“Exactly!” Reggie rubbed his hands. “But the one obstacle is that the Penderfield family owns land that they never cultivated, land that is separate from the family farm—but that abuts property held by the Brady family. As far as I can tell, some ancestor of the Penderfields sold a parcel of that land to a Brady ancestor, with the understanding that in the future, neither one would sell any part of it without explicit permission from the other. You see, the Brady owned land has access to the road—a road that we need for our development. So if they don’t sell us a small partandagree to the Penderfield sale, our project is sunk.”
“Huh. That’s a little weird, but yeah, whatever.” Max shrugged. “So the Penderfields want to sell to you, right?”
“This is true,” Reggie agreed. “And the Brady land—it has not been farmed in some years. The last Bradys who farmed had a son who moved south, didn’t have the love for the land. His two children own the property, but they live out of state.”
“Oh, right. And you reached out to them?—”
“And they said no,” I finished. “We wrote a letter, and Jared Brady and his sister Alyssa said no, thanks, they’d rather not sell. End of story.”
“So I thought.” Reggie raised one finger. “But then this morning, I am looking at email, and there is something very interesting. My partner Nash has been invited to his high school class reunion down in Florida, in a place called the Cove, and who do I see is part of the reunion committee, the people in charge of the reunion? It is none other than Jared Brady.”
“Holy shit, Pops.” Max swung around to stare at me. “Seriously? You went to school with the dude who won’t sell you the land?”
I sighed heavily. “I didn’t realize it was the same guy. I mean, Jared Brady—who would think someone I graduated with owns land up here?”
“Oh, man.” Max chortled, his eyes wide. “So what are you going to do, Pops?”
I glowered at him but said nothing.
“I told him this morning that this is the universe, giving us our chance. He must go to the reunion, talk to Jared, and convince him to change his mind about selling the land.”
“Pops.” Max dropped onto a chair near mine. “You gotta go.”
I groaned. “Not you, too.”
“No, no, not just because of the deal. I mean, that’s definitely important, and you should talk to this Brady guy, but you should go to your reunion and see all your friends from back in the day.”
I shook my head. “Nope. Not going to do that. I don’t have anything to say to anyone back in the Cove. No one back there who I need to see.”
Just like that, an image flashed before my mind’s eye. I saw Peyton Rivers sitting next to me in English class, laughing at something I’d said. I saw her listening to me, her eyes warm and friendly. I saw her hunched over on the beach, weeping as I spoke earnestly to her, offering my heart, my future, my life.
“C’mon, Pops.” Max leaned back, propping his sneaker-clad feet on another chair. “You haven’t done anything fun in—well, hell, I can’t remember when. Not since I was a kid, and you used to take me around to battlefields and parks and all.” He held my gaze. “You’ve been working non-stop for a long time. Maybe it’s time to take a little break. Go back to your roots and all that. Catch up with old friends.”
I thought about high school and the Cove, my mouth twisting. “I don’t have any old friends in Crystal Cove. I hated high school. I got through it, but barely. If it hadn’t been for—” I broke off. “Anyway, I’ve never had any desire to go back. I don’t have a nostalgic bone in my body.”
“Wait a minute.” Max cocked his head. “If it hadn’t been for what? Or who?”
“Nothing. Nobody.” I waved my hand. “Anyway, I’m not going.”
“Yes, you are.” Reggie’s voice took on an unusual firmness. “Our business needs you to do this, Nash. You must go.” He paused. “And perhaps your . . . Peyton, was it? She might be there, too. And you could find out what really happened all those years ago.”
“Who’s Peyton?” Max asked as I growled at my business partner.
“She is the girl your father loved from afar all through high school,” Reggie replied, ignoring me. “At the last minute, he had a chance with her, or so he thought, but then she vanished before graduation, and he never saw her again.”
“How did I never know this?” Max spread his hands. “Why didn’t you tell me about her?”
“Don’t feel bad,” Reggie said, smirking at me. “Nash only told me one night when he was a little inebriated. We’d both had quite a few, and we shared about our lost loves. Our regrets.”
“What I’d like to know is how you can remember all the details I spilled that night, and I can’t recall anything you told me?”
“Because you were a little drunker than me.” He shrugged. “And as an Austrian, I am a little better at holding my liquor.”
Max grinned. “Well, being only half Austrian, I’m probably only half as good as Uncle Reg. But I still can’t believe you never mentioned this girl, Pops. All the times I came to you with a broken heart, and you never shared your own experience. That’s not like you.”
“It was a long time ago, and to be honest, it’s not a happy memory.” I rubbed my forehead. “And it’s a really good reason for me not to go to this reunion. The last thing I need to see is Peyton there with the dickhead she ended up marrying.”
“Do you know she’s married?” Max inquired.
