Page 94 of Can’t Say No

“You said this was an idea to save the orchard, but what you just showed me,” he gestures angrily at the glowing screen, “that’s not saving it, that’s killing it completely!”

Dad stands and starts to pace the length of the living room, his steps slow and labored.

“Think of it as repurposing the land.” Delaney stands and squares up with him from across the room. She’s not going down without a fight, and I’ve never loved her more. “We wouldn’t be killing the land, we’d be giving it new life.”

“Look, I appreciate that you’re trying to help, but this is a family matter,” my dad hisses out.

Delaney steps back as if his words had a physical force behind them and I jump to my feet between them.

“Delaney is family, and you fucking know that.” My words come out with more bite than intended, years of anger and resentment finally fighting their way to the surface. “If you want to be stubborn and cling to a futile dream, fine. But I’m done. I’ll sell you my portion of the land, the house, all of it. If this is how you’re going to treat Delaney when she’s trying to save your precious orchard, then I’m out.”

Without waiting for his response, I turn and assess Lanie. She is still standing tall, but her red-rimmed eyes give her away. My hands find hers as she blinks away the tears threatening to fall.

Delaney focuses on our intertwined fingers when she speaks, her voice barely above a whisper. “It’s fine. I’ll… I’ll buy some land someplace else.”

She looks up and locks eyes with me. “I’m not leaving. No matter what happens, I’m not leaving again.”

A breath whooshes out of me. I didn’t realize how desperate my heart was to hear those words, didn’t realize how much of a rollercoaster the past twenty four hours had been.

A familiar pressure builds behind my eyes, and it’s my turn to blink away tears. I pull Delaney in, giving exactly zero fucks that my dad is still pouting in the corner, and meet her lips with a quick kiss.

“I love you, Lanie Lou.”

My dad clears his throat behind us. “Show me again, your plan. Walk me through it again.”

Delaney breaks out of my hold and quirks a brow at my dad.

“Please?” he squeaks out.

With a nod, she takes her seat beside the laptop and restarts the slides. “I’m happy to answer questions, change things up, and problem-solve with you. But,” she pins him with a sharp glare, her confidence fully restored, “I’ve done the whole Evil Dad thing for twenty-eight years and finally put a stop to it. I have no interest in doing it again.”

My dad’s eyes flick anxiously between the two of us before he raises his hands in surrender.

“I forgot what it’s like when the two of you are together. No Evil Dad here. I’ll try to listen with an open mind this time.”

And he does.

For the next two hours, he peppers Delaney with questions. We put Remi on speaker halfway through to go over some of the finer business details. Every so often, Dad catches my eye, a surprised look on his face like he’s waiting for me to object.

But I stay silent.

Her plan is flawless.

Sure, it’s a risk, but if there’s anyone I’d bet it all on, it’s Delaney.

“Okay.” My dad scrubs a hand over his face, letting out a long sigh. “I need to apologize.”

Every question has been answered, every stone turned over, every contingency thought through. The Orchard: A Sanctuary for Young Artists is one “yes” away from going from dream to reality.

“Delaney, this is an incredible idea, and we’re awfully lucky you ended up back here.”

Dad looks to me again, and there’s a softness in his eyes that wasn’t there when he first got here this morning.

“I owe you an apology, too, Connor. You’ve carried a lot of baggage for a long time that wasn’t yours to carry. From taking care of me when I got sick to managing the orchard on top of your teaching job, I’ve expected a lot out of you, maybe more than I should have. I knew it was weighing on you, but I ignored it for my own selfish reasons. I’m sorry. And maybe if we do this, maybe we can heal some of the past hurt.”

I can count on one hand the amount of times my dad has apologized to me. I’ve never questioned his love for his family and I never thought I really needed more. I’ll never regret the sacrifices I made for him.

But hearing him say those words, hearing him acknowledge how hard it’s all been for me?