29. Chapter 29
Chapter 29
James
A couple hours later, Lizzie and I were in my truck, headed seven miles west to a small Mexican restaurant in the neighboring town of Heartwood. After cleaning up back at my place, I came back to find Lizzie looking moody as well. She’d been out for a good portion of the day, so I hadn’t seen her much—but one look on her face told me staying in tonight wouldn’t do either of us any good. We needed a distraction—the good kind.
We’d been driving in silence for most of the way, the two of us stuck in our heads about one thing or another. Half a mile down from the restaurant, I couldn’t take it anymore. Pulling over to the side of the road along a wooded stretch, I shut off the engine and looked over at her.
“I had a fight with Jesse today.”
Lizzie’s head turned towards me from her side of the vehicle, eyes wide. She knew how tight I was with both Jesse and Jack, how rare it was for us to argue. Or even for me to open up about the things that were bothering me. I’d like to think it was progress.
“Ugh, I’m sorry. What happened?”
“Tara’s having some pregnancy complications, so she has to go on bed rest for her last trimester. They’re holding her job, but her benefits plan isn’t giving them much leeway. And she’ll have nothing left for her maternity leave once the baby arrives.”
“That’s total crap. God, poor Tara.” Her eyes were sympathetic. “But I don’t understand… Why did you two fight?”
I sat there for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to tell her the rest of it. “I offered them money to help out with their finances.”
“Wow, that’s incredibly generous of you.”
“Not really…”
Lizzie raised an eyebrow. “Yes, it is. When are you going to accept that you’re a good man, James?”
“If anyone can make me believe it, it’s you, Red.”
She smiled at me for a moment, chewing on her lower lip in that way that drove me half-crazy. “I’d like to help too, if I can.”
“No, that’s not necessary. Besides, Jesse wouldn’t take it, anyway. He turned me down flat.”
“Maybe he’s worried you can’t spare the extra?”
“Trust me, that’s not the reason.” I took a breath. Ok, here goes. “Lizzie, there’s something I haven’t mentioned, something I should’ve told you a while ago now.”
She looked at me. “Yeah… me too.”
Now I was the one that was curious. “Really? What?”
Her cheeks flushed. “It’s about my situation, why I moved up here. I didn’t just inherit the cabin from my grandmother. Mariah, Ethan and I each inherited quite a bit of money as well after she and our mom passed away. We were the only living heirs, so everything went to us. But we had no idea they had so much stockpiled.” Her eyes were avoiding mine now, and I watched her rub at her hands—in that way she did whenever she seemed anxious. “It’s how I’ve been able to afford renovations on the cabin and why I could take time off to write.”
For a moment, I didn’t know what to say. This didn’t seem real. How was it possible that we’d both landed in this place—taking different paths, but with the same outcome? It’s almost as if it had been… written or something.
As she glanced back at me now, her eyes guarded, I realized it wasn’t only feelings of grief, or imposter syndrome with her career, that she’d been battling with. There was shame in there, too. It was a feeling I knew all too well—and struggling in silence never did anyone a damn bit of good.
“Thank you for telling me.”
“You’re not mad?”
I chuckled briefly. “Of course not. Not in the least. Because… well, I’ve got money, too.”
“I wasn’t trying to imply that you’re brok—”
I held up a hand to stop her. “Sorry, what I meant was… the coincidence is going to sound crazy, but I also inherited money. From my father, after he died a few years ago.” As always, I felt the defensiveness rise up in me as I said it, like I’d somehow asked for any of this. But that argument was only ever with myself, not her. “He never remarried or had other kids, just ran his company, so… I was the only one left.” Now it was my turn to look away, feeling the buzzing grow inside my head. “I’m… sorry I never said anything before. I don’t really talk about it, not with anyone.”
Eyes wide, she was quiet for a minute. “Jesse knows, though. Jack too?”
I nodded. “And GiGi, of course.”
“And Jesse was upset because…?”
“I think he’s struggling with feeling like he’s not contributing enough to his family.” Saying the words, I felt the sting of them—and knew I’d feel the exact same way as my friend. It was a feeling of pride, like he wasn’t pulling his weight, at least in the way he thought he should be.
I’d tried offering him a larger salary when we’d kicked things off with Horizon Remodeling, and he’d refused. But I hadn’t done it out of obligation. He was also a damn good plumber, and his skill set stretched far beyond that. This project at Lizzie’s had more than proven his talents as a foreman, managing the contractors we’d brought on for various elements. Plus, it made me see that his work on finishings had become just as good as my own over the years.
Which is why I realized what I should’ve done from the very start. I should’ve asked Jesse to join me in this business as a partner, not an employee. It was something I’d be remedying soon—after we worked through the rest of this mess.
Because I couldn’t afford to allow this money to create any more division in my life. It had been like a fucking noose around my neck for way too long, and I was tired of feeling like I couldn’t breathe.
I was surprised, though—letting Lizzie in on my secret wasn’t as hard as I’d thought it would be. If anything, the rope felt like it might’ve even loosened a bit. I wondered if it felt that way for her, too.
I looked over to Lizzie, who was still watching me—but all I could see was compassion, not judgment. I owned that one myself. That look in her eyes, I almost was afraid to hope for what it might be.
“You’re a really good man, James, wanting to help your friends.”
“I don’t know about that,” I said, shrugging. “Jesse and Tara, they’re family. And I don’t need all that money… might as well give it to someone who could make better use of it.”
She gave me a small smile. “I get it. But… you should still talk it through with Jesse. They’ll need your support in other ways now, too.”
“Yeah, I know.” I let out a breath I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding. “Glad I told you, though. About the money, I mean.”
“Yeah, me too.” She paused. “I don’t want there to be any more secrets between us, ok?”
“I don’t either. I’ll always be honest with you, Lizzie. I mean that.” Then I realized—she was crying. “Oh, babe… I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?”
“No, no… it’s nothing you did…”
“Well, did something happen? Does this have anything to do with why you were gone today?”
She nodded. “I went over to Indi’s for a while, after I decided to open the second bundle of letters.” Wringing her hands in her lap, she continued. “GiGi told me I should just leave it alone when I told her about them. But my grandpa’s last letter was weird… I thought maybe going through the others would help me understand.”
“And… did they?”
“No… I mean, I don’t know.” Her eyes squinched shut. “I think Grandma Cora might’ve had an affair.”
“What? Why do you think that?”
“The other letters… they were still love letters but written in a different handwriting. And the few I’ve read so far were signed with the initials, ‘M.H.’. So they weren’t from my grandfather.”
I reached out, wiping away a stray tear that had trickled down her cheek as she opened her eyes again to look at me. In the light of early evening, the flecks of gold in them burned. “I bet there’s a perfectly good explanation for all of this. Why don’t we both talk to GiGi about it? Maybe she’ll remember something.”
“But what if… it’s true? I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it.”
“Well, then… we’ll deal with that together, too. I’m not going anywhere, Red. I’m in this, with you.” We gazed at each other for a moment. It felt like there was so much more to say—the words buzzing around inside of me, anxious to burst out.
But just then, the loud revving of a motorcycle interrupted us as it zoomed past and the moment was lost.
Giving her hand a quick squeeze, I turned the key in the ignition. “How about we grab dinner? I think we both need it.”
“Yeah, sure… that’s fine.”
She turned back towards her window as I pulled out onto the road, thinking that if it hadn’t been for that damned motorcycle, those words in my head might’ve spilled out, without knowing if it was the right thing for either of us.
An hour or so later, we were relaxing at La Cantina, munching on the last few tortilla chips from the basket after paying our bill. The mood felt lighter now after dinner and a drink as we chatted about any other topic except the ones weighing on our minds.
So basically the last thing I needed was Luke Hardon to spot us from across the restaurant, walking over in our direction with some leggy blonde in a short skirt—the latter of whom looked less than thrilled to be seen in a place known for their all-you-can-eat house-made chips and salsa.
I mean, fuck… this guy?!
“Hey, man, funny running into you over on my turf this time.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Last time I checked, the Hardons don’t own all of Heartwood. You just happen to live here.”
“Sorry, wasn’t trying to imply that we did. I don’t often see you crossing the Dearing Creek city line, is all.” But Luke was all smiles, his eyes darting over towards Lizzie as he extended a hand. “Hi, I’m Luke. I went to high school with James. You’re Elizabeth, right? The one who bought the cabin over by Georgia LaMott’s place?”
Lizzie smiled. “It’s Lizzie, and yes. My family has owned that cabin for a long time, but none of us had been up here for years.”
“Ah, I see. I’d looked into acquiring the land a few years ago as a business investment but was told the owner wasn’t interested in selling.” He shrugged with a laugh. “Guess it worked out ok in the end.”
“Yes, everything worked out just dandy,” I said, annoyed that he wouldn’t take the hint and end the conversation.
I noticed Lizzie giving me a weird look before continuing. “So, Luke, what kind of work is it that you do?”
“I help run my family’s third generation custom wood furniture business, mostly for high-end clients and commercial properties. My brothers and I do everything, start to finish—direct from the trees themselves.”
“Wow, that sounds incredible. And is it all custom work, or do you have a shop as well? I might want to look at buying something for the cabin.”
Luke grinned. “Only custom, but I’d be happy to help you out. Why don’t you give me your num—”
I held up a hand, unable to listen to this conversation anymore. “No, that won’t be necessary. Lizzie and I should get going.”
His smile faded a bit; glancing at his date, Luke gave me a quick nod. “Of course. Just one last thing…” he said, leaning closer. For a second, my mind shot backwards twenty years again, hearing his voice heckling me in the hallways of Lake View High, along with the rest of his shitty, entitled posse. “Quit walking around here acting like you’re better than the rest of us, Tate. Everyone knows you’re far from it...”
But present-day Luke had lowered his voice. “It’s good that I ran into you, because I wanted to give you a heads-up on something.”
“Yeah? And what’s that?”
“Have you done anything to piss off the Kinneys? Because my friend Sam is considering making an investment in some property they own… Apparently, Denise Kinney called him today and told him very specifically to avoid your company for any renovations, since I’d already recommended you to him. She said it would be a bad business move and could possibly affect the deal.”
I felt the anger bubbling in the pit of my stomach, thinking about the incident at the bar the night before. Forcing a smile, I shrugged. “Can’t think of why. Maybe he was mistaken.”
“No, I don’t think he wa—”
I glowered at him. “G’night, Hardon.”
Luke’s body language was now tense as well—but rather than argue, he nodded, grabbing for his date’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Lizzie. Good luck with the cabin. Hope you both have a good night.”
As they walked away, I could hear his date say, “Please tell me this place has champagne. I need a buzz if we’re gonna eat in a shithole like this, Luke…” I smirked to myself before turning back to Lizzie, to see if she’d caught the woman’s comment as well. But instead, I noticed she was staring at me with an odd expression on her face.
“What was that all about?”
“What?”
“Do you have a problem with Luke Hardon or something?”
I shrugged. “No, just don’t like him or his family, is all.”
“Why’s that?”
“They’re a bunch of rich assholes. They’ve got a ton of money, so they act like they own everyone and everything around here. Just like the Kinneys… and the Taylors too, for that matter.”
Her eyes widened. “If you’re talking about the Taylors in Dearing Creek… their daughter Tess is one of my best friends, remember?”
“Yeah, well, maybe that’s true… All I know is, her parents and all the rest of them have treated a lot of people around here like shit over the years. Including my family.”
She was quiet for a moment. “Well, what about everything we just talked about before coming here? You and I both inherited a lot of money… Does that automatically make us like all the rest of them?”
“What? No.”
“How do you know for certain?”
“Trust me, I know.” I raised an eyebrow. “Because we’re different.”
“Are we, though? Because from my perspective, you were pretty rude to Luke a moment ago. It seemed like he was genuinely trying to be nice.”
I snorted. “Trust me, Luke Hardon hasn’t been ‘nice’ a day in his life, unless it somehow benefited him. He treated me like shit all the time when we were kids.”
“That may be true… and I’m really sorry you had to go through all that. But aren’t you basically doing the same thing to him now?” She rested her hand on mine. “All I’m saying is, maybe he’s changed. And maybe it’s time to forgive and move on.”
“No, these people will never change, Lizzie. You have no idea what we’ve had to deal with.” The words were out before I could stop them, and I could see the hurt flash across her eyes. Standing up, I shoved my wallet back into the pocket of my cargo shorts. “Look, I don’t want to talk about this right now. Let’s head home… it’s getting late.”
“Yeah… fine.”
But this time, the silence on the drive home felt anything but fine. Words both spoken and unspoken hung heavy in the air between us, both directions of tonight’s drive overwhelming me with the weight of their revelations.
And I couldn’t stop running through what Lizzie had said, what all of this meant—even with Luke’s warning, coming out of nowhere. Even I had to admit that the guy had seemed like he was trying to help. But could a man like Luke Hardon ever actually change? And why now?
All of it left me questioning myself, and I had no idea what to do about any of it.
And most of all, I couldn’t help but wonder… What if she was right?