“We have a contract,” Collins insisted.
“So do we.” Mick’s tone said he was ready to duel with his rival over Elliott like he wasn’t standing right there.
“That’s enough!” Elliott erupted. “First of all, this isn’t a dog show—”
“Wait.” Rebel’s shaky plea got everyone’s attention. “This is my fault. I took in a stray without asking about its health history. I didn’t know he was sick until the symptoms started to surface several days ago.”
Candy laughed for no apparent reason.
Fuck. “Jax,” Elliott ground out, getting the attention of Jax, who was making his way to each dog. “Can you give Candy a personal tour of the grounds?”
Jax’s eyes coasted over Candy. “Absolutely.”
“And stop in to the dining hall. Anything you want is on the house, but our coffee and pastries are to die for,” Elliott said.
“I don’t eat carbs.” Candy looked down her nose at Elliott this time.
Of course she didn’t. “Then the water is on the house.” Elliott couldn’t help but smart off. “We’ll even throw in a lemon wedge.”
“Cool,” Jax said and led her away.
Wow. Elliott returned his attention to the problem at hand.
“You mean to tell me you brought a stray around these highly skilled dogs that my company has invested tens of thousands of dollars in and spent two years training?” Collins said to Rebel.
Rebel chewed the corner of her mouth. “I’m solely responsible. Don’t take it out on the Remington, Mr. Collins.”
Collins shook his head. “I’m sorry, Ms. Tate, but you’re fired.”
What? Wait. “No, she’s not,” Elliott blurted.
The color draining from Rebel’s face made Elliott’s blood boil because of all she was about to lose. Her reputation, the camp, her training facility. Her life’s work.
Collins didn’t back down. “I have no choice. Headquarters will want someone’s head.”
So Collins was going to give them Rebel’s, when he should be handing them his own.
“We’ll compensate you for your time,” Collins said to Rebel. “The amount we agreed upon will be wired to your account by the end of the day.” He turned to Elliott. “Your hospitality director found Ms. Tate. She’ll have to find a new trainer immediately, or I’m pulling the plug on the whole event.”
“We’re a team,” Elliott said. “If Rebel goes, then so does the Rem—”
Rebel’s hand closed around his bicep, quieting him. “The vets and the dogs need to finish the camp. So do you, so you can . . .” She leaned to the side as Candy followed Jax through the garage door, her eyes wandering over Candy’s perfectly put-together appearance. “So we can both move on.” Rebel smoothed a hand over her jacket, then crossed her arms as if to try to hide her work clothes. “Mr. Collins, I know a lot of quality trainers on the West Coast. I’ll be happy to provide a list of names. I’m sure someone can step in right away.”
“Rebel,” Elliott whispered.
She fiddled with the zipper of her hair-coated jacket and shot another wary look at Candy’s back as she disappeared with Jax. “Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Collins. I’m sorry I let you down.” Without another word, she walked out of the garage.
Chapter Twenty-One
#BESTBADIDEAEVER
Rebel managed to hold back the tears until she got to her room. But the second the door closed in her wake, they started to pour.
Rem stayed at her side, whining.
She’d ruined everything. For the veterans, for the service dogs, for the sponsor, for the resort. For herself. But mostly, she’d ruined things for Elliott.
Coming back to the island had to go down in the record book as the best bad idea ever. But reality had hit swift and hard when his boss showed up with a woman who looked like she belonged in Elliott’s world, while Rebel looked like . . . a homeless person.
She dropped her head into her hands and bawled.
What made her the saddest was the fact that she and Elliott had become such a great team, working together so efficiently. In another life, they could’ve made a life together. But the routine they’d settled into on the island wasn’t real. It was temporary.
And it was over, now that she’d been fired and his boss was threatening him with the same fate.
Well, she’d done him a favor ten years ago by disappearing. She’d do him another solid by walking away again so he could go back to the world where he belonged. A world that had nothing to do with clinging dog hair or handicapped strays or sleeping on garage floors.
Rebel sniffed, closing the security latch so Elliott couldn’t get in, even if he used his master key. Pulling herself together, she got her bag out of the closet and started throwing things in haphazardly. When the closet was empty, she went to the dresser and scooped the clothes out in one armful to toss them into the suitcase.
The mechanical lock on the door activated, and she froze. The door clicked open but snagged on the security latch.
“Rebel,” Elliott said through the crack.
She wasn’t going to answer. She just couldn’t.
She dropped the wad of clothes into the suitcase.
“Baby, open up.”
Her head fell forward.
Slowly, she went to the door, pressing her forehead against the cool surface and flattening her hand against it as well. “Go away, Elliott.” Her voice cracked when she spoke his lovely name. “I need to be alone.”
“I’ll sit here in the hallway until you come out. Swear to God, I will.”
Oh, she believed him. If he’d crawl up the side of the building onto her balcony and risk breaking his neck in the process, he’d definitely sit outside her door all day and all night.
She couldn’t face him. Not when she had to sneak away from him all over again.
She backed away from the door all the way to the balcony, threw open the door, and looked over the railing. She could toss her suitcase over and climb down herself, but how would she get Rem safely to the ground?
Think. THINK!
She stepped inside again, leaving the sliding door open, and clamped both splayed hands to her head. Oh my God. She was losing her mind.
She went to the entryway again and tried to steady her voice. “Elliott, go back to the camp and salvage what you can. I’ll talk you through it until a replacement gets here.” She was such a liar. “But right now, I need time to myself.”
The door clicked shut.
Thank God.
She’d give him time to get back over to the garage, then sneak onto the shuttle. She was just thankful it was still early so she wouldn’t miss the last ferry to Cape Celeste, where her car was stored in long-term parking. Then again, even if she did, she could sleep on a bench at the terminal. It was cold out, but at least she’d have a roof over her head, if not walls surrounding her. She’d certainly slept in worse conditions.
She took a seat at the desk and stared at the notepad that had THE REMINGTON inscribed along the top. It took her several minutes and a lot more tears, but she finally popped the top off the pen that matched the resort stationery.
Rem laid his head in her lap.
By the time she folded the paper in half and scribbled Elliott’s name across the front, she’d cried an ocean. She pushed out of the chair and put the note in the center of the bed. The zipper of her suitcase whizzed as she closed it.
Glancing at the clock on the bedside table, she felt sure Elliott was back in the garage trying to sort out the mess she’d created.
Rem barked and ran onto the balcony.
Just as Elliott hoisted himself over the railing.
Both hands flew to her mouth, and she stilled, caught in the act of deserting him. Again.
His jaw shifted when he walked into the room, breathing heavily from the climb.
He took everything in. The suitcase, the empty open drawers.
The note on the bed with his name on it.
�
��Are you fucking kidding me?” Disbelief threaded through his voice. Betrayal etched across his face.
“Elliott.” She couldn’t hide the resignation in her voice. “I love you enough to let you go.”
“Oh, right,” he said on a hollow laugh. “You’re thinking of me again.” He slapped a palm to his forehead. “How stupid of me to miss that. What about Bogart? Did you think about him, or were you going to abandon him too?”
Shame blazed hot in her stomach. In her mind. In every cell of her body.
“You know what? Don’t worry about him. I’ll pick him up from Dr. Shaw’s and take care of him.”
“I’ve fought hard to survive things that no one should have to go through.” She squared her shoulders. “I love you, but I deserve better than being looked down on by someone named Candy. I’ve earned the right not to feel bad about myself anymore, and the professional circles you move in aren’t a good fit for me.” She stiffened her resolve. “I’m also strong enough and smart enough to know when something isn’t going to work. It’s best for both of us if I go, Elliott.” She moved toward him but stopped when he took a step back.
“You are strong and smart. Which is why I can’t wrap my head around your decisions. You have no idea what’s best for me.” He headed to the door, stopping when he was even with her. “You never did.”
She reached out and touched his arm. “Elliott—”
The scorn that flashed hot in his eyes, those beautiful eyes, nearly incinerated her on the spot. He pulled his arm from her touch, glancing at his watch. “Next shuttle leaves in fifteen.” The scorching disdain in his tone finished her off, leaving her heart in a pile of ashes.
Then he was gone.
Chapter Twenty-Two
#YOUKNOWARELATIONSHIPISOVERWHEN
The pain in Elliott’s chest was his own damn fault for trusting the same person who’d ripped his heart out when he was a gullible teenager.
This time he’d handed Rebel the rusty knife.
Scratch that.
He’d handed her the rusty chainsaw. And then he’d turned it on for her so she could run him through.
He found his dad in the family den, finishing up a call to Dr. Shaw.
“He’s on his way.” His dad put down the receiver.
Elliott nodded. “Thanks.” He pulled out a chair at the round table in the corner and angled another so he could face his dad head-on and explain that he wasn’t on the island to stay. Something he should’ve done months ago. “Have a seat, Dad.”
When they were both seated, Elliott leaned forward with his elbows braced against his knees. “Dad, I’m sorry, but I haven’t been honest with you. I didn’t come back home . . .” Elliott stumbled over the word. Because Angel Fire Falls was his home. Even after years of living elsewhere, the island was the only place where he’d felt relaxed and satisfied with life. It had taken Rebel and the comfortable, cozy routine they’d settled into for him to see it, but he loved being back at the resort with his family. “I never intended to stay on the island for good.”
His dad nodded. “I figured as much.”
Elliott’s mind blanked.
Not what he expected his father to say.
Elliott cocked his head to the side. “You did? How? Why?”
His dad scratched his temple thoughtfully. “The packed suitcase at Spence’s and you not moving into a cottage of your own were the first clues you weren’t certain about your future here.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Elliott asked.
“I knew you’d bring it up when you were ready.” His dad gave him a sly smile. “When you never did, I figured I’d take advantage of that brilliant noggin of yours for however long you were around. I might be getting old, but I’m not stupid. I know an opportunity when I see one.” He tapped his temple with a forefinger. “Where do you think you got your brains?”
Elliott chuckled, then sobered. “Dad, I’m sorry. I should’ve spoken up when you decided to transfer ownership to us several months back. It’s just that it meant so much to you to have us all home and running the resort. I never knew how to tell you I was leaving again. I kept waiting for the right time, but I guess I was just chickenshit.”
His dad let a sad smile play at his lips. Then he drew in a deep breath. “I’ve loved every minute you’ve been here, but if you ever do come back to the island permanently, I’d want it to be for the right reasons. Because it’s where you want to be, never because of me. Which brings me to my point. You’re still not being honest. Don’t you think it’s time?”
Elliott fell back against the chair. “What do you mean?”
His dad drummed his fingers against the oak table and studied him. “Why have you stayed so long?”
Elliott stared at the floor. There was no easy way to say it. “The resort was in trouble. I felt I owed it to you and my brothers to pitch in and help breathe life into it again.”
His dad’s unrelenting stare told Elliott he wasn’t getting off the hook so easily.
He drew air into his lungs for courage. “I’d already taken too much from you and from Spence and Trace. I couldn’t have lived with myself if I’d gone back to San Francisco and this place went under.”
His dad waited patiently with an expression that said he knew there was more.
The old guy was pretty damn keen.
Elliott’s heart constricted, and he had to fight for each breath as he spoke. “Mom’s accident was my fault. I guilted her into going out in the boat that day, and I didn’t give her time to go back for a life jacket.” He ran a hand across his forehead, swiping off the sweat beading over his skin. He told his dad everything, pouring out the regret and sorrow over what he’d caused that fateful day in the cove.
When Elliott was done, he laced his fingers and leaned forward again, trying to slow his heaving breaths.
His father’s strong hand closed over Elliott’s shoulder. “Son, in some ways you’re so much like your mother. She was a risk-taker just like you. But you’re also different, because you take the time to think things through. You assess the risk and weigh it against how much you could lose. That’s what makes you so good at your job.”
“I pushed Mom by being defiant. I was going out on the water whether she liked it or not, and she died because of it,” Elliott said.
“You were a child. She was the parent.” His dad squeezed his shoulder. “It was her job to count the cost of the risk that day. It was her responsibility to say no to you, and when you didn’t come ashore, she should’ve called harbor patrol to go after you. Getting in the boat with you without a life jacket was foolish. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t miss her, but I’ve never blamed you for the accident. I’ve never even blamed her, because it was an accident.”
“An accident that was my fault.” Elliott leaned back in his chair again. Memories of his mom splashing into the water to climb into the boat with him came flooding back, thickening his throat so he could barely swallow down the pain.
“Your mother did what she did because she loved you. Don’t let that be for nothing, son.”
Elliott stopped breathing for a second. His mother had loved him enough to follow him, regardless of the risk. He hadn’t done the same for Rebel, letting her go far too quickly because of his wounded ego.
“Stop torturing yourself.” His dad shook his head. “Your mother wouldn’t have wanted that.”
He had been living in torment since the day his mom died. His guilt was the reason he’d escaped to the opposite coast to go to college. It was the reason he’d rarely come home to visit once he started working in San Francisco.
It was the reason he was still running, immersing himself in a job that was slowly draining him of his soul.
“She would’ve wanted you to be happy.” His dad smiled. “She would’ve wanted you to enjoy life and take a risk on love, the way she and I did. Lately, you’ve been the happiest I’ve seen you in years.”
Rebel had been running away most of her
life too. It was what they’d had in common. It was what had bound them together.
It was the reason she’d ditched him. Twice. But she’d done so because she’d been thinking of him.
His reasons for running away weren’t as noble.
He’d been thinking of himself.
And he’d told her to get lost for thinking of him first.
Could he be a bigger idiot?
“I stayed to help the resort.” Elliott took a fleeting look around the room, hovering on each of the watercolor island landscape paintings hanging on the walls. “Spence and Trace have so much more to offer this place. I’m kind of a one-trick pony around here. My business sense is the only tool in my tool belt, and I’ve managed to screw that up royally. The camp isn’t working out.”
His dad chuckled. “Son, this place is on the rise because of you and your savvy business skills. It was your idea to hire Lily.”
True. But still . . .
“You’ve automated our financial management when I was still doing things old-school.”
Yep. But—
“You’ve renegotiated contracts with our suppliers and budgeted our money so we can afford to upgrade the resort inside and out. And we’ve done it debt-free.”
His dad’s chest puffed out. “And I’ve been getting calls from the island’s business owners who are old-timers like me. As the world around us has changed, they’ve been fighting for survival just like I was. They’re damn excited to have a great business mind like yours helping them.”
He lifted both brows. “They’re saying something about an island business coalition that will save money? Sounds brilliant to me. How can you possibly think you don’t have as much to offer the Remington?” His dad frowned. “The resort wouldn’t have survived without you. And now you’re spreading the love to the rest of Angel Fire Falls. No one else I know on this island has had that much to offer.”
Every good business decision Elliott had made for the resort felt like a victory he’d fought and won for his family. He hadn’t spent a lot of time slapping himself on the back for those hard-won victories. He’d still felt like a fraud because of the secrets he’d kept from his dad and brothers.
Dare Me Again Page 25