Chapter 27
twenty-seven
. . .
Hugh
It had been six days since Lila James had left Cottonwood Cove.
She’d spent that final night with her father and her brother and Shay.
Cage had somehow heard that she’d left, and he and Finn had come over with a bottle of tequila in typical Reynolds brother fashion, and I’d drunk away my blues. Or at least tried to.
I’d spent the next few days moping around and checking my phone every five minutes to see if she’d texted or called.
We’d sent a few messages, her letting me know she’d made it there safely.
I’d told her that I’d packed her things up that she’d left behind and dropped them at the post office because we both knew Travis would put it off for weeks if not months.
There was this big, gaping hole in my chest, and I’d never experienced anything like it before. It didn’t help that it had been raining since she’d left. It was gray and dreary outside—exactly how I felt.
I was heading to my room to grab a shower as I’d just worked out, and I passed by the casita.
Her casita.
Hell, she’d spent every night in my bed, so this room didn’t feel like Lila’s more than any other room here.
Hell, every inch of this house felt like Lila’s.
I dropped onto the bed and glanced around.
I looked over at the nightstand and noticed a pair of earrings there that I must have missed when I’d gotten her things together.
I picked them up and looked at the little pink studs before reaching for my phone.
Hey. How are you doing?
Our texts had been awkward since she’d left.
Distant and nothing like the way we’d texted when she was here.
Because we’d been together then. We’d never really said goodbye as everything had happened so fast. I’d been talking to Brax that day at the bar when Travis had dropped the bomb on me that Lila was leaving.
I’d asked Brax to run some comps on Reynolds’, Garrity’s, and Burgers and Brews for me.
I just wanted to know if there was an exit strategy if I were to leave all this behind and follow her to Chicago.
But before I could even make that happen, she was gone.
Snow
It’s busy. Long days. Kind of exhausting.
Before I could respond, my phone buzzed again.
Snow
I miss you, Bear.
I miss you, too. But you’re doing okay?
Snow
Sure.
I didn’t like the way she sounded. It matched the way I felt.
I found your earrings. I’ll drop them in the mail tomorrow, all right?
Snow
Okay. Thanks.
Sure. Talk soon.
She didn’t respond, and I groaned at how stupid I sounded. I didn’t know why the fuck I wasn’t just telling her that I was going out of my mind since she’d left.
I didn’t want to make her feel bad. Hell, she looked so guilt-ridden about spending her last night with her family and not with me.
I didn’t need pity. This was the deal, and I’d signed up for it.
We’d agreed that we’d go back to being friends after she left, and we’d never discussed any other option as she’d left before either of us had prepared for it.
I set her earrings back down, noticing the drawer of the nightstand cracked open the slightest bit. I leaned forward and pulled the drawer all the way open, seeing her Snow Day notebook in there.
I took it out and kicked off my shoes, pressing my back to the headboard. I chuckled as I read her list, seeing each thing checked off with little notes beside them.
#1. Get Dad into a program.
There was a note beside it that said: Six weeks and counting. He did it.
#2. Lose my V-Card.
There was a note beside it that said: My first time is worthy of a gold medal. Holding out for the right guy was definitely worth the wait.
My chest squeezed as I read her words.
I continued reading the list and flipped the page, my eyes zeroing in on number thirteen. The one I hadn’t seen.
#13. Tell Hugh Reynolds that I love him. Not a friendship kind of love. That I-can’t-live-without-you, people-write-poetry-about kind of love. The real deal.
She hadn’t told me, but I knew she loved me. Didn’t I?
Why was I being such a fucking pussy about this?
She loved me. I loved her. Life was fucking short.
What the fuck was I waiting for? I picked up my phone and shot a text to Wolf, Dylan’s husband.
He’d told me he was interested in investing if I opened a restaurant in the city.
I gave him the short version about what was going on and said that I needed his help.
He responded within seconds.
Wolf
Done. Can you come to the city today to discuss?
On my way.
I grabbed my keys, and when I made my way outside, Brax was walking up my driveway.
“Hey, I came to check on you. I went by the restaurant, and they said you hadn’t been in the last few days,” he said.
“Yeah. I’ve got bigger things on my mind. You want to ride with me to the city? I’m going to talk to Wolf about possibly buying me out of the restaurants.”
Brax’s eyes widened. “You’re really fucking doing it. What about Travis? Does he know?”
Brax climbed into the passenger seat as I settled in the driver’s seat. “He’s next.”
Brax and I talked through every possible solution on the drive to the city.
“Are you sure she won’t want to leave Chicago? Should you talk to her before you do anything rash?” he said, as I pulled into the parking garage where the Lions’ headquarters were located. Dylan and Wolf both worked here.
“I’m not going there until I have a solution that isn’t just about her giving up her dreams. I need to have something to offer her on my end. I won’t do anything or make any decisions until I speak to her, but I need to know my options.”
He nodded. “I like seeing you all pussy whipped. It looks good on you.”
We climbed out of the truck, and I flipped him the bird. We both laughed. After taking the elevator up to Wolf’s office, Dylan was there as soon as the doors opened.
“Hey,” I said, wrapping her up in a hug. “How’d you know I’d be here right now?”
“I have your location.” My cousin held up her phone and smirked. “Of course, I know. I’m Dylan Thomas-Wayburn… I know all things. And I knew you loved Lila before you even knew it, so there you go.”
Brax chuckled, and I shot him a warning look. “I knew. I was just being a—”
“Coward? Baby?” Dylan asked.
“Pussy? Weak motherfucker?” Brax added, and even I had to laugh along with them.
We followed Dylan down to Wolf’s office, and she closed the door while Brax and I each took a seat in the leather chairs across from his desk. Dylan settled onto her husband’s lap, and he wrapped a hand around her and pulled her down for a kiss. I loved seeing her happy. She deserved it.
So did Lila. And if that was something that I could give her, I was damn well going to try.
We spent the next two hours going over every option. Dylan left to go grab us all sandwiches, while Wolf, Brax, and I crunched the numbers.
“So, the bottom line is this,” Wolf said.
“I can buy you out, or I can flip them. But I know these are family-run businesses, and I think you should keep them if possible. I believe your best option is to let me take over the financial piece, you and I partner up, and we get people that you trust to manage all three places. But they remain yours. So if, for any reason, Lila wants to come back, now or later, it’s all yours once again. ”
I nodded. I couldn’t ask for more than that. “Thank you. I really appreciate you stepping up for me.”
“You’re one of the most important people in my wife’s life, and that makes you one of the most important people in mine. I have the resources to help you, and I’d like to see you keep all three places. Selling them is very final. Let’s just give you a way out without selling them off.”
“I don’t think it gets any better than that. And who knows? You could fly there, and she could reject your ass.” Brax laughed with this dopey smile on his face, and I rolled my eyes.
But the thought had crossed my mind.
But deep down, I knew she loved me as much as I loved her.
“I don’t see that happening,” Wolf said, as he shook his head.
“But regardless of the outcome, you have options. If she wants to come back to Cottonwood Cove, everything stays as is. If she wants you to stay in Chicago, you can open something up out there, and I’ll invest in that one, too.
But these will remain in your name. Leave here knowing that you’re covered, all right? ”
I was overwhelmed by his generosity. I nodded, letting out a long breath that I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding. “I don’t even know how to begin to thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me. I’m happy for you, man.
I know how it is to feel that way about someone and not know how the fuck it’s going to work out.
But there’s always a fucking way. And if it’s the real deal, you’ll move fucking mountains to make it happen.
Or you’ll ski down them in your underwear if that’s what it takes.
” He laughed, and I filled Brax in on the crazy-ass stunt he’d pulled to win Dylan back.
The dude was a Navy SEAL for a decade, so skiing down Honey Mountain in his underwear in frigid temperatures was just another day at the office for Wolf.
The door flew open, and in walked Dylan, with both of my sisters right behind her. Georgia and Brinkley were holding bags with sandwiches in them, and Dylan had a tray of drinks she was balancing.
We all pushed to our feet to help them, taking the bags and the drinks and setting them on Wolf’s desk.
“What are you two doing here?” I asked, as I raised a brow at Dylan, knowing she’d called them to tell them what was going on.
“It’s about damn time you admitted how you felt. And we were hungry, so here we are,” Georgia said, making her rounds and hugging everyone.
“You need to talk to Travis before you leave for Chicago. You should go there with a clear conscience.” Brinkley slapped me on the chest and looked up at me.