Casey double checked the map. It looked like the boat was just about in the right place. They were in the middle of three small islands. Two of them were little more than a small patch of dirt and a tree or two. The third was a bit larger but not much. None of them were big enough to put a building on and that made them just perfect.

The records showed no claim on them. He’d already talked with the relevant authorities and he’d be allowed to buy them for a very manageable sum. Their value lay not in the their actual size but in the shallow waters between them.

They were using radar or sonar or something like that to get a detailed topographical map of the lake bed. So far there were no surprises. Well, the one thing but that just turned out to be a small rowboat that must have sunk there.

Equally important was the Natural Resources surveyor that was on board. She was on the lookout for any special bit of nature that might have taken residence there. No one expected anything but Casey wanted to make sure that all the ‘i’s’ were dotted and the ‘t’s’ crossed.

The environmental impact study would take a couple of weeks to be finished. The engineering one would only take a few days. Most of it had been worked out ahead of time. All that was left was to make sure that this particular spot was good enough. A nice flat bit of lake bottom was the preferred. Some ups and downs could be dealt with. The only really fatal thing would have been a deep hole or rift of some sort.

Come to think of it, that would almost certainly wipe out the environmental impact study, too. Casey hoped against hope that no family of fish or previously unseen mollusk would get in his way. This spot really was the best that they’d seen anywhere.

He turned to shore. It was maybe a quarter of a mile away. They could easily bridge it with an extended dock or something like that. Even the shoreline there was undeveloped. It might be the true moneymaker of the whole thing.

The key was the islands though. Or rather the larger island that they would become. He’d already contacted some firms that worked on dredging various Great Lakes ports. Shipping material here would be very easy and not that expensive. If he caught some breaks he’d have his own island to play with in just a few months.

Of course that was only the beginning but he had to admit it was the part that interested him most. His wife, Judith, had really taken the idea and run with it. He still remembered the conversation well.

He’d just gotten back from the card game and she met him to talk about his trip. At his first mention of the bet she looked disgusted. She told him that she hoped he wouldn’t participate in anything so vulgar. On the contrary, my dear. I thought I’d put you in charge of it.

That was the key moment and he knew the risk that sat on top of it. He’d given the power over to her. All that it would take was for her to wave it away and they’d be out of it. He wasn’t interested enough to do something of this magnitude if she was actively opposing it. But if she were the one taking the lead?

She sat for a moment and then asked what he meant? Casey knew at that very moment, even before he answered, that she would agree and they’d move on with it. A quick outline of the bet followed. He threw out some quick thoughts on what he hoped it would accomplish and then added that he was sure she could do much better.

At once, a trance seemed to fall over her. Her eyes became distant and he could tell that her mind was somewhere else completely. He offered to let her sleep on it and let the matter drop. It took some great effort on his part not to smile knowingly.

The next morning at breakfast she told him that she thought it might, just might be a good idea after all. She’d dreamt of islands or something and thought of working with that. Casey called into the office and had people from Creative and Design come to the house. He’d introduce them and let them go on their own way.

Early ideas called for something on an island surrounded by water. There was nothing big enough available for sale. Could they create something like that? He knew that some work like that was taking place in other parts of the world. He checked some contacts and they assured him that they could figure out something that would work. Some quick surveying in Lake Huron had led them to this spot.

They’d work with the existing terrain as much as they could but in the end, they’d tailor what they could for what they wanted. The final design of the structure was still up in the air. As a rule of thumb they decided that the more space, the better.

Bigger here really wasn’t that difficult either. There was always more material being dredged out somewhere or other. Shoring up the new design was merely an engineering question. It might be hard work but at least it was straightforward.

Casey took a look around him. Everyone else was hard at work at their trades. Either sailing or surveying or caring for the wildlife. He suddenly had a feeling that it would all click. Luck was on his side. He wasn’t quite sure what he’d end up with but this was the place!