I laughed bitterly. How naïve could I be?
I rolled into a ball, feeling empty and drained. I didn’t know where my tears had gone. My eyes were dry. They were no doubt waiting for the next disastrous thing to happen before they fell again.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Owen
There was nothing like having everything blow up in your face to make you feel like hell. I couldn’t believe I’d had a fight with Richard Stevenson. A full-on, vicious physical fight.
I’d interfered in his business where I hadn’t belonged. Carla agreeing to work with me shouldn’t have been enough for me. I should have included her brother. I’d convinced myself that it was Carla’s prerogative if she wanted to tell him about what we were doing, but considering their joint ownership of the mill, I realized that line of thought was overly simplified.
There were more people involved in this than Carla and me. I’d been selfish to pretend otherwise. And yet, some part of me thought if Rich had let me explain what was going on, he might have been on board. But even that was shortsighted.
I had no idea how much he and Carla had been struggling all year. For me, the next few days would drag on and on. An endless cycle that wouldn’t stop, but it wasn’t the end of the world if things didn’t work out for me. For them, the next few days would be a difficult, heartbreaking, personal march toward the finale of a long, drawn-out financial battle. The life or death of a dream.
My outlook and theirs were different, and I was stupid to have ignored that. I’d been far too caught up in the exhibit and what it meant for my project. I wasn’t wrong to do so, but I was wrong to have involved Carla.
If only I’d met her three years ago instead of three weeks ago. If only she hadn’t been involved with the mill. If Carla had been free to help me out under those circumstances, then …
There was no point in thinking about what-ifs. Things weren’t different, and that was the point. That was why everything that had happened, had happened, and I couldn’t do anything about it.
Nobody had done anything wrong, and nobody could change their current circumstances. There was no good or bad guy in this situation. And that might be the biggest lie of all. I’d been a bad guy to Ruthie, and to John Reilly for causing a scene in his bar. More importantly I’d been a bad guy to Carla when I changed her priorities to mine. At least I could try to make amends with them, starting with Ruthie and John.
That was how I found myself hesitating in front of the door to Reilly’s, wondering what to say. I checked my cell phone out of sheer procrastination. I had three missed calls from Carla, two from late last night, and one this morning. My stomach clenched painfully when her name appeared. She thought the worst of me. A simple explanation wouldn’t do, she deserved more, but more was something I was incapable of giving today. I couldn’t reach out to her until the fate of my project and her mill was decided.
I entered Reilly’s as a distraction from my thoughts. Considering I’d been procrastinating from going in only a minute ago made it ironic.
John and Ruthie scowled at me when I entered. It was still early, there were no customers yet, and they were busy restocking.
“Are you going to make a scene so early in the morning, Owen?” John asked.
I looked up at the quote on the chalkboard. Why was it that the perfect quote always seemed to be there? This was a Shakespeare quote. Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.
“I just … came here to apologize. You know I’m not one for making a scene.”
“Of course not,” Ruthie grumbled, clearly referring to our disastrous date at Rizzoli’s Italian Eatery.
I shoved my hands into my pockets and lowered my head. “I didn’t mean to cause a problem. Ban me if you want, John, but don’t kick my brothers out again. They might kill me.”
“It’s always about your brothers. Don’t you think about anyone else?” Ruthie complained.
John sighed, but he was smiling. “I know this isn’t usual behavior for you. Nobody’s banned. Hell, I’d go bankrupt if I kept you guys away long term. But don’t bring your drama into the bar anymore, okay?”
I nodded. “Sounds good. Thank you. And Ruthie …”
She held up a hand. “Don’t bother me.”
I signaled over to one of the window booths. “Can I talk to you for a moment in private, please?”
Curiosity got the better of her because, after a moment’s hesitation, she followed me to the booth and took a seat.
“Ruthie, I’m so sorry,” I began. “I treated you terribly.”
“Damn right you did. Did it take you this long to work that out?”
“I just … I don’t know. It was the way I was.”
She gave me a look of disbelief. “But not now?”
“No. Not now.”
“Are you with Rich’s sister? What’s her name—Kathy?”
“Carla. And no … I don’t think so. Not anymore.” My heart seemed to shatter with that confession. The truth was my heart was all in with Carla, but after the call, would she feel the same?
Ruthie frowned at me. “You’ve screwed it up already. How stupid are you?”
“Stupid enough to have pissed you off. I shouldn't have gone on a date with you when I wasn’t interested. That was wrong of me. I’m sorry.”
She looked away. “That’s okay. I get it.” She glanced at me. “You were never interested, but I thought I could change your mind. Hell, do you even know my last name?”
“I—what?” I searched around wildly for the answer as if it was printed on the walls.
“It’s McCall. Maybe pay more attention to people in the future even if they don’t immediately serve your interests, okay?”
I thought of Carla. I’d been so quick to get her on board for my project because she was the answer to all my problems. Then we muddied everything up by getting intimate. It hadn’t been fair of me to do that. I was a selfish bastard. What a mess.
I smiled at Ruthie. “Any other helpful tips on how to be a good human being?”
“I think you may have worked the other stuff out, but make up with this Carla woman because Lord knows there’s nobody else in Frazier Falls who will put up with you.”
“I didn’t realize how awful you could be,” I teased, amusedly despite myself. “Have you ever considered dating my brother, Eli?”
“Ugh, don’t even go there. I’m done with the Coopers. You’re all trouble.”
“I guess that’s what any sane person would do. So, are we friends?”
Ruthie shook her head. “No, but maybe at one point we can be. For now, you’ll have to be content with a waitress who hates you less than she did yesterday.”
“I guess I can live with that. Thank you, Ruthie McCall.”
“No problem. Now get the hell out of here so I can finish stocking the bar.”
I left Reilly’s feeling lighter than I had going in, but it was still a tiny dent in my overall feeling of misery.
I made my way back to my truck deep in thought. I hadn’t told my brothers anything after my fight with Rich, leaving them to work things out for themselves. They would have seen an overprotective brother calling a known player in the town an unnecessary distraction for his sister. It was an entirely plausible explanation. When I’d rushed out of the bar to head home alone, none of them had questioned me.
Eli called a couple times, and Pax had sent me a text. It came in the format of a photo of someone with a black eye, but I hadn’t responded to any of them. They hadn't gotten my leave me alone message.
When my phone rang once more, I had no idea who to expect. I glanced down, gut clenched in anticipation in case it was Carla, then almost dropped my phone when I recognized the name.
“Wes?” I asked when I answered the call, more a question than a statement of fact. “Is that you?”
“Unless someone else has the same number, then yes, Owen, it’s Wes.”
“How are you? I haven’t heard from you and Lydia in months.”
Wes and Lydia Covington lived in Aspen Cove, a small town about an hour from Frazier Falls. I hadn’t seen them in person since my brothers and I finished the Guild Creative Center there.
“Not for lack of trying. You must be busy.”
“Maybe a little.”
“You’re planning a presentation for the Innovative Building Exhibit tomorrow, right?”
My heart thudded and tumbled to my stomach. “How do you know about that?”
“Lydia and I had already planned to go, but once your name showed up, we knew for sure we couldn’t miss it. I’m looking forward to hearing all about the stuff you’ve been working on.”
“Oh, no pressure whatsoever.” I laughed, though the sound was choked.
“Are you okay?”
“Just nervous. Look, I have to head out soon if I’m going to get to the exhibit on time. Why don’t we catch up tomorrow when it’s all over?”
“Sure thing. Lydia sends her best.”
“And me to her. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
And with that, I hung up the phone, silently cursing my luck.
If I was going to fail, I’d have preferred to do it without an audience. If Wes and Lydia watched me crash and burn, I’d never be able to look at the two of them again. He was a peer, and I valued his opinion of me and my work.
How was it that things kept going from bad to worse?
A cold sweat made my skin clammy. I closed my eyes, pressing against my chest until my heart calmed down. I let out a long, slow breath.
“You can do this. You can do this. You can do this for you. You can do it for Carla. You can do this.”
Those words rang hollow in my ears.
Something told me I couldn’t, but one way or another, I’d have to try.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Carla
When I threw myself into bed the night before, I’d wondered where my tears had gone. My entire body was gutted like I’d been drawn and quartered, and the only thing left was my heart, which emotions gripped like an iron fist.
I’d spent much of the day crying and staring at nothing in equal measure.
I didn’t know what to do, and I had no one to turn to. It was pitiful that I was curled up on the floor in my bedroom weeping. I was thirty-two and an adult. I thought I had my shit together. I was wrong.
I wailed louder in response. Certain my head would suffer for it later, but unable to stop the crying. Between my jagged sobs, the stairs squeaked. I froze in my position on the floor. Someone was coming. Had Mr. Smith tracked me down to deal the final blow? I scrambled into the corner clutching at anything I could use as a weapon, but the only thing within arm’s reach was a worn-out Teddy bear from my childhood. While it was handy, there was no way Mr. Cuddles could do much harm.
When my bedroom door opened and Rich walked in, he didn’t say a thing. Instead, he rushed over, picked me up in his arms, crushing me against his chest before carrying me to my bed.
“I’m so sorry, Carl. I shouldn’t have left. I thought I needed time and space, but really what I needed was a swift kick in the ass. I’m such a dick.”
I tried to speak but found I couldn’t. My throat was full, and my voice cracked from disuse. When I looked up at him, he had heavy shadows under his red, tired eyes. His more than five o’clock scruff proved he hadn’t shaved in days. Even his hair was shaggy and unkempt.
“You look like shit,” I croaked out.
He chuckled. “So do you. What’s wrong? What happened?”
I pushed away from his chest so I could sit up. Leaning against my bed for support, I thought about everything that was wrong. There was too much to name.
I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, but fresh tears replaced the ones I’d cleared. “Everything. Everything happened. Everything went wrong. I tried to fix our problems and instead made them worse.”
Rich hesitated for a second. “Does Owen Cooper have anything to do with you being in this state?”
My eyes went wide. “How do you know about me and him?”
“We may have had an … altercation in Reilly’s last night.”
I sat up straight. “What did you say to him?”
Rich tried to back away, but I grabbed hold of him.
“I told him to leave you alone until everything was sorted with the Frost Corporation. He was a distraction you didn’t need.”
“That isn’t your call to make.” I let out a growl that would scare a grizzly. “Do you … do you even know what you’ve done?”
“What do you mean?” he asked, a little unsure. “I may have come across as rough with him, but it was only because I wanted him to stop diverting your attention from the mill for a few days.”
I hugged Mr. Cuddles more tightly. It was the only thing keeping me from slugging my brother. “How do you not see that’s wrong?” I cried, furious at his interference. “You left. Who are you to tell me to concentrate on the mill when you abandoned the task yourself?”
He hung his head. “I know. I shouldn’t have done it, but you left that message about not giving up. I was drunk and so damn tired of it all. That’s no excuse, but it’s all I’ve got.”
“I can’t believe it. At least now everything makes sense.” Relief washed over me. Owen wasn’t setting me aside. He hadn’t abandoned me. He was respecting my brother’s wishes. I wasn’t sure if I loved or loathed that action.
Rich crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you mean?”
“Owen told me not to go with him to his exhibit. I was supposed to be making the speech for his presentation.” It broke me that he didn’t want me to go. What a big damn lie. He still needed me, and probably wanted me, and that revelation was the healing balm to my bruised heart.
“Why the hell would you do that? That sounds like a disruption you don’t need right now.”
“That’s what I’d been convinced of after Owen called me last night, but you know what?” I stood and tried to shake out the tears still left inside me. “Thinking like that was stupid. Owen will pitch his Green House Project at this massive exhibit, but he’s terrible at public speaking. One way or another, I willingly agreed to do the talking.” I rose and paced the floor in front of him. “The project is amazing, and you should see the model homes.”
“Why are you telling me all this? I already feel bad for punching the guy.”
“You what?” I stopped dead and stared at my brother as if he were a stranger. “Why the hell would you do that?” I groaned, not sure whether to slug him in retaliation.
He shrugged. “I was angry. At the end of my rope. You were holding on to everything. Digging in to the last minute. And Owen was … conveniently there.”
“I never knew you could be such a bastard.” I started pacing again.
“You still haven’t answered my question.”
I threw him a nasty look. “I told you I wasn’t giving up. If Owen gets the investors for his project, then it saves us, too. It saves the mill.”
“What?”
“We’d be the primary supplier for the lumber he’d need for the different builds. It’s substantial, and frankly, all we would need to keep the mill running. Even if we sold it off or shut it down, at least it would be our choice rather than the Frost Corporation backing us into a corner with an offer they know we can’t ignore. We wouldn’t have to deal with that slimeball of a man who can rot in hell for all I—”
“Woah, slow down. I know Mr. Smith was … pushy and annoying with his constant calls, but it’s a bit much to curse him to hell.”
Did I dare tell him? Did I dare not?
“He tried to strong-arm me,” I admitted in a small voice. I hadn’t planned to tell anyone about it, but after looking at him, I realized secrecy wasn’t the right call. He needed to know.
His face went pale as he stood up. “He … what? What did he do?”
“He threatened me. Told me he wasn’t leaving without a signed contract. He tried to intimidate me.”
&
nbsp; “Intimidate how?” His voice took on a deadly tone.
“He didn’t get far.” I held up my hand and showed him the bruise. “This is all that happened before Devon walked in. Smith ran off after that.”
“What the hell?” His yell filled the room. “Are you okay? How did that happen?”
“He was mad you weren’t here. Upset that I wasn’t falling in line,” I murmured. “He didn’t like us taking so long to respond to the offer because the longer we took, the longer he’d go without a paycheck. Maybe it was divine punishment for shirking my responsibilities.”
“Don’t you dare suggest that you idiot,” He pulled me against his chest again, stroking my hair and squeezing me too hard. “He … for Christ’s sake, we need to call the police. He hurt you.”
I shook my head against his chest. “What would that achieve? It wouldn’t solve anything.”
“It’d get the son of a bitch fired and arrested at the very least.”
“We can consider it after we’ve decided what to do about the offer.”
This close, I could feel him struggling to control his anger, his breathing coming hard and fast. The heat of his fury rose off his skin. I pushed away.
“I’m okay. Nothing ended up happening. He threatened me. He grabbed my wrist. That’s all.”
“That was enough. What if Devon hadn’t been there?” Rich said through clenched teeth. He yanked out his cell phone and punched in a number.
“No. Let’s work out what to do first. Please.” I put my hand over his keypad and ended the 911 call.
“What do you expect me to do when I hear that some piece of shit touched my sister?”
“You do nothing because you respect your sister enough to let her decide what to do about it.”
Rich flinched. To not heed my wishes would mean he didn’t value my opinion or respect my choices.
He ran a hand through his hair, defeated. “What do you want to do? Hell if I’m selling to Frost after all of this.” He glanced at me. “How well do you think Owen will do at this exhibit without you?”
Rescue Me: A Frazier Falls Novel Page 15