Chapter Nine
Evan
Firebrook Valley
I didn’t knock. I simply walked into the office and closed the door behind me—softly, because this wasn’t a fight that required volume.
Dad looked up from the papers spread across his desk, his eyes flicking over me with that assessing, clinical gaze of his. Did he realize his parents looked at him exactly the same way? Not shocking that he spent as little time as he could with them.
“You’re back early,” he noted.
I stayed standing, refusing to let the room’s power dynamic settle in his favor. “We need to talk.”
He leaned back, the expensive leather of his chair creaking under his weight. “About?”
“About how this family needs to behave going forward.”
A small, dry laugh escaped him. “You disappear for years, show up for a barn-raising, and now you’re rewriting the family charter?”
“I’m not rewriting anything, Dad. I’m clarifying how things need to be.
” I stepped closer, my hands loose at my sides but my posture intentional.
“The feud ends today. No more games. No more quiet calls to lawyers. No more deals killed because Cody Burke’s name is on the other side of the table. It’s over.”
Dad’s mouth tightened into a hard line. “You don’t get to walk in here and—”
“I do,” I cut him off quietly, “because I believe this family can be more than a grudge with a bank account.”
He stared at me. The silence stretched until I could hear the faint, steady tick of the wall clock and the distant, muffled whinny of a horse in the paddock.
“Bella married Drew with none of us there,” I continued, watching the words land.
“She did it because she didn’t trust us not to ruin her special day.
And she was right not to.” I didn’t blink as I held his gaze.
“Bella has been cleaning up after you, apologizing for you, and worrying about what you’ll do next for too long. That stops now.”
Dad’s jaw worked, the muscle jumping. “Bella is a phenomenal businesswoman.”
“Because she had to be.”
The truth hit hard. His eyes dropped to the desk for a brief second before he looked back up.
“What do you need, Dad?” I offered, my voice steady.
He shook his head and slumped a little. “I’m not even sure I know anymore. Maybe it’s time to retire. Without Bella, I’m meeting resistance with some of the shareholders. Her sudden departure shook their confidence—”
“I’ll step into her shoes, at least until she decides what she wants to do next.
I’ll clean up whatever mess needs cleaning.
But she didn’t shake anyone’s confidence in you.
You did that. You can hate Cody Burke all you want, but it’s time to put the needs of our family above whatever happened between the two of you.
We support Bella and Drew. Fully. No side-eye, no questions, no nothing.
And we support Nora and Brady the same way. ”
Dad’s brows lifted at the second name. “Brady and Nora?”
“Yes.”
He exhaled a short, sharp breath through his nose. “I don’t understand how this is happening.”
“You don’t have to.” I didn’t let him off the hook. “All that matters is how they feel about each other. It’s not all about you, Dad. And if you don’t want to end up old and alone, it’s time for you to realize that.”
The clock continued to tick, marking the heavy silence. Dad looked away, toward the window and the mountains that had watched this family tear itself apart for thirty years.
When he spoke again, his voice was quieter, rougher than I’d ever heard it. “I can’t believe Bella got married with none of us there.”
The admission cracked something open in the room. I didn’t soften the blow. “I can. I’ve spent years traveling and drinking enough to forget how fucked up this family is. Is that the legacy you want? Us scattered, pretending we don’t need each other? Or can we do better than that?”
He didn’t answer immediately. His fingers drummed once on the desk—an old habit when his mind was racing. “I let it get out of hand,” he said finally. “Lost focus. But if you knew what Cody did—”
“I don’t care what Cody did thirty years ago.” I leaned forward, planting my palms flat on the desk. “I care about today. Right here. Who we are now. Who you are right now. I want to respect you, Dad, but you’re not making it easy.”
The words hung between us. He looked older suddenly—the lines deeper around his eyes.
I straightened up. “It’s probably better if I go without you to New York.”
He nodded once, a small, tired gesture.
I turned for the door but stopped halfway there. “Dad.”
He looked up.
“If you ever want to talk about what actually happened with Cody—really talk—I’ll listen.
But it won’t change how we move forward.
We live in the present. Bella and Drew are married, Nora and Brady are together, and we’re going to act like a family that supports each other’s choices, even if we don’t agree with them. Yes?”
He didn’t answer, but he also didn’t say no.
Progress.
I walked out.
The hallway was dimmer than the office, the air cooler and carrying the faint, sweet scent of fresh flowers the staff had put out. I made it exactly three steps before I nearly collided with Brady.
He was standing there, frozen and wide-eyed, looking like someone who’d been dropped into the middle of a conversation he never meant to overhear. For a long second, neither of us spoke. His gaze flicked past me toward the office door, then back to my face.
“How much did you hear?” I asked.
“Enough.” He looked stunned.
I understood. Brady was used to the easy-going side of me, as were most people in Firebrook Valley.
And outside as well. I could keep my cool and hold my own with wartime presidents and armed militants.
But my father? When we argued, all the anger I’d pushed deep in my gut for as long as I could remember surged out, stripping kindness from my tone.
“Is Bella coming back?” he started.
“No idea.”
“How long are you here for?”
“Not sure. It sounds like I’m needed in New York.”
“Should I go with you?”
“Not if you think you can handle Dad on your own.”
“I can.” He gave me a long look. “What you said about me and Nora—”
I saved him the trouble of finishing. “You’re welcome.” Then walked past him without looking back. Down the hall, out the side door, and into the late-afternoon light. The mountains sat heavy against the sky, unchanged and I needed the fresh air.
I’d handed her to him. I’d meant every word I said in that office, but my chest felt hollowed out—clean and aching all at once. I kept walking toward the paddock and the horses, toward anything that wasn’t this house or the people inside it.
I’d fought for his happiness. I’d fought for Bella’s. I’d even fought for Dad to remember who he used to be. And none of it changed the fact that Nora haunted my thoughts.
Good job, Evan. Proactive, selfless, while still managing to be a complete fucking mess.