Page 94 of All I Want For Christmas Is You

“Margot’s leaving.”

He ignored the stab of fear in his heart. “What do you mean leaving?” He needed facts. Information.

“She’s packing right now.”

“Hang on. What happened?”

“I guess her daughter called and asked her to come sooner. She wants her mom there for the wedding.”

“Okay. That’s fine.” He wouldn’t begrudge her that time with Emerson. He just wished he could go with her. “What time is she leaving? I’d like to take her to the airport.”

“No, Dad. You’re not getting it. She’s leaving. She’s not coming back. You have to come home. You can’t lose her.”

“I don’t understand. What’s going on?” But even as the words left his mouth, he knew. Worse than hearing his grandson crying and hanging up on her, he’d been completely out of touch. He’d barely talked to her the last few days.

Holy shit.

She’s leaving me.

“Don’t let her go. I’m on my way.” His thumb was on the button to disconnect, when he said, “Lor?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. For letting me know.

“Of course, Dad.” She paused. “I’ve got Colt, so don’t worry about that. Just…hurry.”

He headed back into the conference room and found nine sets of eyes on him. Decisions needed to be made, and only the owner could make them. “I’m sorry. I have to go.”

“Are you serious?” the geologist asked.

“Yes. There’s a family situation I have to take care of.” He pointed to his Vice President of Operations. “Arturo’s in charge. He’ll take it from here.”

The man nodded. They had a plan in place, and Beau had been in the process of giving everyone on the team their marching orders. Arturo could do it.

He shot a text to Margot before shoving the file folder into his briefcase and heading out the door.

Beau: On my way home. Please don’t go until I get there. We need to talk.

She didn’t respond, which meant the entire drive home, his fear escalated. He had to get to her before she left. He had to apologize. He had to fix what he’d done wrong.

Was it so bad she had to leave him? What happened to them talking through things?

Or maybe… Was her daughter pregnant? He knew she and her fiancé didn’t make much money, so maybe they needed childcare. Margot wouldn’t want to miss out on knowing her first grandchild.

What if Emerson had called off the wedding? Margot would go to her, for sure. That wouldn’t be permanent, though. That would just be for a few weeks. Margot would come back to him.

No, it’s me. She’s leaving me. He hadn’t intended on being away longer than a day—but now, three had gone by. Did she think he was a workaholic like her ex? That he got his ego stroked from owning a gold mine? Because that wasn’t the case. Sure, there were always problems in his industry. Pricing fluctuations were a constant issue, but he had experts in place to handle everything. This was a unique situation and required decision-making from him, the owner. No one else could shoulder the responsibility when the viability of the entire operation was at stake.

But why would she leave without talking to him?

Because she’s fed up. She came here less than a week ago and spent a total of two days with me. That’s not what she signed up for.

How could she acclimate to a new place and get her work done while caring full-time for a two-year-old? He left a voice message for his son. “With everything going on at the mine, I can’t watch Colt right now. We need to talk about childcare. Think about which options you’re comfortable with and call me.”

Next, he called Margot. It went right to voicemail, so he left a message. “I’m on my way home. Don’t leave until I get there. Margot—Jesus—whatever’s going on, we can handle it together.”

The moment he pulled up to the house, he parked, cut the ignition, and ran to the front door.

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