Chapter 33
Finn
T he party is well on its way, and I’m so proud of the way Riley is handling mingling around the room. I know she was nervous about this part, but she’s killing it, and I can see the spark in her eye when people ask her about her design. She may not think so, but this is totally her element, and I’m glad to see her finally owning it. She made this place come to life, and tonight is her night.
Now I just have to wait for my mother and Jackson to get here. Jackson said he’ll be here before my mom, since he’s driving my truck here. He got here a couple of days ago and has been staying with me at the rental. My mother would not be caught dead riding in a truck, so I had the car that brought Riley and me pick her up from the one small hotel in Evergreen Ridge. I’m sure she has a lot of opinions about it, but I can’t be bothered to care today.
I finally see Jackson walk into the room, of course, with his suit that costs more than a month’s stay at the vacation rental and all the women’s eyes are on him. Well, all but one. My girl finds me in the crowd and gives me a smile and a nod of encouragement. I’m honestly not worried about anything with Jackson. We’ve fallen into a comfortable relationship these past couple of days. Sure, it’s going to take a little while to fully have that trust, but I can see that we’ll get there.
He spots me, and I wave him over. We give each other one of those back slapping man hugs that my mother always hated.
“Hey, bro, this all looks amazing. Great job.”
“Well, it looking good in here is all because of Riley.”
He smirks at me. “Yeah, that may be true, but you built this place. Without the standing structure, there would be nothing to design.”
“I suppose that’s true. It really takes every piece to bring all of this together. Which is actually what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Okay… what about?”
“When I was in Seattle, I remembered something that I had, and I went to my place to pick it up in hopes of giving it back to you.”
“Back to me? I don’t remember you having anything of mine.”
“It’s nothing big.” I pull the folded piece of paper out of my pocket and his brow furrows in confusion.“When you told me that you didn’t want to be a lawyer anymore, or at least not work at the law firm anymore, it reminded me of something that you really liked to do.” I unfold the paper and show him the plans for a house that he drew up as a project when he was in high school. Plans that his teachers were so impressed by, they suggested he become an architect.
He takes the plans out of my hands, eyes wide. “How do you have this? I haven’t seen it since high school.”
“I have no idea. It must have gotten mixed up in my things somehow, but I found it when I moved into my place in Seattle and kept it. You really loved doing this, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I really did, but you know Mom and Dad would have never let me go to school to be an architect. It was always a lawyer or doctor.”
“But not anymore, right? Tonight, you’re telling Mom you're quitting, and you were wondering what you were going to do now. Maybe it’s time to explore this. I can introduce you to Mason, and you can work with him for a while and see how you like it. Like you said, you’re rich, so you don’t need an income right away.”
There’s an emotion in his eyes that I can’t quite figure out. “Finn, I-I don’t even know what to say. The fact that you kept this all these years even, after the way I’ve treated you. Just like Mom and Dad have. I’m so sorry.”
“No, Jackson, don’t even go there. You’re my brother, and we’re moving forward. We’re not going to hold on to anything from the past,” I say, squeezing his shoulder. “You already know that I’m extending my vacation rental indefinitely. Want to be my roommate until you figure things out? We can make up for lost time, and I’m over at Riley’s a lot, anyway, so I won’t be in your face all the time.”
“You’d really do that for me?”
“Of course, little bro. Anything to stick it to our parents.”
He laughs and pushes my shoulder. “Alright, let’s do it.”
And speak of the devil, there’s my mother, the Mrs. Hart, walking toward us with her nose in the air.
“Are you ready for this?” I murmur to Jackson.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
She reaches us, and I place my hand on the small of her back and kiss her on the cheek. Jackson does the same.
“Hello, Mother.”
She looks around the room with her nose still in the air. “Well, this is rather… quaint.” Which is code for poor. Even though this design is anything but, and I can feel my blood already boiling, but I try to rein it in and remind myself that this is how she is and nothing will ever please her, and it will never change.
“Thanks, Mom. I think it’s amazing, too. My girlfriend was actually the interior designer.” I look around the room and pretend not to see her. Maybe I can avoid Riley having to meet her tonight. “She’s around here somewhere. I’m sure you’ll be able to meet her at some point.”
“Oh, good, that would be lovely, darling.”
Jackson is shifting his weight from foot to foot, and I can tell he’s nervous. I elbow him in the side and motion for him to get this conversation over with and put us all out of our misery. He clears his throat and finally begins talking.
“Mom, there’s actually something I’ve been wanting to speak to you and Dad about, but seeing as he’s not here, and I might not be in Seattle for a while, I figured I’d talk to you about it and you can relay the message.”
“Why wouldn’t you be in Seattle? Is your job sending you somewhere? You didn’t say that you would have to travel, but I suppose if that’s something that’s important. You need to do what you have to.”
“No, Mom, I’m not traveling for my job. I, um, I actually don’t have a job.”
Her brow furrows, and she is truly confused. Never in a million years would she think that her perfect youngest son would do anything to go against the grain of this family, but she’s about to get the wake up call of her life. “What do you mean, you don’t have a job? I thought this was a very good opportunity, darling. Is there another firm that we’re not aware of that is better? Are you moving out of Seattle for a better firm? You know New York or Los Angeles would have so many opportunities for you.”
“No, Mom, just listen. I’m not holding out for another firm. I’m actually not going to be working at a firm at all. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and I hate law. I hate being a lawyer, and I have no desire to work at a law firm eighty hours a week doing something I hate for the rest of my life.”
“Oh, honey, no one likes what they do. They do it because they have to.”
“That’s just the thing, Mom, I’m starting to realize that I don’t have to do anything that makes me that unhappy. I’ve been talking with Finn, and he’s offered to let me stay here with him and pursue a passion of mine that I never got to pursue because I was so worried about pleasing you and Dad.”
She whips her head around to me. “You!” she screeches, and the room quiets a bit. Without even realizing I’m doing it, I search the room for Riley, and she’s in the corner, talking with Chloe, but she looks around, trying to find me, and our eyes lock. I shake my head at her because I can see the look in her eyes, and she’s worried for me, but she also has that protective gleam in them like when we first had brunch with Jackson, and I don’t want her getting into this. My mother can be cruel.
She starts walking over to me, and my heart is beating out of my chest. My mother continues, “I tried my best to keep you two apart for this very reason.” Both mine and Jackson’s heads rear back in surprise. I have always wondered if it was intentional, but I could never fathom a mother keeping her sons apart for any reason, let alone so that the other wouldn’t become what they considered a failure.
Jackson steps in, “Mom, the fact that you’re admitting that out loud is appalling, and I honestly don’t know that I can ever forgive you for keeping me from my brother. I have to deal with the fact that I let you and that I cut him out of my life, but the fact that was your hope is disgusting.”
Riley has made it to us, and I place my arm around her because I need some grounding before I officially lose it in front of all these people at this very important party. My mother glances at Riley and puts her nose up in the air and turns back to Jackson. I once again have to tamp down my anger because right now is not the time.
“Of course I kept you apart once I figured out that Finn was going nowhere with his life. I didn’t want him influencing you. It’s my job as your mother to make sure you’re the best you can be.”
I can feel Riley tense under my arm, and I squeeze her hip to let her know that it’s okay, but instead of relaxing, she steps to my mother and my stomach falls to my butt.
Riley clears her throat. “Excuse me, Mrs. Hart. I know you don’t know who I am, and you probably don’t care because I’m that one’s girlfriend,” she says, pointing her thumb at me over her shoulder, “but you should be ashamed of yourself.”
“Excuse me?” my mother says, raising her voice.
“You’re not excused. Finn is the most hardworking person that I have ever met in my life. Do you even know the heights that he’s grown his business to? No, you probably don’t, because you are a horrific mother, who cares more about what other people think than your own children, and yes, you should be ashamed of yourself. Because not only is he amazing at what he does, he’s the best human being I’ve ever met. He is kind and considerate, fiercely loyal and protective. He is smart and savvy, and he would also give someone the shirt off his back, and when Jackson told him how absolutely miserable he was, he invited him here. Even after YOU tried to keep them apart. So, if you can’t get your crap together and be a decent human being, the door’s that way, and no, the door is not designer. It’s secondhand, from a thrift store.”
I’m not even watching as my mom storms off and exits through said door. I’m looking down at the girl I love, in awe of the fact that she just told off a woman who has most people shaking in their boots.
Jackson is also grinning over at her. He snaps his fingers and points at her and says, “I knew I liked her.”
Me, too, brother. Me, too.