Page 58 of Phillip

Phillip listened with a small twinge of apprehension. Dad wouldn’t tease him then take it away. But he might use it as leverage for him to take school more seriously, maybe life too.

“It needs some work.” Dad clapped his hand on top of Phillip’s. “And I’d like to do it together.”

That was the talk? His apprehension morphed into excitement. His father was a serious man, never thinking Phillip was just a kid. But what if Phillip was wrong? Dad wanted an older kid, the kind of kid he could work on cars with. That had to be it. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

The back of Phillip’s throat burned. He recalled the conversation, even the most minute details—the smell of the garage, the expanse of his dad’s car collection, the family collection of cars, and the cool air that was held at the exact temperature for optimum storage.

But he’d screwed up. He’d been himself, and his dad had never understood that part of him. They’d worked on the Ferrari, but Phillip was still a silly kid, struggling to focus at school. Dad called it giving his parentsgrief. Well, the tables turned on that one.

Phillip ruefully scoffed at himself. Dad had sent him to that wilderness camp with strict rules and regimens. Phillip had known why, even if nobody had said the reasons out loud. He couldn’t be the son that his dad had wanted him to be.

Tears pricked his eyes. He remembered the day when he was called to the camp office. Of course he had managed to get himself into trouble, he had thought. Maybe he simply didn’t fit in there either and had to go somewhere else. Then Uncle Graham and Aunt Claire walked in. Their faces were drawn, and their footsteps were heavy on the worn pine floors.

When he saw his aunt and uncle there, fear grabbed him by the throat. The words were a jumble.There has been an accident. It’s time to go home.

Through the grief and the tears, Phillip sought to find a reason for his parents’ death, wanting to wager with God to change the past and erase the accident.

That had been impossible because he had been the reason. His parents died because of him.

Heavy, guilty tears slid down his cheeks, and Phillip mindlessly wiped them away, trying to recall the truths he had learned over the years. The airplane crash hadn’t been his fault. The gages were to blame. He wasn’t.

But instead of the words he had trained himself to focus on when guilt attacked, he heard Ashley’s voice instead. “This is what you always do.”

She was right.

Just like Brock and Jason. They never said it, but they blamed him for their parents’ deaths too.

There was no point in pursuing Ashley. History had proven he would only screw it up in the end.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

To: Phillip Blackthorne

From: Ashley Catherine Cartwright

Subject: Outstanding Car Show Before the Sean Paget Meeting

Ashley stared blankly at the email and blinking cursor on her laptop screen. Unable to articulate her thoughts, Ashley minimized the email message and opened up a browser, deciding to do what she had never let herself do before—google Phillip Blackthorne.

The results were quick and expansive. She scrolled beyond the gossip pieces to the first few pages of the nonprofit sites and news hits. Then she went back to the website for the Camp Sunshine link.

A sliding header of kids smiled as they hung off trees, splashed in the familiar lake, and climbed rocks. Every smile matched happy, carefree eyes. She assumed each child was an orphan, many without the means to go to camp. But in these pictures, they were kids enjoying life. Not lost, grieving souls.

Had she ever seen Phillip as carefree as when they were there? What about her? She’d let herself go. No rules. No consequences. And look what that had gotten her.Hurt.But not before they’d kissed. She took a deep breath then clicked through the website.

The About Us page featured the Scotts. Their smiles and love showed more than the accompanying text would explain about their positions. Ashley scrolled again and stopped at a picture of Phillip then read the mission statement.

Mission: To provide a safe environment for children and teens that have lost their parents or caregivers unexpectedly, while giving them the tools for self-care, without the burden of financial worries.

Ashley’s eyes filled with tears. She scrolled and read and scrolled and read, finally deciding that Phillip was never too far behind the scenes. He flew under the radar, but his influence reached all parts of the nonprofit. She saw his dedication and talent, doing much more than raising funds. Phillip used his access and influence to bring celebrities, athletes, performers, and more to the camp to aid in the acceptance of mental health and therapy. He made self-care cool. But how much of that had he taken to heart for himself?

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Ashley didn’t expect the hostess at Montgomery’s to say her guests had already arrived.Guests.Her heart hammered. She hadn’t been able to get a hold of Phillip all morning. If Sean brought her mother to the meeting, she would scream. Her hands trembled as she followed the hostess, and Ashley clutched her bag to her chest when they turned toward a more secluded section of the restaurant.

Phillip.Her heart leaped—even as her aggravation multiplied.

Both men stood when she reached the table. She eyed Phillip and greeted Sean warmly enough. “I see introductions are out of the way.”

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