30. Chapter 30 – Rae
C atching up on the eleventy-billion text messages from the Fenwick family group chat took me the better part of thirty minutes. Just enough time for Zach to finish his statement with the sheriff’s office staff. My phone pinged with one last message as he walked out.
Simon: Can we still catch up?
“How’d it go?” I asked Zach. He looked relaxed enough, shoulders at ease and the lines of tension around his mouth gone.
“Nothing exciting. I didn’t have much to share since I arrived late to the party.” He captured my hand in his, squeezing. “That’s my only regret. I wish I’d been there to protect you.”
My chest softened. He said it so earnestly.
“You were. You called for help and were there to spring the trap. I’ve never been more relieved than when I realized you were with me.”
He wrinkled his nose. “I just wish I’d been more help. In all the stories, the prince saves the princess. What are us big, strong male types good for if we don’t spring into action and protect our hearts?”
The urge to lecture him dropped away. Zach Fenwick calling me his heart would never get old.
He kissed my knuckles. “Want to grab the kids and then get lunch?”
“Yes. But fair warning: Simon texted. He still wants to talk. ”
Zach’s jaw locked, his entire body tightening. Another breath and he seemed to consciously force himself to relax, the ripple starting at his shoulders until he looked less like a statue and more like the man I loved.
“Do you want to meet with him alone?”
His words felt like a test. The truth was, I didn’t. Simon was happy with Alan. I expected he’d be just as happy for Zach and me. While it felt like we were navigating a landmine, I didn’t want my oldest friend and the man I loved at odds. I’d gone into the agreement with Simon with my eyes open.
“Let’s go out to lunch together. Vi can keep the kids a bit longer, and we can pick them up afterwards.”
Slowly, Zach nodded, and five minutes later we set out for the restaurant above the marina to meet Simon and Alan.
Alan stood and hugged me. “Rae, you look fabulous. Your curls are popping today.”
I’d always liked Simon’s real boyfriend, now husband. “Hi, Alan. Thanks. It’s a beauty secret called washing my hair.” I grinned when he looked bashful. “Marriage agrees with you.” I included Simon in my smile. “You’re both glowing.”
“You look pretty content yourself there, Sun-Rae.” Simon’s gaze encompassed Zach, his expression turning cautious. “I’m glad to see you and Zach worked things out.”
We made small talk as we placed our drink and lunch orders, tiptoeing around the tension and chattering instead about Simon and Alan’s honeymoon trip. Only when we’d finished our meals did Simon catch my gaze.
“I owe you an apology,” he said earnestly.
“You don’t. ”
“I do.” His gaze shifted to Zach. “I didn’t realize how much of the burden I was putting on you with this charade.” He squeezed Alan’s hand and smiled at his husband. “I still got to have a life, but yours was on hold.”
“That’s not true.” I frowned. “I could have broken it off at any time.”
“But not without cost. I regret that I put a price on our friendship.”
“It was one I was willing to pay.” I smiled at Simon. “Thanks to you, I’m getting everything I ever wanted.”
“Hey. I like to think I have something to do with that too,” Zach teased.
I squeezed his hand. “You have the most important part.” I shifted in my seat.
“But I wasn’t ready ten years ago. For all that Simon and I were a ‘couple’ on paper, I needed that time to grow up and step into my own as an adult.
” I caught Simon’s gaze. “As odd as it is to say, I needed you to get to Zach.”
“And I needed you to make it to Alan.” Simon smiled softly. “Have you heard from your realtor yet?”
“No, why?”
“I talked to my dad. I think you’ll be very pleased with his counteroffer.”
I reached across the table. “Thanks, Simon.”
A bubble bloomed in my chest, expanding as it sank in: for the first time, I wasn’t sitting on the sidelines, pretending to play the game. I was in it. The victor even.
Simon was settled and happy in his new life, and I’d both found my happiness with Zach and scored the land for San Juan Marine Repair.
Satisfaction swelled, leaving me feeling lighter than I could remember.
The long years of sacrifice were worth it.
Maybe I would do it differently, with the wisdom of experience under my belt, but I was still glad we’d done it.
“It’s the least I could do.” He arched his brow. “Have you thought about how you’re going to tell your dad?”
Thought. Dreamed. Stressed. Played it out a few hundred times.
“I’m waiting for the paperwork to go through before I do.”
“Do you really want to blindside him?”
I grimaced. “You’ve got a point.” Trust Simon to hit on one of the angles I hadn’t considered. I’d wanted to present my dad with a done deal. Otherwise, he’d argue, manipulate, and generally make me feel like crap.
“I can come with you to talk to him, if you want,” Simon offered.
I smiled gently at my friend. Still my champion. Just like I’d been his.
Zach’s hand covered mine. He stared Simon down. “I think that’s my job now.”
The possessive show should have been irritating. I’d been managing my own life for years. But secretly, butterflies beat delicate wings of pleasure against my insides.
Simon laughed, the sound loud and boisterous, like Zach had told a joke instead of staking a claim. Simon shook his head, his mouth quirking to one side as his gaze met mine. “Did you ever think Zach Fenwick would be the protective type?”
“I always have Rae’s back,” Zach growled softly.
I bumped his shoulder. “And these days, my front too.”
Alan chuckled, and Zach melted back in his seat with a grin.
“Message received,” he said, eyes apologetic.
Zach and Simon shook hands while Alan and I hugged.
“It’s clear how much Zach loves you. I think you found a keeper,” Alan murmured .
“I did,” I said, “but you did too.”
He flipped his palm. “Honey, I know. That man gave up a gorgeous young thing like you for me.” He brushed his knuckles across his shirt. “But you know what? We’re worth it.”
I carried his confidence with me as Zach and I walked hand in hand to check on our boats.
“When are you going to talk to your dad about the land?” Zach tugged on Nauti’s bow line, testing the slack.
“Tomorrow when I go back to work.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
I let the offer roll around inside, testing it against my resolve. He’d back me up if I needed it. No doubt, no hesitation.
“I love you for asking, but this is something I need to do on my own.”
He dipped his chin. “Don’t forget that you’ve got all the Fenwicks on your team.”
I wreathed my arms around his neck, brushing his mouth gently. The kiss was sweet, because damn if the man wasn’t too.
“All for one and one for all?”
“More like the Fenwicks taking the field against the Dawkins – full contact, no mercy.”
***
By the time I approached my dad in his office on Monday, my realtor had confirmed what Simon alluded to: not only did his dad accept my offer, but he’d countered.
With a lower price. For all the man was a tyrant in his own house, his generosity was giving me more financial freedom than I’d hoped.
The kind I could leverage into a buyout offer for my dad.
I suppressed the fine tremble in my hands as I approached the front office. There were a lot of ways talking with my dad could go—most of them off a cliff. I inhaled, expelling a shaky breath before straightening my shoulders and wiping the worry from my face.
After knocking gently, I slipped into the chair in front of my dad’s desk. He leaned back, assessing me from beneath hooded eyes.
I kept my gaze steady. Unwavering. Even as I wanted to crumble inside. This was the man who’d raised me. Taught me everything I knew about boats. But he never really saw me.
“What’s up, Rae?”
“We need to discuss renewing our lease.”
He scowled, face fierce. “I’ve tried. That bastard Reynolds insists on selling. We’re going to have to wait to deal with the new owners.”
I clasped my fingers in my lap to keep from cracking my knuckles. “And that’s why I’m here to speak to you about the lease. I signed the first of the paperwork this morning.”
My dad’s face flushed red. “What?” he barked.
The anger wasn’t surprising. The shock? That stung. It wasn’t like I hadn’t tried to talk to him about buying the land over the years. Over and over again, until I was hoarse.
I took a deep breath and plowed forward, holding his gaze. “I love San Juan Marine Repair. I want a larger role in the business.”
My dad’s expression turned mulish. “You have a role. You’re a great mechanic.”
It may have been the nicest thing he’d ever said to me, but it wasn’t enough.
“I want more of a say in the business itself.”
“What, you want to do sales like your brothers? ”
“No. I want to expand our service business. Hire more mechanics.”
“We don’t have enough service work to support it.”
“We will if we advertise. We could bring in a lot more emergency calls if we had another mechanic. Possibly two.”
“I’ll think about it.” His tone was dismissive. Nothing I hadn’t heard before. But still, it hurt. I’d run up against the brick wall of his lack of faith in me for years. And I was tired of it.
“I’m raising the shop’s rent, effective ninety days from now.”
“We can’t afford that,” he said brusquely, brows beetled.
“You can if you give me an ownership stake in lieu of rent.”
The corners of his eyes flared. A pang of sadness tightened my ribs, squeezing the air from my lungs. It shouldn’t have taken me backing him into a corner for him to finally see me as an equal.
“How much are you talking about?” he asked, his voice gruff.
I hadn’t won him over. But he was listening. Haggling with him on the details took the better part of an hour, but the more I held my ground, the more he seemed to realize I was dead serious about San Juan Marine Repair.
He shook my hand when I stood up to leave. “You drive a hard bargain, daughter.”
“I learned from one of the greats.”
He harrumphed, crossing his arms as he regained his throne. But there was a new respect in his eyes.
A trickle of triumph grew, like water working its way into a crevice, creating a fjord over time.
Pride filled me, making my steps light as I walked to my car to pick up the kids and take them back to Jia’s.
Maybe it was a small thing, standing up to my dad.
Asking for what I wanted. But after years of fading into the background, of doing what he asked, it felt huge.
Like I’d finally found my footing and my place in my family.