Chapter 45
CHAPTER 45
“Y ou look terrible, dearest,” his mother said. Even his phone’s small screen couldn't hide the worry on her face. “Please talk to her.”
“I told you during our last call that I won’t discuss Ms. Abrams anymore,” Stark said.
He winced inwardly at the harshness of his tone, waiting for his mother’s deserved anger.
Instead of scolding him, Angela gave him a sympathetic look. “I know you miss her, my boy. Talk to her. What happened between you can be fixed.”
“No, it can’t,” he snapped. “She doesn’t trust me. She doesn’t believe that I care about her and thinks I’m only being nice to her so I can get her damn house.”
“To be fair, that was your original motive,” Angela said.
He scowled at her. “You’re not helping, and I said I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
“I know you’re angry, sweetheart, and I understand why you are, but is holding on to that anger worth losing her?” his mother asked.
“I’m not angry,” Stark said. “Ms. Abrams did me a favour, actually. She reminded me of what happens when you’re weak, when you let your feelings dictate your actions. It was a valuable lesson and one I won’t forget.”
“Isaac, being kind is not a weakness, and if you just speak with Rayna again, tell her how you feel about her. I’m sure she would -”
“No, I have nothing to say to her.”
His mother looked at him with exasperation. “Isaac, I love you, but you’re doing that thing you do.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” he said stiffly.
“Yes, you do,” she said. “You’re hurting, but you refuse to feel that hurt. Instead, you’re shoving it deep and pretending everything is fine.”
“I’m not,” he said.
“You are, my boy,” she said. “You have to allow yourself to feel your emotions. You need to acknowledge that you love Rayna, and she hurt you.”
“It won’t change the situation,” he said.
“It might,” she said. “Pretending you don’t need anyone - don’t need her - isn’t healthy. As much as you think you can just shut off your feelings and your love for someone when they hurt you, it doesn’t work that way.”
“I don’t do that,” he insisted.
“You do, my love,” she said softly.
His mother’s look of love brought all those emotions he had suppressed dangerously close to the surface again. Instead of allowing them to be free, he said, “I have to go, Mom. I love you.”
He ended the video call before she could reply, staring blankly at his computer screen as his stomach churned and his head throbbed. He refused to admit how hellish the last week had been, instead throwing himself into work every day and spending his evenings alone in his house.
Well, not entirely alone. Molly and her babies were still with him, and snuggling with Molly and playing with the kittens every evening was the only bright spot of each day. He had fully intended to make the rescue take them back, but it wasn’t just his reluctance to speak to Rayna about it that stopped him. At some point in the last few weeks, imagining a life without Molly and her babies in his home was impossible.
As impossible as a life without Rayna?
He shut that thought down immediately. In the last week, he’d let his anger over what Rayna had said grow thick and strong. The anger was easier to handle than the hurt. If he stayed angry with her, he wouldn’t think about how much he missed her, how much he loved her.
He glanced up at the knock on his door, studying Lucas when he opened it and stuck his head into his office.
“What’s up?” Stark asked.
“Do you have a minute to talk?” Lucas asked.
“If it’s work related, then yes. If it’s personal, no, I don’t.”
Lucas hesitated, and Stark gave him a cold look. “Is what I said confusing you, Lucas?”
“No.” Lucas walked away without another word, and Stark shoved that pang of regret straight down with every other pesky emotion he absolutely didn’t need to feel. He’d gone this long without friends and was perfectly fine. He didn’t need them now.
His phone rang, and he glanced at the screen before frowning. Why was his real estate agent calling him?
He pressed the answer button. “Ms. Walker, how can I help you today?”
“Hello, Mr. Stark.” Kira’s voice had an undercurrent of excitement. “Is this a bad time, or do you have a few minutes to speak with me?”
“I have time,” he said.
“Great!” Kira chirped. “I have some news that I think will make you very happy.”
“What’s that?” he asked, his head throbbing harder at the cheeriness in her tone.
“Rayna Abrams contacted me this morning. She’s agreed to sell her property if you’re still interested.”
His jaw dropped, and he sat back in his chair, staring in stunned silence at his desk.
After about a minute, Kira said, “Mr. Stark? Are you still there?”
“Yes,” he said. “I’m sorry, did you say Rayna Abrams has agreed to sell her property?”
“She has,” Kira said. “Honestly, I am as surprised as you.”
“Did she say why?” he rasped.
“She didn’t,” Kira said before hesitating. “Should I have asked?”
“No,” he said.
“Okay.” Kira cleared her throat. “She’s asking five hundred thousand for the property. As you know, the property is only worth three hundred, but agreeing to the five hundred would certainly speed up the process and -”
“No,” he said. “Offer her three fifty and make it clear that’s as high as I’m willing to go. I will not negotiate.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone before Kira said, “All right. I’ll speak with Rayna and let you know if she accepts your offer.”
“Thank you.” He ended the call and scrolled to Rayna’s name, his fingers hovering over the keyboard before he muttered a curse and set his phone on his desk. He had no idea why Rayna was suddenly selling her property, but did it matter? Knowing the reason why wouldn’t change the outcome.
He sat back in his chair, waiting for that feeling of satisfaction of finally getting what he wanted. It didn’t happen. Instead, there was only curiosity, shock, and a liberal amount of guilt.
Three hundred and fifty thousand was a more than generous offer for her property, so why did he feel so shitty about it?
* * *
“Rayna? Where are you?” Emma called as the front door slammed shut.
“In the laundry room,” Rayna shouted.
She opened up the garbage bag, dumping the litter from Freddie’s litter box into it and carrying the empty litter box to the deep sink beside the ancient washer. She ran hot water and soap into the box before scrubbing it as Freddie sat on the shelf next to the laundry soap and watched.
“Hey.” Emma joined her, moving over when Bea squeezed into the small room as well.
“Hi, Em.”
“You didn’t return my call last night or today,” Emma said.
“I’m sorry.” Rayna rinsed the box, added more soap and hot water, and scrubbed it again. “I went to bed early last night, and work was insane today, but I should have called you.”
“What happened when you sent Stark the offer yesterday?” Emma asked. “Is he buying your house?”
Rayna rinsed the litter box a final time and grabbed an old dishtowel to dry it. “He is. Kira will have the papers for me to sign on Monday.”
“That’s great. Well, not great,” Emma said, “but at least you can save the rescue now.”
Rayna didn’t reply, instead bending to set the litter box down and pouring more litter into it before squeezing past Emma and Bea and heading toward the kitchen.
“Rayna?” Emma followed her. “Please talk to me.”
She washed and dried her hands in the sink and then grabbed two beers from the fridge. She opened one and handed it to Emma, then sat at the table and motioned for Emma to sit down.
Rayna opened her beer and drank a few big swallows before smiling at Emma. “Stark agreed to buy the property, but he’ll only give me three fifty for it.”
“Shit,” Emma said. “You can’t negotiate?”
She shook her head, staring at Bea as the old beagle climbed into her bed in the corner. “No. Kira said that would be his only offer and that I could take it or leave it. So, I took it.”
“But that isn’t enough money,” Emma said.
“It isn’t, but it’s enough money to pay off what I owe on the house and the fifty percent the bank is asking for,” Rayna said.
“You could list it on the market,” Emma said. “Find another buyer who will pay more.”
“Honestly, I’m lucky to get three fifty from Stark. No one else will pay more than three hundred for it. Hell, they’d probably offer less after seeing the house. Plus, Stark is willing to close in fourteen days. He’ll just be tearing the house down, so he doesn’t need an inspection or anything like that.”
“Oh, honey,” Emma said. “I’m so sorry.”
Rayna picked at the label on her beer bottle. “It’s a fair offer, and I knew it was a long shot that he would agree to the five hundred. I hoped he would, but…”
She drew in a shaky breath. “At least he’s still willing to buy it, right?”
“Okay,” Emma gave her a determined look, “I’ll talk to Zuri first thing in the morning, and we’ll brainstorm some fundraiser ideas. You’ll still owe, what… fifty-eight grand on the rescue debt? We can -”
Rayna took her hand. “Em, stop.”
“What?” Emma said. “We can do this, Rayna.”
“No, honey, we can’t. Our biggest fundraiser, the bachelor/bachelorette night, only raised thirteen thousand dollars, including the three grand from Jasper. We’ll never be able to raise nearly sixty grand.”
“Okay, but even if we raise ten grand, that can go toward the debt and -”
“It’s not enough,” Rayna said gently. “The only way I could keep the rescue going is if I completely paid off the debt immediately.”
Emma leaned back in her chair. “What happens now?”
Rayna took another deep breath. “I’ve been in contact with three rescues in neighbouring counties. They’ve agreed to absorb Little Whisker’s fosters into their rescues. I’ve already spoken with Zuri, Reba, and the cat and dog foster coordinators. I’ll send out a bulk email to our fosters tonight informing them that the rescue is dissolving and that the foster coordinator will be in touch with them regarding the placement of their foster animal with one of the new rescues. We’ll give them the option to adopt their foster animal free of charge, and I’m hoping that a good number of them will take that option. I don’t want to overload the other rescues if I can help it.”
“And then what?” Emma said.
“What do you mean?” Rayna asked.
“You close down the rescue, you place all the animals, and you move out of the house you love, and then what?”
Rayna drank some more beer. “Tomorrow, I’ll look for a place to rent on the south side that will allow me to keep Bea and Freddie. I’ll start packing up my stuff this weekend.”
“I don’t want you living on the south side,” Emma said.
Rayna smiled faintly. “You and me both. That’s bringing up way too many childhood trauma memories, but with the monthly payments on the remaining balance of the rescue’s debt, I can’t afford anywhere else. I hate to ask, but is there any chance the three of us can stay with you temporarily? I doubt I’ll be able to get a place in the next two weeks.”
“Of course, you can. You can stay as long as you need,” Emma said.
“Thanks, Em. I’ll rent a storage unit this weekend so that you won’t have all of my crap at your house as well. Hey, do you think Lucas and some of his friends would be willing to load and unload some of my furniture if I found a truck to borrow?”
“Yes,” Emma said, giving her a troubled look. “Rayna, I’m so sorry.”
Rayna shoved down her sorrow, forcing herself to smile at Emma again. “It’s all right, Emmy. I have no one to blame but myself.”