away, four or five years ago. Not long after Miss Penny died, the house was struck by lightning and burned to the ground.”

“How awful,” Ellis said.

“Not so very awful,” Ty said cheerfully. “The house was falling to pieces before the fire. Ruthann was more than happy to sell me a six-month option on it. If the movie people rent it, I’ll give her half of what they give me. She’s a nice gal, took care of my grandmother after her heart attack.”

“I’m impressed,” Ellis said. “You really are more than just a pretty face.”

“You’re just saying that because you want to get into my pants,” Ty countered. “Now, what about the motel? Do you think you wanna move over there?”

“It’s only for five more days,” Ellis said, trying to sound lighthearted. “Four really, because our rental agreement clearly states that checkout time for Ebbtide is 10 A.M. Saturday.”

“Yeah, well, I happen to know the landlord,” Ty said. “Culpepper’s a crusty old sumbitch, but I think we can probably get him to cut you some slack on that. But are you sure you want to stay with all this going on?”

“I don’t know about the girls, but I don’t mind. It’s actually pretty exciting. I’ve never seen a movie being made.”

“Don’t know about the exciting part,” Ty said. “It’s going to get noisy and crowded, I guarantee, once all the subs start piling in here.”

“Maybe we’d be in your way,” Ellis said.

“Never,” Ty said. He touched her chin with the tip of his finger. “Seriously, Ellis, I know it’s selfish, but I want you here. Look, I need to talk to you about that. I mean, I don’t want you to leave. Not just Ebbtide. I don’t want you to leave Nags Head. I don’t want you to leave.…”

A gleaming black Land Cruiser came bouncing down the drive, sand and crushed shells spinning from beneath its wheels, its horn honking madly. A man’s arm was waving from the driver’s side window.

“Oh shit,” Ty said, distracted. “That’s gonna be Joe, the art director. He’s called me, like, twenty times already today. I better go deal with him. Can we talk about this later? Tonight?”

“Sure,” Ellis said. “I’m not going anywhere. Yet.”

*   *   *

As promised, carpenters and electricians and movie-type people started crawling all over Ebbtide. When Joe, the art director, set up an office on the kitchen table, the girls decided it was time to have dinner at Barnacle Betty’s.

Their appetizers had just arrived at the table. “I think,” Julia announced, spearing a fried shrimp with a fork, “I may have snagged myself a job with the movie folks.”

“Really?” Dorie crowed. “That’s fantastic. What would you do? When would you start?”

“I’ll be a gofer,” Julia said, dipping the shrimp in a plastic cup of cocktail sauce. “And I won’t start for another week or two, which’ll give me time to go up to DC and take a look at this house Booker is so hot to buy.”

“Is there any chance they’ll let you do something more artistic than just running errands?” Madison asked.

“Maybe,” Julia said. “They’re not making me any promises, but I figure, I’ll hang around, schmooze, and worm my way into their hearts. It’s kind of my specialty.”

“It really is,” Dorie told Madison. “Julia, when she’s not being a bitchy diva, can really be totally charming.”

“Hard to believe,” Madison cracked, and they all burst out laughing.

“I’ve got news too,” Madison said, choosing her words carefully. “I’m going to take off in the morning.”

“Madison, no!” Dorie said. “Why? We’ve got the house ’til Saturday, and things are just starting to get interesting. I’m hoping maybe Cameron or Reese will show up later in the week. Don’t you want to be able to say you met them?”

“Not really,” Madison said. “It’s just … time to go. You guys have been great, and I truly appreciate all you’ve done, but … I don’t have a good feeling about Adam. I still haven’t heard from him. And Don has stopped calling too. It’s … eerie.”

“Where’ll you go?” Ellis asked.

Madison grimaced. “Believe it or not, I’ve decided to go back to New Jersey. I’ll hire a lawyer, contact the authorities, and tell them what I know about Don’s embezzlement. I’ve got the cash, or most of it, and that should make them sit up and listen. I hope.”

“Ballsy move,” Julia nodded approvingly.

“I’m tired of running,” Madison said. “It’s time for me to figure out what I’m going to do with the rest of my life. So, tomorrow’s just as good a day as any to get started.”

“No it’s not,” Julia said. “You’ve got to stay ’til Friday night. Please?”

“What’s so important about Friday night?” Madison asked warily.

“My birthday,” Julia said.

Dorie clapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh my gosh, Julia, I’d forgotten.”

“Me too,” Ellis said guiltily. “And you guys know I never forget a birthday.”

“I’ll be thirty-six,” Julia said. “I never thought I’d get that old. But this year, thirty-six doesn’t seem so ancient.”

“We’re having a party?” Ellis asked. “You went and planned your own party?”

“Karaoke,” Julia said. “At Cadillac Jack’s. Friday night. Our last night. Who’s in?”

“Me,” Dorie said.

“Me too,” Ellis added.

They all looked expectantly at Madison.

“Oh, all right,” she said, caving. “A couple more days won’t make that much difference. I guess I can just as easily leave Saturday as tomorrow. One more thing,” she said, glaring at all of them in turn. “I do not karaoke.”