20. Kash
CHAPTER TWENTY
kash
The coffee is bitter when it hits my tongue.
Whether that’s because I skipped the creamer or because my grandfather is insisting we have this conversation before I’ve even had a full cup, I can’t say.
I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep last night, knowing what my packmates were up to right in our backyard with the woman my hindbrain is chomping at the bit to get a taste of.
“I’m not getting any younger, Kash, and you and I both know if I left the estate to your father, he’d turn around and sell everything we’ve built here and pocket the profits rather than be within throwin’ distance of Mason and Mia Callahan.”
“Gramps—”
“Just hear me out. Beck is Charlotte’s father.
Ain’t no way that boy is leaving this town after discovering everything he’s missed out on.
Wyatt already fell in love with the estate, the town, and the girl.
He’s willing to take over the day-to-day operations if we were to move forward.
” He lifts off his hat, setting it on his thigh as he runs his hand through his gray hair.
“Your pack wants to set down roots here, Kash. You’re already investing in the plot of land your daddy sold all those years ago and bringing it back under the Ford name.
Would it really be so bad to take over the rest of the estate too? ”
Taking another sip of my coffee, I let him stew for a few seconds longer.
“Well? Say something, dammit.”
“Gramps, we’re making the move to Darling. I was gonna tell you that I was ready to officially take over things here, but I didn’t want to ruin your perfect little sales pitch.”
He huffs out a breath. “You little shit. I was fully prepared to bust out the big guns, and here you are just agreein’. Took the fun right out of it.”
My eyebrows raise. “Big guns, huh?”
“Yeah. I was gonna call Rose over.”
I set the mug down a little harder than necessary. I love that woman as much as I’m terrified of her, and his smug grin tells me he knows as much.
“I got an email this morning that our offer on the fifty acres was accepted. Since it’s a cash deal, we can close next week.
Before we left Austin, we had a company come in and start packing up our house since we were already anticipating the move.
Our assistants are working with the new team in place there to ensure the business affairs are handled.
In reality, we’re already official Darling residents.
Which is probably a good thing because, like you said, there’s no way in hell I’ll be able to drag Beck away from this town any time soon.
Wyatt either. They’ve gone all in with Juliette. ”
His fingers drum against his mug as he stares down at the wooden table. “Would it be so bad if?—”
“Don’t even finish that sentence. You know exactly how bad shit would get if I so much as sniffed in her direction.”
His eyes slide up to mine, the wrinkles on his face more pronounced, his hair completely gray but still full.
With his long-sleeve button-down, jeans, a belt buckle the size of a small dinner plate, and boots that are worn from years of hard work, you’d never know this man owns half this town.
He taught me more about how to be a man than Jack ever could, and it pains me that I can’t grant him this one wish.
Of course, I have my own reasons for that aside from a family feud that is older than we are.
I’ve spent years despising the woman I thought Juliette had become.
I’ve said things, done things, that there’s no coming back from.
She’ll never forgive me. Even if I see hints of my ex-best-friend peeking through that well-polished exterior, letting go of the hurt isn’t as easy to swipe under the rug.
No. She broke an integral piece of me, and now I have the tiniest understanding of just how Jack felt when Mia Callahan rejected him.
Doesn’t mean it changes shit as far as he’s concerned, but at least I can understand what that does to a man, let alone an Alpha.
“You don’t find it odd that the one place she still runs to when she’s upset is also the place you two shared?”
“We were kids, Gramps. Kids have secret hideouts. It’s nothin’ special.”
But that’s a lie, and I know it. I’ve been thinking about it more than I’d care to admit since the second our eyes met when she stared down at me from the loft.
It was our place. When either of us had a bad day or needed a moment of peace, it was where we went, knowing the other would find us.
It was our safety net. The fact that she still goes up there… It does something strange to my heart.
He scoffs. “Never thought I’d say this, but you’re an idiot, son.”
My gaze cuts to his. “You keep forgetting she doesn’t want me any more than I want her. She said as much at dinner.”
His brown eyes are full of sympathy. “Your father did more damage than I ever could have anticipated.” He shakes his head.
“What your father failed to realize, all those years ago before this silly feud began, is that he was trying to acquire what someone else already had, rather than going after something that was solely his. Even though I tried to explain that he should find his own place in this life, because the options are literally limitless, he refused to listen.”
“Don’t you have that reversed? Wasn’t it Mason who went after what Jack wanted?”
“No, Kash. Mason had been courting Mia since they were practically in elementary school. He just didn’t make it official until her designation came in. Then your father decided that he wanted her too, claiming that he was more deserving of her despite his best friend’s efforts all those years.”
Dropping back into the chair, I’m stunned speechless. Jack had everyone believing that Mason Callahan came in and stole Mia right out from under him when that apparently wasn’t the case at all.
“I never knew…”
“Of course you didn’t. Jack would never admit to that version of the story, and Mason wasn’t going to waste his effort to dispute all of his false accusations.
He’s a good man, and Mia is a sweetheart.
Why do you think we were so eager to align you and Juliette in the first place?
Do you honestly think I’d have committed you to someone I didn’t deem worthy? ”
“I guess I just always assumed we were pawns in your attempt to reunite the families. I never stopped to think about the logistics.”
“Sure, we’d love to end this feud once and for all, but I’d never do that at the expense of your happiness, and you better be damn sure Rose would never offer Juliette up as a sacrifice either. This isn’t the Middle Ages, after all.”
I release a harsh chuckle. “Doesn’t change the fact that there’s animosity between us now. We’re not even friends. How could there possibly be more?”
“Love is not without risk, Kash, but the rewards are immeasurable.”
When he averts his eyes, a question bubbles up and spews out before I can stop it. “How come you and Rose never got together?”
He barks out a laugh, slapping his hat back on his head. “You know, you’re the only other person brave enough to ask that question.”
“Really? Who was the first?” One eyebrow raises dramatically high, and I snort. “Guess I gotta give her a little more credit.”
“Juliette’s been askin’ for years and we’ve always evaded the question.
I don’t know…” He shrugs, but I see the hint of sadness in his eyes that has his pine scent going harsh.
“Guess we both figured if we ever made things official, it would throw out any hopes we had for the two of you getting together. After all, you’d be family, if not by blood. ”
The breath is knocked out of my lungs. They ignored their happiness for ours, and here we are, throwing it away like their sacrifice means nothing. “Gramps.”
“Don’t go feeling guilty. Rose and I… We’ve led good, happy lives. We’re close, and don’t think I’ll go spilling any details about all that entails because some things a gentleman doesn’t discuss. We didn’t need to legally unite our families to be together. We’ve made it work in other ways.”
Gramps and Rose. Friends with benefits.
Not sure how I feel about that to be honest.
“Does Juliette know about this?”
“That girl’s not blind or dumb, Kash.”
Of course she’s not. Apparently, that’s just me. What else have I missed throughout the years while I let hurt and anger cloud my perception?
“It’s not too late, Kash. You can still make this right.”
He doesn’t need to spell it out. I know exactly what he’s not saying. But he doesn’t know my father as well as I do these days, including just how vindictive he can be. If I give in, I’d be putting Juliette in the crosshairs of that hatred, and that’s just something I refuse to do.
“Maybe we can be friends again.” I take another sip of coffee, trying to ignore the weight of his disappointment from across the table. “That’s all that can ever be between us, Gramps. I’m sorry.”
Setting my mug down, I push my chair back and stand just as there’s a knock at the front door.
“I’ll get it.”
Twisting the knob, I’m struck speechless when I find Charlotte standing there in a frilly little dress with a denim top and cream skirt, her well-worn brown cowboy boots on her feet.
Reminds me a lot of her mama when she was little—cowgirl through and through.
Her long blonde hair is pulled into two pigtails, and her big blue eyes stare up at me while a wide smile spreads across her face.
“Hi, Mr. Kash!”
“Hey, jelly bean. What are you doing here?” I peek out the door, looking for Beck or Juliette but neither are in sight.
“Daddy’s making my mama French toast for breakfast, and I just knew you’d be hungry, Mr. Kash. Please come and eat with us.” She holds out her hand, waiting for me to take it.
A memory of young Juliette grabbing my hand and begging me to go into town with her because she was scared to walk alone plays through my head. That girl wasn’t afraid of anything. Looking back, I’m pretty sure she knew I needed to get out of the house and out of my head.
Like mother, like daughter.
Guess it's no surprise that if this little girl didn’t already have my heart, this gesture would’ve just sealed the deal. ‘Cuz how the hell am I supposed to say no to that?