Page 80 of All Bets Are Off

“I don’t blame her,” I replied. “I mean, I don’t know her well. It’s entirely possible she’s a crap worker with a bad attitude. However, if she’s not, I think she deserves the same opportunities that are being afforded to Zach.”

“Does he know you believe that?” Cora asked. She almost acted as if I was betraying him.

“He believes that,” I replied. “Do you have any idea how hobbled by guilt he is? He loves his sisters. He also feels guilty because he believes they were overlooked in favor of him. He lives in fear of them a bit, too, which I think is kind of a funny. Almost all of that isn’t his fault, though.”

“And whose fault is it?” Cora demanded.

“It’s Ryder’s fault, and your fault too, because you could’ve stood up for your daughters.” I shouldn’t have been saying this to her. It wasn’t my place. Honestly, it was likely to cause issues for Zach. I couldn’t seem to stop myself though. “Your son is a good man. He’s one of the best men I know. You’ve put him in a position where he feels paralyzed, though.”

“It’s his job to take over the company,” Cora insisted. “Do you know how many people would kill to be in his position? Pretty much everybody in Vegas.”

“But you didn’t let him choose that position for himself. You assigned him his place in life at birth. I mean… I never once heard Zach wax poetic about being an astronaut when we were kids.”

Confusion knit Cora’s eyebrows together. “I don’t understand what you’re getting at. Zach wouldn’t do well in space. They have to eat meat out of a bag.”

Ah, of course that’s what she would worry about.I had to fight hard not to let my laughter fly. “I’m not saying thathe would’ve been a good astronaut,” I replied when I was reasonably assured I could speak without losing it. “Actually, I think he probably would’ve been a terrible astronaut. Math isn’t his strong suit, and you’re right about the food. That’s not the point, though.”

“And what is the point?” she asked primly.

I leaned in closer to her. “When I was five, I wanted to be a ballerina.”

“I didn’t even know you took dance lessons.” She looked me up and down. “I’m not quite certain you have the build for it.”

“I was never going to be a ballerina,” I said. Good grief, could this woman get more literal? “I just saw a ballerina on stage and dreamed of being her. A couple months later I wanted to be a pirate. ThosePirates of the Caribbeanmovies were popular at the time. It wasn’t reasonable that I would be a pirate, but my parents didn’t dissuade me. They let me dream because they knew that I would pick my own path eventually.”

“I still don’t know what you’re getting at.”

I kept pushing even though I recognized it was likely a wasted effort. “Zach never got to dream,” I replied. “He never got to pretend to be an astronaut … or a cowboy … or a police officer. From birth he was told he was taking over the Stone Group. That became his whole identity.”

“It’s a good job.”

“Maybe, and he might even want it.” The truth was, Zach had never expressed hate at the idea of taking over Stone Group. He had, however, expressed fear that he would never live up to his father’s legacy. That was an entirely different thing. “You guys need to let him breathe, though. He can’t decide what he wants if you’re suffocating him.”

Cora was clearly affronted by what I’d said. “We’re good parents.”

“I think you want to be. Especially you. You have to listen to be a good parent. You guys don’t listen.”

“Of course we do.” Cora was getting riled up, which was a first because I’d never seen her like this before. “I’m here whenever Zach needs to talk.”

“I hope you mean that. My problem is that instead of dealing with your big crybaby husband, you sent Zach in there to deal with what I’m sure amounts to a toddler tantrum.” I looked up when I sensed a pair of eyes on me and found an exhausted looking Zach standing in the hallway. It was obvious he’d been through the wringer. “Look at him,” I said in a low voice.

Cora followed the direction of my chin and stared at her son.

“He’s exhausted. He’s working so hard. None of his efforts are ever acknowledged, though. All your husband does is tell him what he did wrong. Nothing he does right is ever touched on. Zach is a really good man, but he’s going to drown if you guys don’t throw him a lifeline.”

Slowly, Cora tracked her gaze back to me. “Is that what you are? His lifeline I mean.”

I shrugged. “I’m whatever he wants me to be, and I will be however long he wants me to be it. Sometimes the best thing you can do is let someone figure things out on their own. Just be there and when they’re ready, they’ll come to you.”

Cora absently ran the fingers of her right hand over the knuckles on her left hand. I thought for sure she was going to shut me down. Instead, she nodded out of nowhere. “You’ve given me some things to think about.”

“I have?” I was floored.

“You’re opinionated.” A ghost of a smile played around the corners of her lips when she glanced back at me. “You remind me of my daughters.”

“Is that a good thing?”

She laughed, although the sound was stilted. “Yes, it’s a very good thing.”

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