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“Yes! Bye, Mom, love you.” Brax drags her inside. I snicker.
“Is that the cheap knockoff you plan to replace me with?” Laurel whispers.
I laugh. “I think we both know who the knock-off is in this situation. Thanks for bringing Brax. I’ll see you next Thursday at Pages.” Stepping back into the apartment, I close the door in her face, enjoying the slack-jawed offended expression. I’m not the same New she’s gotten used to over a year and a half. I’m done playing nice because I’m afraid to ruin the tentative peace we’ve landed on. She had no problem moving forward with a new life while in the midst of an old one. It's my time to recreate a life that makes me happy. Watching Brax and Daph chat on the couch fills me with a sense of hope and rightness. I want to walk in on this sight regularly. Some might say I’m putting the horse before the cart, but I’ve always been a man who knows what he wants when he sees it. They’re both lit up in different ways. Brax is relaxed and open as they speak, and she’s fully relaxed for the first time tonight. Her sweet laughter fills the air, and Brax giggles. This is the future we all deserve. I’m going to make damn sure we get it by any means necessary.
* * *
“I can’t believethis is the last time we’ll be in Pages,” Mrs. Ethel says loud enough for me to overhear her from the doorway. Pages is full of customers and friends alike bidding my mother farewell at the party.
“All good things end, Ethel,” Mom pats her shoulder. “I’m excited to pass down the torch.
Ethel huffs. “You’re a staple in this community. I know the boys have their own business, but surely you don’t want to close that chapter completely.” Mrs. Ethel shoots Daphne a nasty look. “I know she needs to re-establish herself, but taking over the empire you built is in bad taste. She has enough money to start from the ground up.”
Clenching my jaw,I inhale to keep my acidic response to myself. The response to the closing of Pages has been mixed. People don’t like change here, but Daphe being a hometown girl, has helped.
“I look into as our youth reinvesting in the future. I’m ready to move on to other things and live a slower life, Ethel. Why not let someone who loves this place as much as I do make it more appealing to the younger crowd.”
Mrs. Ethel frowns. “You can’t even see—.”
“Mom, do you want a refill on your cup?” I ask, passing her with the refilled coffee carafe we have on the table. The store is closing in two weeks for renovations, but this party is our official goodbye.
“I would.” Mom flashes me a grateful expression.
“Oh, New. What do you think about the change?” She asks.
“I think Daph is the perfect person to take over. Mom is ready to spend more time with family, and that’s always a good thing, don’t you think?”
“I. Yes. I take it for granted that I get to work with my family. You know how it is,” She smiles. “Any chance you’ll be helping with the work on Nell’s deck?” Mrs. Ethel bats her lashes.
“I’ll be completely devoted to Daphe and the transition of Pages to her new place. I don’t have time for anything else at the moment.”
Mrs. Ethel’s eyes widen as she reads behind the lines.
“Pity. It’d be a great time to lay a new foundation.”
I smile. “I’m more into restoration work these days.”
Her lips thin into a straight line. “The problem with refurbishment is sometimes you put all that work in only to find out it wasn’t worth trying to save.”
The insult strikes a chord. “It takes a discerning eye to know the difference between trash and treasure—.”
“Newton.” Mom squeezes my wrist. “The coffee.”
I heed the warning in her voice.
“Right. If you’ll excuse me ladies. Mom, I’ll bring you back a fresh cup.”
I can’t shake the feeling of escaping a fire-breathing dragon as I reach the table. Mrs. Ethel set her sights on me for her future son-in-law, but she’s barking up the wrong tree. I didn’t escape one difficult woman to get in bed with another. I feel sorry for Nell. She’s always been sweet, soft-spoken, and completely dominated by her mother.
“You look tense.” I glance over at Gael while I pour a fresh cup.
“Mrs. Ethel was being her sunshine self and taking pot shots at Daphe for buying the store from Mom.”
Gael grimaces. “I take it she’s still trying to push you and Nell together?”
“I don’t know why she got it into her head that I’m interested.”
“We all know you’re the number one bachelor in Sugar Creek,” Gael nudges me with his elbow, and I scowl.
