Page 9 of Love Notes & Lifelines
What was she thinking?
“Beck, you have three new properties opening this year. This is not the time to?—”
“The time to what?” I hiss, finally releasing the vitriol swirling in my chest on someone. Caleb may be the best damn attorney I’ve ever had, but I can only handle so much shit from him today.
“The time to lose my sister?” I seethe, leaning in closer as the rage takes root. “The time for these little girls to become orphans? Exactly what kind of time are you talking about, Caleb?” I feel borderline maniacal, but I press on. “Where’s your moral compass?” I’m on a roll, anger spiking every word. “Does loyalty mean nothing anymore?”
I study every flinch, every twitch of his eye, and the intensity of my tone hits exactly as I intended it to. Feigning indifference, he brushes lint off his pant leg, but his clenched fists let me know I’ve made my point.
“Mark my words, Beck. You’re giving your competitors exactly what they want. With you distracted, they’ll move in on every project you don’t have your finger on. We’re talking millions of dollars.”
There’s a small tug on my suit jacket, and I turn from Caleb to find a spitting image of my sister. My rage dissipates like rain hitting hot pavement. This little girl is my niece, and I don’t even know her name. I’ve gone from jerk to next-level asshole in the span of one meeting.
“Mommy told me ’bout you.”
Salty tears sting the back of my throat.
“She did?” I croak.
The little girl nods. I look to Harold for help.
“This is Emmy, Beck. She’s four and little Ruby here just turned one.”
Emmy—our grandmother’s name. My stomach hollows out, and my heartbeat thrashes in my chest.
Ruby shakes some kind of bottle, or maybe it’s a cup, I have no idea, but little droplets of milk fly everywhere.
“Mommy said you’ll be a good daddy if you twust yoself,” she says with a head nod that accentuates each word, then hands me a piece of paper. Moisture pricks at the corners of my eyes, blurring the colors, but I get the gist. Emmy drew me a picture. On the grass stands a stick man with two little girls, and two people—her parents—sit in the clouds.
Caleb huffs next to me. “This is a family matter now, Beck. You don’t require my assistance for this.”
I barely hear him as I stare into eyes so similar to the ones that once protected all my childhood dreams.
Another flash of Cally climbing into bed with me and covering my ears picks at my heart like a scab that won’t heal. Why are these memories assaulting me now?
Emmy smiles up at me, and my heart cracks a little more.
“You look just like your mommy,” I choke out, and her entire face lights up.
She nods aggressively with happiness, showing off her bright white teeth. She’s missing one in the front. “Before mommy turned gway, she said we was twinsies.”
“Gray,” Harold informs me, understanding I might not speak kid. But the knowledge that Cally was gray at all blasts my chest wide open.
She died alone. She tried to reach out to me, and I ignored her out of spite. Now I’ll never have the chance to make amends.
What kind of monster does that make me?
My insides shake as though someone has grabbed ahold of each lung and is swinging me around the room by them. I rub my tingling palms roughly on my thighs, but it doesn’t ease the sensations eating me alive.
Harold goes through a pile of toys and contraptions, explaining what everything is. Then he orders me a car and has security help me to the sidewalk with all their stuff.
“If there’s anything else you need, you’ll find it at the house in Sailport Bay. This is just enough to get you started. The house…”
Harold keeps talking about Cally and the house, but the rising tide of my panic drowns him out. Is he just dropping me at the pavement with a farewell and good luck? Is this really happening?
When the car pulls up, he hands me a crying little girl and places Emmy’s hand in mine while security loads the trunk.
Where do I even go from here?
