Page 36 of Awakening the Wild
Mrs. Pike. Business owner. Wife.
The transformation still caught me off guard sometimes.
"Tonya?" Kevin's voice carried from the kitchen. "You eating lunch or just staring at that screen?"
"Eating!" I called back, saving my work. "Just finishing this proposal."
In the kitchen, Kevin had set out sandwiches and soup—a routine we'd fallen into over the past year. He worked mornings on the maple operation, I worked on my marketing business, and we met in the middle of the day to actually see each other.
"How many clients now?" he asked as I settled across from him.
"Twelve active, three in the pipeline. I had to turn down two inquiries this week. I'm at capacity." I took a bite of sandwich, still marveling at the reality. "The maple products campaign we ran in the fall brought in so much interest that half my clients are now other Vermont food producers."
"You're building an empire."
"I'm building a business," I corrected.
His smile told me he understood. This wasn't about empire or proving anything. It was about creating something that was mine, built on my skills and hard work.
My phone buzzed. Shane's name appeared on the screen.
"Are you sitting down?" he asked when I answered.
"Yes. Why?"
"I got a call from the county clerk this morning. Your grandmother's property is going to tax auction next month. Michael stopped paying taxes eight months ago."
My heart stuttered. "Tax auction?"
"Yep. He never paid this year's property taxes or last year's second installment. Property's been in arrears long enough that the county's seizing it for unpaid taxes." Shane's voice carried satisfaction. "The minimum bid will probably be around fifteen thousand to cover the back taxes and fees. Oh, and I heard through the grapevine he's engaged to some socialite in Manhattan. Apparently moved on pretty quickly once he realized you weren't coming back."
Good riddance, I thought but didn't say. Michael and his drama belonged to a different lifetime.
I looked at Kevin, who was watching my face intently. "Fifteen thousand?"
"What's going on?" Kevin asked.
I put Shane on speaker. "Say that again."
Shane repeated the information, adding details about auction dates and bidding procedures. When he finished, silence filled the kitchen.
"You could buy it back," Kevin said.
The thought sent something fierce and triumphant through my chest. Not the cottage that represented my escape or my proof of survival. But the cottage I'd buy back on my own terms, with money I'd earned through skills I'd developed, as a woman who didn't need it but chose to reclaim it anyway.
"I could," I said slowly.
"Should I register you for the auction?" Shane asked.
I looked at Kevin, searching his face for any sign this bothered him. Instead, I saw pride and understanding.
"What do you think?" I asked him.
"I think you should do whatever feels right to you." His hand covered mine on the table. "But I also think you've earned the right to take back what was stolen from you."
"It wasn't stolen. Michael acquired it legally."
"He manipulated you into signing documents you didn't understand, then used those signatures to take property that should have been yours." Kevin's voice was firm. "That's theft, even if it's legal theft. And now you get to take it back. Not because you need it, but because you can."
