Book excerpt: Every Penny Counts is the fifth book in Pat McDonald’s Penny Series. Benjamin Pollock (aka Ben Matthews) is now the father of two sets of twins, Luke and Lucy, and Leo and Lily. He lives in the United Arab Emirates in the modest eight-bedroom villa he calls “Chez Waifs and Strays.” When his wife Rebecah wants to go back to her nursing job, they take in a nanny for the new twins. Ben’s responsibilities mount when his “sister” Cynthia gives birth to his nephew, but it’s anyone’s guess who the father is. Stan (aka JoJo the Clown) is back, having run away from the circus, and Gordy also turns up again, looking like a long-haired beach bum. Has he really lost Dolly and his precious mansion Hillcrest? The villa is bursting at the seams! Nevertheless, Ben’s slimming product business The Daisy Effect© is flourishing and has branched out into DaisyFit©, slimming classes with exercises, thanks to Terry’s links to a sheikh, who requests that he set up classes for his wives. Ben needs to open a new business bank account for his UK-based classes, which leads him to discover that his old adversary Austin Prentice is now living in the UAE, having travelled across the world to find him. Could Austin still be holding a grudge after all this time? Ben’s past just won’t leave him alone.