AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s true, though. That dumb—” I bite my tongue on what I really want to call her ex. “The most valuable thing he ever had to lose was standing right in front of him, and he couldn’t think past his shoes. Yeah. It was satisfying to see.”
“Aw,” Hope says, turning away from us. “Let me just send a waffle emoji to my man real quick.”
Lila stares up at me, her eyes soft and hazy. “I didn’t know mountain men were so romantic.”
“I’ve been reading up.”
I stretch out on the Adirondack chair on my porch, listening to the river while I whittle. Lila lost a lot of time while she was sick, so now she’s making some of it up, putting the final touches on her presentation for the town council. Ever since she discovered that her puking on Josh’s shoes has become the hottest gossip in town, she’s stepped up her efforts.
As if they had anywhere higher to go in thefirst place.
When I took her home, it was on the tip of my tongue to ask if I could hang out with her while she worked, but she’d been eager to go through her website mock-up again. The promotion is too important for me to risk being a distraction, so I left her to focus.
The restless itch just beneath my skin is no longer nameless. Its name isLila. I want to talk to her, touch her—just being near her would be enough. I try to console myself I’ll see her soon, butsoonhas never felt so uncertain.
My phone rings on the little all-weather table, and I check the face that fills the screen. Interesting.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Grant, I’m glad we caught you. Your dad’s here, too.”
Dad says his own hello on speakerphone. “How are you enjoying Oregon?”
“It’s a scenic little town. I’m having a great time.”
That’s a terrible description for my time here—great. But I don’t know how to explain the invisible string tying me tighter to this place. More specifically, to one particular woman in it. So I’ll stick with an easy answer. I can grapple with the trickier parts later.
“Your photos are just gorgeous.” Mom has a soft spot for landscape photography.
Hey—one more item I can add to the list of things she likes.
I’ve texted them pics when I think to. Mostly scenery or a few of the shops. Nothing of Lila. Now that feels like it’s been a mistake all along.
“I looked up that hike you did on AllTrails,” Dad booms. “Didn’t seem up to your usual style.”
“He means it was a molehill instead of a mountain,” Mom adds.
“I wanted to relax this time around.”
“And have you? Have you relaxed and enjoyed yourself?”
She sounds so eager, I regret telling Lila my parents don’t check in with us much. They have their own ways of showing affection, but that doesn’t mean they don’t care.
“I have.” My emotions are more tangled than when I first arrived, but I’ve never enjoyed myself more.
“We’re glad to hear it. We were going to wait until you got back to talk to you in person, but we decided it would be the perfect cap to your time off.”
I still, the hoot of an owl in the distance strangely ominous. “What would be?”
“We’re ready to make you CEO.” Dad’s voice takes on the serious tone reserved for Irwin family business meetings, as though this is their official job offer. “Effective immediately.”
I register it…and I don’t. I knew this day was coming—they made Dean the Chief Financial Officer almost two years ago, and they’ve dropped plenty of hints they wanted more for me, too. But here? Now? I feel like I’ve lost a handhold and am scrambling down a cliffside.
“We want you to lead the company, son.”
I’m glad they’ve never caught on to video calls so they can’t see the look on my face.
“We’re thinking we’ll hire on a new store manager and a new General Manager so you can dedicate yourself fully to being the CEO.”
