“Well, you know, sir,” I chuckled, trying to lay it on thick, “we want a family and in dad years, I’m already an old man. So we figured, why wait? We didn’t need a fancy ceremony to make it happen.”
Another hearty laugh rumbled through the line, and I mentally fist-pumped. Nailed it.
“Oh, you’re not old,” he said. “I was forty-five when my youngest was born. He’s twenty now, off at college makin’ me proud. If it wasn’t for my oldest giving us grandkids, I’d be begging Marianne for another one. We’ve always considered adopting. But I guess I’ll just enjoy the grands for now.”
“Well, hopefully it won’t be long, and I’ll get to experience that new dad glow,” I said with a smile that didn’t quite reach my eyes.
I was full of shit. And worse, I knew it. Mr. McConnell was a good man. Way too good to be caught in the web of lies I kept spinning. But every time we spoke, they just kept rolling off my tongue like second nature. That’s how desperate I was to earn his help expanding the project.
I couldn’t do this alone. I’d burn through more money than I was comfortable admitting, stretching every resource thin. But I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to. I wanted to bring life back into these small towns and give them something to believe in again. Even if it was something I no longer wanted for myself.
“Well, Marianne and I will be back in Atlanta in a couple of weeks,” he said. “I think our secretaries have already ironed out the details.”
“Yes, sir. I’m looking forward to sitting down with you again.”
“You rest easy. The project sounds like something I can get behind. You and I are cut from the same cloth. Our values line up. That makes me feel really good about handing over my money.”
A sharp ache bloomed in my chest and I rubbed it away, swallowing down the truth I’d never say out loud. Mr. McConnell and I weren’t alike. Not even close. He had a real family. He didn’t build castles on lies. He didn’t fake marriages and futures just to get funding. He had something I hadn’t had since I was sixteen—peace.
I barely remembered hanging up the phone, but I sat there at my desk, elbow on the armrest, fingers pressing into my temple, trying to rub away the tension I’d been carrying for days. My phone began ringing again and as much as I didn’t want to answer it, I knew work wasn’t done for the week, not yet anyway.
I glanced at the screen, seeing that it was another spam call from North Dakota and I tossed my phone onto my desk, sighing in relief that time because that meant I didn’t have to answer and be chatty.
It had been a short week in calendar days, but time felt like it was moving at a snail’s pace. Every second was a slow tick toward Friday, and toward Harmony Haven.
“Fuck,” I muttered, leaning back in my chair.
I was actually looking forward to going home. Not to see my brothers. Not even my grandparents. I wouldn’t see them until Sunday anyway. But I was eager to see Blue.
My phone buzzed again and I groaned, seeing that it was a text and not something I could ignore.
Marcus
What time are we leaving for Harmony Haven tomorrow?
Usually, I sent him the plan without him having to ask. But after he dropped me at the office on Tuesday, I’d given him the rest of the week off and had been driving myself. He probably hated it.
West
I’m driving myself. Enjoy your weekend.
His response came fast.
Marcus
I’m sorry, pardon me?
I laughed out loud, picturing him frozen in place, thinking someone had hijacked my phone.
It wasn’t that I couldn’t drive. Hell, I liked driving. It was just easier to work in the backseat while someone else handled the road. But this weekend, I didn’t want to work. I wanted to show Blue that I could be normal, or at least fake it convincingly.
Blue and I had barely exchanged more than a few-word texts over the last few days. I asked how the bar was doing. She told me how her dad was. It was polite. Distant. Like we were still strangers, which made no damn sense after everything we’d done together.
I told myself it was better that way. Less complicated. Less messy. But then I turned around in the next breath and concocted a plan that I thought would make her happy, make her smile. And it involved me driving myself to see her for the weekend.
West
I’ll drive Blue back here on Sunday, after dinner. Marshal can pick her up Tuesday and drive her home.
