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“Yeah, it has. I miss you, you know. You don’t call anymore.”
“I told you I had nothing more to say after our last meeting.”
“Ellie, it doesn’t have to be like that.”
“I don’t know how you think it could be, Zach. We kind of have opposing goals. I want to run my family’s historical business as the independent, billion-dollar, world class resort it is. You want to absorb it and turn it into a carbon copy of Colorado Disney world,” I gestured around the extravagant golf course.
“It’s not like that, Ellie. With our investors we could expand your growth by two-hundred percent, and no one wants to erase Aspen Ridge’s charm. It makes more sense to ensure that each resort maintains its own unique feeling, so our portfolio offers something different at each location.”
“Yourportfolio,” I spat. “We’re an independent resort and I plan on keeping it that way.”
“Okay, I hear you. We don’t have to talk about this today, Ellie. Clearly it’s not an idea you’re interested in right now, so let’s just table it, okay? Can we have a fun day for charity, like we used to?”
I eyed him dubiously. “I dunno, Zach, can we? This used to be a joke for us, the two worst players on the mountain. We whacked balls all over the place, had a few beers, celebrated our abysmal golf game. Apparently, you aren’t in my league anymore.”
We were approaching the first tee-off where our dads were waiting, and Zach slowed the cart to a crawl. When he met my gaze, his eyes were bright with mischief. “What if we could? How about I promise not to try too hard, and you… just do whatever you want. Let’s just have fun.”
“Are you sure your dad isn’t counting on you to win? He seemed pretty proud of his baby boy back there.”
“Whatever. I’ll blame it on your bad influence.” He nudged me with his shoulder. “What do you say: Allies?”
I thought for a moment, then grinned. “Alright, it’s a deal. Let’s see who can lose the most balls.”
Zach tipped his head back and roared. “I did just get a fresh new case, Snowshoe-branded, of course. Dad will be pissed if I lose them. You’re on!”
By the third hole, we were laughing maniacally, like rebellious teenagers. Brian had a few choice words for Zach about his abysmal score, but I didn’t miss the pleased smile on my dad’s face as he watched us.
And I had fun. It was nice having my friend back. We’d grown up under the same pressure, the same expectations. The average person off the street didn’t understand what it was like, growing up the ‘owner’ of a billion-dollar resort. There was an expectation to not only take over but expand the business; to take care of the people who lived there and worked for you, who depended on your family for their livelihood.
Zach and I had a lot in common, and while I’d never consent to letting his company absorb Aspen Ridge, I definitely still wanted him in my life.
Jake sent me a few photos of his family at Oktoberfest, including a photo of with them all with Tessa, and Ethan with a pretzel as big as his head. The kid’s entire face was lit up, his eyes as round as saucers. It cracked me up, and a twinge of remorse squeezed my chest. I really wished I had gone with them, experienced their excitement for the first time. I responded with a few photos of my own, including one of my dad and Brian poking through a swampy area, looking for the ball I lost. I told him how much I was looking forward to our ride tomorrow.
When the game was over, there were local media everywhere taking photos of the awards and the dinner after. Even though they were unhappy, our fathers accepted our ‘biggest losers’ award with grace, and Zach and I mugged for the cameras.
Chapter13
Jake
* * *
“Iwish Ellie was here, Dad. You should send her a picture of that guy’s hat.”
Obligingly, I lifted my phone and snapped a photo, but I didn’t send it. It’d been like this all day, the kids bringing Ellie up every other minute, demanding I send her pictures so she didn’t miss out.
I knew Olivia was pushing for us to get together, but I’d assumed it was more horse-based than sincere affection.
Clearly, I’d missed something. It was actually Ethan, more than Olivia, who brought her up today, and his demands for the photos. He’d been pretty upset when I let them know Ellie wouldn’t be meeting us, but the promised horseback ride smoothed things over immediately. Ethan declared his intent to ‘help’ Ellie again, and Olivia watched me with eyes that were far too knowing for a nine year-old.
Oktoberfest was fun with the kids, but I couldn’t help sharing their sentiment that it would be more fun with Ellie. Something in her brought out a side of me I didn’t know existed. Like the guy who dressed up in tiny shorts and a fake mustache for an eighties costume contest, just to make her laugh. I hadn’t done something like that since my enlisted days, but when I looked at the bar’s website, I assumed Ellie was dressing up, too. I didn’t want her to keep seeing me as a ‘stuffed shirt’, so I went all in. It was fun, and later that night was even more fun. Even though Dad brought me back to earth with his little chat, and we were cautious at work, it felt like I’d been floating for the last week.
This minor disappointment brought my feet solidly back to the ground. Ellie had a lot of obligations with Aspen Ridge, and that sometimes included nights and weekends. I knew that. I also knew that there was plenty about Ellie’s life before I arrived Ididn’tknow.
After I got the kids home and in bed, exhausted from their day of festival excitement, I sat on my couch and ignored the tv. Surely, if there was a charity golf game going on, there’d be some news about it, right? Maybe I could just get a glimpse of what she was up to. There was no harm in it.
I pulled up a browser on my phone and searched ‘Aspen Ridge golf’ to discover the only golf course within two hours was at Snowshoe Ridge Resort. So I searched ‘Snowshoe Ridge charity golf’ and started scrolling through the results.
Sure enough, there were plenty of articles to choose from. Clicking on the first one, I found a cache of photos, along with a short write-up of the event. Ellie hadn’t lied. It was a charity golf tournament played by local business owners to raise money for a housing subsidy program. I flipped through the photos until I found one that made my heart drop to my stomach.
