Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27

Skylar

"There you are," Dad called when I stepped through the front door. "About time."

He sat in an armchair to the side of the sofa, my traitorous cat curled in his lap and purring like a motor in need of a tune-up. There was no sign of Mom.

I checked the time on my phone. "I was gone ten minutes at most."

"It's a small town," he said with a shrug. "I suppose you needed time to say goodbye to your boyfriend."

He raised his eyebrows as if waiting for an explanation. I didn't give him one.

"What are you really doing here?" I asked, still standing in the hopes we could keep this conversation short.

I was not in the best mood. I'd already grabbed coffee before my no-show meeting, so I couldn't blame my crankiness on a lack of caffeine.

No, I placed it squarely on my father's shoulders. I should have known he couldn't stay out of my business.

"Sit down," he said.

"Dad—"

"Sit," he said sternly.

I dropped onto the sofa, aware I was behaving like a disgruntled teenager. I hated that my dad brought this out in me. It was one reason I hadn't wanted to work for him.

"We've been worried about you, Skylar."

"We?" I glanced around. "Where is Mom, anyway?"

"She's taking a nap. We caught an early flight."

I nodded. "You didn't need to come. I'm fine."

"You surprised me when you wanted to take on this resort project," he said. "I was happy to let you do it. More than happy. You know I've wanted you to show an interest in the business for a while."

I fidgeted. "It's just a one-time thing."

"Mm-hmm. But you didn't tell me that Blaize was out here working with the Wexlers over in Swallow Beach. Is that why you got involved? Some sort of ax to grind with him?"

"That's not why."

Dad scratched under Freddy's chin, and my cat's eyes closed in bliss, the little pet slut.

"I wouldn't blame you if that was the reason," he said. "You haven't told me what happened with Blaize, but I'm not an idiot. You didn't want him to have your number or know where you were. It couldn't have ended well."

My chest tightened. I'd been avoiding this conversation for a long time, but if I wanted to move forward with Brooks, I couldn't keep hiding from the truth.

"It was bad," I admitted quietly.

"Did he hurt you?"

I didn't answer, but Dad filled in the gaps easily enough. "That son of a bitch," he growled. "Just wait until I get my hands on him. He's going to regret—"

"It's over," I cut in. "I've moved on."

"By planning a project to one-up him and his pals?"

"That's not what this is about. I like Swallow Cove. There's good people here. The Wexlers were deceptive assholes, and I'd have done the same thing even if Blaize wasn't working with them in Shallow Beach."

"Shallow Beach?" Dad snorted at the nickname. "You really have gone native, haven't you? Using local slang. Dating a local bar manager." He raised his eyebrows. "Unless he's just a rebound?"

"He's not a rebound."

His mouth twisted, as if he wasn't entirely happy with that answer. But I didn't care. Dad had approved of Blaize when we met and look where that got me. From now on, my boyfriends would need to impress me—and my cat—and no one else.

Hopefully, though, Brooks would be the only one.

"So, how is the resort planning going?" Dad asked, tone casual.

"Fine."

"Hm."

"You promised not to hover or second-guess me," I reminded him.

He lifted his hands. "I know. I've just heard some things."

Seriously? I'd been working on the project for three days—or a week, if you counted my work leading up to the community meeting. What could I have screwed up already?

"Fine. I'll take the bait. What have you heard?"

"The Wexlers are pissed about you swooping in."

"I knew they would be," I said. "They didn't show up at the community meeting to defend their plan, though. I figured they thought they could ram through the project through regardless of what the community wanted."

"You threw a wrench in that plan." He chuckled, sounding almost proud.

"Guess I did."

"A longtime contractor I've worked with, Logan Moss, is their lead on that casino-bar monster plan in Swallow Beach. He called me last night. Told me he'd heard some rumors going around."

"What kind of rumors?"

"I won't bore you with the details," he said. "But folks don't know you like they know me. They don't trust you yet. I'm here to fix that."

The two no-show contractors made sense now. Another company had promised to return my call, then ghosted on me. Before the community meeting, I'd had no trouble assembling informal estimates.

Even if Dad wouldn't tell me, I could guess at the rumors. The Wexlers—possibly at Blaize's urging—were poisoning the well. At best, they were telling people I was incompetent, just a daddy's boy who didn't know what he was doing and when the plans fell apart, they'd have wasted all their time. At worst? I didn't want to think about what Blaize might contribute to their nastiness.

"You should have just called me with a heads-up," I said. "I can handle this myself."

"You don't have to handle it, Sky. I'm here already. Besides, your mom was hankering to get out of town."

I shook my head. "If I let you do this, no one will ever see me as capable. I'm the lead developer on this project. I will handle it."

"How are you going to do that?"

"It's my job to figure that out, and I will or else I don't deserve to run this project." I stood. "It's your job to enjoy your vacation. So, relax."

"Skylar…"

"I have to do this, Dad. After what happened with Blaize, I learned something important about myself."

"What's that?"

"I have to be my own man. Not his. Not yours, either. I have to do this project on my own terms. I have to build a life that I want. I know you mean well, but you've got to let me succeed or fail on my own."

"With my money," he grumbled.

"I'm not going to lose your money. Either this project never gets off the ground, and we lose nothing, or I show the Wexlers—and Blaize—that I am not someone to be messed with."

Dad grinned. "Well, all right. I can admire a fighting spirit."

"Good, then don't make me fight you, too."

Mom stepped out of the hall. "Listen to him, Gavin. You always push too hard."

"Is it a crime to care about my son?"

"Of course not," she said, coming over to perch on the arm of his chair. Freddy jumped down, annoyed to be crowded. "But Skylar is an adult. He's been managing just fine here for weeks without us." Her eyes sought mine. "You have been fine, haven't you, Sky? I've been worried. You've been so closed off the past year or so…"

My heart clenched with guilt. Blaize had kept me from seeing my family much, but I was to blame for distancing myself emotionally. I had run out of excuses for not seeing them, and I hadn't been ready to acknowledge how toxic my relationship was. I'd started avoiding calls and keeping the conversations we did have shallow and brief.

"I'm sorry, Mom," I said. "I should have kept in touch better. I will from now on."

"You didn't even tell us you'd broken up with Blaize," she said in a hurt voice. "I heard about it from one of the secretaries at your dad's job. Apparently, she's dating someone who knew someone else. And when I called, you'd never explain what happened. Just say that you were fine. But you didn't sound fine, Sky."

"I know," I said. "I'm sorry I worried you. But I am fine now. I've done a lot of healing since I came here."

"Is that what that hunk of a man is doing for you?" she teased.

I laughed. "No, Brooks has been great, but…the healing had to come from time and perspective. Blaize had me convinced that I was the problem for a really long time. It wasn't easy to see it a different way. I guess Brooks helped a little with that. Because he doesn't think I'm stupid or weak or—"

"That asshole said that?" Dad growled. "I knew that fucker was bad news."

"You introduced us," I reminded him wryly. "I figured you'd be disappointed if it didn't work out."

Dad looked sick. "You didn't stay with him for me, did you? Christ, Sky, I value you way more than some guy I thought was a smart developer. And clearly I misjudged him. If I'd known then how tight he was with the Wexlers…"

My heart ached, and I had to blink my burning eyes. It wasn't that I ever believed Dad cared about Blaize more than me. But there was an illogical fear—maybe one placed by Blaize himself—that no one would value me without him.

I'd needed to hear my father say those words more than I'd ever realized at a conscious level.

"I didn't stay with him because of that. I couldn't even say why I stayed so long. I just…I couldn't see what I needed."

"And now you do?" Mom asked, voice soft.

I nodded. Tried to smile. "I really am doing so much better. I didn't expect to date so soon, but Brooks is a really good man. He worked hard to earn my trust."

Dad hummed thoughtfully. "He's always been a dedicated worker, that's for sure."

"He takes care of his grandmother."

Mom tilted her head. "Well, that's commendable. Shows he has a good heart."

"He does," I said. "He has a lot of friends here, and he introduced me to them. Swallow Cove is a great place."

"Well, I'm glad you like it," Dad said. "Because when you kick the Wexlers' ass, you're going to be calling it home for a long while."

I grinned, my chest loosening. "Speaking of that, I've got some calls to make."

"You let me know if I can help." He raised a hand before I could reply. "I'll be here if you need me, but I won't interfere."

"What's all this about?" Mom asked, having missed the beginning of our talk.

"I'll let Dad fill you in," I said. "I've got to get some work done. You two should do some shopping. I recommend Little Clay Pot. Then get some lunch. Enjoy the lake. Remember, you're on vacation. "

"Well, I could eat soon," Dad said.

"Mm, yes," my mother said with a twinkle in her eye. "The Rusty Hook might hit the spot."

I rolled my eyes as I left the room. "Do not harass Brooks at work!"

"Who us?" Mom called with a laugh. "We wouldn't dream of it!"

I slipped into the office my father had set up at the vacation house, where my laptop still stood open, displaying the Web page for the contracting firm that stood me up.

I closed it with a sigh, then pulled up the site for Logan Moss's company instead. I found the phone number on the site, called, and was patched through to his cell because he was on a work site.

He didn't answer, so I left a short message.

"Mr. Moss, this is Skylar Addison. I understand you have done a lot of work with my father, Gavin. He told me you called him with concerns. I'd like to talk with you about exactly what's being said so that I can properly address it. I'd really appreciate a call back when you have time."

I left my number, hung up, then moved to my next contractor on the list.

No answer.

The next? Straight to voicemail.

I moved over to email, with similar results. All these contractors who'd been so enthusiastic about a project in Swallow Cove, so quick to give me some estimates to put a proposal together, were now suddenly MIA.

Late that afternoon, Russ Hendicks answered the phone, apologetic. "I know I told you we'd be interested, but we've gotten a better offer and the timelines conflict."

"That better offer isn't with the Wexlers, is it?"

"I, uh, can't really say. But it's a subcontracting job on a major development. I can't afford to turn it down. It's a lot bigger than your resort reno, so…"

"I understand," I said. "You have to do what's best for your business. Thanks for taking my call."

"Good luck finding someone else," he said.

I had a feeling I was going to need it.

Dad was right. This was a problem. I still wasn't going to ask him to solve it for me, but it was going to take more than a couple of phone calls to straighten out.

Reluctantly, I shut down my computer and pushed aside the remains of my lunch. When I emerged from the office, my parents were back at the house, looking happy and sunbaked.

"Skylar!" Mom beamed. "Are you done working?"

"For now," I said.

"Come out to dinner with us at The Savory Swallow, then. Invite Brooks too. Your dad has a standing reservation."

"Brooks will be working," I hedged.

"Still? But he's been there since this morning."

"Yeah, he pulls a lot of hours. He needs the money for his grandmother's care."

"That poor, sweet man." She looked at Dad. "Should we give him a raise?"

He snorted. "For what? Dating our son?"

"He's earned a raise for being a damn good bar manager," I said. "But he probably wouldn't want a raise for being my boyfriend. So maybe just offer it for the right reasons."

"See?" Dad said playfully. "Skylar takes on one project, and now he's schooling me on all my business decisions."

"You're the one who had me checking in on the pub this summer," I reminded him. "I know more about how it's run than you do at this point."

My mother laughed. "He's got you there."

"I've created a monster," Dad agreed with a chuckle. "Go change for dinner, Sky. You can give me updates on all my business interests in the area."

"Good idea. There's something I need to tell you about Swallow Adventures."

He groaned. "My last call did not go well with Hudson."

"It's going to be folded into the resort," I said. "Win-win for everyone."

He blinked, looking caught off-guard. "Huh. That's…a good idea."

"I have them occasionally."

"I know you do," he said seriously. "Why do you think I've tried so hard to get you to work for me?"

I decided not to answer that and excused myself to change for dinner. The sooner we went, the sooner I'd be free to slip away for the night.

As much as I liked my parents, there was somewhere else I'd rather be.