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The woman’s gaze roved the menu board. “Darlin’, I’ve gone and forgotten my glasses. Tell me what’s good.” Her twangy accent automatically made me think of Drew. Then again, everything made me think of him. I couldn’t get his sorry ass or Sam off my mind, and it had only been three days since I’d seen them.
“My personal favorite is the short ribs. The cream sauce is to die for. And the roasted potatoes . . .” I kissed the tips of my fingers and made a sound of approval.
“When you’re my age, honey, there ain’t much that isn’t to die for. Never know what’s going to take you to old glory.” I snorted and then covered my mouth with my hand. “Just wait until you’re eighty-seven. You’ll figure out the number of breaths you’ve got left is less than what you started with.”
“Hurry up and order those short ribs. You need to have those and a piece of strawberry cake before you can go anywhere.”
“If I don’t like it, it’s on you.”
I laughed at the warning. The woman didn’t mince words, but she spoke in such a way that I didn’t feel affronted.
“Fair enough. Would you like some lemonade while you wait?” I offered.
“Heavens no. I can’t stand the stuff.”
I leaned forward, and whispered, “Neither can I.” She grinned as Trish handed me her food. “That will be fifteen dollars and sixty-four cents.”
“You sure think a lot of this stuff,” the woman muttered. I was pretty sure I heard something about the damn city and the things she went through for “that boy,” but I couldn’t be sure. She handed me a large black velvet box with a twenty-dollar bill on top, snatched her bag, and hustled away. “Wait,” I called and was promptly ignored.
I opened the box, the hinges creaking, and my eyes grew large when I saw the familiar contents. It was the jewelry my mother had given to me for graduation. I snapped it shut and dashed out in search of the woman. She was nowhere to be found.
“What’s going on?” Trish asked when I stepped back into the truck, she and the customer I’d abandoned giving me strange looks.
“I’m not sure.”
I waited on five more customers before I caught a break. I opened the box again and lifted the piece where the jewelry rested. The note from my mother was still there, along with a new piece of paper with a series of numerals scrawled on it that meant nothing to me.
I replaced everything, closed the box, and held it to my chest.Thank God.Relief to have my things in my hands again overwhelmed me. It was all I had left of my mother. Drew had gotten back my jewelry, but what did it mean? I wasn’t sure if this was his way of saying he forgave me or he was sorry, or maybe it was just another scheme. I had to decide if I cared enough to find out.
Chapter Forty-Six
Drew
This wasthe right thing to do.
Having the paperwork drawn up was easy, but presenting it? That was going to be the tough part. I’d already looked into the faces of my family and asked for their forgiveness, but I wasn’t sure I’d admitted what I did was wrong.
I took a deep breath and counted to ten before I blew it out and entered my parents’ dining room, where I’d asked them to gather. To my astonishment, they were all there, sitting at the table, waiting for me. Sam lifted his head, and I swore he scowled as though he blamed me that Sonya was gone.
The conversation stopped, all eyes on me as I set the briefcase my father had given me on the wooden surface and pulled out a stack of papers, passing one set each to my father, brother, mother, and sister-in-law.
“What’s this?” Easton asked. He was pretty much the only one on speaking terms with me.
“My way of saying I’m sorry. It doesn’t fix everything—anything, really—but it’s a step in that direction.”
Mulaney took in the words on the pages in front of her. “Are you for real?”
“Very much so,” I confirmed. Wariness showed on her face as she tried to figure out what I was up to. There was no ulterior motive. Just me, trying to correct some of my mistakes.
“Is this because SPE is a financial mess?” she asked accusingly.
“Itisin a mess, but I’m not trying to dump it on you.”
By now my brother had had a chance to skim the document. “You’re just giving all of us the company?”
“Yes.”
“You said you didn’t want it anyway,” he reminded me.
