by Tia Siren
I picked up my phone, dialed the first client, and prepared myself. “Good morning, Janice. This is Ashley Parks, the photographer. I’ve had a family emergency come up and I need to see if we can do your shoot tomorrow instead of Monday.”
I waited while she checked with her manager, my stomach rolling. Thankfully, she came back quickly.
“Sure, Ashley. He says that works fine. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Thank you so much, Janice. I really appreciate it,” I told her, releasing the pent-up breath I had been holding.
I hung up, made the note in my calendar, and repeated the process. Some jobs I had to cancel all together or push to the end of the month. I knew I was committing career suicide, but I didn’t have a choice. Anna would be thrilled. We had always been competitive, I think because we were so close in age, she being a year older than me. We were exactly thirteen months apart and my dad always called us Irish twins. Anna had always been jealous of me and hated it when I received an accolade for anything. It was as if she wanted me to fail.
It was almost three by the time I finished clearing my calendar for the next two weeks. I hoped everything would be taken care of by then so I could resume my life in New York City. My day was done. The bonus of working for myself was the freedom to set my own hours. It made it much easier for me to work around Jasper’s schedule. Being a single mom was tough business, and finding daycare wasn’t easy. This year had been great. He had started school, which meant free daycare!
I pulled into the pick-up lane and waited my turn to collect my son.
“Hey, buddy!” I said when he climbed in the back seat.
“Hi, Mom,” he said, pushing his glasses up on his nose.
“How was school?”
He shrugged. “It was okay. Randy picked his nose—again.”
I bit back a laugh. The tragedies of kindergarten were rough. Jasper was a smart boy and often had trouble coping with other kids his age. He preferred playing in the dirt or searching for rocks over coloring. He wasn’t the kid that wanted to race around the playground playing tag or just being silly. He would rather watch documentaries than cartoons. He was a serious child. I often wondered if that was a product of his genes or the way I was raising him. I hoped it was the first. I didn’t want to think I was responsible for turning my child into a loner. He was an old soul. It made me a little sad he was so grown up before his time but very proud as well.
I pulled out of the school parking lot and headed for my loft in Brooklyn. I couldn’t quite afford to live in the city, but I hoped to continue to grow my business and one day have an apartment there or maybe a house outside the city. A house was what my boy needed, but I loved the idea of living close to work. I loved the hustle and bustle of the city, too. It always made me feel so alive. In other ways, I knew it was probably not the best place to raise a little boy.
“Guess what?” I said, infusing excitement I didn’t feel into my voice.
“What?”
“We’re going to go see my dad, your grandpa.”
“We are!?” He sounded very excited. He clapped his hands, the movement sending his glasses down his nose again. “I can’t wait! Are we going to see his farm?”
“Yep. I need to get some things taken care of and then we’re going to take a plane ride. Won’t that be fun?”
“What about school?”
Crap.
He only had two days left before they were out for the summer. Leslie could wait a couple days. Plus, that would give me time to squeeze in a couple more jobs. Photography was far more than snapping a picture. Nowadays it was all in the editing and giving the client a final product they absolutely loved with the help of a little digital magic.
“We’ll go after school’s out,” I told him, a little embarrassed that my five-year-old had to remind me of my basic responsibilities. I’d been in a bit of a panic when my sister dropped her bombshell on me and was ready to drop everything and run home to help my daddy. I was still reeling from the shock of hearing my father was seriously ill.
I was not looking forward to the task of packing up. I was really not looking forward to showing my face in my hometown. It held nothing but bad memories. Well, not all bad, I thought, looking in the rearview mirror and seeing my son. He was my life, my light, my reason for getting out of bed and trying so hard to become a successful photographer.
Once we were settled at home, I instructed Jasper to pick up his dirty clothes so I could get them washed. I had to get the laundry done so we would have clean clothes to take. I didn’t want to show up at my dad’s front door with bags of dirty laundry. Then it was figuring out what to pack and what to leave. I was hoping our trip would be wrapped up within two weeks, but if it went longer than that, I wanted to be prepared.
I sat down and started to make a list of everything I needed to do before we left, like stop the mail and pay bills.
Janna. I needed to call Janna and let her know I was going out of town and wouldn’t be working. My business partner was also my best friend, which made these kinds of situations much easier.
“Hey,” I said when she answered the phone on the second ring.
“What’s up? I got a call you canceled a shoot. Is everything okay?”
I sighed. “Actually, no, which is why I’m calling. It-it’s my dad. I have to go out of town for a couple weeks. I’m going to get as much done before I leave this weekend, but I had to cancel some gigs and shake up the entire schedule for the month. I have a few jobs that need editing, but I will make sure everything’s done. I’ll have my computer and can work on some of the other edits while I’m there.”
“I’m sorry, Ashley,” she said in a somber tone. “Are you okay?”
Fighting back tears, I tried to control my voice. “Yes. No. My sister said he started another round of chemo last week. He’s handling it well, but if this round doesn’t work—”
I couldn’t say it. I couldn’t say what I feared the most. My mouth went dry and my tongue felt thick.
“Take the time you need. Your dad needs you. I hate cancer,” she mumbled.
I scoffed. “Me too. He’s so young. I remember back when I thought thirty was old. He’s only fifty-eight. That feels so young to me. He isn’t even old enough to retire,” I said, shaking my head at the unfairness of life.
“He is young, which is a good thing in this case,” she pointed out.
“Yes, and he is fairly healthy otherwise and active, or was anyway.” I sighed. “I don’t think it’s right,” I whined. “The universe can’t take both my parents. Not yet. It’s so not fair.”
“Oh, sweetie. Think positive. Prostate cancer has a very good survival rate. Your dad caught it early. Go. Go spend some time with him. You’ll feel better once you see him; I know it. We all need to go home at some point. It strengthens us, reminds us of who we are and where we came from.”
“Thank you. I’ll be in touch. Please, if any of the clients call you, pass along my apologies. I called everyone and sent emails, but just in case someone misses the message. I am counting on you and your charming ways to save any clients that want to drop us.”
“Take care of yourself and that handsome little man,” she said with a smile in her voice. “I’ll take care of things here. No one can say no to me.”
“I hope so,” I said before hanging up.
Janna was very fond of Jasper and I knew he loved her, too. He considered her his aunt. In many ways she was more of an aunt than Leslie or Anna. She was an important person in my life, and I felt very fortunate to be able to call her my friend.
I walked into Jasper’s bedroom and smiled. He hadn’t gotten far on picking up his clothes. He was seated on the floor, his box of rocks open in front of him. I made a mental not to put the box in my carry on. Jasper would freak out if the airline managed to lose our luggage with his precious rocks in it.
As I watched him, my heart lurched. He looked so much like his daddy. His dark brown hair was due for another haircut.
It was thick, just like his father’s. My own blond hair was wispy and thin. He looked up at me, those bright blue eyes shining behind his glasses. Yep, he was his daddy through and through. There was no denying who had fathered my son.
Going back home meant my secret would be out. I was dreading how it would all go down. Deep down, I was happy to be getting everything out in the open. It had been a long time coming. Carrying around a secret of this magnitude for so long had been taxing. My family had always been pissed about me refusing to bring Jasper home, but I think they knew why. They probably thought I was a coward, but I didn’t care. Maybe I was. I didn’t want to deal with my past. But that was all about to change.
I watched Jasper a little longer and wondered how his father would react when he saw his son for the first time. I didn’t really have to wonder though. I knew. He would be furious. The next two weeks were going to be difficult for more than one reason. I prayed I had the strength to deal with it all.
Chapter 2
Brock
I knew this would happen. I had done this with the intention of triggering a violent, angry response, but now that I was faced with the reality of my choices, I was nervous. Nervous and excited and furious, if it was possible to feel all those things at once. This deal was the culmination of years of hard work fueled by the need to seek revenge. I knew it wasn’t healthy, but I didn’t care.
Ashley was coming home. It had been six years since she’d left me standing at the altar like a jackass. Six years since I had seen her or even spoken with her. I had tried to contact her those first few weeks after she disappeared, further adding to my humiliation. I was sure she’d gotten a good laugh at my expense. Once I figured out she was gone for good, I gave up. She left me an empty, bitter man—a man I didn’t like most days.
Now I knew she was going to blow into town just like she’d blown out. Would she even bother to reach out? Would she be too ashamed to look me up? Or maybe she thought she was too good for me now that she’d made a life in the big city. I wasn’t sure if she kept tabs on what happened back here, but I hoped she knew how successful I’d become.
I smiled. If she didn’t, she would soon enough. That was a given. I expected her to reach out with her claws fully extended and try to rip my head off. Good. That was exactly the reaction I was hoping for. I wanted to make her miserable. I wanted her to suffer like she had made me suffer. When the opportunity to hurt her arose, I had jumped at the chance. She owed me. I owed her for taking off and leaving me like she did.
It was petty, but I didn’t care. I was still pissed. My last girlfriend had accused me of still being hung up on Ashley Parks. I’d vehemently denied it, but she hadn’t believed me. According to her, you could only hate someone the way I hated Ashley if there were still feelings there. I scoffed. Oh, there were feelings all right, but love wasn’t one of them.
For too long, I had been known as the guy who had snagged the youngest Parks girl. Back in the day, that had been a big deal. The Parks were somebodies. They had a big farm and each of the kids was gorgeous and knew it. They had been all high and mighty, but now look at them.
I ignored the twinge of guilt that crept in. I would not feel guilty for what I was going to do.
Times had changed, and I was the big guy in town now. I had scraped my way to the top and now Ashley would have to deal with me. I liked Tanner Parks, but I liked the idea of making money and sticking it to Ashley even better.
As I paced my large office, I glanced down at the drawings before me. The plans—plans that would transform Ashley’s family farm into high-priced condos—were spread across the solid oak desk. I smiled, imagining the look on her face when she saw the bulldozers roll onto the property and flatten the family home. The fields of corn and tomatoes would be razed.
I would not feel guilty. The housing was needed. Our small town was growing and people needed somewhere to live. I was only doing my civic duty by providing homes for our newcomers. I didn’t think any of us locals had ever imagined our small West Virginia town becoming the place people wanted to live. People who were fleeing cities in the hopes of finding the idyllic small-town life with big-city amenities would be flocking to my new condos.
“Helen?” I called out my open office door.
Yes, I was one of the biggest real estate sellers in the county, but I kept a small office. There was no need for a big, fancy office to eat up profits, taking money directly out of my pocket.
“You called?” Helen said, popping her head in the doorway, her notepad in hand.
“Yes. Can you get the developer on the phone and set up a time to go over numbers within the next couple days?”
She jotted the request down on her notepad and looked up. “Anything else?”
I shook my head. “Just let him know we need to get this deal firmed up right away. I expect to have some challenges, and I want as much detail as we can get so we’re in a position to move forward quickly.”
She gave me that look. It was a look of condemnation, but I knew she would never say the words. I paid her too well.
“I can do that. Why the rush?” she asked. “In case the developer asks,” she quickly added.
I raise an eyebrow. She wasn’t asking for the developer. We both knew that.
“I expect his family will put up a bit of a stink over this whole deal. It’s a fight they can’t win. It’s only going to waste time. I don’t want the developer thinking I can’t uphold my end of the bargain and get that land secured,” I said.
“Oh.”
“Oh?”
“Nothing. I’ll go make the call.”
I watched as she walked out of my office. She was trying to make me feel guilty. Helen was a good woman. She had lived in the area most of her life and was fond of the Parks. Everyone was. I knew I was making myself a bit of an enemy of the state with this deal, but people would forget eventually. They wanted the growth, and for that to happen, we needed housing.
The deal had to be close to done before Ashley got into town. I just knew she would throw a wrench in my plans. That was what she did. She came in, ruined my life, and then ran away. Not this time. This time I was going to be the one who ruined her life. I wanted to hurt her as badly as she had hurt me. This was the only way I knew how to get it done.
It was probably wrong, immature, and a little nasty, but I didn’t care. My heart still had a hole in it—a hole she had bored into it. She didn’t get to run away, start a new life in New York, and forget all about me and our time together.
A sound at the door grabbed my attention. It was Helen.
“Yes?”
“I spoke with the secretary. She says you can meet him at his office tomorrow. His schedule is full, but he can squeeze you in for about fifteen minutes. I took the appointment. Is that going to work for you?”
I nodded. “I’ll make it work.”
“Do you need me to put anything together for the meeting?”
“No. I can take care of it. Do I have any appointments today?” I asked, hoping she would say no even though that meant I was hoping not to get paid.
“Your schedule is clear. I did have one person call and ask about that one old house at the edge of town, the one you’re trying to sell as a commercial property. The woman asked a lot of questions but didn’t want to see it.”
“Okay. If she calls again, try to get her to meet me out there. That house is an eyesore. The sooner someone buys it and fixes it up, the better it will be for my other deal. People will have to drive by that place to get to the condos that will be built,” I said, thinking about new ways to market the property.
She rolled her eyes. “It would just be a shame for them to have to look at something that wasn’t pretty and perfect.”
I laughed. “We are selling a dream. That place can go either small commercial or residential. It would be great if someone bought it and turned it into a market or something that would help attract residents to the condos. They want the convenience of everything cl
ose by but still want country living,” I said, shaking my head.
“I wish they’d see they are ruining the country by making it the city. Wonder when they’ll figure that out,” she said with disgust.
“Hopefully not until the deal is done and we get paid.” I winked.
She waved a hand at me. “You’re terrible.”
I laughed. “Terribly rich.”
Another eye roll, then she turned to leave.
“Thank you, Helen.”
“You’re welcome,” she said in a voice that made it clear she was not happy to be a part of this deal.
She’d get over it when she got a fat bonus when we closed the deal. I knew I was looking forward to a windfall of cash and building up my nest egg. Helen was a good woman, and I knew I was pushing her moral compass a little beyond what she was comfortable with, but she also knew the Parks’ farm was going under. Either I bought it or someone else did. I didn’t give Tanner cancer. I didn’t ruin his farm. That had been his children, a series of bad choices, and some shitty luck.
I sat down and got to work crunching numbers and doing what I could to gather all the information the developer would need. The more legwork I did, the less he would need to do. I started to pull water records, zoning laws, and every other bit of information he would need to complete the deal.
It was all so close I could taste it. I just needed the ink on the paper. I thought of Ashley’s face when she saw her family home taken away. Would she cry?
Ouch.
Okay, I couldn’t be that mean. But I wasn’t going to feel that bad about the house being sold either. It wasn’t like she needed the house anyway. She hadn’t been back home since she’d left me standing in her daddy’s field underneath that stupid white arch wrapped with sunflowers. I had felt like such a fool. Her family had tried to make excuses, but they were just as surprised as I was that she’d chosen to cut and run at the last minute.
Ashley hadn’t shown her face in town since that day. Her sisters and brother all had their own houses. It was only Tanner rambling around that big old house, saddled with a farm he couldn’t take care of. I felt bad about the cancer but had no doubt in my mind he would pull through. The guy was a tough son of a bitch. It would take more than cancer to take him out.
