Page 59 of His for the Holiday

27

HAWK

My eyes were burning after all the hours I’d spent staring at screens the last few days, but things were finally shaping up and I knew my hard work would be worth it. I’d just gotten off the phone after a meeting with some of the Gold Star board members, and so far, everyone who mattered was good with buying my dad’s company.

The merger would happen soon, and once it did, I would finally be able to sleep again. Unless my dad needed me, which was also starting to happen more and more frequently at night now. He’d taken to calling for me instead of Emery, but since she already had Sawyer’s nightmares to deal with, I was only too happy to tend to Dad.

I had even less of a clue now how she’d managed it all by herself for so long, and then she went to work every day and kept our father’s business going. Honestly, it was insanity, but every single day, that also reminded me why this was so important.

As a result, I’d dived in headfirst. Putting everything else aside, I’d focused on making the merger happen sooner rather than later, and I’d already taken over operations at Dad’s company to make sure that the transition was as smooth as possible.

“Knock, knock,” Emery said as she pushed open the door to my father’s home office. “Have you got a minute?”

“Sure.” I frowned when I saw that she was a little bit pale. “Are you okay?”

Her head shook slowly from side to side. “Calen is here.”

“Calen, as in Sutton’s ex, Calen?” I asked, worry sinking like a stone to the pit of my stomach. “Are you sure?”

“Yep. I saw him myself. He showed up while we were waiting for dismissal,” she murmured. “I just saw Sutton and Winnie see him for the first time in what might be over a year. I’m not sure how long it’s been, but it looked like it’d been a while.”

“No doubt.” I felt like I’d had the wind knocked out of me. “How’d they take it?”

“Winnie was ecstatic,” Emery said, her voice still soft and a little stunned. “Sutton, not so much. She dragged him away to talk just before the kids were let out, but neither of them looked particularly happy about what she said.”

I didn’t like this. At all.

I knew it wasn’t my place, but I felt like I should’ve been there for them when he’d made his appearance. “Fuck. I’ll call her.”

“Do,” Emery said. She started closing the door again but peeked at me around it before she left me to keep working. “Be kind, Hawk. I know you two have started something new and I don’t know if she told you he was coming, but try not to lose your shit with her.”

“I won’t,” I protested, white-knuckling my phone when I picked it up. “I just want to make sure she’s okay, is all. Shit, is that what you think of me?”

She shrugged. “Emotionally, you’re a loose cannon, Hawk. Keep it together.”

I sighed. “I will, and for the record, I have been working on getting better at that.”

“I know, and it’s been showing, but again, you two have just started up again. I’d hate to see that asshole get between you.”

I inhaled deeply through my nostrils, taking a moment to let her advice sink in before I called Sutton. Emery shut the door, and as I listened to the phone ringing and ringing, I closed my eyes, so many questions I didn’t know if I wanted the answers to racing through my head.

Why is he here? Did she know he was coming? Why didn’t she tell me? How long is he staying? Did he bring the girlfriend with him? Or did he come to get Sutton back?

The call eventually went to voicemail and I stood immediately, deciding to go down to the bookstore to see her. I needed to make sure she was alright. Regardless of whether she’d known he was coming, it had to have been a shock to her system to see him again.

My heart thudded in my chest as I headed over to the store, but when I walked in, I found myself face to face with her father instead of the woman herself. I frowned. “David. Where is she?”

“What’s it to you?” he shot back, clearly not happy to see me. “Is it true that you’re taking over your father’s company?”

“Yes, it is.” I held his gaze. “Did you know Calen is in town?”

At the mention of her ex-husband’s name, David’s features contorted and he blew out a heavy breath. Groaning, he rubbed the back of his head. “No, I didn’t know he’d actually shown up. Sutton mentioned it to Mindy that he said he was coming for Thanksgiving, but neither of them thought he’d actually follow through.”

“Well, he did,” I said. “Emery just saw him at Bayshore, so I thought I’d check in with Sutton, which is why I’d like to know where she is.”

“I don’t know where she is,” he said. “Even if I did though, I wouldn’t tell you. Calen showing up doesn’t change what you and I spoke about before. In fact, it makes you need to stay even further away from her. If she’s already having to deal with him, she doesn’t need to worry about you too.”

For fuck’s sake.