Chapter 41 Gavin
Gavin
INTERVENTION
I’m avoiding life by working.
I’m also avoiding my family, but since we all work together, that’s not really possible.
Which is why Ethan walking into the lab is really the last thing I want or need.
His gaze flicks past me, landing on the pallets of sparkling wine stacked in the corner. I don’t have to look to know what he’s thinking—why they’re sitting untouched instead of being moved to storage.
“Bad batch?” he asks.
“Bottle shock,” I say, scrolling through a data log. “Got bottled last week and they got all rattled. They just need a little time to settle before everything comes back together again.”
He’s quiet for a beat, watching me work.
“So,” he says, casually, which means it’s not casual at all, “you just let her go, huh?”
I really don’t fucking need this.
I flick my eyes at him and then back to my data log. “You’re giving me deja vu,” I mutter.
He shrugs, leaning against the door jam. “Maybe because you said the same thing to me after Marisa left.”
“Sounds like something I would say.” I continue looking through my readings, unsure of where he’s going with this, but also not interested enough to ask.
I’m not interested in much of anything these days. Ever since Scottie left, there’s just been this gaping hole in my life.
I know she’s coming back. I trust that she’s coming back.
But I miss her like crazy.
Even though we talk everyday, multiple times a day. It’s not enough. And because it’s right smack dab in the middle of busy season, I can’t go visit her.
I didn’t know it was possible to physically ache for someone, but every part of my body hurts, my muscles are wound tight, my head is foggy. I can’t think. I can’t eat. I’m wrecked.
If I didn’t have Lily, I don’t think I’d be making it out of bed in the mornings.
“Did you need something?”
Ethan huffs. “Yeah, for you to get your head out of your ass.”
My gaze cuts to him. “What the hell are you talking about?”
He shakes his head, looking at me in disbelief. “Have you looked at yourself lately? You’re a goddamn mess. We’re getting worried, man.”
My eyes catch on my reflection on the monitor. My hair is ratty, my face is narrower because I’ve lost weight. Weight I wasn’t trying to lose.
I look like shit. I know I look like shit. What I don’t need is my brother coming in here, into my space, and calling me out on it.
“Is there a point to this? Because I’m kind of busy.”
“Unbelievable?” he mutters. “Elle!” he calls out. “It’s worse than we thought.”
Footsteps echo and a moment later Elyse appears, sunglasses perched on her head, cheeks flushed like she’s mad.
“What is this? An intervention?”
“Yeah,” she says. “Obviously. “You look like hell.” She points at my face like there’s something wrong with it.
I glare at Ethan. “Why’d you call her in here?”
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” Ethan says, hands up. “I’m out of my depth.”
Elyse gives me the kind of slow, assessing look that eerily resembles our mother’s. “I thought you were exaggerating,” she says to Ethan. “But holy shit, Gavin. You look like the worst I’ve ever seen you.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine,” they say in unison.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I just miss her, okay? I’m allowed to miss my wife.”
“Missing her and actively decaying are not the same thing,” Elyse says flatly.
“That didn’t happen when Marisa left,” Ethan adds. “I was sad. I was upset. But I didn’t look like…” He gestures vaguely. “Whatever the fuck this is.”
I slam my laptop closed. “Can you two stop? Please. I’m handling it. She comes back in six weeks. Lily’s busy with school. We’re in the middle of harvest. I don’t have time for this.”
Ethan pushes off the barrel he was leaning on. “So you’re just going to sit here and rot until then?”
I don’t answer. Because that’s exactly what I’ve been doing for the two weeks she’s been gone.
Elyse crosses her arms. “Okay. New idea. You go to Chicago.”
I blink at her. “No.”
“Why not?” Ethan says. “Seriously. Why not?”
“I’m not going leave my daughter behind.”
Elyse pops a hip. “Who said anything about leaving her behind.”
“I’m not uprooting Lily for two months,” I bite out. “She needs stability. Routine. Her life is here.”
“Oh my God,” Elyse mutters, turning to Ethan like they’ve had this exact conversation before. “He’s doing the thing.”
“The martyr dad thing,” Ethan confirms. “You’ve been doing it since Lily was born. It’s like you think you can’t go after anything you want.”
“We think you should go to Chicago. You and Lily,” Elyse says.
So not only are they putting their noses in my business, now they’re talking about me behind my back.
“I’m sorry, you two want me to what? Just pack up and—”
“Gavin.” Elyse steps closer, tone softening. “You are the stability. Lily is not going to break because her routine changes. She’s not made of glass.”
Ethan nods. “And she’s your kid. She has your genetics. You think she can’t adapt to change? Maybe it would be good for her to experience someplace new.”
I stare at the floor, jaw clenched.
They’re not wrong. And I hate that they’re not wrong.
“Scottie didn’t leave you,” Ethan says. “She took a job. A job she earned. And you’re sitting here acting like you’re powerless.”
I swallow hard.
“You told me,” Ethan continues, “to go after Marisa. To not be a coward. To choose the hard thing because it’s the right thing. And now look at you. Refusing to take your own.”
“It’s harvest. You guys need me,” I say weakly, because it’s the last argument I have.
“I talked to Dad,” Ethan interrupts, “and he’s going to briefly come out of retirement and help out. He’s been itching to do it anyway. This just gives him an excuse.”
“So,” Elyse says, placing both hands on my desk and leaning in. “What are you so afraid of?”
My throat goes tight.
“That she’ll realize she wants to stay. And that my boring life isn’t worth giving all that up for.”
Elyse’s expression loses some of its edge. “Gavin. She already chose you. You guys are literally married. She’s not going to leave you.”
Ethan steps forward too. “You’re not going there to prove anything. You’re going because you miss her. And I’m sure she misses you. Lily will get a long vacation. An adventure in the city with museums and parks and other shit cities have. She’ll love it. It’ll be fun for her.”
I wipe a hand down my face.
I can’t believe I’m seriously considering taking advice from the two people who usually need mine.
“So?” Elyse asks. “You going to keep rotting? Or go get your girl?”
I let out a breath that feels like I’ve been holding it for weeks.
“Okay,” I say. “You guys win. I’ll go.”
Ethan’s shoulders drop like this entire ordeal exhausted him.
Elyse claps once. “Yay! Pack your bags. You’ve got a plane to catch.”
I laugh despite myself. “Lily’s going to lose her mind.”
“Good,” Ethan says. “She deserves to see her dad happy.”