Chapter 39

39

HAWK

“ A re you sure you want to do this?” Emery asked as she and I said our goodbyes.

We were out on the porch together, my bags waiting in my rental car and my dad and the boys already having gone back inside to give us a moment to talk. My heart was heavy as hell, but I nodded anyway.

“I have to, Em. I told you I need to go wrap things up in person, but I’ll be back as soon as I can. Probably just before Christmas.”

Those worried blue eyes held my own. “I wasn’t talking about leaving. I was talking about buying Dad’s company and moving home.”

“Well, in that case, yes. I’m sure. Why?”

“I just…” She trailed off, her gaze drifting over to the port for a moment before she sighed and looked back at me. “Dad’s company is our legacy too, Hawk. It’s my kids’ legacy and mine, and yours. You’re buying it, but do you actually want to run it? How do you know you’re not going to get back to LA and get caught up in everything there again?”

“I won’t,” I promised, taking her hands and holding them tight as I stared directly into her eyes. “LA was fun for me, Em. I can’t deny that. I had a few good years there and I built my company from the ground up into something I’d never have achieved from here.”

“That’s my point, though.”

“I know, but what I’m getting at is that I’ve been ready for a while to move on from there. It was a stop on my journey, but I’ve realized that it was never going to be my final destination. This is my home and it’s where I want to lay down roots of my own. I’m coming back, Emery. I won’t let you down again.”

Her gaze bounced from one of my eyes to the other. “Okay, well, keep me in the loop. Like I said, it’s my legacy too and I know I’ve complained a lot about being left to run things on my own, but it’s not like I want to retire or anything. I’m not even thirty yet.”

I chuckled and leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead. “I know, and I also know you were only complaining so much because you were overwhelmed with the company, and the boys, and Dad. You were burning the candle at all ends and you got burned out, but whenever you’re ready, your legacy will be there for you to keep building.”

“Will it, though?” she asked quietly, and it occurred to me that for all our talk about the takeover, we’d never really spoken about her role in the company once Gold Star had purchased it.

For me, it’d been about easing her burdens. With dad and with money. None of the members of my family would ever have to worry about finances again now, and I’d thought she knew about the rest of it, but evidently, I needed to actually say the words.

I groaned, releasing her hands and smiling. “My intention isn’t to push you out, Em. This company wouldn’t even have existed anymore if not for you. I know how hard you’ve worked for it and all I want to do is help.”

“How is this going to work, though?” she asked. “We never got around to talking about it and all you keep saying is that I need to rest and take a break, and that I’ll still have a job whenever I’m ready, but what does that look like? What job, Hawk? I’m just still a little bit muddy on what’s actually happening.”

I smiled. “What’s happening is that your asshole brother has realized that he left you to do everything by yourself for too long and he doesn’t want to put any pressure on you now, but I realize that’s not the answer you’re after.”

“So give me a straight answer.”

“Honestly, you’re still going to be running the show on the Brunson Tugging side of things. At least, that’s the way I see it. We’ll get you an assistant, obviously, and whatever other help you might need, but the way I’ve been envisioning it is that the tugging is yours.”

“Mine?”

I nodded. “The only difference is that you’ll have whatever assistance you need.”

“Are you sure?”

“You’ve always had a knack for business, Emery. We both know it. I want you beside me in the driver’s seat because, first, like you said, Dad’s company is your legacy too and I’d never take that from you, but I’ve also got Gold Star. Regardless of how many people I’ve got working for me, I can’t just forget about my responsibilities to that company.”

“No, of course not.”

“Exactly,” I said. “Plus, the next few months are probably going to be a little rocky. I’m going to be focusing on taking the port back from Meecham and pushing them out of town as well as being the CEO of Gold Star.”

I inhaled, trying to organize it all in my mind before saying it out loud. “As we start getting the port back, all the local companies, including Dad’s, will get busier and busier again. If you didn’t want to be involved, I’d have to put someone in place to manage the tugboats around here anyway. With Brunson part of Gold Star, you’ll have access to whatever money and resources you need for the business to start growing again.”

Emery nodded slowly, her eyes slightly out of focus as she processed it all before she hugged me. “This is amazing, Hawk. I can’t believe it’s actually happening, but it’s exactly what I need. Exactly what the whole freaking town needs, so thank you.”

“You got it.” I wrapped my arms around her. “I’m sorry it took me so long to come to the party.”

“You’re here now. That’s all that matters.” She squeezed me before she let go. “Have a safe flight, okay? Call me when you get in. We’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you,” I replied honestly, my gaze flicking up to take in our family home one last time before I left, heading over to see Sutton.

My flight was leaving in three hours, which meant I was running out of time, but I hadn’t said goodbye to Winnie, David, or Mindy yet and I definitely needed at least one more kiss from Sutton. As I parked the rental in front of their house, Winnie ran out of the apartment dressed for playing in the snow.

She smiled when she saw me, racing down the stairs and not stopping until she was only a couple feet away. “It wasn’t nice of you to give my mom cooties.”

“Cooties can be a good thing sometimes,” I said, crouching down in front of her so I was at her eye level. “I’m sorry I have to leave, Win.”

She sighed, suddenly looking everywhere but at me. “Mam says you’re coming back soon.”

“I am.”

“When?” She suddenly brought her gaze to mine again, and I hated the fear I saw shimmering in it. “Why are grownups always leaving?”

Fuck .

“Well, in my case, I have to go back to California for work, but I also have to go pack my things so I can bring them back here.”

“How long is it going to take you?”

“I’ll be home for Christmas,” I promised, which meant that I was now officially on the clock. “Speaking of which, you’re going to have to give me a list of what you want.”

Winnie rattled off a whole laundry list of things I assumed were toys but that I’d never heard of. I made a mental note of the names, but I couldn’t help but notice that she still seemed slightly more reserved than usual.

“Hey,” I said, opening my arms and pulling her in for a hug. “I will be back, Win. As soon as I can be, but definitely by Christmas.”

“You’ll call me?”

“Every day if you want me to,” I said, knowing that I was going to have to keep every last one of these promises I was making her. “You can call me anytime too.”

“Can we do video calls?” she asked, pulling away from me with a thoughtful expression on her face. “There’s a girl in my class and her daddy works far away sometimes. They do video chats.”

My heart stammered before it grew about ten more sizes. “If you want video calls, we’ll do video calls.”

A slow smile finally started appearing on her lips. “Can I text you?”

“Yes.”

“Funny pictures and stuff?”

“Absolutely.” I grinned before I straightened up again. “Whenever you’d like to talk or get in touch with me, just do it, okay? Sometimes, I might not be able to talk to you right away, if I’m in a meeting or something that I can’t get out of, but I’ll always call you back.”

She nodded, wrapping her fingers around mine and starting to pull me toward the house. “Grandpa and Grammy want to say goodbye.”

“Of course.” I followed her in, noticing a soft smile on David’s face when he saw me walking in with her.

Good. I knew I’d get under his skin eventually.

Happy that he finally seemed to realize that I was serious about them and that he had accepted it, I shook his hand. Then I was enveloped by one of Mindy’s bear hugs before I left them to go find Sutton. She was in the apartment alone, standing near the door waiting for me.

I walked over to her and wrapped her up in my arms, wishing I never had to let her go. “I love you, Sutt. I’ll be back, okay? Maybe I can even fly you guys over to Cali one of these weekends and we can see if we can get Winnie her first leading role in a movie.”

Sutton laughed wetly, in tears as she hugged me back, nuzzling my neck and holding me tight. “I love you, too. We’d love to come visit, but we’d have to see about Winnie’s class schedule.”

“Of course, but think about it. Either way, I’ll be back before you know it.”

“I doubt that,” she murmured. “I already know it, but I also know you’re going to be on the first flight back just as soon as you can be.”

With that, she pulled herself out of my arms and gave my shoulders one last squeeze. “You should go before I lock you in my bedroom.”

“I have no problem being locked in your bedroom.” I touched the tip of my nose to hers, grabbing her hand when she tried to turn away from me. “Hey, Sutt?”

“Yep?”

“Thanks for giving me a second chance.” I tugged at her hand until she willingly came back to me, rivers of tears streaming down her cheeks as her eyes met mine. “I’m going to keep working hard to make sure I deserve it, okay?”

She nodded, giving me another hug before she dragged in a shaky breath and pointed at her door. “Go. Now. I’m serious about locking you in my bedroom and I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to resist.”

Finally letting go of her, I walked backward to her front door, my eyes on hers until the very last moment. The ache in my chest was suddenly awful, but I forced myself to walk away even if everything in me was begging to stay.

I had to go if I wanted to come back—and I had to go now, before I let her lock me up and stopped giving a shit even if the world burned to the ground around us.