I lifted the bakery box and drink. “I’ve come with treats and a message that this is the last time Lily is making this drink for you. She said she’s serious this time.”
Hal chuckled, amusement twinkling in his eyes. “I suppose that’s fair. Although, she did say the exact same thing last time. You two getting along okay?”
I made my way inside and set the bakery box on the counter along with Hal’s drink. “Yeah, I think we’re getting along fine. It’s strange at times, but we’re making it work.”
“I can understand why it’s been strange,” Hal acknowledged. “I appreciate you two being patient and entertaining my conditions. I think it’ll all work out in the end. Just a little bit more time. Why don’t you take off your coat and stay awhile.” He tipped his chin to the other chair.
I hesitated.
“I know we haven’t seen much of each other. I wanted to give you time to settle in and not feel like I was in your space constantly,” Hal continued. “Well, I think you’ve settled in now, and I’d like to spend some time with my grandson while he’s in town.”
Fuck.How could I say no to that?
“Yeah.” I cleared the lump in my throat. “Yeah, I’d like that, too.” The admission left my mouth easily, but I was still surprised by it. I pulled the chair over and sat after taking off my coat and backpack.
“And look at that. Lily packed four cookies when I only asked for two.”
“Is she usually one step ahead?” I asked with a chuckle.
“More often than not,” Hal said fondly. “She’s the youngest out of the Richards kids and was always up to something growing up.”
“I take it you’re close with Lily’s family?”
Hal nodded. “Your dad and Lily’s dad Mark were best friends growing up. When Mark’s parents moved away, I figured the least I could do was help Mark and Laura when their kids were growing up.”
My brows furrowed. I hadn’t realized that. “Dad has never mentioned Mark.”
“That…doesn’t surprise me. The two of them didn’t exactly end on the best of terms, as far as I know. After your dad left Golden Falls, he kept in touch with Mark. The two of them were going to start Lake Ridge together but had differences on how to move forward. Mark ended up continuing without him, which was good. It was the right thing to do. Wes, Lily’s older brother, owns Lake Ridge now.”
I nodded slowly, putting the pieces together. I couldn’t wrap my head around what Lake Ridge would have turned into had my father been involved. Surely, not the spot it was today. “Lake Ridge was one of the first places I stopped by here. I didn’t meet Wes, but I did meet Louise. She’s…” I trailed off.
“A character?” Hal finished for me with a grin. “She’s a good person to know. She’s fond of you already.” He grabbed one of the cookies and then passed the box over to me.
I took a cookie and leaned back in the chair. “Dad said he tried to buy the building from you?”
Hal huffed a laugh. “Something like that. I thinktried to buyis putting it mildly. He tried to make me an offer I couldn’t refuse, but it’s not about the money for me.”
My mind went back to the meeting with Hal, again thinking about how I did the same thing.
“Do you think I’m like him or turning into him? Is that why you invited me to town?” I asked bluntly, not wanting to skirt around it anymore. He wouldn’t be the first person to think so.
Hal reached over, grabbing a napkin and setting the other half of his cookie on it. He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. “Listen here, Gabe. You are your own person, and you have the potential to be whoever you want to be. Yeah, maybe you do have parts of your father in you. But you also have pieces of me, of your grandmother, of everyone in your life who has made an impact on you. The relationship I have with your father is…a complicated one. I didn’t ask you to come to Golden Falls because I thought you’re turning into him. You’re not him and you never will be. A part of me did wonder, though, if you were forgetting who you are.”
You’re not him.Those three words were simple, and yet they were exactly the reminder I needed. I was my own person with my own career and my own goals. It sounded so obvious, but somewhere along the way, I’d forgotten.
“My career isn’t anywhere close to where I wanted it to be at this point. I feel like I’ve wasted time working for him, but I don’t exactly have a choice.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Gabe. You always have a choice. Sometimes you might have to get creative, but youalwayshave a choice.”
19
LILY
While Hal was neverin a bad mood, I knew he tended to be in a better moodbeforepoker night at Lake Ridge than after, especially if Cooper was playing. At one point or another when we were growing up, Hal had taught my siblings and I, as well as Cooper and Eliza, how to play. We used chocolate instead of money, which growing up was a more valuable currency, anyway.
The game never stuck with me, but I remember Wes, Jade, and Cooper playing often. Sometimes Eliza joined, too.
These days, Cooper played poker with Hal the most often, and I knew he was going to be at the table tonight, which meant I needed to talk to Hal before the game started.
