Irritation bubbled inside me, and my grip on the phone tightened. Securing this building meant more to my father than Hal. Accumulating money meant more to him than taking time to ensure a project was done properly with input from the community. I wasn’t surprised, because he’d always been like this, but lately, it had been striking more and more of a nerve. I couldn’t turn out like my father—I refused to. I didn’t want tobe that cold and unfeeling, whether that was now or in twenty years.
“I’m not wasting my time here. I’m making progress,” I said to him, my voice firm. “If Hal sells the building to me, I’ll handle it at Nelson Group. This is my opportunity to put a proposal forward. I don’t want to move forward with an idea that’s not right for the town or the building.”
Silence filled the other end of the line before Ron let out a deep exhale. “Yes, Gabriel. It’ll be your proposal. You’re getting worked up over nothing.”
I held back my laugh. Yup, I was paranoid about my father screwing me over for no reason. Even hearing him say it would be my proposal had me skeptical.
I didn’t believe him. But what choice did I have?
“Has your mother called you recently?”
“No, not recently.” I realized the last time I’d talked to her was before I left for Golden Falls.
“I reinstated her credit cards. Well,mycredit cards that she uses. So, next time she calls you to complain about what a selfish bastard I am, go ahead and tell her the good news.”
I had no idea what to say in response to that. “Uh, okay? Listen, Dad, I have to?—”
“I need to go to my next meeting. Close the deal in the next few weeks and be back in the office. I bet you’re eager to get the fuck out of there. Bye, Gabriel.”
Not waiting for my response, he hung up. I ran a hand through my hair, gripping at the strands.
Closing the deal over the next few weeks was still the plan, and while I was looking forward to being back in Milwaukee, I disagreed with him. I wasn’t eager to get out of here. I was starting to like this town more than I wanted to admit.
I liked certain people in town more than I wanted to admit.
I was eager to get past the holiday season, though, and to have all these damn decorations taken down. I turned around and made my way back to the café, feeling the same sense of defeat I always did after a call with my father.
Once I was back, I made my way over to the table. I initially planned on finishing my day from here, but now I wanted to be alone.
“Hey, Gabe?”
“Yeah?” I asked, my tone coming out sharper than I intended because of the weight of the conversation with my father. I closed my eyes, pausing what I was doing and letting out a deep exhale to center myself. I turned toward Lily and said, “I’m sorry for how that came out. What’s up?” I then continued sliding my laptop and various papers into my backpack, trying not to think about the concern written all over her expression. I didn’t deserve her concern—I didn’t deserve to take up any ounce of her mind.
“What’s wrong?” she asked gently.
“Everything’s fine,” I answered with a sigh, my tone gentler than earlier. “Just work stress.” With the way her blue eyes softened, I knew how easy it would be to tell her what was on my mind, but that wasn’t the dynamic we had. “What did you want to ask me?”
She chewed on her bottom lip, ultimately nodding and dropping her question. “Oh, um, would you be willing to drop off a drink and treat for Hal? He called in an order, and normally, I’d deliver it to him, but a few customers walked in, and I want to help Tiffany. But if you’re busy, I can take care of it in a little bit.”
I glanced toward the line that was forming at the counter and then turned to face Lily. “It’s not a problem. I’d be happy to help. I was going to head out of here anyway, so I’ll stop by his store before heading back to the house.”
With my work materials all packed up, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and followed Lily. She had a pink bakery box prepared, as well as a to-go iced coffee.
“These are the chocolate crinkle cookies and then the drink is the s’mores latte. Butpleasetell him that this is the last time I’m making this drink for him. When I run out of ingredients, I’m not ordering them again—and I’m serious this time,” Lily said with a laugh, a gentle smile on her face.
The tension in my shoulders lessened a fraction from her smile.
“Take care of yourself, okay?” Lily said. “Don’t feel like you need to come in this weekend. I have it handled.”
I knew she could handle this all herself, and now, she had Tiffany’s help, but a part of me liked helping her. I saw firsthand how hard she worked. How she put every ounce of herself into her business. For some unknown reason, I didn’t want her to have to handle it on her own. I wanted to be there for her, even if it was only for a few weeks until we finished her wish list. It also took my mind off the whole situation with my dad and Nelson Group.
“I won’t be in on Saturday, but I’ll stop by Sunday. That work?”
“Yeah, of course. The fact that you’re helping me in the first place means a lot.” She handed me the bakery box and drink. “I should get back to taking orders. See you on Sunday.” It didn’t take long for her to eagerly start chatting with the customers in line.
With the bakery box in one hand and the drink in the other, I left the café and made my way to Hal’s Hardware.
“To what do I owe this surprise?” Hal greeted, a grin on his face as I walked in. He folded his newspaper and set it on the counter.
