“Your Uncle Stephan was a superhero, too,” Carter says, his gaze softening as he locks eyes with my son. His son. Ourson.
God, I can’t do this.
“Matty, honey, finish your breakfast so you can take your medicine, please,” I politely interject. I open the cupboard and take out his plastic pill box, each day filled with the necessary meds.
“What gives, Clara?” he asks. “Why won’t you talk to us?”
“I’m sorry,” I sigh deeply, then slowly turn around. “It’s just not the right time to have any kind of conversation about why I left.” I pause and look at Carter. “I know you were hoping to hear something else, but right now, it’s not something I’m able to give you. Please respect that.”
Carter shakes his head slowly. “You’re not leaving again.”
“I’m not staying.”
Damon gets up, ever the voice of reason. “Guys, come on. This little man needs to finish his breakfast and take his medicine.”
“They’re for my heart,” Matty casually explains, then gets busy on the last of his waffles.
I freeze, and the three of them pin me with their questioning gazes, but all I can do is shake my head.
“Where have you been this whole time?” Damon asks.
I take a deep breath, my hands moving automatically, preparing Matty’s pills.
“Portland,” I say. “I had a job at a design agency.”
“Had?” Carter asks, his eyes never leaving mine.
“I had to quit because Matty needed me to be there for him. His heart condition makes him too vulnerable for preschool, and I couldn’t afford childcare services.”
“So you came home?” he asks.
“The trust fund,” Jace says as the thought strikes him. “Clara just turned twenty-five last month.”
“You were part of it?” I blink, stunned.
“We helped Stephan set it up,” Carter replies. “It was supposed to be his birthday present to you. It was a tradition in your family, from what I understand. Every Barnes got a boost on their twenty-fifth birthday to start a family, build a house, or start a company.”
“While you sort everything out and decide what you’re going to do next,” Damon says, “why don’t you stay here, Clara? It’s your place. It’s always been your place. It’s yours free and clear, nothing to worry about. You don’t have to do any of this alone.”
I shake my head slowly. “Blackthorn Falls isn’t my home anymore.”
“It could be again,” he says. “Just think about it.”
I feel like I’m under a lot of pressure here and I need to be reasonable. I can’t let my pride and my fear blind me from an opportunity, not while I have a child to raise and protect.
“You’re right,” I tell Damon. “Portland isn’t an option anymore. While I’m stuck here, I also need a job. Something temporary, at least?—”
“We need a designer for our security company,” Carter is quick to respond.
I give him a confused look. “Your security company? I thought you were taking over for your father with Lockwood Industries?”
“Margot’s in charge,” he says. “I branched out into private security with Jace and Damon. We’re expanding. We plan on opening a few more training bases along the Pacific Coastline. In order to do that, we need a good designer. Think you can hack it?”
My mind goes blank.
After everything that happened between us, is Carter Lockwood actually offering me a job? My jaw drops, prompting a grin to form on his handsome face.
“Wait, so your sister, Margot, is now an executive at Lockwood Industries, and you started your own private security company?”
