Chapter 37 Caden
CADEN
Jalen made his way across the great room as I went over last-minute details with Erika. The space had come together beautifully. It was a blend of rustic beauty and the elegance our hotels were known for, with a dose of authenticity courtesy of the snapshots of Clara.
“You were right about the place settings,” she said with a smile. “It feels like we’ve brought a touch of the outdoors in but elevated it. And the photographs really make the décor meaningful.”
“Thank you for all the hard work you’ve put into this. None of this would’ve come together without you.”
She beamed. “Thank you, Caden. This is the fun part.”
Jalen cleared his throat, and I turned to face him. “How are the girls doing at the spa?”
He grinned. “I like them. I have half a mind to blow off my responsibilities for the day and join them.”
I chuckled. “I should warn you. They have a thing for watching Little Women on repeat, and they’ll do bodily harm if you interrupt Beth’s death scene.”
Jalen let out an exaggerated gasp, his hand flying to his chest. “I would never. That’s sacrilege.”
“Then you guys will get along just fine.” My hand dipped into my pocket, fingers touching the charm that had become my talisman. “There haven’t been any issues?”
He shook his head. “The two police officers have been joining in on the fun—one waiting outside Grae’s treatment room and the other in the spa lobby.
I’ve got the ladies set up in a suite upstairs where they can get ready.
I’ll send up food and drinks once they’re done at the spa.
And the items you requested will be waiting. ”
I clapped him on the shoulder. “Thank you for everything.”
A beaming smile spread across Jalen’s face. “I know you didn’t ask, but I love her for you.”
That burning sensation was back in my chest, but it held a pleasure I couldn’t deny. “I’m damned lucky.”
“That you are.” Jalen shifted on his feet, uneasiness entering his expression.
My stomach dropped. “What’s wrong?”
“For you? Nothing.”
“For someone else?” I surmised.
Jalen pressed his lips together and nodded. “You know how I mentioned I’d cultivated a few different sources around the hotel?”
“Your network has always been vast.”
He flicked imaginary locks over his shoulder. “Thank you.”
“Jalen…”
He nodded quickly. “Your brother’s morning event was a disaster.”
My brows pulled together. “What do you mean?”
Gabe had overseen a welcome brunch for our VIP gala guests. It was a time for them to hobnob before the main event and ease into the festivities.
“I heard from one of the waitresses working the brunch that he got the numbers completely wrong. There wasn’t enough food, and they had to pull booze from the restaurant upstairs. Gabe was late and looked completely hungover. People were not happy.”
My gut churned. What the hell was going on with my brother? He’d overindulged occasionally in the past but never like this. It was as if he were unraveling before my eyes, and I didn’t have the first clue why.
“Does my father know?” Even calling him that felt wrong. Harrison Shaw hadn’t done anything fatherly in more years than I could count.
Jalen winced. “He was at the brunch.”
“Hell,” I muttered.
“I’d never seen smoke come out of someone’s ears until this morning.”
I could only imagine.
“On the bright side,” Jalen said, “I might have overheard Clive singing your praises to your father. He said the company retreat was the best he’s ever been on.”
It should’ve felt like a win, but I felt nauseated. “I need to go do something.”
Jalen blinked. “Everything okay?”
“It will be.” I started toward the exit. “Do you know where my mom is?”
“I saw her getting her hair done at the spa earlier, but she said she was heading home.”
I nodded. “Thanks.”
I headed down the hallway and nearly collided with Gabe.
“Watch where you’re going,” he barked.
My gaze tracked over him. This wasn’t a Gabe I recognized. His suit was rumpled, his hair disheveled. “Are you okay?”
He scoffed. “Like you give a fuck.”
“For better or worse, I do. And something’s obviously wrong.”
Rage flared in his brown eyes. “You can drop the saint act. No one’s around to see it.”
“Asking my brother if he’s all right isn’t an act.”
Gabe’s jaw hardened to granite. “Always the perfect fucking son. Do me a favor and just stay the hell out of my life.”
He checked my shoulder hard as he passed.
I stood there for a moment, wondering for the millionth time how we’d gotten here. Maybe the why didn’t matter. It wouldn’t change where we were. But that knowledge had grief settling deep in my bones.
I forced myself to start walking again, making my way through the lodge and outside to the parking lot. Jumping into my SUV, I headed for my parents’ house, hoping my father would be holed up in his office and not at home.
The drive took less than five minutes, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I didn’t see my dad’s Maserati out front. I parked in the circular drive and headed up the front walk.
The door was locked, so I rang the bell. A second later, I heard footsteps. The door swung open, and my mom smiled. “Caden, I wasn’t expecting you. I thought you’d be tied up with gala business all day.”
I stepped into the entryway and gave her a quick hug. “I needed to talk to you about something.”
Concern flashed in her features. “Come in. We can sit in the library.”
That room had always been my mother’s domain. When life got hard, she escaped into her books and shut the world out for as long as possible.
She led me through the hallways I’d raced Clara down as a child. There were a million memories from growing up in this house, but only a fraction of them were good.
As I stepped into the library, the familiar lavender scent enveloped me. My mom gestured me toward a sitting area by the large window. The furniture there was more comfortable than what my father required in the living room. It was the kind you could sink into and stay all day.
I took a seat on one side of the couch, my mother on the other. I let out a deep breath and took her hand. “I’m going to leave the company after the gala. I’ll tell Dad tomorrow.”
My mom stilled. “Caden. I talked to him. I think he’ll try harder—”
“Mom.”
She quieted, and I squeezed her hand.
“It’s not healthy. Not for any of us.”
My mom’s eyes began filling with tears.
That sight had always cowed me in the past. Her grief was the thing that had me staying in a situation that had become beyond destructive. But I couldn’t do it anymore.
“I’ve tried so hard to fix things,” I said.
“Put up with Dad’s cruelty because I knew we were all dealing with the pain of losing Clara in our own ways.
I didn’t want to hurt you by walking away from a company your family built.
Didn’t want to betray Clara by leaving her most beloved place in the hands of people who didn’t truly care about it. ”
Mom’s breath hitched as tears tracked down her cheeks. “You could never betray your sister. She loved you more than anyone else in the world.”
“I see that now. Clara would want us all to be happy. And we’re the furthest thing from it. This is toxic, and it’s slowly killing all of us. I can’t sit by and watch it happen anymore.”
My mom’s tears came harder. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize it had gotten so bad.” She shook her head. “No. I didn’t want to see, so I looked the other way.”
I squeezed her hand again. “I love you. I’ll always be here for you. But I can’t have Gabe and Dad in my life anymore. Maybe one day, with some distance and perspective, and if things truly change.”
“But they’re your family,” she said between hiccupped cries.
“Maybe by blood. But Grae has shown me what family and love are truly supposed to be. And it’s not this.”
My mom stared at me for a moment, taking in my words, my expression, and reading my truth. She pulled me into a hard hug. “You deserve to be happy. You’ve always had the best heart I’ve ever known.”
“Thank you.” My voice cracked as relief spread through me.
Mom released me. “You love her.”
“It scares the hell out of me, but I do.”
She smiled. “If it scares you, it just means it’s important.”
Something about that shifted the way I thought about my fear. “I like thinking about it that way.”
My mom pushed to her feet. “Hold on.”
She crossed to her antique rolltop desk. As a kid, I’d played on the floor while she wrote countless letters at that desk. She fished a key out of the top drawer, unlocked the bottom one, then dug around for something.
A few seconds later, my mom walked back toward me. She placed a small, navy velvet box in front of me. “This was my grandmother’s. She and my grandfather had the kind of love story that could fill the pages of one of these books. Maybe it would be a good start to your and Grae’s love story.”
I slowly picked up the box and opened it. The ring gleamed in the afternoon sunlight. It was a large oval diamond surrounded by an intricate antique setting.
I waited for the panic to hit, but it didn’t come. And it was then that I realized a part of me had always known I’d marry Grae Hartley someday. But I was ready for that day to be now.