7. Chloe
Chapter 7
Chloe
“ A re you sure? This seems insane.”
Celine shifted her weight from one foot to the other, rocking from side to side while Julian clung to her. Her sweet little guy was like a barnacle. Had been since birth. At four, he was almost too big to be carried, but it seemed like, more and more, he was in his mama’s arms. Wearing his favorite Spiderman pajamas, which were faded from repeated wear, he buried his head in her neck.
I admired my sister. She had a way of making every person she encountered feel special. Like now, she was giving me her full attention while comforting her son.
And she was beautiful. The kind of natural beauty that women longed for. Cute button nose, high cheekbones, and round blue eyes. She looked exactly like my mother, right down to the lone dimple on her left cheek. Where my hair was fiery red, hers was strawberry blond.
It suited our personalities. She was the sweet, easygoing sister.
I was the more severe version: pointed chin, arched brows, and dark eyes.
We’d taken totally different paths in our lives. I’d left for the West Coast, gone to school, and built a successful career out there.
She’d stayed close by and married less than a month after earning her teaching degree. Granted, Donny Whittier was no prize. Even today, when I’d asked where he was, she’d said he was “working.” Dubious. His family owned the only privately held lumber mill left in Maine. He’d been raised with a silver spoon shoved up his pompous ass. He was probably enjoying the lunch buffet at a strip club, not that I would ever say that. When it came to her shitty, neglectful husband, I’d learned to bite my tongue years ago. I’d let my inability to keep my mouth shut drive a wedge between us before, and I wasn’t going to risk it now.
Celine was the sweet, maternal, loving version of me. With clear skin, lots of friends, and the kind of effortless style that people devoted Instagram accounts to replicating.
I spent a lot of time and money trying to look half as good as she did by just rolling out of bed. But I’d long since buried any jealousy.
And our lives had taken totally divergent paths.
I was getting closer and closer to making peace with the reality that I’d never be a mother. Most days, I could live with my choices, but sometimes, the ache became crushing. And as Celine stroked Julian’s hair, that pain grew more intense.
In my twenties, I’d been fueled by the unhealthy combination of ambition and rage. I’d pushed myself, worked hard, and played even harder. Traveling and collecting experiences were what I lived for.
Then I hit my thirties, and I started to feel this tug. At first, it was almost imperceptible. Just a whisper of a feeling when I’d see a woman playing with her kids in a park, or two parents smiling at one another while wrangling their kids at a restaurant.
It took years before I even let myself admit that I wanted that. I wanted to be a mother. To love unconditionally and completely.
I’d done a lot of cool things. I’d lived and traveled, and I was damn lucky.
But now, looking ahead to the next decade, I was feeling that biological pull. But this time, it was so much more acute. And it was almost every day.
Karl and JJ had been pushing me to get a dog. Karl was far too good at reading me. He’d recognized the longing even before I did, even if he was a twentysomething man who didn’t exactly understand it.
I’d come close. For years, I’d been talking about a dog. Not that a dog was a fitting substitute for a child, but it was the thing I’d promised myself long ago. I swore I’d find myself a four-legged companion once I was settled.
But I’d never really been settled, had I?
Even here. Yeah, I’d bought the house, but I had no intention of sticking around. Not only because Maine winters were heinous, but because the job would take me somewhere new. My partners were getting older, and they were no longer interested in long-haul travel, especially for months at a time.
I had at least another decade of travel and nonstop hustle in front of me. So for now, spoiling my nieces and nephew would have to be enough.
And I’d enjoy every second of this summer. I’d give Celine the kind of support she deserved and soak up the moments with these incredible kids.
I stepped closer and put my arm around my sister, and she kissed my cheek.
There was a saying about how as a person aged, they’d get the face they deserved. Celine was so kind and so good and so loving that she deserved to be this luminous forever.
For as much as I believed that, the thought of her aging brought with it questions about my mother. What would she have looked like now, if she’d been allowed to grow old, if she hadn’t left us in her forties? I closed my eyes and saw her like I normally did, and my heart ached.
All the conventional wisdom about grief was bullshit. It never went away. It never lessened. Instead, the person grieving just got better at dragging it around with them every day.
I took a breath and focused on the grass, the trees, and the sky. It was a technique my therapist had taught me when the grief vortex was too intense to ignore. I watched Ellie and Maggie run in the yard, playing some imaginative game that involved dragons. It was hard to believe that Ellie was already nine and almost as tall as I was. I loved these kids. Though I’d long ago given up the possibility of having any of my own, I’d vowed to take care of them forever.
Each already had a healthy college fund, but what was more important was spending time with them. I vowed then and there to be around more. And what better time to start than this summer?
I turned back to Celine, who was looking at me expectantly.
“Where did you just go?” she asked.
I ignored the question, unwilling to admit how, sometimes, I got pulled under and struggled to come back.
“Everything is going fine,” I assured her. “Granted, I’ve got the FBI coming tomorrow, but I’m handling it.”
In theory, I should be at the office, meeting with the lawyers, who had arrived yesterday and were prepping for our meeting with the feds. But I’d been too unsettled. So instead, I’d driven the thirty minutes to my sister’s house, desperate to reset myself.
Hugging the kids and spoiling them with treats I’d picked up at the adorable new bakery in town had made me smile, just like I knew it would. Had I also shoved a few of the molasses cookies straight into my mouth while driving? Why yes, I had.
She pushed her long hair off her neck, the Maine humidity was in full force today.
“Here.” I handed her the scrunchie on my wrist.
She smiled at me. “You’re always packing.”
I shrugged. “I’m a 90s girl, what can I say?”
Celine gave me a nod and pulled her hair back with one hand, while still holding her son, just another one of her mom ninja moves.
“Don’t change the subject. Chlo, you bought a timber company? And it’s being investigated by the FBI?” The inflection at the end of the sentence made it sound like more of a question than a statement.
“Um. That’s what I do for a living. Invest in timber. It’s a valuable commodity.”
Shoulders slumping, she gave me an exhausted look. “You know what I mean.”
She gently rocked Julian, who still had his face buried in her neck.
“Why this company? Why now?”
I gave her a nonchalant shrug. “It was a good investment.”
“Julian, cover your ears.”
Immediately, he brought his hands up around his small head.
“Bullshit,” she hissed at me. “You bought it because it’s our family’s biggest competitor and you knew it would piss off Dad and Grandfather.”
She was not wrong. Not at all.
I rolled my shoulders and swallowed down the shame rising up my throat. “Not exactly.”
“Or.” She pursed her lips. “Did you buy it because it belonged to your ex-husband?”
Julian picked his head up off her shoulder. “Mama, you said Auntie Lo didn’t have a husband.”
“I don’t,” I said, smiling at him. “Not anymore.”
Celine rolled her eyes.
I shot her an annoyed look. My short-lived marriage was mostly a secret. There were only a handful of people on earth who even knew Gus and I had legally tied the knot. My life was complicated enough. The last thing I needed was to be the subject of small-town gossip.
“I really hope this isn’t an elaborate revenge scheme,” she said, her lips turning down at the corners. “I worry about you.”
It was so typical of Celine to come to the most dramatic conclusion.
“You’ve been reading too much dark romance.”
Shifting Julian on her hip, she glared at me. “Tell me I’m wrong, Chlo.”
“I didn’t buy it for revenge,” I mumbled, lowering my head. Damn, I couldn’t look her in the eye and say that, so instead, I studied the cute sneakers I’d just bought. It was rare for me to forgo heels, but when I arrived, I’d traded my heels for them, knowing I’d be running around with the kids. “Not only for revenge, that is.”
“Ha,” Celine shouted, startling Julian. “You admit it.”
There was no use lying to my sister. She knew me too well. And I was a grown-up. An ass-kicking businesswoman. I should own my actions.
“Fine. Did I jump in and overpay at the last minute? Maybe.”
She gave me a self-satisfied smirk.
“And was the look of shock on his face at the closing worth every penny? Fuck yes, it was.”
Celine was full-on giggling now.
“And it was deeply satisfying to buy the largest privately held timber company left in Maine. Especially since, for my entire childhood, Grandfather told me over and over that girls had no place in this business.”
“Fuck the patriarchy!” Celine cheered, raising one fist.
“Mama,” Julian scolded.
“Sorry, baby,” she crooned, rubbing the back of his head. When he snuggled into her neck again, she gave me a warm smile. “I’m proud of you.”
I shrugged. “It’s a lot, especially striking out on my own without my partners. But this is what I do. I’ll whip everything into shape. I’ve got thousands of acres, part ownership in the Golden Road, and a full campus with every type of state-of-the-art technology, including a goddamn airstrip and helipad. It’s wild.”
“You are so fancy. But you don’t even live up here. How are you gonna manage this on your own?”
“I do live up here,” I said. “Bought a house.”
She shook her head, brows furrowed. “You didn’t.”
“I did. You’re looking at the owner of a gorgeous waterfront home on Lake Millinocket.”
“In Lovewell?” Her face was one of total disgust.
Heartsborough and Lovewell were the largest towns in this region, and both were fully devoted to the timber industry.
When we were kids, Lovewell was the prosperous town, with its beautiful square and lively town festivals.
They had a gorgeous lakefront, parks, and mountain views.
And Heartsborough had always been its dumpy cousin.
We all had chips on our shoulders where Lovewell was concerned. And for good reason. Lovewell was a much nicer community, and the people there always acted like they were better than us.
Not that our family struggled. No, our family’s business took good care of us, but historically, the LeBlancs were a Heartsborough family. We were loyal and dedicated to our own.
“I can’t believe it,” Celine said. “Forget the helipad. Now I know you’re too fancy for us. Lovewell? You gonna drink tea with your pinky in the air?”
I couldn’t stop the laugh that burst out of me at the image. “It’s not like that anymore,” I assured her. “They’ve had a tough time too. And we don’t have a lake here, so it just made sense.”
“Lakefront?” she scoffed.
“Hey, I bought the giant lake house so I could have a kick-ass summer with my amazing nieces and nephew. The damn thing even came with a boat.”
“You’re going to spoil them,” she said.
“Too late.” I grinned, then called for Ellie and Maggie to come over. “Did you girls hear? I bought a house on Lake Millinocket. It’s got a private beach and a dock and it even came with a boat.”
The wild shrieks that escaped my nieces were so loud I had to cover my ears.
Maggie was bouncing on her toes. “You’re the best auntie ever.”
“Do you have one of those water trampoline things?” Ellie asked, clutching my arm.
“Oh my god, can we live with you?”
“Oh, please? Do you have spare bedrooms? Our house is so boring.”
I gave my sister a satisfied smirk, and she responded by sticking her tongue out at me.
“The main house has five bedrooms,” I said, smiling so big my cheeks hurt. “But there are also two guest cottages.”
Cue more screaming and jumping.
“Can we go on your boat?”
“Sure,” I said. “How about this weekend?”
Julian wiggled out of his mother’s arms and took off after his sisters as they headed back to the yard to play.
Celine and I settled in the wicker chairs on the deck.
Rolling her shoulders, she regarded me with a concerned frown. “You said you’d only be here for a few months, but you bought a whole-ass house?”
“While you and the kids spend the summer on the lake, I’ll get changes implemented at the timber company, and then, come fall, I’ll bounce.”
“But a giant house?” She held out a seltzer she’d brought out with her when I arrived.
“Good investment.” I cracked the can, thankful it was still cold. “And I needed space for JJ and Karl.”
“Of course you brought your minions.”
“I don’t leave home without them. And they’re hardly minions.” I chuckled. “They’re valued colleagues, and they’re essential to helping me realize my vision for the company.” I would not have survived this long without them. We were a team, a small, scrappy team and a makeshift family, but a team, nonetheless, and we would get the job done.
She crossed her legs and leaned in, a smile dancing on her lips. “So what is this vision? Run it into the ground to punish Gus?”
“You’re evil,” I said, clutching my invisible pearls. “I don’t want to punish him.”
“Bullshit,” she coughed. “You’ve never gotten over his betrayal. Don’t lie to me. I see right through your tough act.”
It was true that I’d never gotten over it. No matter how hard I’d tried. Not that I would cop to it.
“I’m grown, Celine. And a successful businesswoman. Do I dislike him? Yes, very much. But while swooping in and buying his family’s disgraced company, the one he had always wanted to run—I’m only human after all—was one of the highlights of my life, I fully intend to make it successful.”
“Ooh, fun.” She dipped her chin in a teasing nod. “Now you’re lying to yourself, too.”
“There’s not nearly enough sustainable timber development in Maine. With these assets and my team’s expertise, we can update and future-proof this business to sustain the local economy for decades to come.”
“That sounds really nice. But I know you better than you think I do. Your black heart is full of revenge and blood lust.”
She wasn’t totally wrong. Seeing Gus after twenty years certainly ignited some, ahem , emotions. Again, not that I would dare admit it to anyone, including my sister.
“At least admit that you’re trying to stick it to Grandfather.”
“He’s in his eighties and recovering from a heart attack.” I’d never wish harm on my family or their business. In fact, I’d offered to help many times—loans, consultants, and equipment—but they were too proud to accept. Grandfather had made it clear when I was younger that he would never allow a woman to run the family business. Timber, he said, was for men.
Neither Cedric nor Calvin was interested in taking over.
My little brothers did not have a ton of direction. And Dad still hadn’t forgiven Cedric for dropping out of law school.
Mostly, they trained and competed in timbersports competitions. Not that I was criticizing their work ethic or their talents. They had both qualified for the professional circuit, but neither was successful enough yet to make a career out of it.
That meant my dad didn’t have a son who wanted the responsibility of the family legacy. Though he did have a daughter interested, he refused to even consider it.
Memories of his constant criticism flashed through my brain, his anger that I was too emotional after my mother died. The way he’d pushed me away, never acknowledging my achievements or hard work.
It was a raw, open wound, but it was one I’d long ago put out of my mind. I had a lot of unfinished business in Maine, and I knew better than to hope for closure there.
Story of my life. Over and over, the men I’d trusted and loved had let me down. It was hardly a unique tale of woe.
Unfortunately, Gus Hebert was proving more difficult to deal with than I had anticipated. In my mind, when I showed up, he would cower, do everything I said, and fade into the background as I kicked ass all day.
Instead, he was everywhere, questioning my every move, wearing a constant frown. Making his disapproval clear and rescuing me at town meetings. Bastard.
But the Chloe LeBlanc who had returned was not the delicate girl who had left. Nope, I was harder now. Stronger and meaner and more determined than ever.
I had goals. And no one, especially not my ex-husband, was gonna get in my way.