Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
WEST
“Married? I thought you were engaged.” Mr. McConnell’s laugh boomed through the phone like it was the funniest thing he’d heard all week.
I’d called just to touch base, make sure he and his wife were still planning to come back into town. But really, I’d wanted to casually slip in the news that I was, in fact, married.
“Well, you know, sir,” I chuckled, trying to lay it on thick, “we want a family and in dad years, I’m already an old man. So we figured, why wait? We didn’t need a fancy ceremony to make it happen.”
Another hearty laugh rumbled through the line, and I mentally fist-pumped. Nailed it.
“Oh, you’re not old,” he said. “I was forty-five when my youngest was born. He’s twenty now, off at college makin’ me proud. If it wasn’t for my oldest giving us grandkids, I’d be begging Marianne for another one. We’ve always considered adopting. But I guess I’ll just enjoy the grands for now.”
“Well, hopefully it won’t be long, and I’ll get to experience that new dad glow,” I said with a smile that didn’t quite reach my eyes.
I was full of shit. And worse, I knew it. Mr. McConnell was a good man. Way too good to be caught in the web of lies I kept spinning. But every time we spoke, they just kept rolling off my tongue like second nature. That’s how desperate I was to earn his help expanding the project.
I couldn’t do this alone. I’d burn through more money than I was comfortable admitting, stretching every resource thin.
But I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to. I wanted to bring life back into these small towns and give them something to believe in again.
Even if it was something I no longer wanted for myself.
“Well, Marianne and I will be back in Atlanta in a couple of weeks,” he said. “I think our secretaries have already ironed out the details.”
“Yes, sir. I’m looking forward to sitting down with you again.”
“You rest easy. The project sounds like something I can get behind. You and I are cut from the same cloth. Our values line up. That makes me feel really good about handing over my money.”
A sharp ache bloomed in my chest and I rubbed it away, swallowing down the truth I’d never say out loud.
Mr. McConnell and I weren’t alike. Not even close.
He had a real family. He didn’t build castles on lies.
He didn’t fake marriages and futures just to get funding.
He had something I hadn’t had since I was sixteen—peace.
I barely remembered hanging up the phone, but I sat there at my desk, elbow on the armrest, fingers pressing into my temple, trying to rub away the tension I’d been carrying for days.
My phone began ringing again and as much as I didn’t want to answer it, I knew work wasn’t done for the week, not yet anyway.
I glanced at the screen, seeing that it was another spam call from North Dakota and I tossed my phone onto my desk, sighing in relief that time because that meant I didn’t have to answer and be chatty.
It had been a short week in calendar days, but time felt like it was moving at a snail’s pace. Every second was a slow tick toward Friday, and toward Harmony Haven.
“Fuck,” I muttered, leaning back in my chair.
I was actually looking forward to going home. Not to see my brothers. Not even my grandparents. I wouldn’t see them until Sunday anyway. But I was eager to see Blue.
My phone buzzed again and I groaned, seeing that it was a text and not something I could ignore.
Marcus
What time are we leaving for Harmony Haven tomorrow?
Usually, I sent him the plan without him having to ask. But after he dropped me at the office on Tuesday, I’d given him the rest of the week off and had been driving myself. He probably hated it.
West
I’m driving myself. Enjoy your weekend.
His response came fast.
Marcus
I’m sorry, pardon me?
I laughed out loud, picturing him frozen in place, thinking someone had hijacked my phone.
It wasn’t that I couldn’t drive. Hell, I liked driving. It was just easier to work in the backseat while someone else handled the road. But this weekend, I didn’t want to work. I wanted to show Blue that I could be normal, or at least fake it convincingly.
Blue and I had barely exchanged more than a few-word texts over the last few days. I asked how the bar was doing. She told me how her dad was. It was polite. Distant. Like we were still strangers, which made no damn sense after everything we’d done together.
I told myself it was better that way. Less complicated. Less messy. But then I turned around in the next breath and concocted a plan that I thought would make her happy, make her smile. And it involved me driving myself to see her for the weekend.
West
I’ll drive Blue back here on Sunday, after dinner. Marshal can pick her up Tuesday and drive her home.
He left me on read for a moment, the little typing bubble flashing on and off before he finally sent a short reply.
Marcus
Yes, sir.
With that settled, I stood to make coffee just as Hattie poked her head into the office.
“Mr. Brooks?”
“Come in,” I said, a little confused that she didn’t use the intercom.
“Sorry, sir.” She cleared her throat. “Got a message from Marcus. Asked me to pop in and make sure you were actually here. I told him you were, but figured I should check.”
I huffed a laugh, shaking my head as she moved to the coffee station and added sweetener to my mug without asking because she knew how I liked it.
“I must really be going off the rails if he’s sending out a search party.”
“You’ve been acting unusual,” she said plainly, handing me the mug. “We’re all just a little worried.”
“Worried?” I blinked at her. No one but my family’s ever worried about me, I thought to myself. “I guess marriage changes a man.” I shrugged, hoping to end the conversation right there.
“I suppose you’re right.” She patted my arm like Grams would’ve and whispered again on her way out, “I suppose you’re right.”
She didn’t believe it. Not for a second. But she left me alone anyway.
I pulled my phone back out and fired off one more message to Marcus.
West
You could’ve just asked for a proof-of-life photo. No need to get Hattie involved.
Marcus
Sorry, sir. Didn’t want to risk alerting the enemy to my concern.
I chuckled, sliding my phone back into the inside pocket of my suit jacket and sat back down at my desk. I had a change of clothes in the closet. My plan was to work through the night and crash on the office couch. If I got enough done, maybe I’d head out to Harmony Haven earlier than expected.
Everything went as planned, and I left work early, telling everyone that the contracts were done and the portfolios were reviewed. I’d barely slept, but adrenaline had taken over. The only thing keeping me upright was the idea of seeing her and ending our awkward texting.
I swung by the penthouse to change and grab the keys to my truck. My truck. Domestically made, reliable, and sure to make Blue see I wasn’t completely made of stone. I threw on a pair of jeans for the same reason. Not the borrowed kind, my own. They fit like they were supposed to.
I didn’t stop at the lake house as I rode into town.
I went straight to Fiddlers, knowing she’d be there, knee-deep in preparing for the night.
I pulled around back and parked beside her car, spotting Marshal behind the wheel of the SUV off to the side.
His eyes widened when I hopped out of the truck, probably thinking he needed to alert someone.
But as I got closer, recognition hit and he nodded.
I could see him about to slip behind the wheel again when I redirected toward him.
“Everything okay, boss?” he asked, rolling the window down.
“Yeah. Head back to Atlanta. Enjoy the weekend. Marcus is off too. I’ll drive Blue to the city Sunday. You can bring her back Tuesday.”
“You sure you don’t want me to stick around?” Marshal asked, glancing toward the bar. He was thinking about the Murphy brothers. He’d been told to keep them out, especially while Blue was inside.
But she wasn’t going to need backup. Not with me there. I didn’t plan on letting her out of my sight, and I didn’t need Marshal sniffing around this weekend. Not when I had to finally do something that I only wanted Blue knowing about.
“I’m sure,” I said, and he nodded, hesitated, then finally drove off.
I palmed the keys to my truck in my hand, switching them back and forth as I made my way inside through the back entrance. I headed for the office first, hoping she’d be in there.
Of course she wasn’t. She’d be behind the bar, right where she always was. In control. Calm in the chaos.
God, I loved that about her.
I dropped my keys, phone, and wallet into the desk drawer and rubbed my palms together.
I was early. Earlier than she expected. And I was hoping the surprise was a good one.