“I’m not exactly much use for those.” I head down the hall to the guest room and pull out my suitcase to pack. Tegan follows me, glowering from the doorway. I sigh. “Alicia and Dex have everything under control. I’ll be back for all the wedding stuff in a couple of weeks,” I add, trying to placate her. “But I have a company to run. And after the mess with this development, I can’t just stay down here, sunning myself on the beach.”
“And who’s fault is that?” she demands. “I still don’t understand why you had to ruin things with Noelle like that! You guys were perfect together, don’t even try to deny it.”
“No relationship is perfect.” I busy myself emptying the dresser. “And some things just don’t work out. If we were compatible, we wouldn’t be fighting like this,” I add.
She snorts. “You don’t really believe that. Ryland is the love of my life, but if he pulled that double-cross on me, I would kick him out so fast you wouldn’t see him for dust.”
I try to ignore what she’s saying, but it still stings. “Look, there’s no point fighting about it now. The deal is as good as dead, and Noelle’s place is finished too. She got flooded,” I explain. “I was just over there, the damage is extensive. She’ll have to close the B&B.”
Tegan blinks. “And you’re leaving town instead of helping her?” She gives me a furious look. “You know what, sometimes I feel like I don’t even know you anymore. None of us do.”
She storms off, leaving me alone to pack. I quickly assemble the rest of my stuff; the sooner I get back to the city, the sooner everyone here can calm down.
“She’s right, you know.”
Another interruption: this time, Dex. He leans in the doorway, looking amused.
“Not you too,” I sigh. “It’s all moot now, anyway. Noelle made it clear, I’m the last person she wants to see.” I pull the torn scraps of my check out of my pocket and show them as evidence.
But Dex just smiles. “Maybe you were offering the wrong thing.”
His words rattle me. I turn away and lift my suitcase to the floor. “I’ll be back in time for all the wedding stuff,” I tell him.
Dex shrugs. “Whatever you want. Where are you heading next, do you think?” He walks me out to the front door again.
“You mean, to develop? I haven’t thought about it yet. We were looking at sites in Chicago, a shopping complex in Dallas. There’s always something.”
“Well, travel safe.” Dex gives me a hug. “Tegan’s sulking in the music room,” he adds. “You should go say goodbye. Golden rule,” he reminds me, and I feel another shard of guilt.
We never leave angry in this family. You never know when that goodbye will be the last.
I follow the sound of piano through to the room at the back of the house. Tegan is composing, picking out notes on the baby grand. She’s building her fledgling career as a songwriter, and has had a couple of tracks make it to production for big artists already. I’m so proud of how far she’s come these past few years, and watching her now, I feel a wave of affection.“Hey,” I say, interrupting her. “C’mere.”
Tegan sighs, but she gets up and comes to give me a hug. She squeezes tight. “You’re being a stupid dum-dum, but I love you.”
I chuckle. “Dum-dum?”
“Ryland says I swear too much. We’ve got a jar now, I have to pay a dollar every time I curse. It’s going to be enough to buy a new guitar at this rate,” she adds, finally breaking into a smile.
I hug her again. “I’ll see you soon,” I promise.
“You shouldn’t be leaving.” She can’t help getting in one final dig.
“Tegan—”
“No, listen to me.” Tegan pulls back and looks up at me, her anger replaced with anxiety. “When you were with her, you were different. You were funny, and relaxed, and happy. I’ve never seen you like that with a girlfriend before.”
“You haven’t met half my girlfriends,” I protest, but she shakes her head.
“You shouldn’t take it for granted. Finding someone who sees the best in you, who believes in what you can be… It’s rare, and precious, and I want it for you. You deserve a love like that, after everything you’ve done for us. You deserve to be happy.”
The words slice through me.
“I’ll be fine,” I reassure her, even as my voice sounds hollow. “You know I get by fine on my own.”
“Fine isn’t good.” She gives me a regretful smile, then sighs. “I’m not going to change your mind, am I?”
I don’t reply. “Love you,” I say instead, leaning in and kissing her forehead. “I’ll call you when I get in.”
I make it to the city in plenty of time to catch my flight. I head for the business lounge as usual to make some calls before boarding, already running through the dozen projects we still have in progress. This permit issue will take some explaining, but we run into issues like this all the time. There’s no point in dwelling on it, shut-downs happen all the time. I’ll have moved on to something new by the end of the week.
Another project. A different city.
The only thing that’s constant is that I’ll leave it too, in the end.
I pause in the concourse. All around me, hundreds of people are hurrying to catch their flights, off on business trips and vacations—and on their way home.