Chapter 43 #2
“Yes, actually, I got a call last week. Duncan Sterling has some property outside of Dickinson and is considering making a brewery part of his endeavors. He asked me to come on board.”
Fury wicks up my spine, and I want to flip a table. I want to smash all of them. But she’s in my arms, and I won’t ruin that. “What did you say?”
“I told him yes, and that I’ll start on Monday.”
Her flippancy is loud and clear, but my blood pressure makes my temples pound. “Don’t fuck with me like that.”
“Why?” She turns serious. “I honestly haven’t thought about it much.
There’s no point, unless we make our decision, but it’s a flattering job offer.
He wants me in charge—of all the brewing.
I would get to choose what to make. If I go to Denver, I’ll be the one begging to get hired, and I’ll most likely start at the bottom. ”
“But it won’t be working for Duncan Sterling.” Dickinson is almost as far away from me as Scandal is.
She leans back, and the few inches feel like miles. “He will be the owner, yet I’d have more freedom with him than if we decided to keep the brewery running.”
“Running this place as it is not enough for you?”
Shit. I shouldn’t have said that.
She’s off me in a second. “And just how would it work? Maybe we should discuss that before Saturday. What would happen if I said, ‘Hey, we’re serving root beer.’ Or, ‘Oh, and I’m brewing it too’?
‘By the way, I have an Irish red I’m dying to make.
’ Will you or your brothers insist it has to be your mom’s precious recipes? ”
The emotions of the whole damn lunch coalesce into a twister inside my chest. My chair skitters across the floor as I jolt upward. “This is her place.”
“It’s our place.” She probes her forehead with her fingertips. “Would you punish me for not making the same decision as your brothers? Would you retaliate if I didn’t move and chose to stay back and run the brewery?”
Hurts punches me in the sternum. “Jesus, Meredith. It’s not like that.”
She drops her hands. “Are you sure? When it’s gone, there’s nothing left, and it’s like you want to erase it all.”
“We’re moving on.”
“You’re running.” She puffs a lock of hair out of her face. “I did that once, and it didn’t go well.”
“Meredith—”
“You asked me to come to Denver with you.” She’s breathing steady, but it’s like she forcing it, like her heart rate’s getting away from her. “Your brothers hope I’ll either follow you and give up on all things Scandal, or that I’ll be so stuck in this mess I decide to let it all go anyway.”
“We never said that.”
“You didn’t have to. I fully remember hearing you basically say that saving all this is pocket change for you. I’m sure it’d be an excellent tax write-off, yet all you’re giving me is time.”
There’s nothing to argue with. I’m not proud of it, but she’s correct. Deep down, yeah, that’s what I hope will happen.
“I want to be with you.”
“But you’ve only considered how to have me if I move.
Have your brothers considered not selling?
I’ve agonized over all the factors, wondering what to do, but have any of you done the same?
Have you considered other options?” She faces me, hands on her hips, but there’s a slight tremble in her jaw. “What if I asked you to stay?”
My heart thuds to a stop. “What? Meredith, I can’t—”
“And there’s a third option that we haven’t discussed.” Her shoulders drop, and she exhales a gusty breath. “I don’t go with you, but I also don’t stay here. I can take the job offer with Duncan and manage a brewery how I want to.”
“His brewery still won’t be yours.”
She flinches as if my words slashed at her, but goddammit, I don’t want to be the bad guy. We had our options. Our plans. She can’t just ask me to ditch it all.
Isn’t that what I asked of her?
That’s different. My pulse grows erratic. I’m willing to sacrifice not one but two Cross businesses to keep my brothers happy. But it would take comfort and security from the only woman I’ve ever been crazy about. I’m still tied to those horses, and she’s just swatted their asses.
My skin pulls tight, and my chest constricts. “You know what this would mean for me and the guys.”
“I know I’ll be the only tent pole holding it all down until you three realize how much it all means to you. Unless you like being alone in your castles.”
“I will be if you force my hand!” Shit. I pace, hands propped on my hips. The sound of my steps fills the room. What will the guys do if I take Meredith’s side? How betrayed will they feel if I… turn into our father?
“I’m going to make my decision soon,” she says, too damn calm. A warning bell rings deep in my brain. “It’s going to be about what I want. What’s good for me.” The lip tremble returns. “Scandal is my home. Sawyer is the closest thing to family I have.”
“What are you saying?” Don’t tell me. I grind my molars together. My stomach pitches left and right until I might heave all my chicken. She’s the one who wanted time to decide, and here I am, pushing her.
Anguish fills her eyes. “Calder, you asked me to consider moving, but when I asked you to stay, your reaction was instant. It told me everything. It answered everything. I said I would never give everything up for a guy again, and I’ve got to stay true to that.”
I’m the one who had happiness dangled in front of me, only to watch it get crushed like my dad’s car.