Small Town Billionaire

by Cheryl Michaels

  “Well, this is a surprise,” her mother said when she answered the doorbell. “I was beginning to think you’d forgotten all about us.”

  “Can I come in?” Shay asked, refusing to take the bait.

  “Of course.” She stepped back. “But your father is lying down. He should be up soon.”

  “Is he feeling okay?” Shay asked, feeling a pang of guilt for the way she’d left things with her sick father.

  “Do you really care?”

  “I didn’t come here to fight, Mom. I came here to fill you in on what’s been happening in my life. Not because I need your blessing. I don’t. I just wanted you to know.”

  “Hmm. Would you like some tea?”

  “Sure, why not?” Shay followed her mother into the house, wondering why she’d always worn heels inside. It was one of the many questions she’d never felt comfortable asking her.

  “I hear you’re seeing that Wright boy again.” She set the two delicate cups and saucers on the table before adding to it a teapot Shay recognized as her grandmother’s.

  Shay’s mother had a way of making her feel like a petulant teenager every time she opened her mouth. “First of all, he’s not a boy. He’s a man. And yes, I am. Do you and Dad have a problem with that?”

  “I know he’s done very well for himself,” she said, pinching her lips together. “But having money isn’t everything.”

  Shay covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. “That’s funny coming from you. I thought that was the only thing that prevented Chase from being good enough for me back in high school, as far as you were concerned.”

  “Well, we certainly didn’t have a crystal ball,” she said, sitting down. “No one could have predicted that he would become so wealthy. You know, I Googled him the other day. You’ll never guess what his net worth is.”

  Shay hadn’t seen her mother’s eyes light up like that in a long time. But then dollar signs always did make her salivate. She was probably already imagining how Chase’s good fortune could benefit their family.

  “I don’t care how much money he has. I love him.” Shay let those words settle in before she said, “And he loves me.”

  “Well, at least we won’t have to worry about whether he can provide for you.”

  “I don’t need anyone to provide for me.” Shay shook her head. “In case you haven’t noticed, I have a car and home of my own.”

  “I know, but think about the kind of house and car you could have if you were married to someone like Chase.”

  Shay couldn’t believe that all of a sudden her mother viewed Chase as a catch. “Mom, I busted my butt in college, so I wouldn’t lose my scholarship. Even after I gave my baby up—”

  “Do we have to re-hash all this? It’s ancient history.”

  “For you, maybe.” Shay reminded herself that she’d promised not to lose her temper, but her mother didn’t make it easy to keep her word. “But you and Dad seem to forget all that I’ve sacrificed to try and make a decent life for myself. I worked hard, lived beneath my means, paid off all my debt, including my house—”

  “You don’t have a mortgage on that house?” Her eyes widened. “Why didn’t you ever tell me that?”

  “You never asked.” Shay didn’t like to discuss her finances with her parents, mainly because they would probably cut her salary at the dealership if they knew she didn’t have any debt. “I’ve bankrolled every single improvement on that old house and have been saving for retirement. Do you want to know why?”

  “I’m sure you’ll tell me.”

  “Because I want to write. That’s my passion. It’s what I was born to do, and since it’s not the most stable career choice—”

  “You can say that again.”

  Shay clenched her teeth, spitting out the words. “I have saved my money, made do with less, and created a nice little nest egg for myself, so someday, I could live life on my terms. So you see, I don’t need Chase. But I do want him in my life. Because I love him. Not because he has money.”

  She narrowed her eyes, tapping her manicured nail on the table. “Why do I get the feeling there was a dig in there somewhere? Are you judging me because I chose to stay home with my children instead of getting a job that was beneath me?”

  Shay’s mother had never gone to college, because according to her, it wasn’t necessary since she’d landed a man from a well-to-do family. “No, I’m not judging you. But would it have killed you to help me out at the dealership? Dad was in the hospital, then you hired a caregiver for him. What prevented you from being at the dealership?”

  Shay had always wanted to know why her mother had never stepped up when her family needed her.

  “What do I know about that kind of thing?” she asked, smoothing her layered hair. “You’re the one with the fancy business degree. Your poor father would have been worried sick if he thought I was there making a mess of things.”

  “So you didn’t feel you were capable of making a valuable contribution? That’s why you did nothing?”

  She shrugged. “I’ve never had a head for business, you know that.”

  “No, I don’t. And neither do you. You’ve never even tried.”

  “Are you saying you think I should?”

  Shay hadn’t intended to discuss the family business today, but since they were knee deep in it now, there was no reason for her to back-peddle. “I think you’re a lot smarter and more resourceful than you give yourself credit for. You know everyone in the community. You’ve invested a lot of hours raising money for various causes so you’re obviously a good salesperson. I think you could be a great asset to the business.”

  Shay wasn’t just saying that because it would give her some breathing room. For years she’d sensed that her mother needed something more in her life. Now that her children were grown and gone and her husband was gone all the time, when he was well, she seemed lonely.

  “What would your father say?”

  “I don’t know. We could ask him.” Shay decided it was time to lay her cards on the table, whether her parents liked it or not. “Here’s the deal, Mom. I put my life on hold when Dad had the stroke because you needed me, and I was happy to do it. But I can’t and won’t do it forever. Either you guys need to get serious about finding a buyer or you need to share the workload once Dad’s well enough, because I can’t go on doing this forever.”

  “Did your boyfriend put you up to this?” Did he—”

  “Chase doesn’t even know I’m here. Does he want me to do what makes me happy? Of course he does. And honestly, the dealership doesn’t make me happy. It never has.”

  She sighed. “Honestly, I don’t think it makes your father happy anymore either.”

  “Then why is he still doing it?”

  “Why do you think?” She gestured around her. “As you well know, this lifestyle we live comes at a hefty price.”

  “Then maybe you need to think about changing your lifestyle.” Shay had thought that for years, but had never been brave enough to suggest it before. “Think about it. Why do you need this big old house and those fancy cars? Not to mention the condo in Florida you hardly ever use anymore and the timeshare.”

  “It is a burden,” she admitted, hanging her head. “Especially now with your father’s health problems. He wanted to downsize years ago, but I talked him out of it. I was worried what people would say. So he continued busting his tail to keep me in everything I thought I needed.” She fought back tears as she twisted a large sapphire and diamond ring on her finger. “I’m so ashamed of myself. I made money and other people’s opinions more important than my husband’s happiness and well-being. What kind of person does that?”

  “Someone who’s confused,” Shay said, reaching for her mother’s hand. “Someone who’s always lived her life a certain way and is afraid of change. That doesn’t make you a bad person, Mom. And it’s not too late to make different decisions. God spared Dad for a reason. Maybe it’s time for you two to sit down and figure out what
you really want, what’s important to you. Both of you.”

  “I think you’re right.” She brushed the pad of her thumb over Shay’s finger. “You say you got used to living beneath your means? How does one go about doing that?”

  Shay smiled at her mother’s naiveté, though she knew she shouldn’t. She seriously had no idea where to start re-structuring her life of excess. “I think the first step is paring things down and just keeping the essentials. You could donate or sell everything you don’t need, maybe even make a little mad money in the process.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Surely you’re not suggesting we have a garage sale?”

  “There are other ways to sell things these days. You can sell good quality used items and collectibles online. Anyways, once you’ve gotten rid of everything you don’t really want, you’ll probably find you could do with a lot less space.”

  “Maybe you’re right.”

  “There’s the wonderful adult lifestyle community they built between here and Brockville,” Shay reminded her. “They have a man-made lake and golf course. Dad would love that, don’t you think?”

  “He’d be in heaven.” She smiled. “And you’re right about the condo and timeshare. If we sold those we could pay for the rest of your brother’s education, which I know would alleviate a lot of pressure.”

  Knowing how astronomical her parent’s monthly payments were, between her brother’s education and their dwellings, Shay often lost sleep wondering what would happen to her family if she couldn’t keep all those balls in the air.

  “It sure would.”

  “You’ve given me a lot to think about,” her mother said with the first genuine smile Shay had seen in a long time. “I promise to talk to your father about it. We’ll come up with a plan to help you out at the dealership, one way or the other. You need time to write, after all.”

  Shay leaned in to give her mother an impulsive kiss. “Thank you.” They’d had such a good talk, she didn’t want risk ruining the ground they’d made, but she couldn’t leave without telling her about Nick.

  “My son is here,” she said, softly. “He’s spending the afternoon with Chase and we’re all going out for dinner together tonight.”

  “I see. Your son? That’s how you think of him?” Her eyes softened when she said, “I’m not judging you, Shay. I’m really not. I just don’t want to see you get your heart broken. That boy has parents who love him, parents who have raised him when you couldn’t.”

  “I know that, and I would never try to take his mother’s place. That’s not what this is about. I just want to have a relationship with him, even if that means we’re just friends. Can you understand that?”

  “I suppose I can.” She stretched her arms out in front of her, pressing her back into the chair. “I’ve often wondered about him myself, you know.”

  “You have?”

  Since Shay had always been discouraged from talking about the adoption, she assumed both of her parents had decided to put it out of their minds.

  “Of course.” Her smile was sad when she said, “We’re not monsters, dear. But I’m afraid we may have been misguided parents who thought we knew it all.”

  Shay had never heard either one of her parents admit to being wrong or apologize for anything, so she was a little stunned to hear her mother’s admission.

  “The last time you were here…” She sighed softly. “I cried myself to sleep that night because I was terrified we’d lost you for good this time.”

  “Mom,” Shay said, her voice gentle. “It’s not that I don’t want a relationship with you guys. I do. I just want you to respect my right to make my own decisions.”

  “I know.” She nodded. “And you’ve earned that right. It’s not that you have a pattern of making stupid mistakes. You’ve been very responsible as an adult, always doing what was right. We’re very proud of you, you know.”

  Shay had given up hope of hearing that years ago. She’d even convinced herself she didn’t need her parent’s approval. Still, it was nice to hear she had it. “Thank you.”

  “And if you want to build a life with Chase we’re not going to try and stand in your way.”

  There was no way they could, but Shay appreciated the sentiment nonetheless. “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “And of course we understand why you would want to get to know your son. Anyone in your position would.”

  “Would you like to get to know him, Mom?” Shay knew Nick may not be ready for that, given what he’d read about them in her book, but she hoped he would eventually be open to the possibility.

  “I think that would be lovely,” she said, smiling.

  Shay leaned over and they shared a warm embrace as she whispered, “I love you.”

  “I love you too, sweetheart. So very much.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chase was making a snack for himself and Nick that would hopefully tide them over until their dinner date with Shay in a couple of hours when Nick said, “Uh, Chase, can I ask you something?”

  “Yeah, sure.” He popped a cheese square into his mouth, followed by a couple of crackers before passing the plate, along with a bowl of pretzels, to Nick.

  “You think it would be okay if I spent the summer here with you guys?”

  “Uh…” Chase didn’t know how to respond. He’d love nothing more than to hang out with Nick for a couple of months but he had no idea how Nick’s mom would feel about that and he couldn’t commit to anything until he spoke to both her and Shay.

  “If you’re too busy or whatever it’s cool. I just thought maybe—”

  “It’s not that I’m too busy. But why don’t you want to go up to the cabin with your mom and step-dad? I’m sure there’s some great fishing up there. Maybe you could get a little hunting in too.”

  “No kid wants to be cut off from his friends for the whole summer,” Nick said, sounding disgusted. “With no internet, no cell service. Ugh. I might as well be in jail.”

  “I’m sure it wouldn’t be that bad,” Chase said, chuckling.

  “You think this is funny?” Nick glared at him. “This is my life we’re talking about! Not that I expect that to matter to you. You’ve never cared about me. Why start now?”

  “Nick, that’s not fair.” If anyone else had blown up at him like that, hurling accusations, Chase would have let them have it right back. But since Nick had a right to his anger, Chase was determined to give him a long rope.

  “Not fair?” He jumped up, nearly upending the chair. “You want to know what’s not fair? That I don’t get a say in anything! My so-called parents dump me with strangers when I’m a baby. My old man checks out and leaves me with some loser who doesn’t even care what happens to me. Did you even think about the consequences before you got her knock—”

  “Enough!” Chase gripped the edge of the counter, trying hard not to lose it. “You don’t know—”

  “No, you don’t know! You don’t know how it feels to have no one want you!”

  “Nick,” Chase said, hanging his head. “Please don’t think that.”

  “It’s true and you know it. My mom doesn’t even want me anymore. Ever since she got re-married she’s been treating me like an inconvenience. I know she doesn’t really want me with them this summer. I’d just be in the way.”

  Chase cursed when his phone buzzed. It was a text from Bryce asking him to call immediately. It was an emergency. That’s when Chase realized he’d turned his ringer off earlier. Since Bryce wasn’t prone to panic, Chase knew it had to be serious. And he thought both he and Nick could use a cooling off period.

  “I have to make a call in my office.”

  “Of course you do,” Nick said, rolling his eyes. “Isn’t that what you do best, walk away from your problems?”

  “Look, I get that you’re angry. But I won’t have you disrespecting me.”

  “Why should I respect you?” He glared at Chase. “Because you’re rich? Because you built some big company that—”
>
  “No.” Chase couldn’t think of a single reason why Nick should respect him, so instead of continuing the argument, he did exactly what Nick accused him of doing. He walked away.

  Chase swore up and down as he tore around the house looking for Nick half an hour later. The call with Bryce lasted longer than he expected when he found out that a manager in one of their retail stores had been selling merchandise off the truck for months.

  “Where could he be?” Chase asked as he texted Nick, though he didn’t expect a response. “It’s not like he had wheels. How far could he have gone?”

  He jumped in his truck, almost forgetting to lock his door, though in Landon it was hardly necessary. He hoped Nick would come back after a short walk, but something told him this was a lot more serious than needing a little breathing space.

  All of that anger that Chase never realized Nick had been harbouring came pouring out as soon as he felt like he was being rejected all over again. Not that Chase was surprised. He probably would have reacted the same way in his position.

  He kept his eyes peeled on the short drive to Shay’s house, but there was no sign of Nick. Since she was the only other person he knew in town, aside from Brady and his mother, he prayed that’s where he would have gone. Though he probably viewed Shay as the enemy right now too.

  Chase jumped out of the truck after barely throwing it into park in Shay’s driveway, his heart beating out of his chest as he ran up the steps. “Please God,” he muttered. “Please let him be here.”

  “Hey,” Shay said, smiling up at him when she answered his knock. “I wasn’t expecting you guys for at least another hour.”

  “Then Nick’s not here?”

  Shay’s smile fell as her gaze drifted to the truck. “What are you talking about? Of course he’s not here. I thought he was with you.”

  “He was, but we, uh, kind of got into it and he bailed when I was on the phone.”

  Shay staggered back, looking pale and shaky. “Where could he have gone? He doesn’t even know his way around town. Did he even have any money?”