by J. H. Croix
Raised in money and groomed to work in my family’s business, the only thing I could say I really loved was my little restaurant. The only reason I got to keep that pet project, as my father had dubbed it, was because, by a stroke of luck, it made money, and it was successful. It worked for all of his investment collaborations.
Here in Alaska, with people who didn’t care how much money I had, and where the moose snorting and pawing behind a tree made me feel more alive than I’d ever felt, I almost didn’t recognize the person I’d been before. I couldn’t believe I’d married a man who took pride in ruthlessly making money, no matter who was hurt by it.
Life returned to slap me in the face a few days after the incident with Cat. Cat and Flynn had achieved an uneasy footing after that. She told him what happened. Although I knew Flynn wanted to raise a stink with the kid, he didn’t. He did, however, ground her for a week for skipping classes. That was fun because they were sniping at each other every day. To Flynn’s credit, Cat usually started it.
I was in the pantry when I heard Cat’s voice. “Excuse me, where are you going?” Cat called, sounding indignant.
“Young lady, I’m here to find my daughter.”
Dread curled in my belly. I knew that voice. It was my mother. Although I hadn’t really wanted to, I’d called her almost weekly since I’d been here, hoping it would keep her at bay.
I didn’t even care to wonder how she found me. I was sure she’d hired a private investigator to dig into my credit cards, or Lord knows what else. I’d only told her I was going to Alaska. That was it.
My heart was hammering hard, and I felt sick. I was suddenly cold all over and almost dropped the jar of olives in my hand. I set them carefully on the pantry shelf and turned to walk out into the kitchen.
My mother was shaking Cat’s hand off her elbow. “Don’t you dare touch me,” she huffed.
My mother was a snob and kind of a bitch. In my own broken way, I still loved her. “Mom.”
She turned, and we stared at each other for a moment. I took her in. She wore an expensive knee-length lightweight coat belted at the waist over a skirt and a pair of black leather boots with stockings. Her hair was in a tidy twist, and gold earrings dangled from her ears. The giant diamond on her wedding band flashed as she smoothed her palms on her coat.
My mind flashed to the day I met Flynn. I’d been wearing a skirt and boots on the drive here. I recalled the incredulous look on his face and realized I felt exactly the same way looking at my mother just now.
“Daphne, I’m here to get you,” my mother said.
I was wearing leggings with a T-shirt and my apron loosely tied around my waist. Cat looked back and forth between us. She didn’t say anything, but I sensed she was ready to have my back if necessary, and it made me want to laugh.
“I’m not going anywhere. Nice to see you, though. How was your trip, Mom?” I asked, sarcasm dripping from every word.
I felt more than saw Flynn when he came into the kitchen. After looking from my mother to me, he crossed over to stand beside me. “Can I help you?” he asked.
My mother narrowed her icy gaze at Flynn. “You can’t help me with anything. I’m here to pick up my daughter.”
“Oh, my God, Mom, I’m standing right here. I’m not going anywhere with you.”
When my mother closed her eyes and released a breath in an annoyed huff, I realized how much I resembled her. I shared her auburn hair and green eyes and petite build. She looked strung tight and as if she was made of sharp edges.
As a mother, she was all sharp edges. My entire childhood had been about making sure everything looked just so, including me.
My heart was thumping erratically, and dread was an icy knot in my belly now. It wasn’t that I couldn’t deal with my mother. But her presence here, in a place that was mine and entirely separate from her, felt as if she were defiling it.
My mother opened her eyes again. “Daphne, please come with me,” she said sternly as if I were nothing more than a little girl.
My mother counted on many things from me, and all of my life until Brandon died, I’d never hesitated to try to placate her. I did love her, no matter how well I’d come to understand her. But before brutal grief and disillusionment shredded me to pieces, I didn’t do things because they felt right. I did them because the expectation had been drilled so thoroughly into me.
My son’s death and my ex’s affair during that terrible time had ripped the veil away from appearances. My mother was so terribly out of place here. I was too. Yet in the time I’d been here, the changes were flying fast and furious inside me.
“Mom, I’m not coming with you. I’m not sure why you took it upon yourself to fly out here, but I’m not going anywhere with you.”
Flynn’s palm landed in the curve at my waist, and it almost felt as if he were imparting some of his strength to me. I needed every ounce I could get. Despite our audience, I actually had to fight the urge to turn into him to seek the shelter I knew he would give. Maybe it was just sex, but that didn’t matter now.
I watched my mother’s eyes flick down to the small distance between Flynn and me. I knew she noticed he’d touched me and was probably already calculating what that might mean.
Her sharp eyes swept up to mine, anger and disappointment glittering in them. “I will be in Anchorage for three days. I’d like you to think about coming home.”
Without another word, she spun around, the heels of her boots loud on the tile floor as she walked away. Unable to stop myself, I followed, but I kept my distance. I didn’t miss the fact that Flynn was right behind me.
I watched as my mother picked her way across the gravel parking lot to climb into an all-black SUV with a driver. I couldn’t fault her for that. It hadn’t been the smartest plan for me to drive myself out here when I was unfamiliar with the area.
With the sound of the gravel crunching under the tires as the vehicle disappeared, I sagged against the wall in the entryway.
Flynn had been waiting a few feet away and turned to stop in front of me. “Are you okay?”
Lifting my eyes, I took a breath and nodded. “Yeah. That was my mother.”
His eyes searched my face before he nodded. “I gathered. I told you I didn’t like her before, and I stand behind that statement.”
I gave him a rueful smile, internally surprised I wasn’t all that upset. With my mother gone, my heart rate slowed, and the sick feeling in my stomach faded. Although I would never wish it on anyone, an upside to going through a horrible loss was everything had a different perspective.
Before my son died and the attendant mess around it, I would’ve thought it would’ve been horrible to be on bad terms with my mother and have her disappointed in me. Now, it wasn’t nearly that big of a deal. Because nothing would likely measure up to the pain I felt after Brandon died. I’d walked through the barren darkness inside. I was still alive and was actually, maybe okay.
“I’m due for a flight. Wanna come with me?” Flynn asked.
As I looked up to his eyes, my heart jumped. I knew he was asking because he thought I could use a distraction. I could, and I didn’t even know what to think of just how well he could read me.
“Yes, please. Where’re we going?”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Flynn
“Which street?” I asked.
“That one,” Elias replied, pointing ahead.
We were in Anchorage for an unexpected trip to fetch a plane part that had arrived. We’d just picked it up and then stopped to grab lunch at what Elias claimed was the best burger place in Anchorage.
Not much later, we were enjoying our lunch when I felt a presence beside our table. Glancing up, I looked into the cool eyes of Daphne’s mother. I could feel Elias’s eyes on me before his gaze shifted back to Daphne’s mother and then to his plate. He remained silent, taking a bite of his burger and chewing.
I repeated the same question I’d asked Daphne’s mother when she appeared a few
days earlier at the resort. “Can I help you?”
I figured that was really polite of me under the circumstances. Nothing I knew about Daphne’s mother led me to consider her anything other than a cold bitch. In the days that passed since she’d shown up, Daphne had been unsettled and tense, kicking my protective instincts into high gear.
“I think you can,” she said in that haughty voice of hers. “I’d like you to leave my daughter alone. It appears she’s working for you, so I’d appreciate it if you would fire her.”
Elias finished chewing and took a sip of his water. Cold anger slithered down my spine.
“No,” was my only reply.
Her nostrils flared, and she narrowed her eyes at me. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with.”
“I don’t think you know who you’re dealing with,” I returned. “I don’t really care either. What kind of mother would expect their daughter to work with a man who screwed around on her while her son was dying? Because that’s the kind of mother you are.”
Daphne’s mother looked as if I slapped her hard across the face. For a split second, the façade cracked, and her pain flashed in her eyes. I didn’t care if I hurt her feelings.
I wondered if this woman actually breathed. But then she took a slightly ragged breath. It was so out of character for her that I felt a twinge of guilt for being so blunt.
“Why do you care?” she finally returned.
“It doesn’t matter why I care. I doubt you care all that much about how Daphne’s doing. Seems to me you just care about how it looks. If you want her to come home, maybe you should try to actually give a shit.”
My words were harsh, and the anger spinning inside me was so intense I wanted to punch something. Not Daphne’s mother. Maybe a wall would do. I just wanted her to stop and think about what Daphne had been through.
Her mother simply stared at me. For whatever reason, I think she realized she wasn’t going to get what she wanted from me. She gave me a long look. “Lord knows why you want to protect my daughter. She’s been nothing but a disappointment.”
At that, the woman I was having a hard time considering a mother turned and left, the heels of her boots clicking on the floor.
I hadn’t even realized one of my fists was balled into a tight grip until I looked over at Elias.
“You can calm down now,” he said dryly.
Uncurling my fist, I laid my palm flat on the table before I reached for my water to take a sip.
“You really like Daphne,” Elias offered. There was no hint of a question in his words.
“Obviously. I don’t like her mother, though.”
Elias chuckled. “No? I didn’t notice.”
At that moment, someone spoke. “Hey, guys.” Glancing over, we saw Trey Holden approaching. “Shopping trip?” he asked when he stopped beside our table.
I nodded. “Parts run. You?”
“Errands and more errands. I’m actually picking up lumber because we’re gonna do a small addition to the house. The new baby will make three kids, so we can use the space,” he explained. “You had a chance to think about whether you want to buy my business?”
“I didn’t need to think about it,” I replied dryly. “I just need to follow up with the bank. I think I can make it work. Give me a few weeks?”
“Dude, you’ve got months. My plane’s idle through the winter anyway. As long as you decide before, say, next March, we should be fine. You doing okay?” he asked.
I felt more than saw Elias’s teasing grin. It said something that my brief encounter with Daphne’s mother had unsettled me, so Trey might notice I was off. I shrugged. “Just dealing with some stuff.”
Elias helpfully offered, “We have bets on Flynn falling in love.”
“What the hell would you know about love?” I muttered as I stuffed a fry in my mouth.
A slow smile stretched across Trey’s face as he glanced back and forth between Elias and me. “Is that so?”
I sighed. “Fuck my life. I don’t enjoy being the subject of gossip.”
Elias waggled his brows. “It’s not gossip when you’re sitting right here.”
Trey clapped me on the shoulder. “I’ll say this. Love is the best thing that ever happened to me. No need to be afraid of it.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Daphne
“Mom, why are you here?” We were having a video call. I’d finally called before I knew she was due to fly out.
“You’re my daughter, and I would like you back home. It’s important to your father and me for things to finally get back to normal. We’ve indulged you through this difficult year, but it’s time to come home,” she explained as calmly as ever.
Ever since my mother had shown up, I’d felt off-balance, and I was scrambling to get it back. I was cold all the time again and felt slightly sick. It brought up uncomfortable memories. In the first few weeks after Brandon’s death, I could hardly eat. Of course, his death came after the hardest months of my life, during which I barely ate either. I’d lost more weight than was healthy.
I curled my hand around a cup of tea, needing the warmth but also needing something to hold. “Is Pete still working there?”
“Of course he is.” My mother didn’t even try to keep the exasperation out of her voice. “You know our two families are too intertwined for us to sever that business relationship. I am, of course, disappointed in him, but chin up and carry on.”
“Oh, my God. Disappointed? You’re disappointed in Pete for having an affair with one of my friends while our son was dying?”
My mother arched a brow and let out a controlled sigh. Everything she did was controlled. “You need to get over it. If it helps, Natalie was fired. They dated for about six months afterward, but they broke up after you left.”
As if that would make it better. My mother was freaking incredible. “So Nat deserves to be fired, but Pete doesn’t?”
“Her family has no stake in the company the way Pete’s family does. It’s time for you to get over these frivolous pursuits and get back to doing what you’re meant to do.”
I stared at my mother on the video screen on my phone and swallowed the scream in my throat.
That night, I lay gasping on Flynn’s chest after another intense bout of sex. In my body, in my mind, in my heart, and in my soul, I felt that we were making love every time. Except I didn’t think that’s what Flynn considered it.
For the past few days, he’d been withdrawn, just the slightest bit more distant than before. I didn’t know whether to attribute it to my mother’s unexpected visit or something else. He’d gone to Anchorage for the day to do some errands. I found out by chance from Elias that they’d encountered my mother, and Flynn sort of told her off. When I’d asked him about it, he’d simply shrugged.
I didn’t know what to think. Although I didn’t intend to go home and return to the life I had before, I did need to return to tidy up some details.
Lifting my head, I rested my chin on my palm on his chest. As if he could feel my gaze, his eyes opened. “If I needed to take a few weeks off, would that be okay?” I asked.
I didn’t know how to read his eyes as they searched my face. “Princess, you can do whatever you need. I know you don’t need this job for the money. We’ll make do. Are you going home?”
“Not to stay. But I do need to go deal with a few things.”
A part of me wanted Flynn to ask more, but he didn’t. I didn’t remember falling asleep, but I did recall waking during the night as he slipped out of bed. I lay awake in the darkness, knowing he was returning to his bedroom. We had an unspoken agreement that whenever Cat was home, which she was last night, I didn’t sleep there. Although she knew about us, I didn’t feel right spending the night there when she was home. Because I didn’t know how to define what we were.
A few days later, I searched Flynn’s eyes. “I’ll be back.”
Flynn’s touch was light as his hand brushed my hair away from my forehead. “You do
n’t have to make promises, princess.”
“I’m not leaving for good,” I insisted. Because I meant it. I truly did.
He was quiet, and the space around us felt crowded with so many unspoken emotions. I had fallen in love with Flynn. I sensed he might return the feeling, but the distance that had arisen between us after my mother showed up was still here. I didn’t know what to make of it.
“Call me,” he said softly. “We’ll miss you.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Daphne
We’ll miss you.
My brain couldn’t let go of the “we” in that statement. Flynn hadn’t been speaking of himself as an individual. It was all of them as a group who would miss me in a collective way.
Meanwhile, I missed him so acutely my heart ached from it. Oh, I missed Cat and Nora and all the guys too, yet it was only Flynn to whom my thoughts circled back to again and again.
I stood outside my family’s offices in Atlanta as traffic crowded the streets. The air was warm and still humid, even in autumn. I’d always loved this city. I still did, but it was so different now. I’d spent my lifetime before Brandon died absorbing the world through the lens handed to me by my parents. Now, I knew how crisp the air could smell and the sheer glory of the wilderness outside the city. And so much more.
Even though I didn’t know if Flynn loved me, it was his strength and belief in me that buoyed me when I walked into the building and prepared to face my past. I was distantly surprised at how much I wasn’t falling apart.
When I entered the building lobby, I got a startled smile from the man behind the reception desk. “Hey, George,” I called with a wave.
