Homecoming (Downeast #1)

Chapter 27

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

“Have a seat,” Myles said as he settled behind the desk that had been his grandfather’s and father’s before him.

Renata sat in his visitor chair.

“I talked to my dad about the future of the company, and we want to make you an offer.”

She eyed him warily. “What kind of offer?”

“We agree that your contributions can’t be easily summarized or given a value because, quite frankly, we’d be screwed without you. I’m sure you’ve been thinking it’d be easier to get another job than to deal with whatever’s going on between the two of us—and don’t say there’s nothing going on.”

“Okay, I won’t,” Renata said with a small smile as an oddly warm feeling overtook her before a slightly horrifying thought occurred to her. “Did you tell your dad there’s something going on between us?” she asked in a high, squeaky voice that had her clearing the panic from her throat. She’d die of embarrassment if the delightful Mr. Williams ever thought she was anything other than professional at work.

“Not in so many words, but I told him I thought it was high time we made you a partner in the business—and he completely agreed.”

Renata was stunned speechless, which didn’t happen very often. A partner in the company. Had she heard him correctly?

“Are… are you doing this for the right reasons, Myles?”

“What would be the right reasons?”

“Because I truly deserve it and not because you want to sleep with me.”

The minute she asked the question, she regretted it because he looked like she’d slapped him across the face.

“You truly deserve it, and you know you do. You’ve been the heart and soul of this place for going on a decade. We value and appreciate your contributions, and we wish to reward you by making you a partner.” He handed over a sheet of paper that outlined the offer, including the significant increase in pay as well as a paragraph about profit sharing that made her eyes bug out when she saw what the number would’ve been for the previous year, which had been given as an example.

“As you know, this year has been better than last, so you can expect quite a bit more than what it would’ve been in that example. We’re prepared to make this offer retroactive to last January first, so you’d benefit from your hard work this year, which has been our busiest one yet.”

Renata’s mind raced with a million thoughts that overwhelmed her all at once, one in particular—that he’d said the exact right thing after she foolishly questioned his motives in making the offer.

“What do you think?”

“It’s… um… a very generous offer, and I appreciate the recognition.”

“You’ve earned it, Renata. My dad and I agree completely on that.”

“Could I think about it?”

The question clearly surprised him. “Of course. Take as much time as you need.”

“Thank you for this. It means a lot to me.”

“Thank you for everything you do to keep things running so smoothly here. Much of our success is due to your hard work.”

Renata needed to get out of there before she embarrassed herself by breaking down. She got up and took the offer letter with her when she left his office. She was through the door when she turned back to him. “Would you like to go to a soccer game and dinner with my cousin and her husband later this afternoon?”

“Are you going to be there, too?” he asked, smiling as his eyes danced with amusement.

Renata sighed with exasperation. “Yes.”

“Then I’d like that very much.”

She nodded and returned to her desk, where she sat for a long moment to gather herself and process what’d just happened.

They’d offered her a partnership.

She’d asked Myles out on what could only be considered a date.

Holy shit.

Dan was astounded by the sheer scope and size of the Ballard Boat Works campus. He’d seen pictures online, but they didn’t do justice to the vast enterprise he saw before him. Spanning about twenty acres, the yard included multiple large white buildings bearing the maroon company logo, as well as a full marina and a mechanism that Kara called a travel lift, which was used to haul boats out of the water and put them back in.

He watched as a huge sailboat was slowly moved to another location.

“We call this ‘the hard,’” Kara said of the asphalt area where boats were lined up on stands and blocks. “You’re either in the water or on the hard.”

At the far end of the complex, a two-story white building with the BBW logo housed the executive offices.

“Do some of your brothers still oversee the launch services in other harbors?”

“They do that from here, with managers running the business locally. I’m the only one who’s onsite and also works as a driver.”

“Ah, I see.” He knew how much she loved being on the water, driving the launches.

Outside the main doors were barrels containing red geraniums still in bloom in the bright autumn sunshine.

“This is incredible, Kara. It’s way more than I imagined.”

“It’s a lot,” she said with a dry chuckle as she led him into the office building.

An older woman working the reception desk let out a cry of excitement as she got up to greet Kara with a hug. “It’s so good to see you!”

“You, too. This is my husband, Dan. Dan, meet Marilee, the one who holds the whole operation together.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Marilee’s cheeks turned pink with embarrassment. “And it’s lovely to finally meet Kara’s esteemed husband. We’ve heard so much about you.”

Dan shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, too.”

“I’ve followed your impressive career.”

“Thank you.”

“Is Dad in?” Kara asked.

“He’s waiting for you in his office and couldn’t be more excited for your visit.”

“This way,” Kara said, leading Dan toward a staircase to the second floor.

As they walked down a long hallway, people called out hellos to Kara. She stopped at the second-to-last office on the right.

“Hey, sis! I heard you were coming in today.” He got up, came around his desk and hugged her.

“Dan, meet my oldest brother, Kellen, the company’s chief strategy officer.”

The two men shook hands. Kellen, who was about six feet tall, with blue eyes and the same reddish-blond hair Kara had, looked like a more refined version of Keith.

“Glad to finally meet you,” Kellen said. “Your reputation precedes you.”

“We don’t say much about that,” Kara said. “Goes straight to his fat head.”

Kellen laughed while Dan gave his wife a playful scowl.

“It’s really good to see you, Kara.”

“You, too. Been too long.”

“Sure has, and of course, we all hate the reason you had to come home.”

“It hasn’t been all bad.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Dad is looking forward to showing Dan around and having you guys visit.”

“Is Kendra here?”

“She had to take Luna to the dentist, but she’ll be back in a bit.”

“Ah, okay. Hopefully, we’ll catch her before we leave. Can you join us for lunch, Kell?”

“I’d love to, but I’m up to my eyeballs today. Rain check?”

“Absolutely. Let’s go see Dad.”

The door to Chuck’s office, located at the end of the hallway, was propped open, but Kara knocked anyway. “Anyone home?”

“Come in!” Chuck came around the desk to greet them both with hugs. “I’m so glad to see you here, sweetheart.”

“It’s nice to be here.”

Dan could tell by her expression that she meant that, and she wouldn’t have felt that way a week ago. That was a big relief to him. He’d feared the visit home would set her back, but he should’ve known better. His Kara was resilient and thrilled to see the people she loved and far more able now to rise above the people who’d hurt her than she’d been when she left this place.

“Let’s go on a tour and then grab some lunch,” Chuck said as he donned a maroon BBW jacket with a white logo on the chest. “I’m starving.”

“You’re always starving,” Kara said.

“Some things never change,” Chuck replied with a chuckle. “Keenan is in your old office.”

Kara ducked her head in to say hello to the youngest Ballard sibling, who looked ridiculously grown-up sitting behind the desk that’d once been hers.

“Is Dad taking you to lunch? Can I go?”

“No, you can’t go,” Chuck said. “This is Kara’s day, and you’ve soaked me for lunch twice this week already.”

“Fine,” Keenan said with an exaggerated pout. “Would it kill you to bring me something back?”

“We’ll see,” Chuck said. “He’s a bottomless pit, as always.”

“Like father, like son,” Kara said.

“I can’t even deny that.”

She greeted several other employees and introduced Dan.

All of them commented on his career and expressed their thanks for him helping Keith and Kirby.

Chuck led the way downstairs. “I’ll be back in a bit, Marilee.”

“Have a nice lunch. So great to see you, Kara and Dan.”

“You, too, Marilee.”

“We’ll start in the fabrication shop.” Chuck led them into one of the cavernous white buildings where hulls of a wide variety of shapes and sizes were under construction. “Over here, we have several of the open-air launches like Kara has on the island, moving into our thirty-two-foot, thirty-eight-foot and forty-four-foot picnic boats, which have become our most popular products. We can’t make them fast enough to meet the demand.”

“Sounds like a good problem to have,” Dan said.

“It is, most of the time. We’ve had a few cancellations since the boys were arrested, which is worrisome.”

A man with gray hair and wearing a BBW fleece jacket approached them. “Hey, Kara. It’s nice to see you.”

“Hi, Mark. This is my husband, Dan. Mark is one of our designers.”

Dan shook hands with him. “The boats are gorgeous.”

“Thanks. We’re proud of them.”

Everyone working in the shop—or so it seemed to Dan—came over to say hi to Kara and meet her husband, some of them hugging her like the old friends they were. The same thing happened in the wood shop, where Kirby’s coworkers said how much he was missed and that they hoped he’d be released soon, and again in the paint shop, her brother Kyle’s domain.

He gave Kara a quick hug and an even quicker nod to Dan, who’d last seen him at their wedding—including when he’d bailed him, Keith and Kieran out of the Gansett Island jail.

“How long are you here for?” Kyle asked Kara.

She glanced at Dan. “Depends on how long the court stuff takes.”

“We’re hoping to get it resolved soon,” Dan said.

“That’d be good. The charges are bogus.”

“We’re doing everything we can,” Dan said.

“Well, it was good of you guys to come. We all appreciate it.”

“You’ll be in court on Thursday?” Chuck asked his son.

Kyle nodded. “I got the text. I’ll be there.”

“See you then,” Kara said.

“It’s nice to see you, sis.”

“You, too.”

They continued their tour through the fiberglass department, where Kieran was in charge. He was the blondest of all the siblings, with sleeve tattoos that extended to his neck and black gauges affixed to his earlobes. He gave Dan a quick overview of how a design became a boat and discussed the various techniques they employed to make their boats distinctive.

“Every part of this is so interesting to me,” Dan said. “I’ve never given much thought to how boats are built.”

“They go from us to paint and then to wood with Kirby,” Kieran said. “Then it’s finish work on the interiors.”

“Thanks for taking the time to show me your corner of it,” Dan said.

“No problem.”

“How’s things at The Trap?” Kara asked of the bar her brother owned.

“Business is brisk, as always.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“Stop by for a drink anytime. Just give me a heads up so I can warn the natives that my sister is coming by.”

Kara patted her pregnant belly. “I’ll take you up on that after the baby is born.”

“Sounds good.” Kieran gave Kara a hug. “Don’t be a stranger around here. We miss you.”

“Miss you, too. Thanks for the tour.”

“Any time.”

Next, they checked out the fabric shop, where the distinctive maroon-and-white-striped cushions were made along with pillows, canopies and other accessories, before ending up at the marina office, which was still doing brisk business in late September.

“This is our in-between season,” Chuck said. “We still have transients coming into the marina while others are starting to haul for the winter. By late October, we’ll be hauling twenty to thirty boats a day.”

“I couldn’t be more impressed by your operation,” Dan said.

“Thank you. We’re proud of what we’ve built. When I came into the business, it was a marina with a small sideline building one line of boats. We’ve grown it exponentially in the last forty-odd years. But like anything worth having, it hasn’t been without its challenges.”

“I can only imagine.”

“Let’s have some lunch, shall we? Mom is meeting us in town.”

They were halfway through an enjoyable lunch with her parents when Dan received a text that had him excusing himself to make a call.

“What do you suppose that’s about?” Chuck asked anxiously as he watched Dan walk away, phone pressed to his ear.

“He was waiting for some updates from the investigators he has working on the case,” Kara said. “Hopefully, that’s what it is.”

“The tension is going to kill me,” Judith said bluntly.

“Don’t be dramatic,” Chuck said.

“I’m not. We come here all the time.” Judith gave a tentative look at the crowded restaurant beyond their table. “And yet, I feel the judgment of everyone in here. They’re wondering if my sons are capable of killing a woman.”

“I know it’s awful, Mom,” Kara said. “But Dan is working the case hard, even when it doesn’t appear that anything is happening. He’s doing everything he can.”

“And we appreciate him—and you—so much,” Chuck said. “I don’t know what we would’ve done without him.”

Kara and her parents picked at their food while they waited for Dan to return. Her stomach was in knots. She couldn’t begin to know how her parents must feel.

More than fifteen minutes later, Dan returned, smiling as he came toward them. “Good news. We’re able to put the victim’s ex-boyfriend in the Barnacle at the same time she was there with Keith and her friends.”

Judith exhaled an audible sigh of relief. “Will that exonerate Keith and Kirby?”

“I can’t say for sure, but it gives us the opportunity to introduce another suspect, one who’d have true motive. Often, that’s enough to get the charges tossed or at least get them released on bail while the police investigate further.”

“God, I hope so,” Judith said, giving voice to what they were all thinking.

After they parted company with her parents, they went back to Bertha’s so Dan could do some work and Kara could rest up before their next outing. She stretched out on the sofa and listened to him on the phone, talking to the people he employed locally and in California, who were working on her brothers’ case.

On the drive back to Bertha’s, Dan had told her repeatedly how blown away he’d been by the company and how he hadn’t expected it to be such a massive complex. “Even seeing the photos online couldn’t have prepared me.”

Now it was her turn to be impressed as she listened to him at work, asking questions, probing for details and beginning to form the argument he’d use at the hearing on Thursday when so much would be decided.

Kara felt for her parents as well as her brothers and hoped the situation would be resolved sooner rather than later. She couldn’t fathom it dragging on indefinitely. What if it did, though? Would Dan stay involved for the long haul? The thought of that, with a baby due in eight weeks, exhausted her.

Hopefully, they’d be long gone back to Gansett by the time the baby arrived.

The next thing she knew, Dan was kissing her awake. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty. What time is the soccer game?”

“Four thirty.”

“How far is it from here?”

“About twenty minutes.”

“We should get going, then.”

Kara stretched her arms over her head. “That was the best nap ever.”

“You were out cold.”

“For how long?”

“About ninety minutes.”

“Holy crap.”

He placed his hand on her baby belly. “You and the tiny human need your rest.” The baby responded with a dropkick to Dan’s palm that made him laugh. “He’s going to be a handful.”

“Like his daddy.”

“I’ll give you a handful, baby.”

“Not in my grandmother’s living room,” she said primly.

“That prickly tone turns me on.”

She gave his chest a gentle push. “Let me up, Counselor. I’ve got a game to get to.”