Chapter 2 #2
Dad scoffed. “Don’t blame others for your failures. I’ve invited him back for the gala and a longer stay in a few weeks. Hopefully, we can sway him before they go to print. In the meantime, Caden will assess the property and see how it might be lacking compared to our others.”
I wanted to curse, get up and walk out of here, and never look back. My dad knew what he was doing, pitting Gabe and me against each other. He thought it made us both stronger and the hotels better. In reality, all it did was break our family apart.
Even worse, he was tying it all up in the gala. The one event I actually gave a damn about. Because it raised funds for The Clara Foundation.
My mother had started it not long after my little sister passed, hoping it would help her heal.
But it had become something we’d shared over the years.
An organization that raised money for childhood cancer research.
It was our way of doing what we could to help.
We couldn’t change our outcome, but maybe we could help other families.
My father just saw it as an excuse to hobnob with his wealthy associates.
My gaze caught on the photo wall on the far side of the room.
Those snapshots felt like a different time.
Sometimes, I thought they were the only soul left in the whole place.
I halted on my favorite one: Clara in a field of wildflowers, one hand around her horse’s reins, and her head tilted back as she laughed.
“I’ll beat you in a bareback race every time, CayCay.”
I grinned as I strode toward her. “What do you want to bet?”
She tapped her lips. “You have to do my dish duty for a month.”
“No betting,” Mom chastised as she snapped a photo of the mountains behind us.
“The betting is just motivation,” I argued.
“Come on, Mom. Let me wipe the floor with him and teach him a lesson.”
Mom’s lips twitched. “He has gotten a little cocky lately.”
“Yes!” Clara pumped her fist in the air. Then, before I could blink, she’d grabbed the horse’s mane and hauled herself up. “Go!”
“You little weasel.” I jumped onto my gelding’s back and took off after her, but she’d already left me in the dust. Only our mom’s amused laughter carried after us.
I blinked away the memory. Maybe Clara had been our only soul. When she died, she had taken the best parts of all of us with her.
“Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?” Dad snapped.
My focus returned to him. “I’ll help however I can.”
Gabe muttered some choice words under his breath.
Dad took a long drink of scotch, staring at me, assessing. “It takes more than a few smart business decisions to lead a resort like this. You need to quit screwing around and become respectable.”
Gabe smiled at that. “Come on, Dad. You know Caden will never be more than a party boy, a different woman every week, rumors always swirling.”
Annoyance flickered in my father’s gaze. “He’s right about your reputation. It’s one of the reasons I brought you back here. I’m sick of seeing your face splashed across the tabloids every week.”
That was hardly the case. I was occasionally photographed with someone who got that kind of attention, typically a model or an actress. But it wasn’t a common occurrence.
“I’ve never embarrassed our family. I live my life as quietly as possible.”
Gabe snorted.
“You need to follow Gabe’s example and get serious with an acceptable young woman,” Dad argued. “Our colleagues don’t trust someone who isn’t settled. They think you’re reckless, impulsive.”
“But my track record proves that I’m not,” I pushed back.
“Don’t question me. I’ve been in this business a hell of a lot longer than you, and you’d be smart to listen to me.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, wondering for the millionth time why I didn’t just quit.
And then that damn photo flickered in my peripheral vision.
Because of Clara. Because she had always been so excited about working for the company one day.
She’d go on and on about all the things she would do, which mostly had to do with horses and pools at her age.
But if I let go of this, it felt like I was letting go of her. I couldn’t do it.
“I’ll be mindful to keep my extracurricular activities under wraps,” I gritted out.
Dad glared. “That’s not the same thing.”
Gabe leaned forward. “Lena and I are happy to fill in on social obligations wherever you need us since Caden isn’t capable.”
Of course, they were. Lena was a social-climbing bloodsucker, and Gabe cheated on her every chance he got. But I didn’t think either of them cared. Lena showed up looking perfect, and Gabe kept her in the lifestyle she was accustomed to.
Dad nodded. “Glad to know I can count on you.”
I rose from the couch, unable to take this farce for even one minute longer. “Do you need anything else? I need to get going. I’ve got an early meeting.”
He eyed me. “That’s a little more of the gumption I like to see. You can go.”
I ignored Gabe’s glare and headed for the front door. I stopped short as my mom descended the stairs. She pressed a hand to my cheek. “Hi, honey. I didn’t know you were here.”
I forced a smile. “Dad just wanted to go over a few things with Gabe and me.”
She frowned. “It’s too late for that. You should be out enjoying your life, taking some nice girl on a date.”
The flicker of hope in her eyes killed something in me. She was itching for me to settle down and give her some grandbabies.
“It’s okay. I was on my way home from a SAR meeting anyway.”
“How did it go? How’s Nash?”
“Good on both counts. Maybe we can meet him for lunch one of these days.”
My mom smiled. “I’d love that. And have him bring Maddie. It’s been too long since I’ve seen that girl. I’m so happy those two finally got together. You need someone who keeps you on your toes like that.”
“Just haven’t found the right person yet,” I muttered, hating to lie to her.
She squeezed my hand. “You will. Just give it time.”
As she shifted, I caught sight of the dark circles under her eyes. “You doing okay?”
With every year that passed, my mother seemed more and more fragile. I’d thought she would get stronger with time, but it seemed to be having the opposite effect.
She nodded, forcing her smile brighter. “Just fine. I haven’t been sleeping great. I think I’ll call it an early night.”
“Okay. Call me if you need anything.”
“I will. Love you.”
I pulled her into a gentle hug. “Love you, too.”
As she disappeared up the stairs, I stayed frozen. How had we become this? A family so fractured we were ships passing in the night at best. I kept hoping things would change, but they never did.
I stalked out the front door, trying to leave behind the reminders of all our misery. And headed home, where I knew I’d be completely alone.