“Co-ownership,” he repeated.
Raven searched his face. “Are you asking me to stay?”
“Yes,” his brain shouted, but no actual confirmation came out of Silas’s open mouth.
If he thought Raven’s eyes couldn’t turn sadder, he was wrong because something dimmed. And he began stuttering, trying to articulate his fears, his doubts. What if she stayed and whatever connection they had turned out to be smoke and mirrors? How would that affect their working relationship? What if she never found contentment in Cedar Lake?
Raven stopped his incoherent ramblings with a smile that almost seemed like her normal one.
“Listen, you’re being sweet, and I appreciate the offer,” she said, “but I’m good. I’ve had fun, a real adventure. We both know you’re meant to run this business.”
“I’m sorry,” Silas said softly, not sure what else to say.
“No, it’s fine. This is how things were supposed to be,” she said.
But if that were the case, Silas wondered why his chest hurt as if it had been trampled.
ChapterTwenty-Three
“I knewthat massive portrait he had of himself in his office was a bad sign,” Raven’s mom said over video call, regarding Chuck’s lawyer’s fuckup.
“Mistakes happen,” Raven said as she carried an armful of toiletries from the bathroom to her bed, making sure not to hit her bandaged ankle on anything.
“I was going to buy a Jacuzzi with the money I got selling Chuck’s things,” her mom said.
“We’re lucky we didn’t spend anything. I’d hate to know what the recouping process looks like,” Raven replied.
It was darkly humorous how her hesitancy to leave Cedar Lake might’ve saved her a lot of hassle. Financially, at least.
“You seem to be taking everything very well,” her mom said, but the truth was Raven was working hard to shove aside the end-of-summer-camp melancholy trying to settle.
“I had a good time, I’m leaving with a fun job experience, and I got a paycheck all summer,” Raven said.
“How is everyone over there taking the news?” her mom asked.
“People are being really sweet,” Raven said, thinking about the lovely remarks from the entire Mountaintop team, Linda, and a few of the locals she’d bumped into today while preparing for her departure tomorrow afternoon.
“What about Silas?” her mom asked.
Raven was hoping Silas wouldn’t come up. All her feelings were at the surface, ready to burst free. “I think he’s relieved,” she said, careful not to reveal too much in her tone. “He loves Mountaintop. And I’m sure he’s happy he doesn’t have to part with his money to get it. I was an obstacle, and now that I’m leaving, it’s probably going to be smooth sailing for him from here on out.”
He’d offered her co-ownership, and for a split second, Raven thought he wanted her to stay. That he felt a modicum of what she felt and couldn’t stand the idea of her leaving. But he’d stuttered, unable to reaffirm his offer. She realized then he’d done it because he believed he was responsible for the short end of the stick she was receiving.
“You fell for him, didn’t you?” her mother said gently.
Raven didn’t bother denying it and replied, “I’ll get over it.”
“Do you know how he feels?”
“Not the same way,” Raven said, and as if suddenly too burdened by the truth, she took a seat on her bed. Her heart was too soft. She wished she were made of Teflon. Perhaps then she wouldn’t have found herself in this situation.
“I’m sorry, honey,” her mom said.
“It’s fine. I’ll be fine. I always land on my feet, remember?” Raven said with the intention to lighten the moment, but it ended up sounding a little sad.
“Love you,” her mother said. “I’ll see you tomorrow, and the freezer will be packed with ice cream when you get here.”
It was the best news Raven had heard all day.
