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“Good,” I said, pulling my notebook out of my bag. “Then answer my questions.”
She tapped her chin and cocked a wicked brow. “Fine. But first, tell me why you married my brother.”
She thought she could get under my skin, rattle me. But she was seriously underestimating me. “Easy,” I said, giving her a toothy grin. “Because I’m madly in love with him. Now can I do my job, please?”
She laughed. “Come on, Hazel.”
And that was it. I could take her insulting me or my research oranythingelse. But I had reached my limit.
I slammed my notebook down on the table next to her laptop and pointed a finger at her face. “You know something? I am so sick and fucking tired of all of you piling on Remy. I get that he’s the youngest, but you’re all grown-ass adults.” I was several inches shorter than her, but I pulled myself up to my full height and sucked in a breath. “Why do you treat him like a poorly behaved puppy? All he wants is your love and approval and to be treated as an equal. Instead, you condescend to him and insult him and undermine him every chance you get.”
She took a step back, clearly shocked by my outburst. But she deserved it, and I wouldn’t back down. All these years, I’d envied the Gagnons, the happy, loving family with the two parents and the big, noisy house. But the more I got to know them and their sibling dysfunction, the more I appreciated Dylan and our sad little trailer. Because we did not treat each other like this.
Her eyes narrowed. “Oh, you want to defend him? Great. Where were you last year? Huh? When he crashed a truck and caused tens of thousands of dollars in damages and lost productivity? All money we don’t have, by the way. When Henri had to drop everything and run up to camp to deal with his drunk, depressed ass? Henri, Paz, and I are working without pay, around the clock, to save this business and my father’s legacy. And all Remy has done for the last six months is climb trees and pout.”
“Stop it,” I shouted, still glaring at her. “He’s apologized. He’s tried to make amends. But you and Paz won’t forgive him. Grow the fuck up and get past your childish shit. If you’re angry with him, use goddamn words and work it out or get the fuck over it.”
Finally, I blew out a steadying breath, though I was still shaking with anger and more than a little fear. Most people did not scream in Adele Gagnon’s face and live to tell about it.
She ran her hands through her hair. “Shit,” she said, dropping her gaze to her feet.
“Yeah, shit,” I agreed.
She looked at me, narrowing her eyes. And then she took a deep breath. “I approve.”
“Huh. Too bad, because I don’t want your approval.” Who did this woman think she was?
“Good. I assumed you wouldn’t. But I’m giving it anyway. I’m glad my brother has someone who is willing to fight for him. But I’m allowed to be angry about his choices, and I’ll work through it when I’m ready.”
I was floored. Was I having a genuine moment of connection with my sister-in-law?
“I’ll answer your questions now,” she said, grabbing some tools I couldn’t name.
I picked up my notebook and pen, and, brushing a strand of hair away from my face, I gave her a professional smile. “Excellent.”
Adele explained the types of trucks they used, the road conditions, and a long list of challenges that came with navigating hundreds of thousands of pounds of lumber. She showed me photos and drew diagrams, walking me through the transportation process.
She even made me a cup of tea while we talked. She was clearly passionate about what she did and loved talking about it. It was strange, bonding over heavy machinery, but I was enjoying it.
I was flipping through photos on her phone of the disc brakes that had been tampered with while she attempted to explain them to me when a call came through.
WhenStretchflashed across the top of the screen, she ripped the device out of my hand and stabbed at the Decline icon before shoving it back into her pocket.
“Do you need to get that?” I asked, secretly desperate to know who the hell Stretch was.
“Fuck off,” she replied. Abruptly ending our bonding session.
Chapter29
Remy
Ipulled into the driveway, my limbs heavy and my chest tight. During our morning meeting, instead of answering my questions or listening to my ideas, Paz had yelled at me, humiliating me in front of the administrative staff, and then he’d stomped out of the office.
Normally, this kind of thing would stick with me for days or even weeks. Letting people down, especially my family, gutted me. But it was a lot easier to let his insults roll off my back with Hazel’s encouraging words floating around in my head.
Given how distracted I had been recently, I made sure to hit the gym in town before coming home, because if not, it was likely the only workout I’d get would be the naked one I’d been looking forward to all day.
In the past two weeks, my life had transformed. I woke up every day grateful and ready to deal with whatever shit the world was slinging. Work, training, all of it was easier because of Hazel.
