Page 66 of A Very Titan Christmas
Rachel crossed her arms. “No summits have ever been hosted here, and none have been so secretive. You both are acting weird.”
“You just haven’t been around to see all the activity and fuss around your father.”
Rachel turned something akin to puppy-dog eyes to her dad.
Senator Porter rested his hand on Eloise’s shoulder as he addressed Rachel. “Look, honey. This won’t make sense to you. And I should have told you before, but after this summit ends, I’m announcing my retirement.”
“Wait.” Rachel’s jaw fell open. “I’m sorry. What?”
Bryce refocused on the conversation. He could have guessed a hundred reasons Senator Porter wanted to show off his resort before the holidays with a political summit, but his retirement wasn’t even on his long list.
“You heard me, kiddo,” he said. “I want a meaningful legacy to leave on, and if I’d known it would bother you so much, I would have said something earlier.”
“You’re retiring?”
“Yes.”
Rachel turned accusing eyes to Bryce. “Did you know?”
“No.”
“Of course, he didn’t know,” Eloise said. “Why would we tell Bryce? We’ve told no one.”
“So that’s it. The big secret. I’m retiring,” Senator Porter said matter-of-factly. “This is my final public push. This summit willbe the mark I leave so long as it doesn’t fall apart because of a leak.”
“After this final year,” Eloise offered, “we’ll just be… your normal mom and dad. Nothing to do. Nowhere to go.”
“Eloise,” Senator Porter muttered under his breath.
Bryce didn’t know Rachel’s parents well enough to slice and dice exactly what was going on, but suffice to say, Eloise wasn’t thrilled.
“It’s time for your mother and me to focus on the next phase of our lives. I’ll finish my term, and someone else will be in my seat next November.” He beamed. “We’ll be retirees.”
Eloise plastered on a smile that said she would rather eat yellow snow. “Maybe I’ll learn to play bridge, or bocce ball, or something equally exhilarating.”
Senator Porter rolled his eyes but said to Rachel, “You’ll understand one day.” He checked his watch. “Sorry, I have a conference call I need to jump on. We can talk more about this later.”
“Have you ever played bridge?” Eloise asked Bryce.
“No.”
She offered a pained face. “I don’t think I’m looking forward to it.”
“Then do something else.” The senator shook his head but kissed Eloise on her cheek before heading toward a meeting room.
Bryce’s phone buzzed with a call from Titan’s switchboard. There was no one left in their offices except for Parker. Apprehension itched in his chest. “Excuse me for a second.”
Rachel and Eloise moved toward the large picture windows overlooking snow-covered pine trees. Bryce wondered if Rachel would ask Eloise about her fake enthusiasm. He didn’t recall much that was fake with this family years ago, but he and Rachel had been teenagers then, caught up in the secrets andshenanigans that came with high school life. If her parents had been trying to hide things from them, they wouldn’t have noticed.
His parents hadn’t bothered to hide their havoc. What would he and Rachel be like if they had stayed together all this time? If they’d had kids and had to deal with family headaches?
What would they be like in the future? Not secretive. That was for damn sure. Not like either set of their parents.
Bryce answered the phone call, but it didn’t connect. A weak cell signal in the snow-covered mountains was to be expected, but the Wi-Fi signal should have been stronger. He double-checked—no Wi-Fi.
Grumbling, he redialed Parker. Once. Twice. The call wouldn’t connect.
Bryce retraced their path to the entry doors and opened his phone settings to reconnect to the Wi-Fi.Nothing. The security sweep was wreaking havoc on his phone connection, and the itching apprehension in his chest expanded into his throat. Whenever Parker called, it was important. That Parker had called him directly when Boss Man and the entire team were in Silverberry Ridge was concerning.
