Chris flipped through the pages.
“He means by leaving before the contracts expired on any of the investments we brought in. He’s claiming by not staying, we breached several contracts. Which is ridiculous since he could buy or sell whatever he wanted without giving us notice.”
Wes’s shoulders tightened like an overwound spring. “What does he want? What’s his endgame?”
Leonard sighed, steepled his fingers under his chin. “In some ways, I think this is his attempt to hang on to whatever sort of relationship with the three of you he can. Even if it’s volatile.” Leonard had taken the time to learn everything he could about their father. Between what the brothers had shared and people he had spoken to, he knew more than enough to want to be in their corner.
“I don’t think so.” Noah scoffed, pushed back from the table, heading to the side bar where he poured some water.
“You don’t want this fight,” Leonard said.
Chris looked up. “He has an endgame proposal, doesn’t he?”
Wes sat up straighter, knowing the answer from the look on their lawyer’s face.
“He’s to be married at the end of July. He wants all of you there.”
Noah slammed the glass down. “Who does this? Who manipulates their children like this?”
Wes didn’t know what to say in response to that. Noah started to speak—if Wes had to guess, he’d say his brother was about to use a lot of unfriendly words. Chris sank back in his chair. Wes hated knowing his father still had the power to hurt them. He felt like he’d worked his whole life to protect them, shield them from this kind of manipulation. This had to end.
“I’ll talk to him,” Wes said.
“I’d advise against that unless I’m present,” Leonard said.
“You’re not taking the brunt of his bullshit.” Chris’s expression was hard. Only their father brought that out in his brothers.
“We can’t keep fighting like this. I’ll be the go-between. We need to end this. It’s pulling us away from the things we really want. Let’s focus on that.”
Noah walked over, stood by Wes’s chair. “You don’t agree to anything on our behalf. You don’t agree to take one for this team. He doesn’t get his way. On anything.”
Wes nodded. He’d do whatever was necessary to keep their father from wrecking everything they’d built. “Sit down, Noah. I’ve got this. Let’s talk about the Mayville Street Shops.”
The conversation shifted, moved through the tension talk of their father always brought. His brothers told him they’d face their father as a united front but Wes wanted to finish it for them. He owed them. As their older brother and for going around them on his most recent investment. Guilt tugged at his conscience, but he told himself they’d have done the same. Doing the right thing didn’t always mean it was right for everyone.
* * *
Hailey greeted him in the back of her shop. She was dressed casually in a pair of cropped pants and a pretty tank top, and her hair was pulled into a ponytail. He didn’t love the way his heart actually jumped toward her every time but he was getting used to it. It was easier to acknowledge it, accept it, than worry about it.
“Hey.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissed him. He had to admit, he wouldn’t have thought the chemistry between them would remain so … charged.
“Everything good?” He kissed her back then opened the door to his truck for her to slide in.
She nodded, waiting until he joined her in the vehicle. She’d been doing some inventory and ordering. He knew she’d lost a couple lunch contracts, which had upset her, but the rush of spring breakers through March had kept her busy enough to refocus.
When he pulled into the traffic, heading toward her cousin’s, he felt her gaze.
“Guess what?”
He smiled over at her. “Like really guess or are you just starting your story that way?”
She laughed. “You’re so literal. I’ll just tell you. We have a meeting tomorrow morning before any of the shops open. We received an email from a new owner. We’ve been bought and—” She paused.
When he stopped at a light, he looked over. Her smile was enough to flip everything inside him upside down and shift it back into place. “And?”
“The rent is being dropped. Not only that, the new owner—a Genevieve Montroe—is willing to put a rent freeze on for two years for any shop willing to commit to contributing to a community lunch or breakfast program.”
Wes’s heart squeezed painfully tight, stealing his breath. “That’s amazing. On all accounts.”
Staying hyperfocused on the road, he clenched his fingers on the wheel as he listened to her excitedly explain some of the ideas she had for how to help and contribute.
“I know you and your brothers decided not to invest but maybe it’s for the best.”
He nodded. “Things sometimes work out as they should.”
Hailey’s hand came to his neck, her fingers playing at the base of his skull. Just like that, with a simple touch, his fingers relaxed.
“Sometimes they absolutely do.”
Her cousin lived on the outskirts of San Verde in a beautiful residential neighborhood with wide tree-lined streets. It looked like the kind of place neighbors held block parties, where kids grew up together. The house itself was two stories with a detached garage and a large yard. White with gray trim, it was a quintessential family home.
Growing up, Wes and his brothers used to be able to hide for hours from his parents because their house was obnoxiously large. Despite being full of fine art and Italian furnishings, it felt empty. He’d always preferred his grandparents’ brownstone. After the divorce, his mother had bought a similar one. They spent a lot of time there and Wes could remember being … happy. Without all the arguing, a weight had lifted from his young shoulders. But as the boys got busier in their teen years, his mother started to travel. He wished they’d held on to that time a little longer.
“This is it. Piper and Nick are awesome. They’re really excited to meet you,” Hailey said.
“I hope I pass,” he said. They got out and he came around to the passenger side to take her hand. In his other, he had the bottle of vintage wine he’d purchased from a local collector.
Hailey gestured to it. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“You wouldn’t show up at my family’s place with nothing.”
She stepped into him. Just breathing in the scent of her hair and her calmed the storm inside of him. He was tying himself up in knots over some of his recent choices but when she was close to him like this, everything quieted. He liked it. He was happy.
“I’m really glad you’re here. Have you met a girlfriend’s family before?”
He shook his head, laughing. “Not since my prom. Hopefully, Nick won’t give me the evil eye and a lecture about his gun collection.”
She nudged his hip, letting them into the house. “We’re here,” she called out. She turned to him, whispered, “Nick doesn’t have a gun collection.”
Children’s voices rang out along with the sound of feet running overhead. When Nick and Piper appeared in the hallway together, Wes did his best to not appear nervous.
“Yay! I’m so glad you’re here,” Piper said, pulling Hailey into a hug.
Wes shook Nick’s hand, passed over the wine. Piper hugged him like they were long-lost friends. The kids, Jason, Alyssa, and Cassie, were bundles of energy that talked from the second they saw Hailey and Wes. Jason took Wes’s hand while the girls took Hailey’s, leading them through the house to the backyard. Wes missed Nick’s comment on the wine as Jason explained how he was learning to dive in the deep end of the pool, but he saw the man’s appreciative expression.
Piper laughed at something Nick said. “We should leave them and go drink that wine,” Piper said, loudly enough for them to hear.
Wes’s gaze zipped to Hailey’s. Hers was sparkling with amusement. “She’s joking. Mostly.”
It was easy to settle into conversation. Nick was an investment banker and Wes was excited to talk to him about the newest project he and his brothers were putting together.
“It makes me happy to see people of your wealth and status give back,” Piper said.
Wes did his best not to blush. Their grandparents had instilled the importance of giving back. It had resonated with everyone in the family except their father. “I think a lot of people in my position do the same.”
“A lot of them don’t,” Piper said.