Summer of Love Marie Ferrarella (easy books to read in english TXT) 📖

name, calling himself Gerald Robinson. And, in addition to going on to amass a wealthy portfolio of his own, Gerald/Jerome had amassed a sizeable number of offspring, both legitimately with his wife, Charlotte, and illegitimately with a whole host of women whose paths the man had crossed.

“How did he manage to keep track of all those kids?” Everett marveled, still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that one man had wound up fathering a legion of children.

“Quite simply, he didn’t,” Graham answered. “But according to one story I’ve heard, his wife—and my mother—did. She got it into her head to look up every one of her husband’s progeny. Some of my siblings think she wanted to be prepared for any eventuality,” Graham explained. “Supposedly, she has everything she found written down in a big binder or something along those lines.”

Graham smiled. “My personal theory is that when she collected enough data to make that binder really heavy, she was going to use it to hit my father upside the head and teach him a lesson for tomcatting around like that.”

Lila nodded, saying in all seriousness, “If you ask me, the man certainly had it coming, spreading his seed around like that without any thought of how this was affecting anyone else in his family—especially those children.”

“Yes, but then on the other hand, if he hadn’t done it, there would be a lot less Fortunes in the world and so far, all the ones I’ve met have been really decent people whose hearts are in the right place,” Everett pointed out.

Graham smiled his approval at Everett’s comment. “I couldn’t have put it better myself. I’ve come to like every one of my siblings.” He shrugged and held up his wineglass as if in a silent toast to them. “It’s not everyone who has a family big enough to populate a medium-size town.”

Everett touched his glass to Graham’s. He felt as if he could go on talking about the various members of the Fortune family all night. But suddenly, everyone in the ballroom was being asked to stop what they were doing.

“Can I have everyone’s attention for a moment?” a tall, imposing man with a booming voice said into a microphone. He was standing before a podium at the front of the ballroom. “This is the time in our evening where we all temporarily suspend the festivities and are asked to dig deep into our hearts—and our pockets,” the MC added with a laugh. “In other words, it’s time for us to donate to the Fortune Foundation so it can go on doing all those good works and helping all those people who are not nearly as fortunate—no pun intended—as we all are.”

The man’s piercing blue eyes seemed to sweep around the entire ballroom. No easy feat, Lila thought, watching from the sidelines.

“Now don’t be shy,” the MC continued. “Give as much as you’re able. No donation is too small, although bigger is always better. But even a little is better than nothing. So, like I said, open your hearts and get those checkbooks out. Remember, it feels good to give. And when you do, you’ll find that you’ll get back in ways you never even suspected were possible.”

Listening, Lila opened up her purse and took out her checkbook. She was about to start writing out what she viewed to be a modest amount—although it was all she could afford—when Everett put his hand on hers, stopping her.

She looked at him, puzzled. Why wasn’t he letting her write the check?

“I’ll take care of it for both of us,” he told her. The next moment, as she watched, she saw Everett write out a check for the sum of one hundred thousand dollars.

At the last second, she remembered to keep her mouth from dropping open.

Chapter Fifteen

The MC, David Davenport, looked at the check that had just been passed to him by one of the aides collecting donations from the guests. Holding the check aloft, Davenport scanned the crowd until he made eye contact with Everett.

“Is this right?” the MC asked Everett, astonished. “Your pen didn’t slip?”

Everett’s mouth curved slightly as he smiled at the man in front of the room. “My pen didn’t slip,” he assured the MC.

Davenport, a distinguished-looking, gray-haired man in his fifties, instantly brightened. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m proud to announce that we have a new record,” he told the gathering. “Dr. Everett Fortunado has generously donated the sum of one hundred thousand dollars to the Fortune Foundation.”

A hush fell over the entire ballroom. It lasted for almost a full minute and then people began clapping. The sound swelled until the entire ballroom was engulfed in appreciative applause.

Everett wasn’t really sure just how to react to the applause. He hadn’t made the donation because he wanted to garner any sort of attention. He’d written the check because he felt it was his obligation to share the good fortune he had always felt so privileged to grow up experiencing.

When the applause finally died down, Davenport proceeded to try to utilize the moment to the Foundation’s advantage.

“All right, people, let’s see if Dr. Fortunado’s generosity can motivate some of you to do your fair share as well.” The MC looked around. It seemed as if he was making eye contact with everyone there. “Remember, this is for those deserving mothers and fathers and children who so badly need our help in order to make it through the hard times.”

Everett stood back and watched as more of the fund-raiser’s attendees began writing out checks. There seemed to be chatter going on all around him.

Except at his side.

From the moment he had written out the check, Everett noticed that Lila had fallen completely silent. She hadn’t said a single word to him during the entire time that the checks were being written and collected on all sides of them.

Nor, he observed, did Lila say anything during the buffet dinner that followed, despite the fact that he had intentionally stayed close to