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“Enough,” she said, the heat back in her voice. “You are talented and driven and stupidly good-looking.” She paused, and a blush creeped into her cheeks.
I let her words sink in. She didn’t think I was a disaster. She liked what she saw.
“And. More importantly. You are kind and genuine and honest. Of course Paz is jealous, because you get up every single day trying to be a better human. And he’s stuck in his own anger and misery.”
I looked at her incredulously. Not just because of the way she described me. “I sincerely doubt Paz has been jealous of me for even one minute of his life. I’m the family disappointment. I’m not a leader like Henri. I couldn’t handle the responsibility of keeping the community employed and prosperous. And I’m not Paz, he’s the MBA financial genius. He’s got lofty goals that are too big for Lovewell.” I ran my hands through my hair, frustrated and maybe a little embarrassed. She couldn’t understand the dynamics, but this was just how things were in our family.
“And I’m certainly not Adele.”
“Definitely not.” She cracked a smile. “She is much tougher.”
I laughed. “They’re all vital and useful and skilled. And I’m just Remy. I do what I’m told and go where I’m told and try not to fuck it up in the process.”
“But do you even like it?”
Anymore, I didn’t know. Maybe I never had. Our family was the business, and the business was our family. There was no distinction. It was my destiny, and I had never even considered doing anything else. “Not really,” I admitted, dropping my chin to study the floor between us. Something about Hazel tore through my defenses and made me honest. “Cutting down trees is great. The world needs lumber. But it doesn’t matter what I like. It’s too late to change things now.”
“Too late?” She scoffed. “You’re not even thirty yet. Get over yourself.”
I clutched my heart. “Wow, you don’t pull punches.”
She pushed her glasses up. “You know I don’t have time for that. You have the rest of your life ahead of you. Do what makes you happy. Find fulfillment and passion andlive.”
“Since Dad died, it’s been all hands on deck.”
“I hear that, and I think it’s incredible that your family has rallied. But it’s been almost two years. And at some point, it won’t be that way anymore. When that time comes, you could pursue something new.”
Her logic and reasoning were even more confusing than Paz’s insults. “What else am I going to do? The only life I’ve ever known is out there in those woods.” I nodded toward the tree line in the distance.
“You don’t really believe that, do you?” She put a gentle hand on my forearm, the touch sending a comforting warmth radiating through me. “You’ve done so much more. You have a huge opportunity in front of you. An opportunity to not only do something you love, but to be a role model for kids who are just like you were. Who’d rather climb trees than sit and read a book, kids who struggle to find themselves. Ever think about that?”
I shook my head. That warmth turned to dread. I’d never had an impact on the people around me, and I wouldn’t know where to start.
“And what would it mean to Lovewell? If you went pro and competed nationally—maybe even internationally—that would only bring good things to this region. Not to mention lots of great exposure for Gagnon Lumber.”
She tugged me toward the couch and pushed me onto the cushion. Then, dropping next to me, she squeezed my hand. “I believe in you. And it’s time you started to believe in yourself.”
Taking in her beautiful face, I nodded. She was right. She was always right. Life had given me an opportunity, and it was up to me to make something of it.
For a long moment, we soaked in the silence, sitting hand in hand. I felt calmer already.
She had my back, something I don’t think I’d ever experienced before. And I’d have hers.
“We’re a team,” I whispered.
She smiled up at me. “Two underdogs. In it together.”
Chapter13
Remy
“Ihave something special for you.”
At the sound of my mom’s voice, I looked up from the railing I was repairing on her deck. I had become the de facto handyman in the family, mostly by necessity.
Paz had no interest in fixing stuff around the house, and Henri had no time. Adele would probably bring in a bulldozer, rip the deck off the house, and reengineer a new one using suspension cables and scrap metal.
So here I was, the baby, doing odd jobs to keep things running at my parents’ house.
