AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I started forward; my heels clicked and clacked except when I slipped a bit but, thankfully, caught myself before I hit the floor. Of course, there were witnesses. And one just happened to be my stepsister, Danielle. “Be careful there,” she snickered before walking away. No “Hi, how are you? I like your dress.” Or, “Wow, I love how you straightened your hair.” It was fine. I didn’t need her approval. Long ago I quit seeking her acceptance and that of all my other stepsiblings. Even Kane. He would hate if I ever referred to him as my stepbrother. Maybe I should. Hmm.
The rest of the trip to my father’s office was uneventful. When I walked out of the hall leading to the inner sanctum, I was met by Sir Randall, who seemed to be waiting for me to appear.
He immediately wrapped me up in his bulging muscular arms. “Dr. Young Lady.”
I laughed into his chest. “Hi, Sir Randall.” I choked up. It had been a long time since I’d seen him, and like Rae, Naomi, and Mindy, he was one of those shining spots from my past. Someone I had no doubt loved and cared for me.
He gave me one more bone-crushing squeeze before letting me go and giving me a big toothy grin. “Our girl is all grown up.”
I reached into my bag and pulled out his favorite candy, chocolate-covered toffee. “I took a detour and stopped in Alabama.”
His eyes went misty. “Dr. Young Lady, you’re the sweetest girl around.”
“Yes, she is,” Kane’s voice startled me as he came strutting out of his office looking way too good in his tailored navy suit.
“Ignore him.” I focused solely on Sir Randall, who was now chuckling.
Kane would not be ignored and stopped by my side. “You look amazing.”
I paid him no attention. “How’s your wife?” I asked Sir Randall.
He looked between Kane and me with interest before answering, “We’re getting on. Getting older.”
I supposed he was getting older. I noticed the extra gray in his hair; however, his deep, dark eyes were still full of life and mischief.
“Please tell her hi for me.”
“I will.” He held up the box of candy. “She’ll be thanking you for these. I better get back to work, and you two have a meeting, I hear.”
“Yes, we do,” Kane drawled.
There was no we.
Sir Randall narrowed his eyes at Kane. “Boy, don’t be so presumptive. You’ve got a long road ahead of you. Yes, you do.” He walked off, shaking his head.
“Good thing I like to drive fast,” Kane whispered in my ear.
I fought off the shiver that went down my spine. “You’re on a dead-end road.”
Kane laughed. “Darlin’, you’re killing me with the one-liners. I like it.”
I rolled my eyes at him and walked toward my father’s office door.
Kane followed and stood in front of the door, leaning against it, before I could even knock. “Scarlett.” He hit me with his magical, mystical eyes. “I’m not trying to make light of the situation. Please, just give me the chance to explain why I left.”
“I know why. You deserved that promotion. And if you would have let me, I would have been very proud of you. But you never gave me that chance. And I don’t think anything you ever say will make me understand why.” I tried to keep my voice down and my emotions under control, though it was difficult. I wanted to cry. These were painful memories I didn’t enjoy reliving, and I’d done so way too many times over the years.
His face turned pale. “Scarlett, you don’t know how sorry I am.”
I shrugged. “It’s all in the past now, and Auggie said I shouldn’t live there.”
“Could we at least make a visit there to see if we can change the future?” he pleaded.
My eyes widened. He was always so bold. I couldn’t understand why now, though. It was like he had chosen to hit the pause button on our relationship and now he wanted to click play again. That didn’t seem right, but I didn’t get to answer him because Auggie opened the door, making Kane falter, though he had better balance than me and easily steadied himself.
“Good, you’re both here.” Auggie waved us in.
Kane let me go in first. How gentlemanly of him.
I waited for Kane and Auggie to see where I should sit.
“Have a seat in front of my desk,” Auggie directed.
Kane and I each took a seat in the high-back leather chairs.
Auggie sat at his desk, which was pristinely organized and had two large, curved monitors on it, each filled with colorful charts and graphs. Auggie sat up straight and looked between me and Kane almost wistfully, it seemed. Weird.
“I know you must be curious why I asked to visit with you both.”
Kane and I nodded.
“Well, I won’t beat around the bush.” Except he swallowed hard a few times before he blurted, “I have come to the decision that it’s time for me to retire.”
