39. Dane
THIRTY-NINE
Dane
Ten Days Later
I did my best to deliver on my promise to Grace. But it didn’t seem like boring was in the cards for us.
“Hot cocoa delivery!” I shouted, holding out a tray of insulated cups and bracing myself as a dozen kids descended. They were all in ski gear, with giant goggles and helmets obscuring their features but not hiding their smiles.
“Is there marshmallows, Uncle Dane?” Maisie asked, clasping her mittens together. “I really love marshmallows.”
I leaned down and whispered, “I added extra to your cup. And Ollie’s too.” The kids were on a break from their ski lesson, and I’d offered to make the cocoa run.
Grace was on snack duty. She arrived minutes after me, carrying individually wrapped treats. “Who’s hungry?” she asked. Grace was in full winter wear, with a white beanie pulled over her hair and her cheeks pink from the cold.
I wrapped an arm around her waist. “I’m hungry for something,” I murmured, “and you’re looking very sweet.”
She smiled and shook her head at me. “I gave you some of that sugar just this morning. Don’t get greedy.”
“Then you should stop looking so good.”
Only a week and a half had passed since Ainsley and Tobin’s arrests and Vincent’s death. Grace and I had been cooperating fully with law enforcement.
I’d also had an extremely awkward phone conversation with my father. It hadn’t gone well.
Aside from that, I’d been helping Grace get back to the “regular” life she wanted. And since that included waking up next to her, sitting down for meals together with family and friends, and indulging in hot, uninhibited sex whenever we got the urge, then I was just thrilled to be a part of it.
She hadn’t said she loved me yet, but I felt good about my chances.
Of course, now that we were back in Silver Ridge, there was a lot of small-town charm in our everyday life. All the small-town charm. In fact, I was proud to add to our town’s offerings.
That was why I’d opened up the ski resort today for a locals-only community day. Free ski lessons, discounted lift tickets, and hot cocoa with obscene amounts of marshmallows. It had been Grace’s idea, a way to give back to Silver Ridge and help me get to know its residents.
And I was thrilled to see that much of the town had turned out, including Ashford, Emma, and Piper. Even Callum and a slew of his buddies from Silver Ridge FD. Dixie Haines, Mayor Barker, and the other ladies from bingo were in the lift line, and Chief Landry and several of his officers had made appearances too.
The sun was bright despite the cold. We’d just gotten a heavy snow yesterday—perfect timing—which had blanketed everything like the promise of a clean slate.
Ashford lifted his chin as he walked toward me. My buddy and Emma had been snowboarding earlier, and I’d personally witnessed Ashford fall multiple times on his ass, much to his fiancée’s delight. Ashford hated to be bad at things. To be fair, so did I. But we both enjoyed making our ladies laugh, so at least there was that.
Ashford reached me, and we watched the kids bound off with their instructor toward the bunny slopes. “A lot of people were surprised you and Grace weren’t there last night,” Ashford said.
I felt my smile freeze in place. “Can you blame us?” I glanced over at Grace, who was chatting out of earshot with Emma and Piper.
“No, man. Of course not. I’m happy you kept Grace away from it, and you know I’ve got your back. Just wanted to let you know in case some busybody brings it up.”
Last night, Sheriff Douglas and Chief Landry held a town hall meeting to answer questions about Nina’s murder and Vincent’s death. National news of the larger scandal had broken in the last few days. Starting with an article by Norm Haber, which he’d published at lightning speed, probably so he wouldn’t get scooped. Though I’d heard he was also working on a book.
The details were juicy. A high-class escort ring, a murder, and blackmail involving some of the wealthiest people on the East Coast, including the heir to Knightly Global… I’d ignored a slew of calls for interviews. More articles digging into my family would inevitably follow. I had no doubt documentary-makers and podcasters were busy trying to recreate the story with all its twists and turns and salacious moments. Plenty of people on Ainsley’s client list, like Dirk Lancaster, had to explain themselves. I wanted nothing to do with that.
But for Grace and me, the mess wasn’t anywhere near finished yet. No matter how much we wished the whole thing would go away.
“We were answering questions almost nonstop for days,” I said. “I suggested we skip the town hall and let the authorities handle it, and I was surprised when Grace agreed.”
Ashford chuckled. “Grace has never liked being told what to do.”
“She does not, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Your sister took out Ainsley Harcourt, the Heiress Madame.” As Norm Haber had dubbed her in his article. “Grace is a badass.”
Ashford muttered a curse. “Please don’t remind me. Funny how you and Grace have been asking for privacy, yet everyone in Hart County knows all about how Grace risked her life to save the day.”
My smile returned. Because I had spread that particular rumor myself. The town’s residents adored Grace even more than before. Which was what she deserved.
Opinions on me were more mixed, since I was the New Yorker who’d brought such unsavory elements to their town. But the situation wasn’t hopeless.
Tobin, my former traitorous hotel manager, had confessed to everything he knew about Ainsley, the escort ring, and his involvement in the break-in at Grace’s house. Tobin had also confirmed that I had nothing to do with any of it.
Ainsley was going to be charged for the murder of Nina Badowski, since she’d ordered the hit. There were rumblings of other charges here and in New York, which would probably take months to sort out, including Bristol’s role in everything. Kip and his new wife had returned from their honeymoon just in time for the truth to come out.
I had no idea what was going on with my brother. Whether he despised me even more, whether he’d be charged with a crime. Whether he still worked for Knightly Global at all.
My ever-resourceful assistant Margot had been doing her best to roll with the chaos, but even she didn’t know those answers yet.
I expected the Harcourts would hire the best lawyers Manhattan had to offer to defend Ainsley, both there and in Colorado. But one thing was certain. I would use every bit of my money and influence to make sure Ainsley served prison time for Nina’s murder. Same with Bristol.
Even if I’d been tempted to stay out of it, Grace wouldn’t have let me. She’d already given me an earful about the subject. I’d assured her we were completely on the same page. There was no way I’d let either of the Harcourt sisters get away with their crimes.
“I’m just thankful Grace is okay,” Ashford said. “Glad you’re safe too, but my little sister…”
I nodded. I would never fully understand that big brother/baby sister bond, but I understood to the depths of my soul how special Grace was. “I get it. But I also want to make myself completely clear. I love Grace, and I would give everything for her. I mean everything . There was never a question of me walking away from that situation without Grace walking out right alongside me.”
Ashford blew out a heavy breath, making white clouds appear in the frigid air. “I appreciate it. I asked for your intentions toward Grace once, and your answer was pretty vague. But I have the feeling I won’t have to ask again.”
A grin tugged at my lips. “I intend to make Grace very happy for the rest of our lives.”
“Good answer.” He scratched his beard. “I do have one other question for you, though.”
“Hit me.”
“Would you be my best man?”
I turned to stare at him. “Your best man? I assumed you would ask Callum.”
He shrugged sheepishly. “Cal is my brother, and I love him. But you’re my best friend.”
I felt only the briefest hesitation. But I pulled him into a hug. “Then I’m there. I would be honored.” I hadn’t told Ashford yet about tracking down Grayden. Grace had asked me not to. I was leaving that to her, and I had to trust that Ashford would understand.
We had each other’s backs. Someday, I hoped that Ashford would stand by my side when I married his sister. But the women we loved came first.
* * *
I was all smiles as the day wore on. Helping out the staff, mingling with Silver Ridge residents, building a snowman with Grace and the kids during breaks in ski lessons. I even took Grace on a few easy runs, and while she was very much a beginner, she was getting the hang of it.
We reached the bottom of the run and snapped out of our skis just as my phone buzzed in my pocket.
Grace tugged off her helmet. “Someone calling you?”
I pulled out my phone. “Looks like a text.”
“Let me guess, it’s Dixie, demanding another hot toddy. We are probably going to have to cut her off.”
I laughed, thinking of how Dixie had been tearing down the slopes. The woman claimed she didn’t usually spend winter in Silver Ridge, preferring to head to the warmer climes of Florida, but she’d decided to stick around through Thanksgiving this year. I wanted her to make it safe and sound to the holiday and not take out anyone else either, so Grace was probably right.
But when I opened the text, it was from the assistant manager, Rhonda. She’d taken over for Tobin as the acting head manager until I made a final hiring decision. “Someone’s in the lobby for me. And Rhonda added three exclamation points, so I assume it’s urgent.” I gave Grace a quick kiss. “I’ll be back. Watch out for Dixie. Love you.”
“I value my life, so yes, I’ll be watching for Dixie. Hurry back.”
I left my skis in a rack, still grinning as I headed into the lobby.
Then I saw who was waiting for me near the reception desk, and I stopped in my tracks. “Dad.” I glanced over at Rhonda, and she mouthed, Sorry .
No wonder she hadn’t mentioned who was here. My father had probably asked her not to. He was my boss and the ultimate owner of the ski resort.
“Son. Is there someplace private we could speak?”
I had to assume Dad had made the trip all the way to Silver Ridge to chew me out in person. Nothing to do but get this over with. “Sure.”
I led him to Tobin’s former office, which Rhonda had been using as acting manager. But she was at the front desk for the moment, and I had no intention of taking my father up to the hotel room I shared with Grace. We had moved our things out of the top-floor suite after it became a crime scene. We’d been staying in a mountain view room on the fifth floor instead.
“I didn’t know you were coming.”
“I decided it would be better to do this unannounced.”
“Okay.” I pointed at a chair, but my father didn’t sit. So I didn’t either. I waited for the verbal evisceration to begin. For my betrayal of our family, for the damage I’d done to Knightly Global. Though I’d only been the messenger.
But that wasn’t what happened.
“First, uh…” My father trailed off, his face slack with uncertainty. Something I’d never seen in my life. “I’d like to apologize for the way I reacted when we last spoke on the phone.”
Shit. An apology? This had never happened before either.
“When you first broke the news about what Kip had done, the blackmail, the murder, all of it… I was very shocked and upset.”
“Understandable.” I dug my hands into my pockets, not sure of what to do with myself.
My father clasped his hands behind his back. “Kip has decided to take a leave of absence from the company. He’s also going to seek an annulment from Bristol Harcourt, though I’ll let the lawyers sort that out.”
“Makes sense.” But I wanted to go back to the part about this leave of absence. “Did Kip admit to his role in everything?”
My father nodded. “He’s cooperating with the NYPD, even against his own lawyers’ advice. Says he’s deeply remorseful about what happened to…” Dad cleared his throat. “That woman he was seeing.”
I sighed. “Nina Badowski. The woman died because of Kip. Maybe not directly, but I still consider him responsible. The least you can do is say her name.”
My father blinked, some of his pride returning. Here was the infuriating man who had disowned me. Who had never seen me as good enough for our precious family name.
But then he said, “You’re exactly right. Kip does feel responsible for Nina’s death, and he told me he’s committed to doing what’s necessary to get his life back on track. To atone. Including making his own apologies to you and to Grace, for the fact that she got caught up in it.”
I would believe that when I heard it, but it was something. Hell, I hadn’t expected to hear these words coming from my father at all.
“Thank you for letting me know,” I said sincerely. “But I don’t see why you made the trip all the way here. You could’ve done this over the phone.”
“I came here in person in the hopes of mending our relationship. I know we’ve disagreed in the past?—”
I snorted. “Dad, that’s an understatement.”
“So it is.” Was that the hint of a smile on Dennis Knightly’s face? “When you joined the company, you did it for your mother. Not because you truly wanted to work for me. You bought this ski resort and practically moved in because you wanted to get away from our family.”
My hackles rose, though what he was saying was true. “I’ll buy the resort from you, if that’s what you want. You won’t have to deal with this project anymore, since it’s beneath you. You won’t have to deal with me anymore.”
“No, that is the last thing I want,” he cut in. Dad rubbed a hand over his face and sank into a chair. “I’m here to beg for your forgiveness. And ask for your help. Knightly Global has suffered a serious blow. I’ve been a fool. Failed to see what was in front of me.”
I sat in the chair beside him, resting my elbows on my knees. “I came to Silver Ridge hoping to find what I was missing,” I said. “And I did. I found Grace. She’s the woman I want to spend my life with. I also found a place that feels like home, and it’s partly because Grace is here. But that’s not the only reason. Being here reminds me of the best times growing up. Vacations to the mountains. The times we were happy. When we were a family.”
Dad looked at me. Really looked at me. “Those memories are very special to me as well. If you’ll stay on with Knightly Global, then we can consider Silver Ridge a satellite office. You can work from here.” That hint of a smile snuck into his expression again. “Though it’s up to you to discuss the matter with Margot.”
I huffed a laugh. “Yeah, I think Margot is meant for the city, through and through. We can make it work though. If you’re serious about this. If you’ll treat me as a partner and not as an annoyance. I don’t mean my job title. I couldn’t care less what it says on the plaque outside my office. I need to know you’ll respect what I bring to the company.”
“You’ve got my full support. And my respect. You’ve always had my respect, even if I’ve been an idiot about showing it.”
“Thank you.” Though part of me still wondered if my dad had been replaced with a clone or something.
“I hope you’re willing to get started right now,” he said. “Because we have a lot to discuss.”
I sent off a quick text to Grace, letting her know I would be busy for a while, but that all was well. I sent off a similar text to Rhonda at the front desk, though without the heart emojis.
Dad gave me a quick-and-dirty picture of how bad things were. How the board was losing confidence. How investors were threatening to pull out. But after a couple of hours, we had a strategy prepared. I would hold a teleconference with the board as soon as possible to answer their questions and concerns. And assure them that I wasn’t leaving the company.
Hard as it was to believe, especially for me, I was going to stay on with Knightly Global. It had to be different this time. But I was optimistic that it would.
My father leaned back in his seat. “I was hoping we could have dinner tonight. With Grace. I’d very much like to meet the woman you love.”
Geez, was he kidding? “You already met her, Dad. In New York. Did you forget?”
“I remember,” he snapped. “But I’d like to make a better impression. Do you need me to spell it out? I probably came across as an ass the first time, and I want my future daughter-in-law to like me.”
I almost laughed and made a quip about his other experience with daughters-in-law, but my father’s sense of humor only stretched so far. “She’s not your future daughter-in-law just yet. I’m working on that. But dinner would be great. You can meet Grace’s whole family.” That was going to be interesting. But the O’Neals were as good as my family too, so Dad had better get used to it.
But there was one more thing I had to address before we were finished.
“Dad, we haven’t talked about Mom. We’ve never really talked about her diagnosis or her treatment. Her future. I know it’s not easy to discuss, and we don’t have to hash it all out now.”
“You think I’m not doing what’s best for her?”
“I don’t think that,” I said softly. “I just want to be involved. I love Mom too.”
His expression was pained, and for a brief moment, I glimpsed the agony he felt. Dad had never let me see it before.
“What I’d really like,” I added, “is to be able to bring Mom out here to Silver Ridge. I think she’d love it, whether it’s a short visit or a longer stay. I realize it depends on what the doctors say, and a bunch of other factors, but I’m asking for you to at least consider it.”
He thought for a while. And then he nodded. “It’s been horrible. Watching her slip away when she’s still there in front of me. Your mother is the love of my life. I would do anything for her.”
I put my hand on my dad’s shoulder. “I know the feeling.”