He swerved his truck into a parking spot, and abandoned it right there still running, and marched over to the two of them.
Squaring up to his grandfather, he said, “I should’ve known if there was something bad going on in this town that you were behind it.”
Buck leaned back at the power of the words, but he didn’t argue.
“Mike. Wait,” Vanessa said, placing an arm between the two. “You don’t have the whole story.”
“I know this story. Lies. Deception.” He raised his hand to his head and turned his back on the two of them. “Selfish,” he stammered. “Selfish decisions that impact others.”
“Stop.” Vanessa stepped in front of him. “Let me explain before you say something you’re going to regret. It’s time all of this ended.”
“You’re darn right it is.” He stabbed a finger in the air toward his grandfather. “You’re going to run me out of my own hometown just to get away from you and your bad decisions.”
“We’re not doing this in the middle of Main Street,” Vanessa said calmly.
“How can you be so calm?” He glared at her.
“Come on. Both of you.” She started walking toward the attorney’s office. “Now.”
Buck held his ground.
Mike followed her inside.
“Sit.”
“Don’t tell me what to do. Who do you—”
Vanessa put her hand up. “Mike. I promise this isn’t what you think it is. Please. Please, give me ten minutes to fill you in. I promise you on everything I hold dear, it will be worth it.”
He sat. “Your promises don’t mean much around here.” His knee bobbed up and down. He couldn’t even bring himself to look her in those deceptive brown eyes.
She took the seat next to him. “Mike, I did the right thing. Yes, AGC sent me here to close down Porter’s to make space for the sports warehouse. During my due diligence, I realized we could provide the warehousing, and not negatively impact Porter’s.”
“Closing? That’s not a negative impact? Making Misty think you were going to help her make this big career. You don’t do that to a kid.”
“Stop. Hear me out. My intentions were good. I had no idea AGC was set on eliminating that part of the portfolio. I proved an uptick in the forecast for the next twelve months at Porter’s with no negative impact to the full picture. Selling part of Porter’s footprint was a good business decision. They have the right to sell it.”
“You should have been up-front from the beginning.”
“I bought it.”
“You drank the Kool-Aid. ‘It’s just business.’ Is that what you’re going to tell me next?”
Buck leaned his shoulder against the door jamb. “Son, you are not a good listener. She bought Porter’s. The whole blessed thing. And if you hadn’t picked up on it, this town is getting an influx of revenue from a really substantial warehouseand jobs. I couldn’t have done that. I was watching this town slowly dwindle away.”
Mike’s jaw twitched. “You put it all at risk.”
“It was a calculated risk, and it’s working out for the best. Can you just move past the past?”
“Porter’s isn’t going anywhere.” She laid her hand on his arm. “I’m not going anywhere. Misty will be groomed to take over leadership of that company one day.”
Mike blinked. “You knew about all this?”
Buck shook his head. “No. It would have all worked out fine if AGC hadn’t pulled the plug on Vanessa’s plan. They wanted to take the loss. Which actually worked in our favor. It was a steal.”
“I didn’t know Buck was your grandfather,” she said. “I didn’t put it all together until the other day. Misty didn’t fill in those pieces. She let me figure it out on my own. She loves you both. You two need to find a way to set these differences aside. For her.”
Mike lifted his chin. “All I wanted was for the family businesses to stay connected. The way it had always been.”
