Page 121 of Loving Whiskey

Chapter 51

Cash

MymeetingwithLandrytakes longer than I’d like. It’s New Year’s Eve, and I have a date with my hot girlfriend. There is nothing I want more than to ring in the new year with Grace in my arms. It’s a fresh start, the beginning of our life together. We’re going to become parents this year. I’m going to meet my daughter.I’m going to be a dad.

I know Grace is nervous about history repeating itself. I know she’s concerned that not only will she become her mom, but that I’ll become Steven. That she’ll be made to feel small, that I’ll try to fit her into some box that I tick off in my life. My goal this week is to prove to her that will never happen. And Landry is part of that process. So unfortunately, even though he’s making me late for my new life to start, he’s also a key component and won’t be rushed.

“And you’re sure they will be open to working with us?” I ask for the fifteenth time since we sat down to discuss this plan.

“They don’t have a choice. Caris bit off more than she can chew, and she owes me.”

“How so?” I ask. This is my concern with working with a man like Landry. With relying upon anyone else. If they deem it necessary, they will cut you off at the ankles. I don’t even know this woman, Caris, and I feel bad for the way Landry is describing her.

Charles Landry’s blue eyes reach across the computer screen and beckon me to pay close attention. “She trusted the wrong person. I’m pretty sure she’s mixed business with pleasure and it’s cost me a lot.”

The coldness of his words stabs me in the chest. Isn’t that what I’m doing? Mixing business with pleasure. I’m about to proposition Grace with a business arrangement that will make all her dreams come true. But it also means melding both our professional and personal lives.

Is that a risk? Yes. Is it worth it? Honestly, I think it’s the only way forward, so I damn well hope it is.

Do I trust her?

I’m angry I even question it. Grace has given me no reason not to. But I certainly have given her reason to not trust me, and I won’t do it again.

“That won’t happen here,” I reply confidently.

Landry nods. “Doesn’t matter to me. It’s a great business deal. The winery will take off soon, and from what I’ve heard she’s interested in hosting weddings at the property. It’s honestly a great investment. The hotel will be an asset to the town, and with the distillery next to it, we can capitalize on the winery’s reputation and really build the hotel and restaurant into a destination that people from all over will want to visit.”

I glance down at the blueprints that Landry had couriered over this afternoon. My gift to Grace, proof that she can have it all, and that I’ll be the one to give it to her. “I agree. I’ll bring Grace down tomorrow and we can walk the property.”

When my office door swings open, the last person I expect to walk through is my brother Chase, and yet here he is. Momentarily at a loss for words, I just stare at him. His broad frame and domineering gaze make it feel like he’s aged five years in the last four months.

“Where the hell have you been?” I manage to ask, the frustration and irritation overpowering my urge to grab my brother in a hug. Chasehas always been the baby, and I’ve always been overly protective of him. While I am closest with Cat, the four of us in general have always been close; it was the James siblings against the world. Somehow, he’s ended up on the outside of that circle, and I don’t know how to bring him back into the fold.

Pausing at the door, as if shocked by my greeting, Chase shakes his head and then charges forward. “Nice to see you too.” He flops into the seat in front of my desk.

“Nice to see me? I’ve been calling you for months.Searching for you.It was Christmas last week and you don’t even reach out to let us know you’re okay!” My anger flames my skin as my voice booms across the office.

Chaseis unfazed, pulling his ankle onto his opposite leg and holding it while staring at me, waiting for me to finish. “I had to get my head on straight.”

I take a deep breath and stare, waiting for him to continue. When he doesn’t, I drum my hands against the desk in irritation, then huff out another breath. “Listen, I get that the Vanessa exposé was a bit of a shock. Fuck, she screwed all of us, but Chase, we’re family. Where the hell have you been?”

I know where he’s been. I’m really hoping that he hasn’t lost his way so much that he lies to me about it. I’m not sure how we’ll move forward if he does.

Chaselifts his hand to his head and runs it through his blond hair. “I…uh…went to see Dad.”

My heart finally stabilizes. He’s telling the truth. “And?”

“And he swears it’s not true. Says that it was a fabrication that Pa told to gain custody.” Chase’s blue eyes raise to mine, and he looks so unsure of himself, so lost, that it breaks my heart. I can’t imagine how hard it’s been trying to figure out who he is. Who his mother is. It’s unfair that he was put in this position, but fuck my father for his lies.

“He gave us up for the money, Chase. Pa promised him the company when he retired if Dad signed off on being a dad. He gave us up over this.” I hold my hands out, motioning to the space where we currently sit.Our legacy. Four walls and a lot of green. That’s all we were worth to him.

Chaseshakes his head, not believing me. Or not wanting to. “No, Dad told me they did this. They took us from him. He was so distraught after your mom died and he had an affair with a woman. They didn’t want that to get out so they fabricated a lie, and he had no choice but to give us up. If not, he would have gone to prison.”

“Is that what he told you? If so, why wouldn’t the woman have just come forward? Told the truth? If she wasn’t a seventeen-year-old who he raped, and I’m not saying she was, but if she wasn’t, why not just tell the truth? If so, Dad wouldn’t have lost anything.”

Chaselooks down as he kicks at the chair next to him. “Because she didn’t want me either.”

I stand and move to his side, kneeling beside him. The devastation in his eyes, the war that is raging through his body, radiates off him like a true injury. He appears to be in physical pain over this.

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