Page 126 of True Honey
Seymour chuckled, “we are in this mess because your father never valued love.” He tapped his fingers on the table. “He always put money over it. I have to confess something Silas,” he said. “There was no deal.”
“What?” I balked.
“You are a hurricane, son. The quiet kind, that consumes constantly. You’re always moving, helping everyone, solving problems. I knew you’d jump at the chance to help if I asked, if I made it serious.” Seymour explained.
“So what… you aren’t dying?” I choked on every word.
“Of course I’m dying!” He laughed so hard it turned into a long, painful cough. “The shares have been in your name since the day I found out I was.” He got out once he finished. “They were never in jeopardy, your father is never getting out of jail. Harbor was never in trouble.”
I stood from the chair, circling it and pacing the room once before I came back and gripped the back of the chair. “If it wasn’t for the shares then why the hell—”
Seymour smiled at me. “You needed to slow down,” he said. “I know you think I’m some cranky asshole, but I did this because I wanted you to take the time to find someone who loved you for you and not because of this,” he looked around at the room, dripping in riches.
“Are you insane?” I sighed, staring at him in complete shock.
“Money isn’t what built this family, Silas. Money isn’t what built the Hornets. And if I was going to trust you to take care of them then you need to learn that lesson the hard way.” Seymour smiled. “You needed less distractions so you could find someone to take care of you, while you took care of everything else.”
“You did all of this to get me a girlfriend?” I scoffed.
“I did all of this because you were turning into your father and I wasn’t going to die with the fate of my legacy in the hands of a man slut.” Seymour coughed.
“Who taught you that term?” I groaned and straightened out, trying to work through the shock of what that lunatic old man had done. Tricked by a man halfway in the grave. Arlo was right. I’m an idiot.
“Joshua calls you that,” Seymour laughed painfully.
“I’m taking him out of the will,” I hissed only making him laugh more. ”Ok stop before you die please, Mom would never forgive me.” I handed him the glass of water.
Seymour opened his mouth to argue when there were footsteps down the hall. A soft knock on the door echoed out before it popped open and Drew stepped inside. It was like she knew it was her mark, timed perfectly with her bright smile and big heart. The sun poured in around her from the big open window behind her and made her glow the warmest shade of gold.
“Dinner’s ready,” she said, looking between me and Seymour completely oblivious to her timing.
“We’ll be right there, darling,” Seymour said, rising from his seat. Drew nodded and backed from the room. “Do you get it now?” He asked me.
I was still staring at the door with a smile on my face and my heart racing from the sight of her.
“Yeah I get it.”God, did I ever.
EPILOGUE
SHORE
“Drop a little on the left,” I said, pointing to the wall. Silas had gifted me a painting of the New York skyline for our wedding anniversary. It was massive and looked just like the view from the hotel we had stayed in the last time we were there. Arlo and Silas stepped back from it and stared with their heads cocked sideways. “It’s still crooked.”
“I told you we need the human level,” Arlo snapped, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Van has his final exams today, we just have to figure it out.” Silas shrugged, making his best friend growl something under his breath.
“I have a better idea,” Cael said from the doorway.
We all turned to look at him, leaning there in a baby-pink cropped t-shirt and a pair of jeans. His hair was growing out again and there were streaks of blonde that had lightened from the sun.
“We go get dinner and hire someone to hang that monstrosity,” he suggested.
“You mean, I take you all for dinner and pay for all of that…” Silas sighed, his hair was longer too, it curled at the edges and the gray was more prominent now behind his ears and in the base of his beard. He stretched in his tight black long sleeve, and it raised against his stomach showing off my second favorite part of his body.
They had been doing odd jobs around the new house all day. It was weird not to live at the Nest after being there for almost a year and Silas was adjusting decently but we wanted a space that was ours. It wasn’t fancy or oversized, made just for the three of us. Close to the high school and the stadium.
It helped that we hadn’t been left alone in a week, the team was helping us move and it was an open-door policy. I was starting to think that Silas set no boundaries on purpose because he didn’t know how to be without them. Our living room was a mess with blankets and sleeping bags after their three day camp out on the floor.
