Page 75 of Trouble Me
He brought his attention back to the minister as the service concluded. Several people milled away, headed for their cars or gathering in small groups. Shane stood and walked over to the casket. Placing a trembling hand on the sun-warmed wood, he closed his eyes. He wouldn’t allow the tears that threatened to fall. His lips trembled while his mind scrambled to find the right words.
“Hell, dad. I don’t know what to say.” The words were like razor blades in his throat and Shane swallowed back the clawing despair. When he continued, his voice was a mere whisper. “I hope you know how much I loved you. And how much it meant to know you loved me even when I wasn’t easy to love. I’ll work like hell every day to make you proud.” His eyes slid closed again and he blew out a ragged breath. “Goodbye, Dad. Love you. Kiss Mom for me.”
He leaned down and kissed the smooth, varnished wood. Grief tore at his chest, a gaping hole in his heart now that would never be filled. His throat tightened and he fisted a hand over the coffin. He ran a finger over the smooth wood one last time before he moved away, giving Colin room to say his own goodbyes.
Several people came by to offer condolences, hugs, handshakes, and short anecdotes of his father. Shane hugged an elderly woman who’d worked for his father and his grandfather before that. She patted his cheek and told him to stay in touch before walking away.
Shane scanned the cemetery, looking for Emma and Del, but they were gone. He shoved his fingers through his hair and pretended not to hear when someone called his name.
Several hours later, Shane sat in his office at KVN Incorporated overlooking acres of grapes as far as the eye could see. Colin had made himself scarce after the funeral, which twisted the knife deeper in Shane’s gut. The relationship between him and the only person left in his immediate family was already feeling the strain. And Shane didn’t know how the hell he was going to handle the situation with his brother. But if he had to guess, he would handle it as badly as he’d handled everything else lately.
The blinking light indicating he had a voicemail caught his eye, but he ignored it. The only person he cared to talk to wanted nothing to do with him. He couldn’t blame her.
Instead, he replied to some emails, including the one from the chairman of the board stating they would follow Alan’s wishes for the company leadership going forward. This meant he was the new CEO and Colin was Vice President. On one hand, he should be ecstatic. It was everything he’d worked for, with all the flying back and forth and putting deals together. But there was no joy at all. Having the position meant he no longer had his father, the relationship with his brother was rocky at best, and he no longer had the woman he loved. Selling his soul would hurt less.
There were two emails he couldn’t bear to open at the moment. The subject of one readMadison Ridge Property Agreement. The other readEmma Reynolds Resignation Letter.He would have to open and address each of them eventually, but right now, he just pretended like they didn’t exist.
He sat back, rocking back and forth in the large leather chair, watching another sunset explode a mixture of crimson, yellows, and oranges into the indigo sky. The rich green of the vineyards sat in the forefront, with mountains in the background. It was as if nature was trying to cheer him up and bring him out of the dark hole he was falling further into as each hour passed.
“Hey, big brother.”
Shane spun his head around to find Colin leaning against the doorway to his office. The disheveled hair and wrinkled suit were out of place on his brother. “Hey.”
“I assume you’ve seen the email?” Colin asked, strolling into the office.
Shane nodded, but eyed his brother warily. “I have.”
The smile that spread across Colin’s lips was more caustic than friendly. He held his arms out to his side. “You got what you wanted.”
Shane narrowed his eyes. “What did you have planned for me? Because you knew I wouldn’t stand by and let you sell it off.”
Colin scoffed, pacing the office. “Come on now, brother. You would have been offered a more than generous package. You would be richer than you could imagine and not have to deal with this bullshit anymore.”
Shane shook his head, baffled by the man he was once closer to than anyone. “So I was just going to be out. What the fuck, Colin? Why?” He rose from his chair and advanced on his brother, shoving at Colin’s shoulder. “You never told anyone why you wanted to sell KVN off. Dad wanted the two of us to run the company. To continue the legacy.”
Colin shoved back. “I don’t want the fucking legacy, Shane. It was always your thing, not mine. I never wanted to do this. I have other interests that don’t include fermenting fruit.”
Shane’s head snapped back. “Why the hell didn’t you say anything before? Dad would have—”
“Yeah, I know.” Colin sighed and his shoulders slumped. “But you said yourself, he wantedusto run the company. I just couldn’t bear to tell him.”
Shane rubbed his chin, his mind still tangled as questions bounced around in the corners of his mind. “So why now? Why put us through all of this?”
Colin ran a hand through his hair. “A friend of mine has a tech start-up down in the Valley. He wants me in on it and I want to be in on it. Badly. It’s not cheap though.”
Shane walked back behind his desk. He had to move away for fear he’d punch Colin. They were both too old to start throwing punches again. “So you did it for money?”
Colin closed his eyes for a beat then shook his head. “Not completely. I have enough for the buy-in. But I didn’t want the burden of KVN. I couldn’t abandon you and the family by leaving it.” He walked over and sat in a chair as though he were weary of the world.
When Colin looked up at him, his eyes were sad and full of regrets. “I’m sorry, man. I didn’t handle this well. I was rash and selfish. I should have just resigned.” He shrugged and looked past Shane out the window. “But once I hit a certain point, there was no going back. Better to look like a heartless bastard than a fool.”
Shane sat down in his chair, studying Colin. In spite of his anger, Shane’s resolve softened a bit because he could empathize. It was not a foreign concept to Shane to want something you thought you couldn’t have. Except in Colin’s case, he could. His brother’s plan may have failed, but now that Shane knew why, he couldn’t fault his brother’s passion for what he wanted. As his father said just before he died, they were family after all. And family looked out for their own, regardless.
“Colin, I think you should step down.”
Colin’s gaze snapped back to Shane. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“As CEO, I’m asking you to step down.” Shane tilted his head. “Don’t you have another interest to pursue? I think your attention would be spread too thin. As such, I think you should focus on what’s important to you.”
