The waitress, Donna, interrupted them. Her grease-stained apron looked almost as ragged as she did. They ordered their usual bacon cheeseburgers with a side of onion rings. “Have you spoken to Dad?”
“Not yet. That’s probably a good thing, though, ’cause I’m pissed as hell. I’ve given the last eleven years of my life to that place, believing I’d be running it all in the future. It’s our damn legacy. Now Jenna’s pushing him to sell out? How many more purses, cars, and kitchens does that witch need?”
“Hunter, lower your voice.” She glanced over her shoulder to see if any of Jenna’s friends were present. A dumb reflex, because Jenna’s friends wouldn’t eat here.
“I’m serious, Colby. If we sell CTC, you’ll be sitting pretty, with enough money to buy out of the restaurant and go on as you wish. But that business is my future. My kids’ future.” He paused then, as if the significance of those words had slapped him on the cheek. Colby’s heart ached in response to his and Sara’s baby blues. Hunter shook his head to reclaim his train of thought. “I’m not saying Jenna hasn’t been a part of CTC’s growth, but what the hell? Dad always promised me we would run it together. It would be ours.”
Now Sara’s mood the other night made more sense. Hunter had probably been a bear lately, not that she blamed him. Her father had promised him that future. She’d heard it over and over from the age of ten. Hunter had also forgone Wall Street job offers, relying on that promise.
No wonder he was freaking out. All this stress over a rumor, proving the wisdom of her decision to withhold Gentry’s gossip about the reviewer from Alec.
She grabbed her brother’s hands and squeezed them reassuringly. “Dad can’t unilaterally sell it. We all own shares.”
“He’s the tiebreaker.” Hunter pulled his hands away and raked one through his hair. “Thanks to Dad’s estate planner, you, Gentry, Jenna, and I all own a majority of the stock in equal shares, but Dad retains that swing vote.”
“Don’t be so sure that Gentry will vote with Jenna. There’s a lot of animosity there.” Even as she said it, she regretted it. While she had no love lost for Jenna, she didn’t want Gentry to become a pawn in Hunter’s chess match.
“Oh, come on. Gentry would love a big fat check.” Hunter rolled his eyes. “She’s not interested in working there or taking pride in its growth. Trust me, she’ll sell out in a heartbeat.”
“I’ve seen another side to her lately. Underneath all that attitude she’s yearning for a place in this family. If you go to her and honestly tell her what you’ve told me, she might not cash out. Then we can block a sale.”
“So I can count on you to stand with me if it comes to that?” The intensity of his gaze could be so unnerving she’d hate to be on the opposing side.
“Of course. I know how important this is to you. I don’t want to work there, but maybe someday my future kids would want to.” She managed to smile, even as the very notion of her future kids sort of rocked her. “You can count on me.”
“Even if it means going up against Dad?” He cocked his head, assessing her ability to stomach conflict so keenly it might as well have been a strip search.
“Yes.” She’d never not back Hunter, the one and only member of her family who’d never abandoned, manipulated, or disappointed her. They might not always see eye to eye, but he always had her back.
“Thanks.” Hunter sighed and stretched deeper into the booth, loosening his collar before sucking down some ginger ale. “So how’s this foundation going? I couldn’t believe you involved Mom.”
“It’s only been ten days, but so far, so good.” Colby knocked on the wood frame of the booth. “Mom and Mrs. Morgan have already received auction donations from several local retailers. Gentry’s on top of outreach. Alec planned a nice menu. Sara has everything set up on QuickBooks. And I’m sending out the invitations.”
“Mom and Gentry.” Hunter shook his head. “I can’t imagine either of them carrying their weight.”
“I don’t know about Mom, because Mrs. Morgan would never speak ill of her, but Gentry might surprise you. She’s actually pretty good at this PR stuff. She lives on social media, and she’s funny and fresh. Honestly, I think she’s got a ton of potential, if she could lose the chip on her shoulder.”
“What’s the deal with that? Who has an easier life than her?” He bugged his eyes. “I don’t get all the anger.”
“I know you think Mom is clingy, but at least she was present for big and small milestones, and took us on fun adventures. Gentry had nannies. Maybe Gentry envied our ‘normal’ life.”
“In high school, my summers were spent working at CTC. Hers consisted of pool parties and shopping sprees.” He grimaced. “I doubt she’s envious.”
“We had each other, but she was more or less an only child over there. I think she’s jealous of our relationship.” She forced Hunter to acknowledge her point. “You and I need to do better by our sister. I worry that her life could run off track. We need to keep her busy and involved.”
For the second time, he stared at her, his brain working overtime.
“Colby.” He sighed. “I know no matter how often I say otherwise, you’ll always feel like you failed Mark. But you can’t save people. People have to save themselves. Mark, Gentry, whomever. Don’t run yourself ragged trying to prevent people from making bad choices.”
Hunter’s words bothered her, but before she could respond, their burgers came. The mammoth sandwich and heaping pile of breaded onion rings almost made her troubles disappear. Alec’s food may be beautiful and complex, but for Colby, little could beat diner food. Her mouth watered in anticipation of that first bite.
As if reading her mind, Hunter snickered. “I know. Alec and Sara would be horrified, but this is the bomb.”
Now that they’d moved away from discussing the CTC situation, Colby decided to probe about Sara.
“So tell me, how can I help with Sara?”
“I don’t know. I get that she’s thirty-four and getting nervous about the kid thing, but it’s become an obsession. Her quitting work has only made it worse, as I’d predicted. She was insistent that less stress would make getting pregnant easier, but she’s only become more stressed, and more needy. She forgets how tiring the workday can be. My only downtime now is my morning bike ride. She’s bored at home and needs stuff from me that she never needed before. If she doesn’t get pregnant with the next IVF round, I don’t know what she’ll do.” He frowned and bit into his burger. He didn’t sound angry, just confused, depressed, and maybe a little powerless. That probably bothered him most of all, because one thing Hunter had never been in his entire life was powerless.
“I’m sorry.”
“We’re waiting another month to start the shots, then it’ll be a few weeks until harvest and implantation. I hope it works. I really do. I hate seeing her depressed, but with this new threat at work, I don’t have time to hand-hold.”
“Well, when it comes time for shots and the posttransfer bed rest, ask Mom to help.”