Hopping out of the car, I made my way down my sidewalk feeling defeated. When I got to my door, I opened it, turned, and waved. Because, of course, he was doing the gentlemanly thing of waiting for me to get inside. When the door closed, I rested my forehead on it to review the night.
Most people would be excited to find out their crush lived on Stonemill. Not me. That was some of the worst news I could have heard. Because that meant that I should no longer want anything to do with Sir Donovan Wright. That kind of life ran parallel to Theo’s, and that was the lifestyle that broke me.
22
DONOVAN
The rest of my weekend was uneventful, as usual. The most exciting thing I did was continue my current backyard project: a butterfly garden. This was probably the most unusual thing about me. Not many people had a butterfly hobby, but here I was. I thought about Audra’s darts and how they had butterflies on them, and my lips quirked up. That woman sure has a hold on me—I haven’t been able to get her out of my damn head. I entertained driving by her house to stop by, but I had no reason to. I’d just have to wait until she came to the office so I could ask for her phone number.
The office. Ugh. I had to think about my contingency plan for when Maeve was in Hawaii. One week I could get by, but two weeks was too much for me to get everything done solo. Who the hell could I hire for two weeks of work? I was going through my options when my phone rang.
“McKenna,” I answered with a smile. “How are you?”
“Van, Guess what?” I could hear the excitement in my sister’s voice. “I PASSED!!!!”
“No way!” I met her excitement. “Congratulations, Mackey Mae! That is amazing news. Unsurprising, but no less amazing. Passing the bar on your first try is exceptional. You are going to be a badass lawyer. I’m so proud of you!” My sister is one of the smartest people and hardest workers I know. It was no surprise that she kicked ass at this.
“I can’t believe it,” she squealed.
“I can! Wish I could be there to celebrate with you, McKenna, at least to give you a hug. You’re going to do amazing things with this.”
“So, here’s the thing, what if I asked… no begged you to come to a celebratory dinner next Thursday?”
My heart sank at the request. I wanted to do this for my sister, but that meant that I’d have to face my parents, and I’d only had contact with them three times since I drained the trust. I hadn’t even seen them in person yet. During the whole debacle, they tried to take legal action, but I made sure any and all loopholes were closed before I green-lighted my operation. They were irate about it, but I didn’t give a fuck. Our nanny, Rosalina, raised McKenna and me; Dennis and Carol Wright just provided the start-up and funded the operation. My parents were never at games, concerts, or sporting events unless it suited them to be seen for a photo op. And Lord knows there were never any typical family bonding activities like playing catch or cuddling up together to read a book. I would be hard-pressed to recall a single happy memory involving them. Even things like Christmas mornings were lacking in warm family traditions. We were lucky if they sat to watch us open our gifts that they couldn’t even be assed to buy themselves. I felt like such a prick complaining about my childhood because I had everything I ever could have wanted. Everything except parents who loved me. The only things that kept me tethered to this earth were my sister, my nanny, my driver, and a couple offriends, so it’s not a complete surprise how cavalier I was with my life for a period of time. I screwed my poor sister too, because after my whole trust issue, they wrote in the marriage clause to hers, so she was bound to it if she wanted to receive it. Part of the reason I worked so hard was so I could finance a replacement fund for my sister. She had no idea I was doing it, but she’d be okay in this life.
“Ah, Kenna, that is … really hard to answer.”
“Please, please, please, please, Donovan. This is literally never going to happen again. I haven’t even asked you for a birthday dinner since you left. I can send the jet to pick you up. I looked and saw a private airport kind of close. Please. PLEASE!” I could hear the desperation in her voice.
My stomach lurched. I couldn’t say no to her. Not this time. Not for something so monumental. Not after I’d left her to her own devices all those years ago. Taking a deep breath, I put on my happiest tone, “I can’t wait to celebrate with you, McKenna. I will be there.”
Our parents would undoubtedly attend and make sure there was a photo of our happy family. They’d go on record to brag about McKenna passing the bar on her first attempt at such a young age and enjoy the accolades vicariously. It was, after all, another feather in their cap. And at the same time, I knew they were going to find a way to make this miserable for me. Was I going to make my triumphant return to drugs next week? My Magic 8 Ball said, “Strong Possibility.”
The decibel level shot up as she screamed. “Seriously? I didn’t think there was any way you’d say yes. OMG-YAY! Thank you, Van. I can’t wait to hug you.”
“This is a huge deal, Kenna. I’m so damn proud of you. Let’s connect over email about details, ok?”
“Perfect. I’m so excited! How long can you stay?”
I could hear the excitement and disbelief in her voice. I didn’t blame her, I’d only seen her once since I’d left, and that was for Rosalina’s wake and funeral.
“Wednesday to Friday, but I need to be out early Friday. Maeve is going on vacation for two weeks with Tucker, and they will either be celebrating a new proposal or getting engaged there; I’m not sure which.” McKenna knew all about Maeve.
“Ooh—that’s super exciting for her! And we like Tucker, right?”
“Oh yeah, he’s great, and they’re perfect together. It’s going to be a happy occasion.”
“I’m excited for her, but I’m even happier I get to seeeeeee yooouuuuuu soooooon,” she sang over the phone, and I smiled. She always seemed so joyful. Joy that I lost many years ago, but it had been inching back recently.
“Alright, Kenna. I will see you next week. Congrats again, you’re amazing!”
Hanging up, the dread of seeing my parents intensified. I sat on the kitchen stool and rubbed my hands over my face while giving myself the pep talk that I could do this for McKenna.
McKenna. Holy shit, McKenna. The thought hit me so hard it literally brought me to my feet. What ifshecame to help while Maeve was gone? I’m sure two weeks in Savannah Springs wasn’t her ideal way to celebrate passing the bar, but she could do it. Hell, even if she just gave me a week. Yep. That was going to be the plan. And I hoped to shit she’d say yes, because I was going to spring it on her when I was back in New York. Holy Shit. This might just work out after all.
* * *
When I got to the office, I went throughmy normal routine and took note that Maeve was running late. Not for any reason other than the fact that it was so unlike her. Maybe she stopped at Grá, which was Cora’s store down the street, or maybe she was just standing in the street talking to her like last time. Twenty minutes later, she stormed in. It was rare that Maeve looked bad, but right now, she looked unglued. My mind started racing as to what could have happened. I hope to God it wasn’t something with Tucker. She sat in her chair, exhaled loudly, and brought her fingers up to her temples while she closed her eyes.
