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“Alexa seemed happy with everything when she and I talked,” Heath said. Alexa was a Lattimore, the elder daughter, who was a lawyer and representing the Grandin and Lattimore families.
“I’m glad to hear that. Alexa’s a hard nut to crack. If she’s happy, that gives me some optimism,” Chelsea said, glancing at Nolan. “By the way, do you have a place where we can set up a laptop? My uncle Daniel wants to join us via videoconference.”
Now, this was a new development. Daniel was the man believed to be Ashley’s father, who lived in France and had very little interaction with the rest of the Grandin family. “Is there something I need to know?” Heath asked.
“Only that he wants to be involved. And I believe he has something he wants to say to you and Nolan.” Chelsea reached for Heath’s arm. It was a small gesture, but it meant the world to him. “Don’t worry. I think it’ll all be good. Barbara Lattimore reached out to him after she talked to Alexa. She likes bringing people together.”
“Okay. Sounds good. We can set up the laptop on the entertainment center in the living room.”
“I’ll take care of that,” Nolan said. “Have you talked to Ruby?”
Heath shook his head. “I haven’t. I called and left a few messages, but she hasn’t returned my call. I’m just hoping she doesn’t hate me. Although, I would understand it if she did. I messed up. I made a huge mistake and I was wrong. That’s what today is for. Apologies. I have a lot of them to make.” He glanced out the window and his heart immediately started pounding. Out in his driveway was Victor Grandin Jr., Vic and Chelsea’s father, and his wife, Bethany. Heath looked at Chelsea and Nolan. “I guess this is starting. Wish me luck.”
Without hesitating, he headed for his front door, opened it and stepped out onto the porch. Ben and Barbara Lattimore, along with their daughter Alexa, were climbing out of their car. It was a surreal moment for Heath, standing there and facing the people who he’d been at war with, knowing that he was about to extend the olive branch and try like hell to make this all go away. “Thank you for coming. Please, come inside and grab a drink, and we’ll get started.”
Barbara Lattimore led the way, marching right up to Heath with her husband, Ben, right behind her. “Mr. Thurston,” Barbara said. “My husband and I look forward to hearing what you have to say.”
Heath shook hands with them both. “Call me Heath. I hope that we can all part ways today with a clear path forward.”
Their daughter Alexa joined them and shook hands with Heath. “It’s nice to see you, Heath. Are we all good with the plan we discussed?”
Heath nodded eagerly. “Absolutely. Nolan and Chelsea have already arrived.” The three strolled past him, leaving Heath to greet Victor Jr. and Bethany. “Mr. and Mrs. Grandin. Thank you for coming.”
Victor Jr. glanced at his wife, then turned his attention to Heath, offering a firm handshake. “It takes a big man to do what you’re doing.”
Heath finally felt as though he could breathe. This wasn’t going to be easy, but it was already going far better than he ever could’ve imagined. He let the last of his guests walk inside. Then he followed and closed the door. Everyone was either helping themselves to refreshments or had already settled in the living room, which was where Heath had planned to talk.
“Game time?” Nolan said, handing his brother a small glass of bourbon.
“I believe so.”
“Good. I got Daniel all set up on the laptop. He’s on right now. Good luck.”
Heath slugged back his drink for courage, then strolled into the room and stood near the fireplace, which gave Daniel Grandin a good view of all in attendance. “I’m going to make this quick and to the point. I’d like to say that I made a mistake, but that’s not entirely accurate. I’ve made dozens.” He paused, soaking up the admission. “I led a vengeful crusade against your two families and it was wrong. I allowed my actions to be determined by anger and I didn’t listen when anyone tried to point out the harm I was inflicting. And so I’d like to apologize. I am sorry for any and all pain I have caused. I am truly sorry.” Heath took a moment to let the relief of getting that off his chest roll over him. A weight had been lifted. Already.
“Thank you, Heath. I think both families appreciate that,” Alexa said.
“Well, I hope so. And if anyone needs to speak to me privately after this, please don’t hesitate to ask.” He drew in one more deep breath. “Which brings me to my plans to get Nelson Redfield to back off.” With that announcement, everyone seemed to lean in to listen more closely. Heath went on to explain the complications of it being an election year and that he believed the county attorney’s motivations were purely political. “Running for this office is all about holding on to power. Nelson Redfield has held this position for over twenty years, and I think everyone in this room knows that he really only surfaces when it’s time to be reelected. No one has made a serious run at unseating him, but there’s an amazing candidate named Lucia Vega up against him. Alexa speaks very highly of her. She’s smart and young and she’s hungry to go after real crime in our county. I’d like to encourage everyone in this room to throw their support behind Ms. Vega. It will be one part of the two-pronged approach I devised to get Mr. Redfield to drop his case.”
“What’s the other half of it?” Barbara asked.
“The other half is a PR campaign. Your two families are beloved in this community,” Heath said. “Believe me. The ire I received by going after you was fierce. So let’s let Nelson Redfield know that his plan is not going to be a popular one. We do that by publicly reminding everyone of your importance to Royal. Which is why I’d like to invite you to partner with my brother and me in the development of the Ashley Thurston Therapeutic Riding Center.” Heath explained the mission of the center, as well as its financial needs. “I think it’s a win-win for everyone. And of course, any donation will be fully tax-deductible.”
Barbara looked at her husband and they both smiled. Then Ben turned to Heath. “We’re in. You can count on the full support of the Lattimore family.”
Victor Jr., who had been silent up until this point, cleared his throat. “We are, too. Of course.” He directed his attention to Nolan and Chelsea. “I mostly just want Chelsea and our new son-in-law to know that we care and want to be a part of making things better between the families.”
Heath breathed a huge sigh of relief. “This is fantastic. And I think it’s the right call. My mother and sister might be gone, but this is the right thing to do in their memory.” It was an immensely difficult thing to say. For as many times as he’d said that he was moving on from the deaths of his mother and sister, he hadn’t really. That was the crux of why he’d been pursuing all of this. It had been too hard to accept that they were gone. “We have to move forward. This will pave the way.”
“I believe my uncle Daniel would like to say something,” Chelsea said.
Daniel straightened in his seat and leaned closer to his computer monitor. “Hey, y’all. I won’t take up too much of your time. Heath and Nolan, I just want you to know that I truly did not know about Ashley. I had no idea, and I’m very sorry that I never got to know her. By all accounts, she was a lovely human being.”
Yet again, Heath was confronted with the other side of the story. Ashley had missed out, but so had Daniel. He’d had a daughter who he hadn’t had the privilege of knowing.
“What your mother and I shared was very nice, but it was fleeting,” Daniel continued. “I was young and so was she. I honestly thought it was nothing more than a fling, and so I moved on. If I had known that she’d had a child and that she was mine, I would have come back to Royal. I would have proudly taken responsibility. And so I’m happy to contribute whatever you need to make Ashley’s riding center a reality. And someday, I’d like to learn more about her from you both, Heath and Nolan. In the meantime, just tell me what you need and I’ll make sure you get it.”
Heath looked at Nolan and an entire conversation took place in a split second, all without words. Emotion welled up in Heath’s eyes, but he kept it at bay.
