The Way Home

by Eliana West

  He stared at the email from Tessa telling his brother that his schedule was too busy for him to visit when they stared their work on Halcyon.

  “There’s more if you want to see them,” he said quietly.

  He didn’t but he needed to. He swallowed and nodded. When he finished he looked at Dylan.

  “Why didn’t they say anything?” he asked in a gruff voice.

  “We tried; you wouldn’t listen. Anytime I’ve tried to talk to you about Tessa you accused me of being biased against her. The thing is, I am. I don’t like her and I don’t like what you’re like when you’re around her. You’re my brother and I love you but I’m not going to stay quiet anymore.” Dylan looked Taylor in the eye. “If that means that we don’t have a relationship going forward then I’ll have to learn to live with that but I’m not going to pretend like I’m okay with the decisions you’ve made.”

  Taylor’s gut clenched. He couldn’t believe his brother was giving him an ultimatum like this.

  He blew out a shaky breath. “I have some things to think about.”

  Uncle Robert came out and leaned against one of the porch columns. “You are welcome to stay here tonight if you’d like.”

  “Thanks, I think I’ll take you up on that if you don’t mind.” He looked at his brother. “How long are you here for?”

  “I’ll be around for a while.”

  “Don’t you need to get back to the hospital?”

  Dylan glanced at Uncle Robert. “I haven’t taken vacation in a long time. I thought my brother might need some help.”

  Taylor’s gaze shifted to Uncle Robert. “I guess I have you to thank for this.”

  Uncle Robert pulled his cap down low over his eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about. You two are grown men; you make your own decisions.”

  He stepped off the porch and headed into the barn, leaving Taylor with his brother.

  Dylan got up and patted him on the shoulder. “I’m going to unpack. I’ll be here if you want to talk some more.”

  Taylor rested his hands on his knees and stared out at Uncle Robert’s empty field. Dylan was right—it had become easier to let Tessa handle the more difficult or inconvenient aspects of his job and his life. He had chosen the easier path. He hadn’t seen how Tessa questioning his judgment had undermined his confidence. How many times had she reinforced his belief that his parents and his brother didn’t support him, using the fact that they never came to visit as proof? He felt sick to his stomach knowing that she had been the one keeping them apart.

  He walked halfway to Halcyon lost in thought before he realized where he was going. When he saw Tessa’s car in the driveway he quickened his pace. He walked in and stood paralyzed when he heard what Tessa was saying to Jo. He quietly moved closer and hovered out of sight outside the door to the small parlor.

  “The crew will be back the day after tomorrow and we’ll start filming in the small parlor so you won’t have access to this room for a while,” Tessa said.

  “No, you won’t,” Jo replied.

  “Excuse me? I don’t think you’re in any position to tell me what to do.”

  “Actually I am. As I just explained to Taylor, I am the majority owner of this house. You’re going to have to get approval from me for anything you want to do going forward.”

  “I’m afraid your math skills are a little lacking, honey. The production company owns half of Halcyon.” Tessa smirked.

  “Yes, and you own half of the production company—as you said your share is only twenty-five percent.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Taylor will do whatever I tell him to. He knows he can’t run the show without me.”

  Taylor sucked in a breath.

  “Because you’ve convinced him of that. You like having control over him, don’t you? You don’t want a partner you want a puppet.”

  Tessa’s eyes flashed with furry. “I’ve worked too damn hard to let you ruin everything.”

  “What am I ruining for you by being supportive of Taylor instead of manipulating him?”

  Tessa’s voice shook with rage. “I know what’s best for him. I don’t care who he sleeps with but you need to know your place. I’m the one who made him the success he is today.”

  “And without him you lose all your power, money, and control, won’t you? That’s why you keep such a tight rein on Taylor—without him you’ll be nothing.”

  “If I can’t have control of him no one can.”

  He recoiled at Tessa’s statement. He felt ill at the thought of how many of her lies he’d ignored. And he’d let it happen, given her control because it had been easier than doing the work himself. That stopped now.

  He walked into the room. Tessa looked over her shoulder and smiled.

  “Taylor, I’m so glad you’re here. I have exciting news. I talked to the network this morning and pitched them the idea of having a Civil War ball for the season finale. We can have actors dressed up like the colonel and his wife showing off the restored house. All the men will be in uniform and the women in those big dresses.”

  “That’s a disgusting idea. I’m not going to use this house to celebrate the Confederacy.”

  “You know you’re not good at the promotional stuff—that’s my part of the job.”

  Taylor cocked his head. “Aren’t I? Is that true or do you just want to have control? What is it you just said… If you can’t have control of me no one will? I heard every word you said, Tessa.”

  Her smile slipped and there was a flash of anger in her eyes. “Taylor, you misunderstood. That’s not—”

  “Stop it, Tessa, you aren’t going to lie and manipulate yourself out of the situation this time.”

  “That’s not what I’ve been doing. I’m just looking out for you. Jo’s the one who is a liar.”

  “Jo hasn’t lied about anything, but this isn’t about Jo. This is about us. I can’t keep working with you, Tess.”

  Her eyes grew wide and she shook her head. “You don’t mean that—you don’t know what you’re saying. You’ve been under so much stress lately. I can arrange for you to take a break and—”

  “You’re not going to arrange anything for me anymore.”

  “Don’t do this, Taylor. You can’t throw away our relationship like this. If you want to change how the production is run we can do that.”

  “You’re lying. I know that now. You aren’t going to change—you don’t want to.”

  “Taylor, you wouldn’t have been able to accomplish anything if it weren’t for me.” Tessa’s eyes narrowed. “So you’re willing to give up your show and everything we’ve worked so hard for over a rundown house and some kind of bizarre slave fantasy where you’re reliving the past.”

  There was a gasp from Jo.

  Tessa whirled around. “I hope you’re happy. You got your reparations or whatever you think you people deserve but I doubt you will be happy. You people are never content with what you have.”

  “Stop it, Tessa.” Taylor reached out and jerked her out of Jo’s face.

  She turned on him. “We have a contract. I’ll make your life a living hell if you walk away from me. Don’t forget I own a quarter of this house.”

  He locked eyes with Jo. “That may be, but you don’t control me anymore. I’m giving up the show.”

  He backed away when Tessa tried to grasp his arm. Her eyes grew wide. “You’re making a mistake.”

  “Jo was right—I am just like the colonel. I refused to see what you were doing and I made promises I couldn’t keep but I do know what love is. It means being willing to let go of something or someone you love even though it will break your heart because you know that they will be better off without you.” He looked at Jo. “Absolem didn’t learn that lesson but I have. I’m sorry it took me so long.”

  Tessa’s face was bright red with anger. “You always were a weak fool. You’ll never be successful without me.”

  “Maybe not, but I’ll be happier. Goodbye, Tessa.”

&
nbsp; Tessa clenched her fists at her sides and for a moment he worried she was going to strike out at Jo. Instead she walked out with her head held high.

  He took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry, Jo. You have no reason to believe me but I didn’t know until now just how much I was allowing Tessa to do my thinking for me.”

  Jo’s lips trembled. “Did you know she was a racist?”

  “I’ve never heard her say things like she just did before.”

  “Did you know she was keeping minorities from being hired on your show?”

  He stared at Jo in shock. “Where is this coming from?”

  When Jo finished telling him about what happened with Chloe, he could barely contain his anger. His stomach rolled. Ignorance wasn’t an excuse for being willfully blind to Tessa’s attitude and actions.

  “That poor girl felt like she had to hide the fact that she’s biracial to keep her job. Maybe you didn’t know but that’s only because you didn’t want to.”

  Every word hit him like a punch and everything she said was true.

  He forced himself to look Jo in the eye. “I’ll figure out a way to fix this mess.”

  “I don’t want Tessa to set foot in this house ever again.”

  “I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen.” He sighed and blinked up at the ceiling. “It’s going to be messy.”

  Jo’s voice softened. “I never wanted you to quit your show, Taylor.”

  “I don’t have a choice. I can’t work with Tessa anymore.”

  His phone vibrated with a text from his brother wondering where he was.

  “It’s my brother. He came down to visit.” He shook his head. “That’s not true, Dylan came to try and put some sense in my head.”

  Jo gave him a sad smile. “I’m sorry you had to hear what Tessa said about you but I’m glad you know now.”

  “So am I.”

  “What happens next?” she asked.

  “The network will freak out and there will be a lot of phone calls with lawyers and agents.”

  “Is there anything I can do?”

  “Can you give me a chance to show you that I can do better?”

  Jo nodded. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. “I can do that.”

  His phone pinged again. He looked down and groaned. “It’s starting.”

  He walked back to Uncle Robert’s just long enough to grab his truck and drive back into town. Dax looked up from his desk with a frown when Taylor walked into the Barton Building.

  He cleared his throat. “I was looking for Chloe.”

  “She just ran across the park to get some coffee.”

  “Do you mind if I wait?”

  “As long as you’re not here to cause any more trouble.”

  Dax was always the one who was considered the troublemaker when they were kids and knew he was the one everyone walking by looked at with suspicion.

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  Dax propped his feet on his desk and folded his arms behind his head. “Shoot.”

  “How did you do it?”

  “Do what?”

  “Make people understand that you weren’t the terrible person they thought you were.”

  Dax took his feet down and sat forward. “The first thing I had to do was be ready to face the people I’d hurt and apologize.”

  The door opened and Chloe came in. He winced when her face paled.

  “Hi, Chloe, I was hoping I could talk to you for a minute.”

  Her eyes darted toward Dax and Taylor was relieved when he gave her a reassuring nod.

  “Okay,” she replied with a note of uncertainty.

  He took a deep breath and began. “The day we found out Tessa had taken the letters I asked you if she’d ever lied to you and you didn’t answer. You didn’t want to say anything then but I’m asking you now. What has Tessa lied to you about?”

  Chloe hesitated and looked at Dax again. “It’s okay, Chloe, he’s ready to hear the truth,” Dax reassured her.

  “I love working as your hair and makeup person but I hoped I could move up and into a production assistant job. Every time a position comes up Tessa tells me that she asked you and you had someone else in mind.”

  Taylor shook his head. “She never said anything to me.”

  “That’s what I figured out. There’s more.” She twisted her hands. “There was a young man who showed up at the house asking about an apprenticeship and she told him he didn’t have the right look to be on camera. She tells that to a lot of people…a lot of Black people. Not just on this shoot either. I may not look like it, but I’m mixed and when I saw what was happening I started to worry she’d fire me if she found out. I needed my job and I…I was afraid.”

  “How the hell didn’t I see it?”

  Chloe looked at him with surprise. “I thought you knew.”

  “So this whole time you believed I thought the same way Tessa did? That I was a racist?”

  “You were always nice to me but everyone knows that you always side with Tessa.”

  Taylor swore under his breath. “I’m sorry that you were ever made to feel afraid at your job. I’m sorry for everything, Chloe. I’m glad that you have a job working with Jo and Dax.”

  “Thank you. Honestly, I’m relieved that you didn’t know. I didn’t want to believe that you were…” She bit her lip.

  “A racist?”

  She nodded.

  Taylor shook his head. “I played my part and I’m sorry.”

  He asked Chloe if he could buy her coffee sometime when he said goodbye. It was disheartening to lose a good employee because of his own willful ignorance but Taylor hoped he could build a friendship with her.

  Dax walked him out after he said goodbye to Chloe. On the sidewalk he paused and put his hand on Taylor’s shoulder, looking him in the eye.

  “That’s how you do it. One apology at a time and then you’ll reach a point where you’ll have no one left to ask forgiveness from except yourself.”

  He choked out his thanks. On the drive back to Halcyon he contemplated what Dax said. He had no problem apologizing but he didn’t know if there would be a day when he’d be ready to forgive himself for ignoring what was right in front of him. Jo’s words from when they were looking at the fireplace came back to him. Sometimes people don’t see things until they want to.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The next few days blurred into a marathon of phone calls with his lawyer, negotiating the end of his show and his partnership with Tessa. Dylan hovered trying to get him to eat and take a break. He was thankful to have his brother with him. They spent a lot of time on Uncle Robert’s porch in the evening, talking and reconnecting. With his brother’s encouragement he reached out to his parents and shared his feelings about his relationship with them. They were painful conversations but they also offered a chance for a better future with them. If only there were a chance for him to have a future with Jo.

  Taylor finished the dinner Dylan insisted he eat. His hand shook when he lifted his glass of water to his lips.

  Dylan frowned at him. “You need to sleep.”

  “Easier said than done.”

  Dylan cleared his throat. “Dax introduced me to Jo when I stopped by his office. She asked how you were doing. She’s worried about you. Why aren’t you answering her calls?”

  “I don’t know what to say to her,” he admitted. “She supported and encouraged me and I threw it all in her face. I’m afraid I’ve used up all of my chances with her.”

  “You won’t know until you ask.”

  Taylor nodded. He didn’t want to spend the rest of his life wondering what would have been. He pushed up from the table and said. “I’m going for a walk.”

  He’d planned to give Jo some space, time to heal before he saw her again. But his feet and his heart had other ideas. The hoot of a barn owl sitting in the oak tree in front of Halcyon greeted him as he walked toward the house.

  It was strange to knock on the door. His hand hovered in the
air for a moment before it connected with the wood.

  Jo opened the door with a slight smile. She was wearing a paint-splattered T-shirt and had a smudge of teal paint on her cheek, her hair covered in a bandanna. He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep himself from reaching out to wipe away the smudge, just so he could feel her skin under his fingertips again.

  “Can I come in?”

  “Of course you can. You didn’t have to knock—you live here.”

  “About that, I should probably make arrangements to move out. I haven’t had time to think it through but I’ll start looking for a house in town.”

  “Please don’t.” She bit her lip. “Halcyon hasn’t…it doesn’t feel like home without you here.”

  “Once you get this place restored it will feel like home.”

  “That’s another thing—I can’t finish the restoration without my contractor.”

  Taylor’s heart thudded. He hated the idea of anyone else working on the house. He swallowed his pride. “I can make some recommendations and there’s Jacob. He would be the first person I would call.”

  Jo shook her head. “I don’t want to work with Jacob or anyone else; I want to work with you.”

  He felt hope for the first time in days and some of the weight that had been pressing down on him lifted.

  “Are you sure?”

  “You love Halcyon just as much as I do. I never wanted to take it away from you.”

  “I wanted to take it from you at first. I was arrogant thinking that I was more entitled to the house than you are. I’m sorry, Jo.”

  “You wanted to restore Halcyon for a long time. You had a plan and I came along and ruined it. I would be upset too. I was upset when I found out about you.”

  “I already asked if we could start over once, I’m not going to ask you again but can we just…be friends?”

  Jo reached out and slipped her hand in his. “Friends.”

  Taylor looked down at where their hands were joined. He brushed his thumb over her knuckles, wanting so much more but willing to be happy with just this one touch.

  His voice was hoarse. “Friends.”

  They stayed hand in hand until her cheeks turned pink and the room grew warm. Reluctantly he let go.