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“Mindy,” Noah said. He took a step toward her, but she retreated to keep the distance between them. She knew that if he touched her, if she allowed him to try to comfort her in any way, her willpower would fold like a used napkin. “So much has changed since I got here. I’m not the same man I was, and that’s because of you. I don’t want to let this go. You haven’t even asked me if—”
“Where is my son?”
A voice boomed out on the other side of the house, and Mindy watched as shock rippled across Noah’s face a split second before they both turned their attention in the direction the voice had come from.
Since the kitchen door was open, they could see clearly into the main room of the house as Brett Henderson strode into it, looking furious.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
Noah’s pulse jumped, shock resonating through him at the sight of his father. He and Mindy hurried out of the kitchen as Brett scanned the crowd, his tall, imposing stature making the man seem larger than life.
“What are you doing here?” Noah asked as soon as they reached him. “This is a party.”
“I see that. This must be why you’ve been too busy to return my calls,” his father ground out through gritted teeth, not even acknowledging any of the other people around him. “Your time here is almost up, and now I find out that you’ve just been wasting it. What about our plans? What about our business?”
People were staring at the two of them with wariness and muted curiosity as they watched the scene unfolding before them. Noah planted his feet more firmly on the floor, eyeing his father as he folded his arms across his chest.
He didn’t want to hash this out with him here. Not now. Not when Mindy was standing just a few feet away from him, and he’d been on the verge of admitting everything to her. But his father’s sudden arrival had left him no choice.
“You haven’t answered my calls in almost a week,” Brett repeated, drawing himself up to his full height. The suit that he wore was so starched and pressed to perfection that there wasn’t a wrinkle in sight. “I called Hugh to find out what’s been going on, but all he would say is that you’re still here, dallying with that girl.”
He pointed at Mindy, who shrank back from his father’s attention. Noah’s jaw clenched, and he stepped in between them.
“This has nothing to do with her,” he argued, a protective instinct rising inside him.
His father snorted with disbelief, and Noah risked a glance toward the rest of the party. Everyone in the room was watching them now, and the DJ had even cut the music, making Noah and his father the main focus of attention.
“Is that so? I sent you here on business,” Brett shot back, not bothering to lower his voice. “I sent you here so that you could handle what should have been a simple deal, but it seems that the faith I put in you was misplaced.”
His father puffed up his chest, absentmindedly smoothing down the lapels of his suit jacket.
“Fine,” he continued when Noah didn’t speak. “I’ll just take matters into my own hands. You’re no longer needed in Snowy Pine Ridge. I’ll drive out to my sister-in-law’s property tonight and assess everything, and then contractors can be here as early as Monday morning.”
His father gave him a smug look, as if he’d had to come in and clean up some mess that Noah had made. There were murmurs of dissent from the townspeople, cries of “we don’t want your warehouse,” or “what about the town” filling the space. But Noah could tell that his father wasn’t hearing a bit of it.
A flash of anger and defiance bolted through him, and he took a step closer to his father. He clenched his jaw, his own gaze leveling out to stare at Brett just as the man began to turn to walk back toward the door.
“You will do no such thing,” Noah said, his voice loud and clear as it rang out in the room.
It was so quiet he could almost hear the grinding of his father’s molars as the older man set his jaw and turned slowly back around to face his son.
“What did you say?” Brett gritted out, and Noah lifted a brow in challenge.
“I said you aren’t starting development on anything.”
His father narrowed his eyes. “That land was left to our business to do with as we see fit, and I…”
“No,” Noah interrupted, shaking his head. “It wasn’t given to the business. It also wasn’t given to you. It was given tome.It’s up to me what happens to that property. And I stand with them.”
He gestured with one hand, indicating the people of Snowy Pine Ridge who stood all around them, looking shocked as they watched everything unfold. Noah could still feel Mindy’s presence, standing just behind him, the warmth of her body cascading off her and bringing him comfort as he stared at his father.
“All you’ve ever wanted was to push me into becoming just like you,” Noah continued. “You wanted me to think of nothing else but corporate profits, with no regard to what it did to everyone else around. And for a while, I was happy to do it. I thought that success was only measured in how much money you made, in how big your business was. But my time in Snowy Pine Ridge has taught me so much more. So no, you can’t have the property. You won’t be starting anything here. And I won’t be leaving. I’m staying here, at Aunt Theresa’s house.”
“I’d think twice about that,” his father growled, anger filling his features. “Don’t think I’ll allow you to pull a stunt like this and still keep your position at our family firm. If you go through with this, you can consider yourself fired.”
“You can’t fire someone who’s quit,” Noah answered with a triumphant grin, feeling almost lightheaded with relief at howrightthe words felt as they left his mouth. “In case you couldn’t tell, this was my resignation. I’m done.”
His father’s face turned beet red, and he gaped at him like a fish for a few moments. Noah could guess that he was trying to think of some way to wrest the property that had been left to Noah out of his hands, but after a long moment, he must’ve realized it wasn’t worth the fight.
