Page 23 of Reclaimed Dreams
“Lorenzo, wait up!”
Dom had come in early on purpose, hoping to catch his son before he got busy. He needed Enzo’s help on a secret project so he was trying to be discreet. Admittedly, not his strongest suit.
“Hi, Dad. Jim Hamilton sends his best.”
“What are you talking to him for? Looking at buying something?” Dom asked. Since Jo had hung up her realtor license, Valenti Brothers had gone back to working with Jo’s mentor and longtime friend who’d sold them their first house. Dom felt a slight twinge that he hadn’t asked Jim to help with his plan, but he knew he needed to keep the surprise a secret. There was no way Jim wouldn’t let something slip to Jo.
“Nope, just helping a friend. What’s up?” Enzo ran a hand over his neck and stretched until it cracked.
“I need to talk to you about a project.”
If things worked out as planned, this project would fix things with Jo. And God, he needed to fix things with Jo.
“Is it for the show?” Enzo sighed and looked back at his phone.
“No, it’s—”
Enzo cut him off before he could explain. “Then I don’t have time, Dad. I’m slammed with my regular clients on top of the show. That’s why I’m already here and getting down to business at seven a.m.”
Dom swallowed his frustration and tried again. “Just hear me out. I’m tackling some new construction in south Santa Clara county.”
“Dad, we’ve been over this. I’m not interested in building. I wasn’t when you asked me last month. I wasn’t when you asked me last year. I’m not Gabe. Stop trying to make me take his place.”
Dom froze. Was that what his son thought? That he was trying to turn him into Gabe? Words deserted him as he struggled to free his mind from the clinging cobwebs of grief and memories. Hurt that his child could think that he was trying to replace one son with the other, Dom struggled to pull his shields up.
“Listen, Dad, I—”
Dom raised his hand, blocking Enzo’s words and apologies. “No. You’re busy. I get it. Don’t let me keep you.”
Dom turned and got in his truck, but instead of starting it, he just sat there. He stared out the windshield and let the feelings flow. By now he knew that trying to keep pushing through them was not a thing that worked. Had he really screwed up so royally?
True, he had a distinct plan for how Valenti Brothers should operate. His vision was the only reason the company even existed! If it hadn’t been for him, they never would have made it out of their first year. But maybe he’d been blind to the vision others had for the company.
He started the truck and shifted into reverse, backing his way out of the tight spot.
This Million-Dollar Starter Home project had really opened his eyes. He’d badly misjudged how he saw Sofia fitting into the business. The truth was he had little use for design. Build the wall, install the cabinets, let the homeowner worry about what it looked like. It had worked just fine for them for decades.
Besides, he’d needed help when Jo had walked away. He knew that the business side of things was not his strong point. So when Sofia had stepped in to handle the accounts, he’d been grateful.
And when she wanted to shift into design for the show, he’d panicked at the idea of changing again. It was one more piece of control being taken away from him, and he’d responded by coming down hard. He was proud of Sofia for chasing her dream anyway. She’d helped him solve the office problem by hiring her friend, who seemed to be working out. And he couldn’t deny that the homes she was designing for the show were stunning.
She really was building her own reputation within Valenti Brothers, which had been the whole damn point.
When he hit the highway, his thoughts shifted to Enzo blowing up at him today. What missteps had he made there? Yes, he’d always envisioned the company passing on to Gabe, but it belonged equally to the rest of his kids. He just needed to be sure they were ready to handle the responsibility before he handed over the reins. So he pushed them. Wasn’t that what fathers were supposed to do?
Nobody got anywhere in this life without a little hustle, and he needed his kids to hustle in the right direction so he could do what Jo was asking him to do. He couldn’t just walk away from the business he’d spent decades building with his blood, sweat, and tears. So he wanted his son to take a bigger interest. Was that a crime? He was just as talented as the rest of his crew. Dom would never understand why the boy seemed content to keep mowing lawns. He had hoped that Enzo would help him assess the property he was going to see, but apparently he’d just have to handle it by himself.
He sat stuck behind a semi, morning traffic slowing Highway 101 to a crawl. He hated feeling boxed in, and it seemed impossible to escape these days.
His thoughts turned to his youngest child, Frankie. That girl was entirely too confident. She thought she could tackle anything if she ran at it hard enough. His pride rose in his chest as he saw his own persistence reflected in her. But she hadn’t had to work for what she wanted. Most things had come easy to her as the baby of the family. Would she buckle at the first sign of struggle? She needed to get some more experience at running jobs and failing before he’d feel comfortable giving her more control.
Eventually, he reached his exit and pulled off the highway onto a quiet back country road. Remote and rural, it was the perfect spot for what he had in mind. God, this had better work. His throat tightened and his chest resisted breathing as he let himself spin out what could happen if he failed. No. Failure was not an option.
By the time he drove past the For Sale sign at the gate, he had collected himself, at least enough to present his usual jovial front to the seller’s realtor.
“Hi there Mr. Valenti. I’m Rosa Velasquez.”
She was an attractive woman in her late forties, and Dom noticed the way she assessed him, but felt no desire to return the perusal. He wanted his wife back, damn it.
