by Jody Kaye
“You do that and I’ll have Thandie book an offsite luncheon for our meeting.”
“Why are you doing this Rose?” Eric’s arms flew out from his sides, palms forward, exasperated.
“Because I’m your daughter and this is my company.”
“You’ll never take ‘no’ for an answer.”
“Have you, Daddy?” Rose put her hands on her hips.
There was only one ‘no’ that she’d ever accept and it was from the man who’d said yes to her in that judge’s chamber.
Lily Anne and Rodger’s wedding was three weeks ago. It seemed like a lifetime to Rose. She had a wagon load of regrets, from the ruckus she’d caused at the reception to being so distraught when Ross left that nothing else seemed to matter but her own despair.
The only things that made Rose feel like she was now making any progress in her life had to do with her new job at the holding company and standing up to Lathan in person. He was visibly shaken by Rose’s impromptu attendance at the luncheon and even more taken back by her knowledge of the company’s contracts and how the negotiations so far favored Edward Investments’ long-term success. She’d advised father and son that the next deal wouldn’t be as permissive and Eric backed her up because Rose had done her homework analyzing the percentages of what Kingsbrier could have made in the three-year deal had there been more push back.
When she’d laid down the law with the Edwards’ there’d been a hint of appreciation in the way her father looked her. It rivaled the pride she’d seen in Ross’s green eyes.
Later that night, Rose looked around her now furnished and decorated apartment. In that moment, she cried because she wanted Ross to see what she was making of herself. However, the man who walked away had everything to lose… And those with nothing to gain? Her father was suddenly stepping up. She wasn’t quite certain if the feeling in her gut was aching loneliness or gratitude for not being entirely alone.
Rose and Lily Anne sat on the apartment’s front porch. It was mid-day on a Saturday. They watched Lavender, tied to a post, grazing.
Between work and Lily Anne setting up her new home after she and Rodger returned from their honeymoon Rose hadn’t seen her best friend. Their conversation began with unusual awkwardness. Those lies of omission that Rose didn’t realize might affect them did. Once, she’d been able to tell Lil anything and, until Rose opened the floodgates to confess, she hadn’t realized how much of that trust had transitioned to Ross.
“I’m sorry, Lil.” Rose nudged her best friend and rested her head on Lily Anne’s shoulder. There was nothing fake about the apology and she didn’t expect Lily Anne to accept it.
“I can’t believe you kept it all a secret.” Lily Anne repeated for the umpteenth time. “We used to be able to tell each other everything, Rose… If we’d only known what happened at the club,” she said, in a quivering voice. It etched another regret in Rose’s soul.
Lily Anne stood and reached for Rose’s hand, lifting her up. They walked towards the barn and returned Lavender to her stall.
“You don’t find it the least bit ironic that to get out of getting married you did just that?”
Rose sighed, tending to her mare. “Yes. No. The irony is that Ross made me a better person and he won’t linger in my life. And there are things I didn’t think I wanted that I want now.”
“Like what? Eric’s doing what you’d been after him for.”
“It’s pathetic.” She gave a false grin, trying not to let emotion overcome her. She’d been devastated to find out she wasn’t pregnant. Above and beyond that she found herself with a new type of remorse. Rose hadn’t seen the possibilities until after the glimmer of hope faded. “Have you ever wondered what it’s like to have something created by love?”
“I do, Rose, all the time now. But it’s different for me. I was shown love as a child.”
“I thought Ross loved me for that little while we were together. I love him, Lil. I don’t think I’ll ever be in love that way with anyone else. I just wanted something to remember him by.”
“A baby, though? Would you use it to get him back?”
“No. They’d be this… I don’t know, tangible memory that once upon a time I had someone in my life that was…” Rose’s voice trailed.
“Was?” Lil prompted.
“Ineffable.” Rose huffed. The smile didn’t reach her sad eyes. “More than me. More than I’ll ever be.”
“That’s asking a lot of a child.”
They headed out the barn door to return to the apartment steps.
“It’s more than Eric expected of me. The comical thing is that all Eric still pines for is someone to carry on the family legacy. Yet, Ross Cavanaugh’s bastard he’d disown.”
“You don’t know that for sure. Do you think Ross’d have come back if you were expecting?”
“Yes, that’s the sort of man he is, but I hadn’t intended—”
Rose stopped in her tracks. Ross’s white Cavanaugh truck was parked the gravel and he was two paces away from coming into the barn to check on Lavender.
“You’d use a pregnancy to trap me like that? After everything. What should I expect, though, right?” Ross fumed. “Slumming it was a game to you. A way to get under Eric’s skin and get back at your father for the way he made you feel. I married you not knowing if I was going to be the father of someone else’s child. I didn’t ask you, Rose. Not once! Did you ever wonder why?”
“I wasn’t pregnant. I’m not now,” she remarked, crestfallen. If he hadn’t loved her before a baby wouldn’t change that.
“How fortunate for you,” he seethed, storming across the barnyard.
“Ross, I don’t think you heard what you think you heard.” Lil chased after him.
Rose stepped cautiously, watching two of the people she was once closest to duke it out. There was no reason to come to her own defense.
“I’ve listened to enough, Lily Anne. Rose played me for a fool. She got what she wanted and, my baby or someone else’s, I’m sure she’ll have a scheme ready to take advantage of the next man in line.”
“But, Ross!” Lily refused to give up.
“Leave it be.” He slammed the apartment door in her face.
Rose’s barn boots hit the porch boards. “Leave it be, Lil. Ross deserves better.”
“You’re both pig-headed.” Lily cried, her face becoming ruddy. “He didn’t hear the beginning of the conversation. I’ll explain it to him.”
“No, don’t bother.” She used her thumb to wipe under Lil’s eye. “Don’t waste your tears on me, sugar. I’ve done enough crying for us all. Go home to Rodger, Lily Anne. Focus on your marriage. Mine’s over.”
On her little sofa, Rose listened to an angry Ross haul the rest of his things from the apartment next door. The headboard and footboard of the brass bed clanged into the back of the truck followed by the supports and the mattress. She heard the table scrape and Ross swear as he edged it around the tight corners and lift it up without assistance.
Rose closed her eyes, clenching her fist. Ross had every right to be mad at what he’d heard and she wished there was a way to convince him of the truth he refused to hear. More than anything she wanted him to have everything with someone else: A wife who’d know better than to convince him to get mixed up in her mess. Maybe she’d be less wild and prone to flights of fancy. His wife would be the honest type and their children would be… Well, not at all what Rose was like growing up. Likely more obedient and loads less trouble to wrangle. And they’d also have those eyes and a smattering of freckles in the summer.
The door next-door swung shut with a bang and Ross slid the key under her threshold. This was the last time she’d see him. Somehow Rose was finding a way to keep building a life on her own. He’d been a good mentor. She knew the value of things and how much it hurt to lose something that meant everything.
Maybe she did have something in common with her father after all, though she doubted Eric made a similar parallel to the si
tuations.
The floorboards of her apartment squeaked underneath a pretty throw rug as Rose stood. She absently wondered who’d fix the little inconveniences. A pretty façade didn’t make up for a lack of foundation.
Ross was getting into the new truck when Rose made it across the threshold. At least he’d have something to remember her by. He may despise it, but that vehicle would keep him safe and warm, unlike the old jalopy.
Rose missed that piece of junk.
“I told you I have nothing left to say to you, Rose,” he argued as she came closer.
She shook her head holding air in her lungs till she was lightheaded. If she passed out once he was gone no one was coming to her rescue. That was fine by Rose. She’d resolved to rescue herself from now on.
Rose held out her hand and dropping a small trinket into his palm.
“Grandy’s ring?”
“I found it. Under the mattress.” She glanced to the ground. “I wasn’t going keep it if that’s what you think. I didn’t want it to get lost. I’d have brought it to her myself, but it’s better this way.”
“Thank you. I’d forgotten I’d hidden it.” Ross pocketed the ring without looking at it. His lips pursed as if it disgusted him to sound apologetic for barking at her. He’d been irrational not listening to Lily Anne, but they both understood Ross was a man who stood up and took responsibility. He felt idiotic not considering that their one night together gave Rose that kind of leverage. She couldn’t blame him.
“These are for you too.” Rose held up a bundle of legal papers. “I won’t contest the divorce. You can have anything you want. Let the lawyer know. His information is on the front page. You won’t have to see me or talk to me again at all.”
Ross rubbed his forehead, gritting his teeth and grabbing a clump of his dark hair. He looked like he wanted to yell some more, but he just said, “That was never what this was about.”
“Okay. If you change your mind.”
“I won’t.” His words rushed out.
“Good-bye then, Mister Cavanaugh.”
“Good-bye, Ro—, Miss Kingsbrier.”
Of all the ugly things that she’d been called, that one hurt the worst.
Ross stormed into Eric Kingsbrier’s downtown office. His determined stride allowed him to pass Rose, unaware that the woman in the skirt and silk blouse with her hair coiffed in a twist was his wife. His palm hit the desk where Eric sat, slapping down a white envelope.
“I was at the bank today. Somehow there’s thousands extra in my account and no one seems to know how it got there. I don’t want —or need— your charity. Take your damn money and shove it!”
Eric picked up the envelope, glancing inside to find a personal check from Ross made out to himself. He resealed the parcel and slid it back toward the younger man.
“I believe you are mistaken.”
He’d have never given Ross the paltry cash Rose owed to him. That was a deal between the two of them, not his debt to pay. As far as Eric was concerned Rose had gotten out of the situation nearly scot-free. Yes, her reputation would lag until this situation blew over. However, her aptitude in the boardroom seemed to be a store of luck that might encourage a suitable match in the coming years.
“Stop. Just stop. I’m done with her isn’t that enough? You got what you wanted. When the divorce is final, Rose can go marry whomever. You don’t have to pay me off. I’m not tracking dirt on the expensive Italian marble in that monstrosity you call a home.”
“It’s time for you to leave now, Mr. Cavanaugh. Our business has concluded and if I hear one more word from you I’ll ensure that none of those homes sell.” Eric held up the check in disgust as if it were a three-day-old fish.
“It was me. It’s mine.” Rose snatched the money away.
“Yours?” they questioned in unison. It was only then that Ross recognized Rose. She looked so different. Older, more mature.
“From my trust. I kept it off the ledger and filed the bank statements while you were at a site before you’d see them,” she confessed.
“You wasted more money?” Eric had just begun to see her aptitude for numbers.
“No, Daddy, I didn’t waste anything. You invest in things that you believe in, so I did too. I believe in Ross’s plans. He never took a red cent from me that he wasn’t owed. I told you, our marriage was insurance—for both of us. I didn’t have to sell myself to someone and Ross had the leverage he needed in case the auction went over. It didn’t. He’d taken my advice for a loan without confiding in me until later. He’s already turned a profit in the land with the lots that have sold. He’s not wasteful. His workers are the best. Cavanaugh Construction’s reputation is solid and word of mouth is growing. I never appreciated your scare tactics to see to Ross’s demise. I still don’t. If you knew anything you’d have figured out for yourself that Ross has been in the black since he went into business, using his own savings when necessary. He’s made payroll every month even when people try to screw him.”
She glared at her father. Of all the things they’d begun to forgive one another for, she still couldn’t accept that Eric would’ve withheld payment. Although, it was her duplicity in changing the kitchen plans and regrets over doing so that made it easy to still be angry with her father. Rose wouldn’t forgive herself until she spent a lifetime passing Cavanaugh Construction signs.
“There’s a parcel to be developed east of here. It’s within Cavanaugh’s ability based on their balance sheet to purchase it, but December home sales were slow. January starts aren’t looking up. The rest of the year’s predicted to be as bad as the lending rates increase. Ross won’t take the risk. This infusion is enough to purchase a lot more land without worrying over a higher margin. When I did Cavanaugh’s books we’d discussed subdividing into one-and-a-half times the number of lots. Once sold the income will be three-and-half times the cash infusion. Yet, Ross won’t cut corners. He knows what he wants Cavanaugh to be in a decade.” She turned to Ross feigning confidence. “The amount I gave you was what I’d agreed on the day you cut your hand. It’ll let you move forward with the original plan when the market rebounds.”
“Why would you suddenly decide to invest in my company?”
“The money has been there, Ross. I’d transferred it into the account months ago. Before I’d bought the truck, but you were so mad about me making that decision without consulting you that I couldn’t tell you.” She didn’t have the authority to withdraw the funds either so she left them for him in case of a rainy day. “I understand what it means for the future with or without me. There’re no strings attached. I admit, if I find you sleeping in your truck with this check crumpled in your back pocket I’ll be put off. But keep it and build a life that suits you.”
“I’ve told you all along I don’t want Kingsbrier money, Rose.”
“Well, aren’t you lucky then that I was Mrs. Cavanaugh when it happened. So it ain’t Kingsbrier money at all.”
Eric cleared his throat at the simpleton dialect. They both looked at him as if he should mind his own damn business.
“Rose, you are arguing semantics,” Ross raised his voice.
“And you are arguing for no reason other than to be a prideful ass!” she raised her voice right back. “You lived at the apartments,” she countered. He’d taken from a Kingsbrier before.
“We agreed I fix the apartments!” He hadn’t charged for any of the time and labor to replace the boards, fit new plumbing, or rewire the frayed electrical.
“We also agreed that if I sullied your reputation it entitled you to compensation. I’m sorry for the scene I caused at the wedding.”
Ross stood there slack-jawed.
“If you don’t have any other accusations, Mr. Cavanaugh, please take the check and go,” Eric spoke up.
Ross acknowledged Eric Kingsbrier and turned back to Rose. She looked so different with her normally loose white-blonde hair spun up in a professional bun. He recognized the white blouse as the one she’d wo
rn to Louisiana.
“For the record, I never wanted your money.” He tapped the envelope on the desk.
“Then I guess we’ll always have something in common. I’ve never wanted it either.”
When Ross left, Rose immediately began rifling through the quarterly reports.
“You won’t find what you’re looking for in there.” Eric stilled her hand, taking the folder away.
“This quarter last year is in here somewhere. We need the comparison data.”
They’d been rudely interrupted in the middle of their morning tête-à-tête. She needed to get the meeting back on track. It was only work that allowed Rose to forget how much she missed Ross.
“You can’t compare where you were then to where you are now. Too much has changed.” He tipped up Rose’s chin. “I’ve watched you these past few weeks and finally understand the determination, the desire to be seen. I wasn’t able to let you be yourself because I thought… It was difficult seeing so much of your mother in you, forgetting about what our life together could have been. I gave up on the daughter I had for the false memory of a son who was never born. It’s taken all my resolve to admit that, if the course we’d been on before Joy died had come to fruition, the outcome may be the same with my daughter seeking the helm. I owe you an apology.”
“All I ever wanted was for you to be proud of me.” Rose wrung her hands.
“You hesitate. That’s changed.”
“There’s more value in being proud of myself. The things I work for, they mean more.”
“I’ll stake my fortune that Cavanaugh had something to do with this. Do you love him?”
“Enough to let him go.” Rose huffed, a cracked laugh escaped her lips and she wiped a tear away. “The same way we should have let go of momma and that dream-life.”
“My time without Joy, I’d not wish on my worst enemy. It’s… Purgatory. I was unable to focus on anyone without feeling that it took from her. Your mother was trying to give me the life she thought I needed. In the end, I lived mine alone.” He sighed. “Rose, I’m not the best at fatherly advice, but you’re still married to your husband and he’s still very much alive.”