Page 59 of All I've Waited For

Kyle took off his cowboy hat and scratched the top of his bald head. “You’ve gotta draw from somewhere deeper. Some find meaning in God, some just by looking within. All I know is that you have inherent value because you’re a human being, and you’re entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. So you should try leaning into that last one.”

“But what if what I want isn’t what others want?” She shoved the image of Derek away, because this … this went deeper than that.

“If those others are really your people, they’ll want you to be happy. Period.” Twirling his hat, Kyle set it on his desk with a thump. “And if they’re not, then who cares what they want? Those people aren’t worth your time and attention anyway. Those people will scoop you dry until you’re a hollowed-out well of a person with nothing left to give and no source to draw from.” He paused. “Those are not the people you should be sacrificing for.”

A tear leaked out from the corner of Ashley’s eyes and dripped onto the cream-colored folder. Because even though it wasn’t the first time she’d heard his words, this was the first time she’d heard the complete truth in them. She had striven her whole life to be what everyone else wanted and needed, but the people who really mattered had never asked her to do that. If she’d said no to any of them, they would have kept on loving her just as much as they always had.

As much as they were her people, she was theirs too.

And yeah, maybe she couldn’t include Derek in that anymore. But with or without him, her life, her soul held meaning simply because she had been created with inherent value and purpose. And for her, that purpose included helping people.

But it didn’t mean being a doormat.

She smiled, and this time, she didn’t have to force it. “You’re pretty wise, you know that?”

“You don’t get to be my age without learning a few things.” Kyle stared at her, a rare look of pride shining in his eyes. “And I’ve learned to trust my instincts. There’s no one else that would be better suited to carry on my Cathy’s legacy than you.”

Ashley swallowed hard. “That means the world. Thank you.”

He grunted. “Just calling it like I see it.” Behind him on the wall, the clock ticked loudly, its hands rounding toward eight-thirty. A new workday was about to begin. “So what’s it gonna be? Are you going to sacrifice all that you’ve worked for because you’re afraid people won’t love you if you don’t make time for the thingstheywant you to make time for? Or are you gonna start saying no to the things that don’t matter and pursue the happiness coming to you?”

She closed her eyes for a brief second, imagined the possibilities, the future she held in her hands. Vaulting out of her chair, she circled the desk and hugged Kyle around the neck.

He patted her forearms with his large, rough hands. “Is that a yes?”

“Yes! It’s most definitely a yes.”

Chapter 17

“Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.” Alex Rosche rose from the Campbells’ kitchen table and walked with Derek toward the front door.

Derek waved him off. “I appreciate you coming out on such short notice.” He eyed Alex’s dress slacks, button-up shirt, and tie. “And right after work too. On a Friday night.”

“Anything for my second family.” As the son of Millie, the Campbells’ long-time housekeeper and cook, Alex had been like a little brother running around the vineyard when they were all young. But the annoying, scrawny kid had actually grown up to be wicked smart and helpful. “And I know things aren’t what you’d hoped, but you did come up with some good ideas for recovery.”

Derek had hoped that, as the city’s financial analyst, Alex would be able to offer some extra insight into the vineyard’s money troubles. He should have brought the guy in before now, but pride had gotten in the way. Not anymore.

Because now that he’d put his focus back where it should be—not on women and weddings, but on saving the vineyard—he would do anything it took. Unfortunately, the reality of their financial position had been worse than he’d thought.

If he didn’t figure something out, by this time next year they’d have to sell off the vineyard, or at least part of it.

They reached the front door and Derek held out his hand to Alex. The guy shook it, then turned and headed toward his Corolla.

“What was Alex doing here?”

Derek shut the door and found Dad behind him leaning heavily on his cane. He’d had an infusion earlier today and looked ready to pass out.

“Nothing.” His fingers itched to help Dad to the couch, but his father would chafe under that kind of attention. Instead, Derek headed back to the kitchen, where he gathered up the papers scattered across the tabletop.

“I just didn’t know the two of you hung out that much. He’s always been more Heather’s friend than yours.”

Apparently Dad had followed him.

The papers crinkled under Derek’s hand as he stuffed them inside a folder. Derek sighed. Might as well tell Dad the truth. “I asked him to come over to do an assessment of our financials. We also chatted about some ideas I have for bringing in more revenue.”

“Such as?”

He deposited the folder into his dad’s available hand. “There are the smaller scale ideas, like renting out the cabins again. That used to bring in a nice tidy sum. I don’t know why Heather suggested we stop that in the first place. We could also look into getting licensed to hold events on-site. There’s some stupid city law right now, but I think they’d be a financial boon if we could get past that.” Pacing, he ran a hand through his hair. “We also could sell off part of the land if we were really desperate. I know that’s not ideal, but better to keep some of it if we can’t keep it all. Oh, and we can approach some other vineyards to see if they want to partner with us.”

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