Chapter 20
Nora
I packed one bag, then opened the repair spreadsheet Cole had sent me. Anger didn’t make opening costs disappear.
The estate administrator had approved the roof, walls, and other emergency work as estate expenses. I’d paid the deposits, but I would get that money back once the invoices went through.
Until then, too much of my savings was tied up. This trip would eat into the cash I needed to open the inn, but facing Dad was worth the hit.
I sighed heavily, grabbed my keys, and sent Harper a text telling her I’d be back soon. I didn’t have time to speak to her in person. I just wanted to get this over with.
Before putting my phone away, I sent another text.
Were you serious about planning events again? If you were, I want to hire you for the inn’s opening.
Her response came almost immediately.
Only if you treat me like a professional and pay me. And no friend discount. If I’m doing this, I’m doing it right.
I smiled.
Send me a proposal.
It felt good to type it. I wasn’t asking a friend for a favor. I was hiring her for a real job, for an opening I was actually going to pull off.
* * *
The city hit me all at once: horns, brake lights, buildings crowding the sky, air that felt used before it reached my lungs. I used to move through all of it without noticing. Now I couldn’t stop noticing how tight everything felt compared with Misty Pines.
I glanced at my watch as the Uber crawled through traffic. The closer I got to my parents’ house, the angrier I became. I thought I’d cooled off somehow, but thinking about it now made everything fresh all over again.
I couldn’t believe the gall my dad had. Blaming a man all those years, ruining his career, and then pretending as if he was the victim in all of this. I knew my dad was strict, stern, and sometimes cruel when it came to business, but this was beyond evil. It was heartless.
My eyes stung, but I drew in a breath and straightened in my seat when the Uber turned off the main road and headed toward my parents’ house.
My blood was hot when the car finally stopped. I stepped out, exhaled as I stared at the front door, and then walked toward it.
Though I had a key, I decided to knock instead. Using it felt too much like acting as if this were still home. I waited patiently until the door opened and Bertha stood there. Her eyes widened as she smiled. I couldn’t help myself then. I smiled and hugged her.
“Miss Nora, it has been a while,” she said. “You look amazing.”
My cheeks heated. “Oh, thank you, Bertha.” For a second, the knot in my chest loosened. Bertha was one of the few things in this house that still felt easy.
“Wherever you are certainly agrees with you. You’re glowing!” she exclaimed, pinching my cheeks and stepping to the side. “Please, come… come. I was just about to serve dinner. Your father’s favorite—steak.”
“I won’t be staying long, but thank you. I just need to talk to them.”
The smile on her face faded. “Oh… anything to drink then?”
“No, thank you, Bertha. Are my parents here?”
She nodded. “They’re in the living area.”
I smiled. “Thanks.”
I walked to the living room, my pulse racing when I heard low chatter.
“Bertha, who’s at the door?” Mom called.
Just then, I stepped into the room and saw them both sitting there. Mom froze, her mouth hanging open. Dad didn’t look up right away, but after hearing Mom’s gasp, he did. He straightened in his chair and placed the book he was reading to the side.
“Nora—thank God. You’ve finally come to your senses.” Mom bounded from her seat.
“Don’t celebrate. I’m not back. I’m leaving as soon as I talk to Dad.”
She snapped her head toward Dad, who removed his glasses and gave me his full attention. All the anger came rushing back as I stared at his face, almost completely blank.
“You lied,” I said.
“Nora, what are you talking about?” Mom asked.
I didn’t take my eyes off Dad. That blank look used to make me nervous because it meant he’d already decided the conversation was over. This time it only made me angrier.
“For seven years, you looked me in the eye and told me Cole nearly ruined you. You knew that wasn’t true.”
His jaw ticked, but that was it.
“Look me in the eye and tell me you lied.”
Dad scoffed and finally shifted in his chair. “I told you this would happen. Didn’t I tell you this would happen?” he asked Mom, who let her shoulders slump in resignation.
“You head to Misty Pines, lie down with dogs, and all of a sudden you’re covered in fleas.”
“I know what you’ve been doing with Sullivan. I know what happens in that Godforsaken place. Whatever he’s been telling you is a lie.”
“Cole didn’t have to convince me. Gran left me proof. I read the engineer’s report, Cole’s work-stoppage notice, and your emails. David Mercer confirmed Cole stopped the job and your site manager sent the crew back.”
His brows furrowed. “You don’t know a damned thing, Nora. If you know what’s best for you, you’ll stop this conversation right here and say nothing else.”
I lifted my chin and crossed my arms. “No. Not this time. What are you going to do, ruin my life too?”
“Enough!” he snapped, standing with a frown on his face and his jaw clenched. “That’s enough from you, young lady.”
“Don’t ‘young lady’ me. I’m twenty-five, Dad. I’m not leaving until you tell me the truth.”
“Then prepare to stand there forever.” He walked toward the small table and poured himself some scotch.
Fuming, I turned to Mom. “You knew too, didn’t you? You knew Cole was innocent. You knew he didn’t deserve what he got.”
She swallowed visibly before raising her chin. “Cole Sullivan was lucky to have worked with your father.”
“Lucky?” I gawked. “Look what that got him. You gambled with people’s safety and threw someone under the bus to save your own name!”
“Would you rather it happened to me?” Dad snapped.
“You say that like somebody had to take the fall.”
“I grew up in that town with nothing and spent thirty years building that company. We were behind schedule, investors were ready to walk, and Sullivan wouldn’t budge.”
“He refused because someone could have died!”
“But he didn’t.”
“David still got hurt.”
Dad glanced down at his glass.
“I paid Mercer’s medical bills,” he added.
“After you blamed Cole for the accident. You don’t get credit for paying for damage you helped cause.”
“I kept the company alive.”
“That’s your excuse?”
I scoffed, staring at him in disbelief. “You ruined his life, his reputation—he lost everything in the city!”
“He bounced back,” he cut in firmly. “That’s business.” He pointed at me. “Do you think every successful person plays fair all the time? You wouldn’t have had the life you did if I hadn’t played dirty every now and then. Everything you have came from that company.”
His tone was cold, and the look on his face was almost frightening.
Dad tightened his grip around the glass.
“Mercer got hurt. Sullivan took the fall. I didn’t enjoy either.”
“Then say you’re sorry.”
He lifted his chin. “I won’t apologize for saving my company.”
My throat constricted. There it was. A man’s safety, his reputation, even the truth itself had all been negotiable as long as Dad’s company survived. And he expected me to call that success.
“I want no part of it. Not anymore. Not the company, not the money.”
“Nora!”
“If you walk away, you walk away from the inheritance too. If you choose Cole Sullivan over your own family, you’ll have him—and you’ll be broke. You’ll be cut off completely.”
Tears streamed down my face. “At least I’ll be free of this,” I said as I turned to leave.
“Nora! What does any of this have to do with you? It was seven years ago!” Mom exclaimed.
I stopped in my tracks and turned to her. “It has everything to do with me. I believed Dad. I judged Cole. I was wary of someone who…” I trailed off before I said too much, not wanting to admit how much Cole had come to mean to me. “Someone who didn’t deserve any of it.”
“I don’t want to be part of this dog-eat-dog world. I want to be able to live with myself and know I’m not hurting people to get what I want.”
“Sometimes leaders like your father make hard choices,” she defended.
I turned to him. He still had a deep frown on his face as he stared at me.
“Hard choices? Or selfish ones.”
Silence filled the room.
I took a step back, looking at them both. For the first time, I saw a flicker of guilt cross my father’s face—but it was fleeting.
I turned and left. Outside, I waited for the breakdown. It didn’t come. The hurt was still there, but relief was stronger.
I wanted Misty Pines. The inn. Cole. The life I’d picked myself.
I wanted to go home.