Chapter 4
Chapter Four
OLIVER
C arolina: You don't have to worry. I got my period.
I stared at the letters until they blurred on the screen. I couldn't believe she'd texted. I'd asked her to, but I wasn't sure if she would.
I should have known better than to put myself in this situation. I didn't want another child with a mother who traveled all the time and possibly wouldn't want anything to do with him or her. I couldn't do that to another child.
Logically, I knew it might turn out differently. When I had a child again, it would be when I was in a committed relationship, and we'd both be on the same page about kids and parenting.
I shouldn't have felt relief from her sentence, but I did. Joey was all I could handle at the moment, especially since Tina was a part-time mother at best. She was more like an irritating distant relative who didn't help.
She swooped in from time to time to see him but never stayed long. She wasn't interested in the day-to-day parenting. She was barely interested in the fun stuff. I think having a child hurt her rock-star image, as weak as it was.
Her band was okay, but she didn't have the talent to do much more than play at local bars. Not that she believed that. She held out hope she was a second away from her big break. Unfortunately, that meant that she didn't have the time or energy for her son.
I shielded Joey from her indifference as much as I could, ensuring he had his uncles and grandparents to shower him with love.
Carolina didn't know that I was a single father or that I worried about having another child with a woman I wasn't committed to. But I took care of my responsibilities. That night, I'd been reckless in more ways than one.
I prided myself on never hooking up with the tourists. I'd seen the way Xander bragged about the women who came through, seemingly falling over themselves to flirt with him. I never wanted to be that guy. This was our family business, and I took it seriously. Eli relied on me to keep things together financially. I didn't want to detract from the family's success with my extracurricular activities.
Eli popped his head into my office. "You got a minute to talk numbers?"
I set my phone aside. "I always do."
Eli sat in the chair across from me, steepling his fingers. "Have you had time to look at building cabins on the property?"
I opened the spreadsheet I'd created for his new venture idea. It would make the resort more attractive to a wider range of guests. Not everyone wanted to stay in the lodge where it could be noisy with the bars, restaurants, and gaming room. These cabins would be a nice option for those who wanted something quieter. "It will be a large initial investment?—"
Eli leaned forward in his chair, cutting me off. "I have a good feeling about this. I think we should do it."
"I haven't even showed you the numbers yet." We could manage it financially, but I preferred to take things more slowly. Maybe take another look at it in a few years.
Eli waved a hand at me. "I know what you're going to say. It's too expensive. Why don't we wait a few years until we have more profit under our belts?"
I relaxed slightly. "That's exactly it."
"The numbers are important. That's why I'm here. But it's not everything."
I frowned. "The numbers paint the picture. We can't operate on feelings or what we think the numbers say."
"The reason why we've been so successful is that we've followed my intuition anytime we've made a new decision."
We'd only recently taken the business over from our parents so they could retire. They'd built it, and we needed to maintain it. The problem was, Eli was never satisfied with the status quo. He was always coming up with new marketing ideas and ways to expand.
"The way I see it is, we build these luxury cabins. Then we can add a spa."
I raised a brow, panicking. "You didn't mention these would be luxury cabins. I'd have to redo my analysis."
"I want to see the numbers when you're done, but, Oliver, this is something that I want to do. We need to make it happen."
Whatever Eli wanted to do, we tended to do it. Despite my reservations. My parents believed in him as the eldest. Xander was too busy having fun on the slopes with the snow bunnies, and Killian was traveling the world as a famous snowboarder. Our cousin, Walker, was enlisted in the military, and wouldn't be part of the business for a while, if ever.
The running of the business fell to me and Eli. The only problem was that Eli had his head in the clouds most days. He relied on feelings and instinct versus raw numbers. I didn't understand it. I made careful decisions after months or even years of studying the data. "We're doing well. But I'd love to see more money in savings before we invest in a project this large."
Eli waved a hand in my direction. "Run the numbers based on luxury cabins. Then we'll talk."
I barely restrained the growl that bubbled to the surface.
Eli made a move to leave, then paused. "What's been going on with you lately?"
I cocked my head, wondering if anyone had seen me leaving Carolina's room that night. "What do you mean?"
"You seem different. More relaxed or something." Eli leaned back in the chair, folding his hands behind his head. "It's almost as if you got laid."
I shifted in my chair, my jaw tightening. "You know I don't have time to date." It was a nonanswer I hoped Eli wouldn't pick up on.
"Life is more than just being a dad, you know. Any one of us would be happy to watch Joey."
I just gave him a look. Of anyone, I trusted Eli or my parents the most. I suspected Xander would use Joey to pick up some poor unsuspecting woman.
Eli held up his hand. "I know you don't trust easily, and you feel like you need to be there all the time outside of work. But you deserve a life too. What Tina did?—"
"Tina did me a favor." I would have married her because it was the right thing to do. I'd proposed when she told me she was pregnant, and she'd laughed at me. She couldn't see herself being tied down to someone as serious and boring as me. It had stung but not as much as her indifference toward Joey.
"I know you see it that way. But I worry that you work too hard and spend all your spare time with Joey."
"That's what a good dad does."
Eli shook his head. "You have to take care of yourself too. You should go on a vacation. Take Joey camping."
"That's not a bad idea. "
"I like it too, but it doesn't solve your social problem."
I raised a brow. "My social problem?"
"You don't have a life. You hang out at work, with us at the lodge. You need to get out more. Meet someone."
"I don't have any desire to meet anyone." That feeling had only intensified since my encounter with Carolina. No one could compare to her. She was beautiful and mysterious. Why didn't she want to commit? Why did she enjoy traveling so much? Where was she from? "I have Joey to think about."
"I get it. But if you ever want to go on a date, let me know. I can come over and spend time with my favorite nephew."
I gave him a droll look. "He's your only nephew."
"And it looks like that isn't going to change anytime soon."
Of all of us, I was the most settled. I'd bought a house in town and had Joey. Xander rented an apartment above one of the shops. Eli still lived in the penthouse on the top floor of the lodge where there was a rooftop pool and hot tub. I wasn't sure how many women he brought up there. Unlike my brothers, I stayed out of their business. I'd gotten a woman pregnant, so I didn't have any life advice to offer.
"What else is going on?"
"We're going into our slower season. We have hiking, ziplines, and adventure tours to encourage bookings. We're still relying on winter revenue to last us through the rest of the year."
"Kylie's booking more weddings for the summer and fall."
I nodded, pleased. "That's adding to the bottom line."
A slow smile spread over his face. "And how nice would it be to have cabins to offer the newlyweds?"
"I see the appeal. I just don't want to overextend us."
Eli sighed. "You're so practical."
That stung. It was too close to what Tina had said about me. Was I unwilling to take any risks? I just wanted to be stable for Joey. "I want to make the right decision. Our parents are relying on us to continue their legacy. "
"I know they are, and we will."
Eli was always so confident, so sure his way was the right one. I was constantly in his ear, reminding him to look at the numbers, to consider the impact on the resort for years to come. But in the end, he'd do whatever he felt was right. He was the manager and made all the final decisions. He'd take my opinions into account, but I could tell I irritated him with my conservative ways.
His life hadn't changed with two blue lines on a pregnancy test. My entire life had changed that day, and it would never be the same. But I loved Joey. I'd do anything to ensure his future.
"What is the conference schedule looking like? I'm loving the income we get from those. Guaranteed reservations, and they spend all their free time in the restaurants and bars. They're the perfect addition to our offseason."
I pulled up the conference schedule, tilting my screen so he could see it. "We have quite a few scheduled this year." I wondered how many would be organized by Carolina. How often Eli talked to her to coordinate the details. I was afraid to ask about her. As far as Eli knew, I didn't know Carolina. I didn't work directly with any of the vendors. I was always in the background, crunching numbers and dealing with payroll and taxes.
Eli moved close so he could see the screen. "We're starting to get repeat bookings. It's a good sign. I'm happy about that."
"I am too." I loved guaranteed money, and conferences meant the rooms were booked. I worked with our attorneys on a contract that would ensure we kept the initial deposit if it was cancelled. I'd heard that could be a problem when there was bad weather.
"Rework the numbers for me." Eli stood and headed toward the door.
"Will do." I would, but I knew Eli would only give it a cursory glance. When he wanted to make something happen, he'd find a way.
Eli paused by the doorway and turned to face me. "You have our next adventure planned?"
"I signed us up with Dax for our training for skydiving out of a plane."
"Excellent."
"I'll send an email with the details. In the meantime, I thought we could test our new zip lines."
"Perfect. Set it up." Eli slapped the door with his hand. "And don't work too late."
I had a spreadsheet for our outdoor adventures, color coded for what we'd already done, hadn't done yet, enjoyed, or disliked. My brothers made fun of my organization skills, but they reaped the rewards. These outings were the only thing I allowed myself outside of Joey and work.
I checked off zip lining as our next activity, sent possible dates to my brothers, then shut down the computer. I needed to get home in time to make dinner with Joey. I had a sitter that watched him after school, but I preferred to be home to cook dinner and spend the evening with him.
At home, I found Maeve at the kitchen table with Joey, their heads bent over a coloring book. Maeve lifted her head to smile at me.
Joey jumped down from the chair and ran across the room toward me. "Daddy!"
I swung him into my arms. Each time he greeted me like this, my heart melted a little more. I couldn't believe that Tina was missing out on his hugs. "Hey, buddy. How was your day?"
"Eh. It was okay. We had health."
The days when he had health were the toughest. He preferred art, library, or gym class.
Maeve tidied the markers in the box. "We ate a snack, then did homework. "
Homework consisted of math flash cards and the occasional vocabulary list. "Thanks for working on that with him."
"It's my pleasure." Maeve smiled, then ruffled Joey's hair. "I'll see you tomorrow after school."
Joey went back to his coloring, and I followed Maeve to the door where she grabbed her bookbag. "Thanks again."
"I love Joey, Mr. Wilde. I'm happy to help out whenever you need me."
Maeve was saving for college and applying for scholarships. I was worried she wouldn't have enough money and would decide not to go. "Have you heard anything about your financial aid form?"
Maeve opened the door. "Not yet. But I got into a couple of schools already."
"I'm sure it will work out."
She smiled. "Me too. See you tomorrow."
I watched while she headed toward her car; I didn’t close the door until she'd backed out and headed home. If Maeve wasn't able to cover her expenses, I'd talk to Eli about creating a scholarship for her. We usually donated to various charities each year, and I was positive I could convince the rest of my brothers to help her. She'd been a lifesaver when I needed someone to watch Joey, and he adored her. I'd do anything I could to help her.
I headed back to the kitchen, grabbing the thawed ground beef in the fridge. I'd learned to cook when we were kids. My mom thought all of us should learn, but my recipes were basic at best. Not that Joey minded. He loved hamburgers and fries. If he ate fruit or veggie with it, I'd call that a win.
"Can I help?" Joey pulled up a chair and stood next to me.
"You can't help me with the patties, but you can put the fries on a baking sheet."
"I can do that."
He'd done these kind of simple tasks a billion times before. I was grateful that he was eager to help out. I hoped that desire didn't wane as he got older.
I helped him open the bag of frozen fries, and he dumped them onto the pan. Then we talked about his day while I formed the patties.
Once the fries were in the oven, I grilled the patties on the stove. I only made a few since it was just the two of us, and Joey barely ate anything. His main food group was ketchup, even though I wanted it to be protein.
When I sat down to dinner, listening to Joey talk animatedly about how he’d be jumping rope in gym class tomorrow, my heart was full. My job fulfilled me, and I loved that I was lucky enough to work for my family's business. But at the end of the day, I wanted to come home to Joey. It was just me and him.
When Joey was in bed and I'd finished my work for the evening, I pulled up the text exchange with Carolina. We had one amazing night, but what if the memory didn't hold up to reality? What if it was a one-time thing that couldn't be repeated? Flings were never supposed to become anything more.
Carolina was clear she didn't want a relationship, and I had been too. I didn't date much. I assumed most women wouldn't want to deal with the fact that I had a young child. Joey would always come first. So that night with Carolina needed to stay in the past, where it belonged.
I should delete her contact information, but I couldn't. I saved it to her name, then clicked out of the text exchange before I did something stupid like message her again.
The only problem was, it was her face I saw when I closed my eyes at night, her black hair spread over my pillow, and I couldn't get her scent out of my head.