Chapter 25
Adrienne
Axel’s leaning against the hood of his truck when I find him behind the brewery, phone to his ear, laughing like he hasn’t set my entire life on fire.
I cross the gravel lot so fast my heels grind sharp against the stones. “You done?”
He glances over, still talking. “Yeah, man, I’ll call you later—”
“Now, Axel.”
He ends the call, sighs, and shoves his phone in his pocket. “What the hell is your deal? That was rude.”
“Don’t.” I jab a finger at his chest before he can even smirk. “Do not stand there and act clueless when you know damn well what you did.”
He blinks, playing innocent. “You’re gonna have to narrow it down, sis. I do a lot of things worth yelling about.”
My jaw tightens. “You told Scotty.” His smirk falters. “Don’t even try to deny it,” I snap. “You ran your mouth about L.A., about me turning down the job, before I even had the chance to talk to him. Hell, before I even told Celeste.”
“You weren’t gonna tell him at all, were you?”
“That’s not the point.”
“Sure sounds like it is. If you’re serious about him, he deserves to know.”
I laugh, but it comes out sharp. “Oh, so now you’re the relationship expert? Of course, I was going to tell him. Do you think I’m a heartless asshole? But you went and got involved, making shit way more complicated than it needs to be!”
“Honestly Adrienne, I thought you were taking the job. It’s all you talked about growing up, moving to L.A. like Aunt Celeste did.” He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “And now all of a sudden you’re in dicksand and throwing away this opportunity.”
“Don’t you dare,” I bite out, chest heaving. “Don’t belittle what I have with him.”
His eyes narrow. “You really that gone for him?”
“Gone? Axel, I was trying to process everything. I was still figuring out what I wanted. And you—” I jab his chest again, harder this time. “—decided to play big brother and blow up my business before I could even think.”
He exhales, frustrated. “You’ve been moping for weeks, Adrienne. It’s not hard to see what’s going on. The guy’s under your skin. But the rest of us aren’t blind to what happens when you get caught up in a feeling. You lose yourself.”
“Lose myself?” I choke out a bitter laugh. “God, you really think so little of me.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“It’s exactly what you said. You think I can’t make a decision without a man’s name attached to it. Well, here’s the truth, Axel, I turned down L.A. because it wasn’t what I wanted. Not because of Scotty. Not because of anyone but me.”
He opens his mouth, but I cut him off. “You think I don’t know what that job means?
The hours, the pressure, the miles between me and this town?
I know. I’ve lived it before. I chose differently this time, and nobody can seem to accept it because it’s not what I’d normally do.
Well, what I’d normally do has left me unhappy, unfulfilled, and heartbroken time and time again. ”
“Adrienne—”
“No.” My voice cracks. “You had no right. You made me look reckless to him, like I was making decisions for us instead of for me. Do you know how humiliating that is?” Guilt flickers across his face, but it’s too late.
“Your little plan to push him away didn’t work,” I say quietly.
“Because he’s still here. And so am I. So stop meddling. ”
Axel steps closer, lowering his voice. “I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I just—”
“Wanted to protect me,” I finish for him. “Yeah. I’ve heard that one before.” I can see the words he wants to say forming on his tongue, but I’m done. “You don’t need to protect me from Scotty,” I whisper. “You need to trust me to know my own damn heart.”
He reaches for my arm, but I step back. “Adrienne—”
“Don’t.” My throat tightens as I spin on my heel. “Just… stay out of it.”
The scent of roast beef and garlic hits me the second I step into my parents’ house. Normally, it’s comforting, but tonight, after the way things ended between Axel and me earlier, it tightens my chest with anxiety.
Mom’s voice carries from the kitchen. “Sweetheart! You’re just in time.”
I force a smile and hang my purse on the hook. “Smells amazing.”
My dad looks up from carving the roast, brows lifting. “Rough day?”
“You could say that,” I mutter, taking my usual seat at the counter. There’s already a glass of red in my spot, waiting for me.
“Your brothers?” Dad asks, sliding a slice of roast onto my plate.
“Just one of them,” I say, stabbing a potato like it’s my brother’s face.
Mom glances between us, frowning. “You two fight again?”
I take a sip of wine, hoping it can release even a fraction of the tension in my shoulders. “Something like that.”
Dad settles across from me, the overhead light catching the streaks of gray in his hair. “You know, the three of you used to be inseparable. Now I swear you’re more likely to bite each other’s heads off than talk.”
“That’s because they can’t seem to stay out of my business,” I say quietly.
Mom chuckles softly. “Well, that’s family for you and especially with you being the only girl.”
For a few blessed minutes, the only sound is silverware on plates as Mom finishes dressing everyone’s plates. But then, dad clears his throat, and I can already tell it’s about to be some more bullshit.
“So, speaking of your brother, I heard from one of them that you turned down that offer in L.A.”
My fork stills mid-air. Of course he did. Of course he ran his stupid mouth to my parents even after I bit his head off earlier about gossiping about me.
I inhale slowly, set it down with a sarcastic smile. “He really can’t help himself, can he?”
Dad tilts his head. “So it’s true?”
“Yeah,” I say, exhaling. “It’s true.”
He nods once, setting his knife down like a gavel. “Mind telling us why?”
And here it comes… dad’s lecture on why I need to be the best. On why, as a woman, I have to work twice as hard to prove myself in this world. Like I don’t already know this stuff, like I haven’t been living it for the last twenty-nine years.
“I realized it wasn’t what I wanted,” I say, keeping my voice even. “I thought it was, for a long time. It’s what I worked toward. What everyone expected. But when I pictured my life there, I didn’t see myself in it anymore.”
Mom’s expression softens instantly. “Adrienne…”
“I was chasing something that looked good on paper,” I continue, eyes on my plate. “But that version of me, the one who needed to prove she could hang with the big-city firms, live the high-stress, fast paced city life, she’s not who I am anymore.”
Mom’s hand covers mine, warm and steady, like it always has. “Honey, I’m incredibly proud of you. No matter where you work or live, you’ve already made us proud. The most important thing to your father and me is that you’re happy.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Dad stays quiet, which is somehow worse. I glance up at him. “Go ahead. Say whatever you’re thinking.”
He leans back in his chair, studying me. “You always had that spark,” he says finally. “The drive to get out, do more. So forgive me for wondering what changed.”
Before I can answer, the front door opens and slams shut. “Sorry, I’m late!”
Axel’s voice. I close my eyes. “Perfect.”
He strides in, jacket half off, with a huge grin on his face until he looks at me, then at Dad. “Oh wow. Am I interrupting something?”
Dad’s brow furrows. “Your sister was just explaining why she turned down L.A.”
“Oh, she told you?” Axel grins, taking the empty seat beside me. “Good, saves me the trouble.”
“You told him,” I snap.
He shrugs, reaching for the mashed potatoes. “Same thing.”
“No, not the same thing, Axel. That was my news to share.”
“Sweetheart,” Mom warns gently, but I’m past gentle.
My dad's eyes narrow. “This better not have anything to do with that boy from the garage.”
“That boy?” I scoff, tossing my napkins onto the table in a dramatic fashion.
“He’s not a boy,” I shoot back before I can stop myself.
“He’s a man. And I’m tired of everyone treating me like I’m making some terrible mistake because I’m not chasing the same dream I had at twenty-two.
I’m twenty-nine goddamn years old, so I think I can make my own choices, thank you. ”
Axel exhales dramatically. “Here we go.”
I turn on him, fury flashing. “Don’t start with me dickbreath! You’ve said enough for one day.”
“Adrienne,” Dad says sharply, but I keep going, voice trembling now.
“I know what I want, Dad. It’s a life here. With him. And with this family. But if you can’t accept that, then maybe it’ll just be me and Scotty. I love him and he loves me and none of you can do shit about that.”
The words hang in the air, heavier than any argument we’ve had before.
Mom’s hand flies to her chest. Dad leans back, stunned. Axel mutters, “Well, damn.”
“Enough!” Mom’s voice cuts through all of it. She never yells, but when she does, the entire house freezes. We all go still. Her gaze softens after a beat. “Adrienne, honey… maybe get some air.”
My throat tightens. “Yeah. I think that’s a good idea.” I stand, grabbing my glass of wine.
As I pass Axel, he whispers, “Are you on your period?”
I shoot him a glare sharp enough to slice through bone and walk out the back door. Usually, a stupid comment like that from him would break the tension between us, send me into a fit of laughter that ends with both of us apologize to each other. That’s how we’ve always been. But not tonight.
I grip the railing, breathing hard, eyes on the distant line of the mountains. Somewhere inside, my family keeps talking, their voices rising and falling like static, but I stop listening. For once, I said exactly what I meant. And I meant every word.
The screen door clicks open. Mom steps out, carrying her own glass of wine.
She doesn’t say anything at first, just eases onto the swing beside me.
For a long moment, we rock in silence. Finally, she murmurs, “You know your father. He wants the world for you, but he doesn’t know when to rein it in and let you make your own choices. ”
“I know that, Mom, I do, really, but he has to learn that I’m not that little girl anymore.
I understand why he pushed me harder than the boys.
I get it. I lived it in college, I saw the way men looked at me as a law student, and then as an intern, and then when I started working my way up.
Why does he think that after all of that, after the way he raised me, that I can’t be trusted to make my own decisions? ”
She sighs, her shoulders dropping as she reaches a hand out to rest on my knee. “Sweetheart, he knows that you can make those decisions; he’s just scared. He’s your dad; it’s hard for him not to see you as his little girl. Trust me, he wants what’s best for you. He wants you to be happy.”
I let out a sharp laugh that doesn’t feel like one. “Yeah, well, apparently love and happiness don’t make the cut.”
“I love the passion and fire that’s inside of you, that comes from your dad. He recognized himself inside you a long time ago.” Her hand slides over mine, grounding me. “I saw the way you looked when you told him no. Adrienne, I’m proud of you.”
My throat tightens, the sting behind my eyes growing hotter. “Even if that choice doesn’t come with a fancy title or an L.A. zip code?”
“Especially then.” She squeezes my hand, her voice firm but soft. “You’ve worked hard. You’ve earned every bit of respect you already have. You don’t need to prove yourself to anyone. Not even your father.”
I press my lips together, fighting the ache in my chest. “It’s just… every time he looks at me, I feel like I’m disappointing him. Like I’m settling. But he doesn’t look at the boys the same way.”
She tilts her head, studying me with those mom eyes, the ones that always saw right through me when I was a kid. “Are you settling, Adrienne? Or are you finally choosing something because it makes you happy, not because it makes sense on paper?”
The locket at my throat feels heavier, like it’s pulsing with my heartbeat.
My mouth goes dry, but I manage a whisper.
“I’m happy, Mom. For the first time in a long time…
I’m happy. I know it’s sudden, and I know it’s a crazy change from the dreams I always had about leaving here and running some huge firm in L.A. ”
She smiles, brushing a curl from my cheek. “Then that’s enough. The rest will catch up in time. Even your father.”
I exhale shakily, leaning into her touch. I know I still have to face my brother and dad, and I probably owe them an apology at some point for the way I lashed out. But for now, I snuggle closer to my mom, letting her warmth seep into the cracks Dad and Axel left raw.