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I took in a shaky breath and let it out slowly, running my palms over my thighs. “Dad, this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. And I hope to God you’ll understand, because the last thing on earth I ever wanted to do was disappoint you.”
My dad sat back slowly, his stricken gaze latched on my face. “What is it, son? Tell me what’s going on.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Rory
I grabbed an apple from the basket Haven had brought over the day before, tossing it in the air before taking a big bite of the crisp, sweet fruit. The door to the trailer squeaked as I opened it, halting when I saw the Rolls Royce pulling to a stop on the cleared portion of land that would soon be a parking lot.
I stepped down onto the patchy grass, using the back of my hand to wipe the apple juice from my lip as I finished chewing, and waited for the person to get out of the shiny luxury car.
My dog Waffle trotted from the trees, making his way to me as the car door opened and…Gage’s father got out. “Oh no,” I breathed as the passenger door and the back door opened, Gage’s mother, and the woman I’d seen in the restaurant that day, and then again at his party, who I thought was likely Gage’s sister got out as well.
Waffle bumped against my leg, barking as the three Buchanans began walking toward me, Gage’s sister slipping on a pair of sunglasses as the rest of the brood appeared from different parts of the property where they’d been out exploring or romping or sleeping, but generally loving life on the larger plot of land.
Jinx and Keanu started barking too, but I shushed them with a wave of my hand as they came to stand sentry next to me, their wide grins and wagging tails belying the impression of any real danger.
Mrs. Buchanan smiled as they approached. “Aurora,” she said. “It’s nice to see you.”
“Mrs. Buchanan,” I said warily, half preparing to be accosted in some way again.
“Please, call me Lana.” She glanced at Mr. Buchanan who had come up next to her. “And you’ve met my husband, Jonathan, who I believe owes you an apology, as do I.”
I stilled, my gaze moving between the two elder Buchanans. I released a breath as Gage’s sister stepped forward, extending her hand. “I’m Lexi,” she said with a smile. “The only Buchanan who doesn’t owe you an apology.” I clasped her hand and let out a small, breathy laugh, surprise at this unexpected visit throwing me into an emotional tailspin. They’d barely said anything and yet, already, I had no idea how to respond.
“Hi, Lexi. It’s nice to meet you.” The dogs whined, butts wiggling as they resisted greeting these people in front of us.
“Who are these sweet pups?” Lexi asked, putting her hands on her knees and bending forward. With her obviously welcoming stance, I nodded toward Lexi and said softly, “go ahead,” letting the dogs know they were free to say hi. They rushed her, wiggling and licking and bumping her hands with their noses, and Lexi laughed and allowed them to love her somewhat frantically for a minute before standing straight. When she met my eyes, I realized I’d been smiling as I watched the interaction that let me know without a doubt that she was a good person that I already liked.
“May we sit down?” Mrs. Buchanan asked, gesturing with one hand toward the picnic table I’d placed under a massive, elegant willow tree the week before and scratching Jinx under her chin.
“Um, sure,” I said, snapping my fingers at the dogs and pointing back toward the trailer. “Go lie down.” They all turned and went to lie in the shade as the four of us walked to the outdoor eating area where I’d been enjoying my meals al fresco for the past week.
I tossed my apple into the trees for the birds, my stomach in too many knots at the moment to eat.
“This is a beautiful plot of land,” Mr. Buchanan said as he looked around, his gaze moving from the willow tree we were sitting under, to the roof of Haven’s Gate’s red barn that could barely be seen beyond the copse of trees, to the slip of shimmering lake, and finally resting on the temporary trailer I was living in.
“Thanks. I’m…um, in the midst of getting construction bids.” I cleared my throat. “Eventually, next summer if everything goes according to plan, this will be a dog park and a boarding facility…and um, I’ll offer walking services and maybe grooming facilities. Later. If I build on. I’ll need a few licenses and some employees and, well, it’s going to take a lot of work, but, I’m excited about it. So…” God, my heart was beating so fast I feared it might explode from my chest. Mrs. Buchanan had mentioned an apology, but I owed them one too. And I didn’t necessarily want to, but I cared so deeply what these people thought. I hadn’t wanted to consider that at all because I’d believed they hated me and that I’d have to prove myself to them—to the town at large—but now they were here, and hope was building, but I was afraid of that too. Afraid to feel gutted when they rejected me again, even as a member of the community.
But the three of them were watching me with small smiles on their faces and so I released a deep breath and tried my best to relax my shoulders. “It appears you have a sound business plan,” Mr. Buchanan said. “And you’ve done a lot in only a couple of weeks.” He glanced at his wife who gave him a barely perceptible nod. “Like my wife said, I owe you an apology, Ms. Casteel.”
“Aurora, or Rory. Please,” I managed. “And I owe you an apology too. I lied—”
“Rory. We talked to our son, who explained everything to us.” His smile widened as heat infused my face. “It was clever, honestly, and I admire clever. Someday I’ll tell you stories about the ways in which I got my foot in a few closed doors.”
“Oh,” I breathed. We talked to our son. Gage…Gage. At the mention of him, my heart constricted, birds flapping between my ribs. I pictured him standing at an office window, looking out over London and missed him so badly I felt like weeping. My heart ached at the vision that blossomed in my mind constantly, but since I’d moved to Calliope, and even though it’d been such a short time, that ache had been mixed with the deep peace I felt as I’d gotten to know my father’s family and begun learning my history…and walked the same lakeshore that he’d loved so deeply. “I appreciate that,” I said. I felt a breath away from tears. “Your forgiveness. More than you know. And I’d love to hear those stories someday. I know the town hates me now but I’m hoping to gain back—”
“The town doesn’t hate you,” Mr. Buchanan said. “Rory, we were concerned for our son and only wanted the best for him. Our intentions were good, but our actions were misguided. The way we spoke to you, and the judgments we made without fully knowing the truth, were wrong. We’ve talked to our friends, and they understand that the way in which they treat you will be the way in which they treat us.”
Tears did prick my eyes then. “Thank you,” I said, my voice choked. “Gage is lucky to have you.” I meant it, though part of me crumbled inside because I understood why Gage loved these people so much and why he wanted nothing more than to please them and make them proud.
Why he was so willing to set his dreams aside to make theirs come true. Even if that knowledge crushed my heart for all the things he had to offer that would never be experienced by him or others.
“I think you currently know our son better than we do, although we’re looking forward to getting to know him better.” He took his wife’s hand on the tabletop and gave her a smile that she returned. “There’s so much…we never asked about. So much we recognized but didn’t encourage.”
I looked back and forth between them. “Oh…well, that’s wonderful,” I said. Gage’s parents had all the money in the world to make frequent trips to London and to get to know the parts of Gage that he’d held back over the years. His dream…the joy cooking brought him…his sense of humor and ability to have fun and be silly just because he could. He’d moved and was beginning a new life in a different country, but I hoped that if he took anything with him from our time together, he took that and built upon it.
“Okay,” Lexi said as she stood up. “Good talk. But I have a plane to catch tonight and so we’ve gotta move this along.” She looked at me. “Rory, are the dogs okay here while we take you somewhere?”
